Decoration Variation Numbers Explained

What the fv values on the result page mean in the .hideout file.

The same workflow works in Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2. Only the decoration list and hideout types change when you switch games on the generator.

Short answer

Decoration Variation Numbers Explained is easier once you remember that hideout art is not a flat image stamp. It is hundreds of real decorations with positions rotations and variations. The generator matches colour regions to decoration families traces dark lines with a brush piece and writes the same file format the game exports.

What happens between upload and import

1. Find the subject. Transparency is kept. Border-touching background is removed so white eyes and teeth inside the subject stay.
2. Simplify colours and find outlines. Thousands of colours become a handful of regions. Dark thin lines become line art.
3. Match decorations. Each region gets the closest decoration family while light and dark order is preserved.
4. Place pieces. Big fills first then edge pieces then the outline brush.
5. Preview. Real meshes and textures at real footprints.
6. Write the .hideout file you import in game.

Why that matters for players

• Previews show actual meshes so what you see is what you import
• Missing ownership skips pieces on import
• Art size and colour count change decoration count
• Hideout type must match or import refuses the file
• Shop decorations can be disabled when you only want favour pieces

Try it with a clean image

Start with a cartoon logo emoji or bold portrait. Those styles taught most players what good inputs look like. Compare free previews before you download. Full technical detail lives in how PoE hideout art works.

Next steps

• How to make hideout art: the full step-by-step walkthrough.
• Best images for PoE hideout art: what converts best and how to prepare it.
• How to import hideout art: getting the file into your hideout.
• How PoE hideout art works: what the generator does under the hood.
• How many decorations does hideout art use?: art size, the 750 cap and typical counts.
• Open the generator and try a free preview.