So, the campaign dust has settled, maybe the last of the major campaign bosses lies vanquished, and the whispers of true power echo from beyond. Welcome to the real Path of Exile 2 – the End Game, a sprawling, often chaotic, but incredibly rewarding expanse. This guide serves as your trusty compass through the twisting paths ahead.
Think of this initial section as the express lane, the “Too Long; Didn’t Read But Seriously Need To Know” version. It’s designed for those eager to dive in, perhaps veterans seeking a fresh perspective, or time-crunched adventurers wanting the efficient play path through the early endgame systems. Later sections will delve deeper into the nitty-gritty of specific endgame mechanics and even more endgame systems, but this gets the engine started. Ready to map out your destiny? Let’s descend into the madness!
The Post-Campaign Kickstart: Cruel Mode Aftermath & Your First Map
Right after delivering the final blow to Doriani (yes, that one) back in Act Three Cruel Mode, reality shifts. You’ll likely awaken in the Ziggurat Refuge. If you happen to wander off and get lost amidst the newfound freedom (perhaps setting up a swanky new Hideout), remember this sanctuary is accessible via the Act Three Cruel waypoints – look for its marker, usually down low.
Once you’ve collected yourself, have a chat with Doriani in the Refuge. He’s got the lowdown on the creeping corruption and your new purpose. He’ll also task you with running your very first Map via the nearby Map Device. It’s a gentle introduction – cleanse the corruption, smash some monsters, easy peasy. Complete this task, return to the Refuge waypoint, and from there, you can venture forth to establish or return to your personal Hideout.
Hideout Hotspot: Optimizing Your Loot & Launch Pad
Welcome to your customizable slice of Wraeclast! If the concept of a Hideout is new, fear not. Resources abound online (like poe-hideout.com or similar repositories) offering pre-made layouts you can import with a click. Snag one that looks efficient, or tinker to your heart’s content.
The crucial bit of Hideout Feng Shui? Cluster your essentials:
- Stash: Where the treasures (and trash) go.
- Doriani: Your identification guru.
- Map Device: The gateway to potentially infinite map progression and slaughter.
- Salvage Bench: For breaking down unwanted gear.
- A Vendor: For quick sales or purchases.
Why Doriani nearby? Efficiency, Exile! After a map run, zip back, hold Ctrl (or your controller equivalent) and click Doriani. Poof! With these key mechanics revealed, every unidentified item in your inventory shows its secrets. Next, navigate to your Stash – hopefully, you’ve designated a large “dump tab” (Quad Stash Tabs are magnificent for this). With another flurry of clicks (Ctrl+Click usually does the trick), unload everything visible on your loot filter into the dump tab. Grab a new map, slap it into the Map Device, and dive back in. Rinse, repeat, profit. This loop is the heartbeat of efficient mapping.
Charting the Stars: Initial Endgame Content & Atlas Progression
Now, let’s talk Maps and the magnificent beast that is the Atlas. Initially, your view will be limited, a tiny island in a sea of fog, likely centered near your starting point. Doriani’s warnings about corruption nearby? That’s your first major clue.
This Atlas is where you’ll earn precious Passive Points, fundamentally shaping your endgame content experience via the Atlas tree and other endgame systems. The immediate goals for Atlas Progression are twofold:
- Hunt Corrupted Nexuses: These festering points of corruption are scattered across the Atlas. Cleansing them is key.
- Discover Unique Maps: Special, named map areas offer unique challenges, rewards, and access to other endgame encounters.
Your very first objective upon reaching the Hideout and setting up, after completing maps given initially, should be to start mapping towards that initial blob of corruption indicated on your Atlas.
The Dual Pursuit: Atlas Points and Power Leveling
So, how do those shiny Atlas passive skill points materialize?
Corrupted Nexuses: Cleanse 15 distinct Nexuses. Each one grants 2 Atlas Passive Points.
Unique Maps: Complete 5 different Unique Maps. Each unique completion grants 2 Atlas Passive Points.
This totals up to a foundational 40 points for your Atlas passive tree.
Simultaneously, focus on gaining experience (XP) and climbing the Waystone Tiers (map difficulty levels). A quick tip: Socketing a Waystone into an Atlas node reveals the Monster Level.
- Tier 15 Maps = Level 79 Monsters
- Irradiated Tier 15 Maps = Level 80 Monsters
- Corrupted Tier 16 Maps (in an Irradiated zone) = Level 81 Monsters
Golden Rule for XP: Try to keep your character level within 5 to 9 levels above the monster level of the zone. Stray too far below, and XP gains plummet significantly.
