Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), the highly anticipated sequel to the immensely popular action RPG Path of Exile, brings a wealth of new mechanics, systems, and content. One of the most exciting additions is the revamped Atlas of Worlds, which allows players to explore a vast network of maps with increasingly complex and dangerous challenges. A central aspect of this new endgame system is the Atlas Skill Tree, a powerful tool that lets players further customize their endgame experience, making it essential for maximizing loot and enhancing gameplay.  

What is the Atlas Skill Tree?

The Atlas Skill Tree in Path of Exile 2 is a specialized talent tree available to players after they have reached the endgame content. It serves as a way to further specialize your map runs, tailoring your experience toward specific goals like currency farming, boss farming, or exploration. The tree contains a wide array of passive nodes that affect many aspects of your map progression.

Key Considerations When Choosing an Atlas Skill Tree Setup

Before diving into the best setups, it's essential to understand the various factors that will influence your decision. Each player's goals will be different, and the optimal setup can vary based on factors like:

Loot Farming Focus: Are you looking to farm for more items and currency, or are you prioritizing boss kills?

Map Sustain: Do you need to ensure a constant stream of maps, or are you comfortable farming a limited pool of high-value maps?

League Mechanics: Will you be focusing on specific league mechanics, like Delirium, Ritual, or Expedition?

Boss Farming: Do you plan to focus on farming map bosses, the Maven, or even more powerful endgame bosses like the Shaper, Uber Elder, or Sirus?

These factors will directly impact the best setup for your Atlas Skill Tree. With that in mind, let's explore some of the most powerful and effective setups.

1. Currency Farming Setup (Loot Rarity & Quantity)

If your goal is to maximize your POE 2 Currency and loot drops from mapping, you'll want a setup that focuses on increasing the rarity and quantity of items dropped by monsters. This setup allows you to generate more items per map and increases the value of the loot you receive.

Key Nodes:

Influence of the Map: These nodes increase the number of influenced monsters (Shaper, Elder, etc.) that spawn on your maps, significantly increasing item rarity and adding more valuable drops.

Treasure Hunter: This passive node increases the quantity of items dropped, providing more loot per map. It's particularly useful for farming high-level maps and league mechanics that reward you with rare items.

Awakened Rarity: Focuses on increasing the rarity of loot from your maps, ensuring that the items you receive are of higher value. It's beneficial for players who farm to sell items for currency.

Cartographer's Delight: This node helps sustain your maps by increasing the drop rate of maps from monsters. It's perfect for players who are constantly running maps and want to avoid running out of content.

Why It's Great: This setup allows you to generate a high volume of loot and currency with minimal effort, making it ideal for players who want to focus on loot farming rather than intense boss encounters. The combination of increased quantity and rarity will help you generate wealth quickly by selling valuable items in the trade market.

How to Play It: To maximize the effectiveness of this setup, focus on high-tier maps that have a good balance between difficulty and loot potential. You can also consider pairing it with items that increase your item rarity (e.g., Kalandra's Touch, The Green Nightmare rings) to enhance the efficiency of loot farming. This setup also synergizes well with Essence Farming or Delirium Farming, as these activities can drop valuable loot in bulk.

2. Boss Farming Setup (Map Bosses & Endgame Bosses)

For players who enjoy fighting high-level bosses, focusing on boss farming within the Atlas Skill Tree is a great way to maximize rewards from endgame content. This setup targets map bosses and endgame bosses like Shaper, Elder, Maven, and Sirus.

Key Nodes:

Map Boss Focus: These nodes increase the chances of encountering map bosses and provide rewards for defeating them. You can also enhance the map boss fights by increasing their difficulty and adding more drops.

Boss Health & Rewards: Special nodes that increase the health, difficulty, and loot potential from endgame bosses. These nodes are essential if you're trying to farm Sirus or Uber Elder for high-value loot and currency.

Maven's Influence: These nodes increase the difficulty of Maven's Invitation and offer powerful rewards for completing her challenges. This setup is ideal for players aiming to master the Maven and reap the rewards of high-tier encounters.

