With the launch of Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5: Return of the Ancients, the endgame character progression landscape has received a massive update. One of the most impactful systems back in the spotlight is amulet anointing—internally referred to by the developers as "Instilling". Just like its predecessor in PoE1, this mechanic allows you to allocate any powerful Notable passive skill from the massive skill tree directly onto your amulet without spending a single skill point. If you want to optimize your build, squeeze out extra damage, or grab a build-defining defensive wheel on the other side of the tree, mastering this system is mandatory.
However, PoE2 does things a bit differently. Instead of the classic oils we grew accustomed to, this system relies entirely on collecting, combining, and ordering items known as Liquid Emotions (previously named Distilled Emotions). Here is a complete breakdown of how to unlock the interface, source your materials, execute recipes, and avoid some costly Patch 0.5 edge cases.
1. Unlocking the Crafting Interface
If you've just finished the campaign and are looking through your inventory trying to figure out how to put these emotions to use, don't panic. You cannot anoint items right out of the gate. The entire system is gated behind progression in the endgame Atlas.

• Atlas Progression: To start your journey, you need to navigate your way to the Delirium area on your Atlas map. You can easily spot it by looking for the giant, ominous tree node.
• The Midnight Quest: Once you reach this area, you will unlock a localized questline called "The Midnight". To progress through it, you must successfully defeat 5 delirious map bosses.
• Timer Management: This is where things get a bit sweaty. You can't just casually stroll through the map; you must locate and kill the map boss before the Delirium fog completely dissipates. If you take too long, the classic 4-second countdown will trigger, and if it hits zero before the boss dies, you won't get credit for the quest. Bring a build with solid single-target damage and decent clear speed to make this step smoother.

2. Sourcing Liquid Emotions
Once the system is unlocked, your main bottleneck will be getting your hands on the actual Liquid Emotions. These items drop specifically from Delirium encounters within your endgame maps.

• Tier Expansion in Patch 0.5: The Return of the Ancients update has significantly expanded the pool of available crafting ingredients. Patch 0.5 introduces three incredibly potent new emotions into the mix: Melancholy, Ferocity, and Contempt. These are required for many of the top-tier endgame Notables.
• Rarity Disparity: Be prepared for a massive variance in drop rates. Common bases like Distilled Ire drop quite frequently, meaning you'll have tabs full of them. On the flip side, ultra-rare currencies like Distilled Isolation live up to their name and are exceptionally rare drops.
• Acquisition Options: If your build isn't quite ready to farm deep Delirium maps natively, or if SSF RNG is giving you a headache, you don't have to rely solely on raw drops. Liquid Emotions can be traded directly with other players via the in-game Currency Exchange, making it much easier to acquire the exact ingredients you need.

3. Finding and Executing Recipes
The mechanics of Instilling require exact precision. To anoint an amulet, you need a combination of exactly three Liquid Emotions. Unlike some other crafting systems, the exact order in which you place these items matters entirely. A recipe of Emotion A, B, and C will give you a completely different Notable than C, B, and A.

• Checking Recipes: You don't need an external spreadsheet open on a second monitor to figure out what you need. Simply open your Passive Skill Tree (default hotkey P), hover your mouse over the desired Notable you want to put on your amulet, and hold down the Alt key. An image showing the specific three Liquid Emotions, in their exact required order, will appear at the very bottom of the skill description box.
• Opening the UI: When you have all three items ready, open your inventory and simply right-click any Liquid Emotion. This action will immediately pull up the dedicated Instilling crafting window.
• Placing Your Items: First, Ctrl-Click your amulet to place it into the single top slot of the interface. Next, insert your three required emotions into the bottom slots. Make absolutely sure you place them in the correct left-to-right sequence that you saw on the passive tree.
• The Craft: Before doing anything permanent, look at the preview text in the window. It will explicitly display the name of the Notable skill you are about to enchant. Once you've double-checked that it's correct, click the Instill button. The liquids will be consumed, and your amulet will be permanently anointed.

Player Tip: Always double-check the item preview name before clicking Instill. Accidentally swapping the second and third slots can turn a multi-divine craft into a completely useless passive for your build.

4. Patch 0.5 Rules & Edge Cases
PoE2's systems can be unforgiving, and Patch 0.5 introduces a few strict item interaction rules and bugs that you need to watch out for to avoid throwing away expensive crafting materials.

• Overwriting Existing Passives: If you change your build or want to switch to a different Notable later on, you don't need to buy a brand-new amulet. You can overwrite an existing anointment at any time by simply applying a new recipe to the item. Just keep in mind that the old emotions used on the previous craft are lost permanently.
• The Corruption Lock: Do not corrupt your amulet before anointing it. Corrupted amulets cannot be anointed under any circumstances. Interestingly, if you try to do it, the game interface will mistakenly ask you for a "Tainted Oil"—which is a deprecated item from PoE1 that doesn't even exist in PoE2. This means corruption completely locks you out of the mechanic, so make sure your anointment is finalized before hitting the item with a Vaal effect.
• Sanctified Items: Similarly, you cannot anoint an item that has already been Sanctified. Applying the Sanctified status to an amulet permanently locks its current passives exactly as they are.
• Loathsome Mire Bases (Double Anoints): One of the coolest additions in Patch 0.5 is a brand-new endgame sub-area called the Loathsome Mire. This area drops unique amulet base types that break the standard rules of the game. These specific bases allow you to instill two Notables simultaneously on the exact same amulet. The catch? You have to sacrifice a modifier slot, meaning the item will drop with either a permanent "-1 Prefix" or "-1 Suffix" penalty. For many builds, giving up a stat line to gain a second powerful passive tree Notable is an incredibly worthwhile trade-off.