Early Map Crafting: As you push through Waystone Tiers:
Low Tiers (1-10ish / Normal Difficulty): Simply use Orbs of Transmutation (turn white maps blue) and Orbs of Augmentation (add a mod to blue maps). Keep it cheap.
Mid Tiers (11+): Consider using Regal Orbs (turn blue maps yellow with one extra mod) and Orbs of Alchemy (turn white maps yellow with multiple additional modifiers). When exactly to start this depends on currency flow. If Alchs and Regals are scarce or pricey early on, perhaps wait until Tier 13 or 14. Use your best judgment based on your coffers.
Need for Speed: Why Higher Tiers Mean Better Bling
Why the rush to progress the Atlas and climb Waystone tiers? Currency, Exile, currency!
- Atlas Passive Power: A fully unlocked Atlas passive tree dramatically juices up your maps, leading to more rewards from various endgame activities.
- Item Level: Higher tier maps mean higher monster levels. Higher monster levels mean higher Item Level (iLvl) drops. Higher iLvl gear can roll more powerful modifiers.
Especially at a league’s fresh start, rocketing towards Tier 15+ Waystones means access to high iLvl bases. Identifying these can yield valuable items to use or sell, including potentially powerful rare items, potentially even without extensive crafting. This is a prime way to generate early wealth.
Navigational Nudges: Finding Nexuses, Unique Maps & Their Map Bosses
Alright, abstract goals are nice, but how does one find these things?
Spotting Corrupted Nexuses:
Telltale Towers: Peer into the Fog of War on your Atlas. See a Tower icon spewing angry red brambles or thorny vines? That signals a corrupted zone nearby, meaning a Corrupted Nexus is waiting to be cleansed (and give you points!).
Nexus Symbol: Sometimes, you can spot the Nexus itself lurking in the fog. It looks like a menacing, three-pronged claw reaching up, often surrounded by swirling black mist. Once seen, it’s unmistakable. These are your primary visual cues for targeted exploration.
Hunting Unique Maps:
These are trickier beasts. Finding 5 different ones can take time. While not confirmed science, a prevailing theory suggests they might be tied to specific Atlas biomes:
- Example: The Wildwood unique map often appears in Forest biomes.
- Example: The Megalith unique map seems to favour Grassland biomes.
- Example: An Untainted Paradise might pop up near Water biomes.
The best strategy seems to be diversifying your exploration. Deliberately path towards and run maps in different biome types (Forest, Grassland, Ice, Desert, Water, etc.) that you haven’t explored thoroughly. This increases the odds of stumbling upon those elusive unique map bosses and their domains.
Understanding Core Endgame Systems: Towers & Tablets
Let’s touch briefly on Towers, Tablets, and Waystone sustain – core parts of the Atlas endgame systems, which function almost like their own progression system within the broader endgame.
While leveling (roughly 65-80) and grabbing those initial Atlas points, don’t obsess too much over optimizing Tower setups. There’s a slight tension: the Atlas point hunt encourages broad exploration (finding Nexuses/Uniques), while Towers incentivize hunkering down in one area to maximize their effects.
Early Strategy: Prioritize exploration. Get those 40 Atlas Points. Running Towers encountered along the way to a Nexus or new biome is perfectly fine, just don’t feel obligated to build elaborate Tower networks immediately.
Tower Tablet Slots: When you do complete a Tower map, the number of Tablet slots unlocked depends on the Waystone used:
- 0-3 Mods (Magic/Normal): 1 Tablet Slot (base reward)
- 4-5 Mods (Rare): 2 Tablet Slots
- 6+ Mods (Rare/Corrupted): 3 Tablet Slots
Early Recommendation: Aim for 4-mod Waystones (just use an Orb of Alchemy). This grants 2 Tablet slots without making the Tower overly difficult early on.
What Tablets to Slot (Early in the Game):
- Boss Tablet: Crucial. Killing the boss in a map influenced by a Boss Tablet guarantees a Waystone drop of a higher tier than the map you ran. This is a primary way to climb tiers. If you find one with “Increased Experience,” even better! (Potentially features a Breach Boss or other league boss depending on the tablet specifics, though the main goal is the tier upgrade).