The Elder & Shaper Nodes: These nodes provide bonuses to encounters with The Elder or The Shaper, increasing item drops and ensuring a higher chance of unlocking additional rewards from these tough bosses.

Why It's Great: Boss farming setups are fantastic for players who want a challenging but rewarding endgame experience. By focusing on these nodes, you can encounter and defeat difficult bosses in your maps, unlocking endgame content and valuable loot drops. This setup is also highly rewarding for players who enjoy the excitement of high-stakes boss battles.

How to Play It: This setup works best when paired with high-tier maps or when targeting bosses like The Shaper, The Elder, or Sirus. To further increase your chances of encountering these bosses, consider using Awakened Gems or Shaper/Elder influenced maps. Make sure to add Atlas Passive nodes that increase the chance of encountering these bosses while running maps in specific regions of the Atlas.

3. League Mechanics Focus (Expedition, Ritual, Delirium, etc.)

If you're interested in league-specific content, focusing on the Atlas Skill Tree nodes that enhance various league mechanics will increase your rewards from activities like Expedition, Ritual, Delirium, and Heist.

Key Nodes:

Expedition Mastery: This node increases the number of Expedition chests and boosts the rewards from completing Expedition encounters. The Expedition mechanic provides valuable loot and is great for players who enjoy the challenge of uncovering hidden treasures in each map.

Delirium Mastery: Delirium creates an additional layer of challenge and loot potential, and the appropriate nodes will increase both the difficulty and rewards from Delirium encounters.

Ritual Mastery: Rituals offer an excellent source of loot and experience. By investing in Ritual-related nodes, you can increase the number of Ritual altars and the loot rewards from completing them.

Heist Focused Nodes: For players who enjoy Heist mechanics, the Atlas Skill Tree also allows for boosting rewards from Heist encounters, ensuring a greater chance of success and valuable loot drops.

Why It's Great: For players who prefer to engage with specific league mechanics, focusing on these nodes helps you maximize the rewards from these activities. Whether you're looking for rare items, crafting materials, or special rewards, this setup lets you tailor your mapping experience toward your preferred mechanics.

How to Play It: Focus on running maps that contain the specific league mechanic you're interested in. For instance, for Delirium farming, look for maps that have the Delirium mechanic activated, and make sure to invest heavily in Delirium-related passive nodes. Similarly, for Expedition, target maps with Expedition encounters to get the most value out of your mapping experience.

4. Map Sustain Setup (Map Drops & Modifiers)

In Path of Exile, map sustain is critical for maintaining a steady stream of maps. By investing in Atlas nodes that increase map drops and map modifiers, you can ensure you never run out of content to progress through.

Key Nodes:

Cartographer's Delight: This node increases the chances of maps dropping in general and improves the quality of dropped maps.

Map Drops & Sustenance: Focused on boosting the number of maps that drop from enemies, especially in high-tier maps, ensuring that you always have a good supply to continue farming.

Map Modifiers: These nodes allow you to adjust and optimize map modifiers to increase their difficulty and the rewards you get from them, making them more efficient for farming.

Why It's Great: Map sustain is crucial for anyone who wants to focus on consistent progress in the Atlas. This setup helps ensure that you don't run out of maps while running high-value content, keeping the grind fresh and rewarding.

How to Play It: Focus on farming low to mid-tier maps to build up a healthy stockpile of higher-tier maps. Consider pairing this setup with loot-focused setups (like the Currency Farming setup) to maximize your rewards while maintaining a constant flow of maps.

Conclusion

The Atlas Skill Tree in cheap Poe 2 trade is an essential feature that lets players tailor their endgame experience. Whether you're focused on currency farming, boss fights, or engaging with specific league mechanics, optimizing your Atlas tree to match your goals can significantly enhance your gameplay.

Each of the setups described in this article—whether you prefer focusing on loot quantity, boss encounters, league mechanics, or map sustain—offers a different path to success. By experimenting with different combinations of nodes and setups, you can create the optimal experience for your personal playstyle in Path of Exile 2. Happy mapping!