- Density Tablet (Breach/Delirium): For the second slot, Breach or the reworked Delirium tablets are excellent choices. They add significantly more monsters and density, translating directly into more XP and loot drops. Increased Rare Monsters tablets become more valuable later for pure currency farming.
Waystone Sustain: Don’t fret too much about running out of maps.
- Killing the final Rare monster in any map guarantees a Waystone drop of the same tier.
- Killing map bosses influenced by a Boss Tablet grants a higher-tier Waystone.
Sustain is generally quite manageable. Keep the cycle going: explore, cleanse, conquer map bosses, slot those Boss tablets, and climb ever higher!
The Final Nugget of TL;DR Wisdom: Your First Steps on the Atlas Skill Tree
One last critical point for the speed demons: those precious first Atlas passive tree points! When just starting your End Game journey and the Atlas feels vast and point-starved, resist the urge to dive deep into specialized endgame content mechanics immediately (unless pure fun dictates otherwise – chaos is a valid path!).
For pure efficiency – leveling faster, sustaining Waystones, generally getting the Atlas progression engine roaring – the initial 20 points are best spent on generalist nodes. Focus on the clusters near the Atlas center that enhance Waystone drops, map modifiers, and maybe sprinkle in some basic monster density or experience gain. (Think foundational nodes boosting map sustain and basic map juice). This provides a solid base before committing to a specific farming strategy. More intricate Atlas tree blueprints will be explored later.
Endgame Deep Dives: Tactics, Strategies & Endgame Activities
With the express overview complete, let’s dissect specific aspects of the early endgame systems and endgame activities.
Turbo-Charging Your Leveling (Beyond the Basics)
Recapping the core principles for rapid leveling:
Climb Waystone Tiers: Push higher tiers as quickly as your build allows. Remember the ~5-9 level gap sweet spot between character level and monster level for optimal XP.
Map Crafting Progression: Transmute/Augment blue maps in early tiers. Consider Alchemy/Regal Orbs for yellow maps around Tier 11+, adjusting based on currency availability.
Strategic Tablet Use: While Towers aren’t the primary focus initially, make encountered ones count.
Early Game (Levels 65-80ish): Prioritize tablets offering “Increased Experience.” Map Boss tablets are essential for climbing tiers. Tablets adding monster density (Magic/Rare monsters, Pack Size, Breach, Delirium) are also fantastic XP boosters. A common early setup involves slotting a Boss tablet alongside a Breach or Delirium tablet when running 4-mod (Alch’d) Towers.
Later Game (Levels 85+): As reaching level 90+ becomes the goal, tablet strategy might shift. Consider dropping the basic Boss tablet (unless still climbing tiers) and potentially incorporating an “Irradiated” tablet for the +1 monster level boost (crucial for XP at high levels). High-density tablets like Breach, Delirium, and perhaps Ritual remain strong contenders. Experimentation is key, but the goal transitions from pure tier climbing to maximizing XP per map via density and monster level. (Expedition might require specific builds or strategies to feel efficient).
Atlas Point Acquisition Tactics (The Hunt Revisited)
Just to reiterate the core methods for snagging those vital Atlas passive tree points:
Corrupted Nexus Scouting: Scan the Fog of War for Towers adorned with angry red brambles – these mark corrupted zones nearby. Occasionally, the three-clawed Nexus symbol itself (with swirling black mist) might be visible in the fog. Target these areas.
Unique Map Safari: These elusive maps seem tied to Atlas biomes. To find the required 5 different ones, actively explore varied environments (Forest, Grassland, Water, Ice, etc.). Don’t just farm the same comfortable zone; biome diversity appears key. Examples observed: Vidian Wildwood (Forest), Megalith (Grassland), Untainted Paradise (Water). Seek out the undiscovered!
Navigating the Atlas Skill Tree: Tested Tactics & Quirky Quandaries
Alright, let’s talk concrete Atlas passive tree strategies beyond the initial 20 points. Keep in mind, acquiring all 40 points can be a journey; finding those last few Nexuses or unique maps often involves determined, sometimes random-feeling exploration. Patience, Exile!
Here’s a look at some endgame content mechanics accessed via the Atlas tree and observations on their performance:
Asmary Spirits (The Spooky Ghosts): Initial impressions? A bit… ethereal and underwhelming. Quantifying their value is tricky, as they possess Rares or even nearby monsters, making it hard to discern their exact contribution to the loot pinata. Functionally, they can be finicky: spirits vanish if no Rares remain, or might whiff if their target Rare dies before possession. While Omens exist to make them jump hosts, the core mechanic feels slightly clunky. Observation suggests the purple wisp variant might be linked to currency drops.
Overall: Potentially fun if tweaked, but currently might not be the most rewarding point investment unless significant changes occur.
Essences (The Frozen Power-Ups): These feel quite solid. While individual basic Essences aren’t typically jackpot items (barring the valuable new Corrupted special Essences), the sheer volume of raw crafting power and potential currency rewards generated through dedicated Atlas passives adds up. Bulk selling becomes viable, and some Greater Essences hold decent value. Essences provide a reliable, consistent stream of currency and crafting potential. A strong, dependable choice for steady Path of Exile income.
Rogue Exiles (The Other Exiles Who Want Your Stuff): Surprisingly decent, especially early in a league when the market isn’t saturated with god-tier gear. They tend to drop gear that’s “okay-to-good,” which can be valuable for selling or as a base for crafting attempts early on. Their value might decrease later as better items become more common, but further testing is needed.
Bonus: The Atlas sections for Rogue Exiles often contain efficient nodes boosting Tablet/Tower effects, adding general mapping value. Worth considering, especially for that early gear/currency push.
Strongboxes (The Exploding Treasure Chests): Feeling quite potent currently! The monster spawning is much faster now, and the loot seems respectable even baseline. Remember, Strongboxes are craftable: identify them, then use currency (Transmute, Augment, Alch, Regal, Vaal Orbs!) to enhance their additional modifiers and influence the monsters inside.
Unique Strongboxes offer fun encounters and potentially valuable rewards. Dedicated Atlas passives likely make these even juicier. Strongboxes appear to be a very strong contender for focused farming, especially with their rapid way of summoning monsters.
Shrines (The Temporary Buff Stations): The jury is still out on Shrines as a primary currency generation strategy. However, the potential shouldn’t be dismissed entirely. A build heavily invested in Shrines could achieve significantly higher map clearing speed and efficiency, as these temporary stations grant powerful bonuses like stacked speed, damage, and utility buffs (rarity, XP, etc.).
If the sheer volume of maps cleared per hour increases dramatically, Shrines could indirectly become very profitable. It’s a strategy focused on hyper-efficiency rather than direct loot drops. An intriguing area for future experimentation, especially if other mechanics prove less lucrative long-term.
Ascending Further: Pinnacle Passive Points & Specialization
Beyond the standard 40 Passive points lies another layer of specialization using special atlas tree points: Pinnacle Passive Points. These are earned by conquering specific, high-difficulty endgame content tied to certain league mechanics, allowing for potent enhancements to those chosen endgame activities.
Tried-and-True Pinnacle Choices:
- Breach & Delirium: Often favored choices. Investing Pinnacle points here significantly ramps up the frequency and intensity of these mechanics, flooding maps with extra monsters. This translates to excellent experience, potential for valuable league-specific drops, and generally more engaging (read: chaotic) gameplay. Solid picks for consistent action and early league currency generation.
- Ritual: Potentially a hidden powerhouse. Ritual offers consistent rewards and, with investment, can yield significant returns, especially valuable crafting bases and unique items. Don’t sleep on Ritual’s potential for steady profit.
- Expedition: This mechanic often revolves around farming Expedition Logbooks. Maxing out Expedition Pinnacle Passives seems geared towards maximizing Logbook drops or the rewards within them (like interacting with specific vendors or potentially encountering unique bosses). While perhaps less direct than Breach/Delirium spam, dedicated Expedition farming can be highly lucrative, particularly for obtaining specific crafting currencies or hitting big ticket Logbook encounters. Rumours abound of significant currency generation via focused Logbook farming.
The Path to Pinnacles: Acquiring Points & Confronting Pinnacle Bosses
| Breach | Breachstones (Tiered) | Combine 100 Splinters | Breachlord Domain (Boss) | Defeat increasing Tiers (e.g., up to T3) |
| Delirium | Simulacrum | Combine 300 Splinters | Wave-based Arena | Complete Waves / Full Clear |
| Ritual | Ritual Boss Vessels | Buy/Defer from Ritual Altar | Ritual Arena (Boss) | Defeat Boss from Vessel |
| Expedition | Expedition Logbooks | Map drops / Vendor / Trade | Logbook Exploration (Boss) | Defeat Boss (RNG Spawn) |
The Final Challenge: A Pinnacle Boss Fortress?
Specific item names, splinter counts, and tier requirements might differ in Path of Exile 2, but the core loop of collecting fragments/items and facing tiered boss encounters is likely to persist for these Pinnacle Bosses and their associated endgame activities. Perhaps some even reside within a dedicated pinnacle boss fortress occasionally found on the Atlas!
Fine-Tuning the Engine: Late-Game Waystone & Tablet Optimization
With a robust Passive Skill tree and perhaps some Pinnacle points acquired, tablet strategy can shift purely towards maximizing currency generation:
King Modifier: Increased Rare Monsters: This is likely the single most impactful tablet modifier for general currency farming. Rares are the primary source of valuable loot and raw currency. Stack this wherever possible.
Quantity Still Counts: While the raw values might be lower than in past iterations, “Increased Quantity of Items Found” remains a powerful multiplier, especially when combined with high monster density and Increased Rare Monsters. More base items mean more chances at currency, divination cards, and valuable bases.
Rarity’s Role: “Increased Rarity of Items Found” acts as a solid third option, improving the chances of finding unique items and higher-tier currency drops. It complements Quantity and Rare Monster stacking well.
Expedition Specialization: For dedicated Expedition farmers, seek out tablets specifically stating “Increased Quantity of Expedition Logbooks dropped by Runic Monsters” (or similar wording). Stacking these across multiple Expedition tablets could create a highly efficient Logbook farming loop, potentially a very profitable, if niche, strategy.
The Art of the Deal: Advanced Currency Generation Tactics
Making serious bank in the End Game involves more than just killing monsters.
The Power of Rarity (~100% Target): Don’t underestimate “Increased Rarity of Items Found” (IIQ) on gear. While returns diminish significantly past a certain point (likely around 100% IIQ based on developer comments), reaching close to this threshold dramatically increases raw currency drops.
The difference between 15% and 80%+ Rarity can feel like night and day regarding drops like Exalted Orbs, Divine Orbs, Perfect Fossils, Reliquary Keys, and other high-value items. Aiming for ~80-100% Rarity seems almost mandatory for maximizing raw currency income.
Identify Everything (Early Game): When starting out with limited currency, resist the urge to gamble heavily on crafting. Your fastest path to wealth is often:
- Finish map.
- Return to Hideout, bulk-identify everything (Ctrl+Click Doriani).
- Dump identified items into a designated Stash Tab.
- Periodically sort through the dump tab. Use a price-checking tool (like Awakened PoE Trade or similar) to quickly assess potential value.
- Slap anything potentially worth a small amount (e.g., 1-5 Chaos Orb equivalent) into a fixed-price public Stash Tab (e.g., a “1 Exalted” tab set to exact price). Get back to mapping quickly.
Transition to Crafting/Gambling (Mid/Late Game)
Once a decent currency pool is established (e.g., 10-15 Divine Orbs+), start evaluating high Item Level bases (iLvl 79+, ideally 81+) more critically.
Found a magic item with one or two great mods on a good base? Consider using a Regal Orb.
Found a promising rare item? Consider using Exalted Orbs to add modifiers or Divine Orbs (or other currency if applicable in PoE2) to reroll rare items’ values or specific mods (use cautiously!).
Found a good white base? Use an Orb of Alchemy and see what happens.
Example: An iLvl 80 Breach Ring (normal rarity) becomes rare via Alchemy. If it rolls decent mods (Life, Resists, Damage), consider Exalting it once or twice. If it hits another good mod, its value could skyrocket.
Smart Pricing Strategy: When listing potentially valuable self-crafted or well-rolled items:
- Use a price checker to get a baseline estimate.
- List the item in an individually priced public Stash Tab for higher than the estimate (e.g., estimate is 20 Exalted, list for 25-30 Exalted).
- If it doesn’t sell within a reasonable timeframe (30-60 minutes of active playtime), lower the price significantly (e.g., drop from 25 to 15 Exalted).
- If it still doesn’t sell, lower it again (e.g., to 5 Exalted).
- If it fails to sell at a low price, re-evaluate why it wasn’t as valuable as initially thought (wrong base? saturated market? conflicting mods?). Learn from it, maybe toss it in the cheap bulk tab, and move on. Don’t let pricing paralysis stall your mapping!
Character Philosophy: Surviving the Endgame Onslaught
The Path of Exile endgame, particularly in its newer iterations, can be brutal. Monsters hit hard, and unexpected deaths are common.
Early Endgame (Levels 65-80): Go Full Throttle: In Softcore Trade leagues, the death penalty at these levels is relatively minor compared to the XP gain rate. The most efficient approach is often to maximize Damage and Movement Speed. Build like a glass cannon. Yes, deaths will happen. Accept it. Killing all the monsters instantly prevents them from killing you first.
Mid-to-Late Endgame (Levels 85+): Finding the Balance: As levels climb, the XP penalty for death becomes increasingly painful. This is where the philosophy shifts. By now, gear upgrades and passive points should provide a surplus of damage for clearing regular map monsters (map bosses excluded). Start trading some of that excess damage for:
- Survivability: More Life/Energy Shield, Armour, Evasion, Spell Suppression, Max Resistances, Chaos Resistance, Block, Recovery, etc.
- Speed: Movement speed and attack speed (or cast speed, depending on build) remain crucial for efficiency.
The Weapon Swap Stratagem (Future-Proofing): Path of Exile 2 is slated to have automated weapon swapping. Prepare for this powerful feature even now by utilizing the manual swap (X key by default). The idea is to have two distinct passive tree allocations linked to each weapon set:
- Weapon Set 1 (Mapping): Allocate passives heavily into Speed and Defenses. Sacrifice some damage nodes, as your gear should handle regular mobs. Link utility/defensive Spirit Gems, potentially socketed with soul cores for enhancement, (Auras, Golems, Guard Skills) to this set.
- Weapon Set 2 (Bossing): Allocate passives for Maximum Damage. Drop the speed and defensive nodes used in Set 1. Focus entirely on offensive power for melting map bosses and, especially, Pinnacle Bosses. Link primary damage skills and damage-boosting Spirit Gems to this set.
- Execution: Map primarily on Set 1 (Defensive/Speed). When encountering a tough boss, quickly swap weapons (X key), manually swap relevant Spirit Gems if needed (until automation arrives), and unleash the full power of Set 2 (Damage). This allows specialization without compromising overall effectiveness. It’s a powerful technique for tackling diverse endgame content.
The Ever-Shifting Path
This concludes the core progression guide. Remember, Exile, Wraeclast is constantly evolving in Path of Exile 2. Patches bring balance changes, new mechanics emerge, and the meta shifts. Stay adaptable, keep learning, experiment with different strategies on the Atlas Skill Tree, and consult up-to-date resources. The Path of Exile endgame is a marathon, not a sprint.
Now go forth, conquer the Atlas, defeat those Pinnacle Bosses, amass mountains of loot, and carve your legend! Good luck, Exile.
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What’s the “End Game”? Is it like after the movie ends?
Yeah, kinda! After you beat the big bad guys in the main story (like finishing Act 3 in Cruel Mode), the game doesn’t stop! That’s when the real adventure, the End Game, starts. It’s like unlocking a giant, secret playground called the Atlas where you get to run special maps, fight super tough monsters, and find the coolest treasures that weren’t in the story part.
I beat the bad guy but now I’m lost! How do I get back to the End Game place?
Uh oh! If you got lost after beating Doriani in Act 3 Cruel, look for the Ziggurat Refuge waypoint again in Act 3 Cruel. It’s like a special clubhouse where the End Game starts. Once you’ve been there, you can usually go to your own super cool secret base, called a Hideout, and start playing from there!
What’s a Hideout? Why should I put stuff close together?
A Hideout is your very own secret base! You can decorate it however you want! The guide says it’s super smart to put your treasure chest (Stash), the map machine (Map Device), the guy who tells you what magic items do (Doriani), and maybe a shopkeeper all right next to each other. Why? So after you finish a map, you can zoom back, zap identify all your cool new toys with Doriani, plonk dump them in your chest super fast, grab a new map, and whoosh go right back into the action without wasting time running around! Faster playing means more fun and more loot!
What’s this big star map thing called the Atlas?
The Atlas is like a giant treasure map for the whole End Game! Instead of one big land, it’s lots and lots of little places called Maps that are connected. Playing these maps lets you explore the Atlas. It’s super important because it has its own special skill tree, kind of like your character’s skill tree, but this one makes the maps you run way better and gives you more cool stuff!
How do I find those spooky Corrupted Nexus things easily?
Keep exploring the Atlas map! Look at the little towers shown in the foggy parts you haven’t visited yet. If a tower looks angry and has red thorny branches growing on it, that means a spooky Corrupted Nexus is hiding nearby! Sometimes you can even see the Nexus itself in the fog – it looks like a scary three-fingered claw reaching out with black smoke. Head towards those signs!
How do I get points for the Atlas skill tree? It looks empty!
You need to fill it up! There are two main ways to get points for the Atlas skill tree:
- Find Spooky Spots: Look for places on the Atlas map marked with red thorny stuff or a weird three-claw symbol. These are called Corrupted Nexuses. Go to the maps near them and clean them up! You need to clean 15 different ones, and each gives you 2 points!
- Find Special Maps: Sometimes you’ll find extra special, unique maps with cool names. You need to find and finish 5 different kinds of these special maps. Each different one gives you 2 points too!
Do both, and you’ll get 40 points to start making your Atlas awesome!
How do I find those different special Unique Maps? They seem rare!
These are tricky! The guide thinks they might like to hide in different types of areas on the Atlas, like forests, snowy places, or beaches (those are called biomes). So, don’t just keep running maps in the same kind of place! Try exploring different-looking zones on your Atlas map – go to a forest area, then a grassy area, then maybe an icy area. Exploring different biomes gives you a better chance of finding all 5 different special maps you need.
Why should I run harder maps (higher tiers)? Isn’t it safer to do easy ones?
Running harder maps is like going to the harder levels in a video game! Yes, they are tougher, but the rewards are WAY better!
- Better Tree Power: Higher maps help you unlock your Atlas skill tree faster, making all your maps give you more cool stuff.
- Better Toys: The monsters in harder maps drop items with a higher “Item Level” (iLvl). Think of iLvl like the toy’s power level – higher iLvl means the toy can have stronger magic powers on it, making it worth more or better for you to use! So, harder maps = better potential treasures!
How do I make my maps harder? What are these Orbs things?
You can use special magic Orbs, like crayons, to draw extra challenges onto your maps!
- Easy Start (Blue Maps): Use an Orb of Transmutation (makes it blue) and maybe an Orb of Augmentation (adds one more thing). This makes it a little harder but is cheap.
- Medium Start (Yellow Maps): When you get to slightly harder maps (like Tier 11+), you can use an Orb of Alchemy (makes it yellow and adds lots of harder things!) or maybe a Regal Orb (makes a blue map yellow with one extra thing). This makes the map much harder but gives much better rewards! Do this when you have enough Orbs and feel strong enough!
What are Towers and Tablets? Do I need them right away?
Towers are special spots on the Atlas map, and Tablets are like special instructions you can put into the Towers when you beat the map inside them. They make the maps connected to the Tower have extra cool stuff or monsters. The guide says when you’re just starting and trying to find all your Atlas points (Nexuses and Unique Maps), you don’t need to worry too much about setting up perfect Towers. It’s okay to just run the Tower maps you find along the way, but focus on exploring first!
How do I make sure I don’t run out of maps?
Don’t worry too much! The game is nice about giving you maps.
- Guaranteed Drop: When you beat the last strong bad guy (a Rare monster) in a map, it always drops another map of the same level (tier). So you can usually keep going.
- Boss Tablet Trick: Remember those Tablets you can put in Towers? If you use a “Boss Tablet,” when you beat the main boss of that map, it guarantees you get a map that’s one level higher! This is the best way to climb up to harder maps!
What are Pinnacle Points and Pinnacle Bosses? Are they like super-duper bosses?
Exactly! After you get your first 40 Atlas points, there are even more special points called Pinnacle Points. You get these by beating the REALLY, REALLY tough bosses tied to specific game types (like Breach, Delirium, Ritual, Expedition). These Pinnacle Bosses are like the mega-bosses of the End Game, and the points they give let you make those specific game types even crazier and more rewarding!
How do I fight the Breach Boss? It looks scary!
Fighting a Breach Boss is like putting together a special key!
- First, find glowing purpley-red hands called Breaches in your maps. Jump in and beat the monsters quickly! They drop little broken pieces called Splinters.
- Collect 100 Splinters of the same type (like Xoph’s fiery ones).
- Stick them together to make a Breachstone (the key!).
- Put the Breachstone in your Map Device. This opens a door to the Breach Boss’s house!
- Go in and beat the boss! You have to do this with harder and harder Breachstones (different tiers) to get all the special Pinnacle points for Breach.
How do I fight the Ritual boss?
Rituals are the circles where you fight waves of bad guys for points (Tribute).
- Do Rituals in your maps. Look at the rewards you can buy with Tribute.
- Sometimes, a special item called a Ritual Vessel (like “An Audience with the King”) will show up. This is the key to the Ritual boss!
- You need enough Tribute to buy it. If you don’t have enough, you can sometimes “defer” it (like putting it on layaway!) and buy it next time for cheaper.
- Once you have the Vessel, put it in your Map Device to fight the Ritual Pinnacle Boss and get those points!
How do I fight the Delirium boss thing (Simulacrum)?
Delirium is the foggy, scary stuff that makes maps harder.
- Run through the Delirium fog in maps (touch the spooky mirror!). Beat the extra tough monsters. They sometimes drop Simulacrum Splinters.
- Collect 300 of these splinters.
- Stick them together to make a Simulacrum map piece.
- Put the Simulacrum in your Map Device. This starts a SUPER hard challenge with wave after wave of monsters.
- If you survive enough waves (or maybe beat the whole thing!), you get the Delirium Pinnacle points. Be warned, the guide says this one is very tough!
How do I fight the Expedition boss?
Expedition is the one where you set off bombs to dig up monsters!
- Do Expeditions in maps, OR run special maps called Expedition Logbooks (these are better for finding bosses).
- Make sure the Logbook is a high enough level (like Tier 79+).
- Go into the Logbook, explore, and set off your bombs near special markers.
- There’s a chance that one of the big Expedition faction bosses will appear when you blow things up! It’s not guaranteed every time.
- If the boss shows up, beat them to get Expedition Pinnacle points! You might need to run several Logbooks to find them all.
How do I get rich? I need shiny things!
Getting rich in PoE takes time, but here are key tricks from the guide:
- Wear “Magic Find” Gear: Get gear that has “Increased Rarity of Items Found” (IIQ). Aiming for around 80-100% makes a HUGE difference in getting more valuable money drops like Exalted and Divine Orbs!
- Identify Everything (At First): When you’re new, don’t try fancy crafting yet. Just identify all the yellow (Rare) items you find. Quickly check if they might be worth something using a price checker tool.
- Sell Decent Stuff: If an item looks okay (maybe worth 1-5 Chaos Orbs), just throw it in a public stash tab priced cheap and get back to mapping! Don’t waste ages trying to sell one thing. Volume is key early on.
- Gamble Later: Once you have more money (like 10-15 Divines), then you can start thinking about using Orbs to try and make good items even better. But be careful, it’s risky!
Should I build my character to do TONS of damage or to NOT die?
The guide suggests changing your strategy!
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Early On (Levels 65-80): Go FULL DAMAGE and SPEED! Be a glass cannon! You’ll die sometimes, but the penalty for dying isn’t too bad at these levels, and killing everything super fast means you level up much quicker overall. Zoom zoom!
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Later On (Levels 85+): Uh oh, dying now hurts your XP bar a LOT! At this point, you should have enough damage from gear to kill normal map monsters easily. Now, start trading some of that extra damage on your skill tree for more defenses (Life, Armour, Resistances) and maybe still keep some speed. You need to survive more consistently to reach the highest levels.
What’s this weird “Weapon Swap” thing?
It’s a clever trick! You know how you can have two sets of weapons equipped? You can set up your skill tree differently for each weapon set!
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Set 1 (For Maps): Put points into defenses and speed, maybe less damage. Use this set for clearing regular monsters fast and safely.
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Set 2 (For Bosses): Put ALL your points into pure DAMAGE! Forget defense for this set.
When you’re running the map, use Set 1. When you get to the tough Map Boss or a Pinnacle Boss, quickly hit your weapon swap key (X usually), maybe swap a couple of skill gems, and BAM! You unleash your full boss-killing power from Set 2! It lets you be good at both clearing maps and killing bosses!
Is the Atlas tree the same as my character’s skill tree?
Nope! They are totally different!
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Character Passive Skill Tree: This is the giant web you put points into every time you level up. It makes your character stronger (more life, more damage, faster speed, etc.).
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Atlas Passive Tree: This is the smaller tree you put Atlas Points into (from Nexuses and Unique Maps). It makes the maps you run better (more monsters, more loot, more specific things like Breaches or Essences showing up).
You need to level up both your character and your Atlas to become super powerful in the End Game!
