What Are Maps in Path of Exile?
Mapping in Path of Exile is what makes up most of the endgame. Once you finish the campaign, you’ll be introduced to the Atlas of Worlds. This is, essentially, another big skill tree, but in this tree, every point is an area, a map. And by offering up maps (the item) to your map device, you can visit these places, unlock Atlas points (a new kind of skill points you can upgrade your character with) by completing areas, and get the biggest rewards Path of Exile has to offer as well as defeat the game’s biggest challenges. Beyond that, though, the mapping system works as a way for you to play the game how you want. You can invest in certain mechanics, frequent different maps, change how the map you’re planning on running works, and even change how your build functions through Atlas points. It’s the next stage in the development of your character. Maps themselves, as in-game items, you’ll mainly get as drops when mapping; however you’ll also get some during the later stages of the campaign, and you’ll also be able to buy maps from vendors and acquire them in different ways. Once you insert a map into your map device, you can customize your map before setting out to actually do the map. Maps come in different tiers, 1-16, and they come in different rarities, too. Maps can be magic, rare, or corrupted, and you can turn a map from a normal map into one of these higher rarity maps with different currency orbs. You can also upgrade the quality of maps and use other items to tweak your maps before you run them. Depending on what you’re trying to do, how your build works, and how you want to play, you can use the Atlas of Worlds to turn Path of Exile into whatever it is you want to play.
How to Explore the Atlas of Worlds in Path of Exile
Each point on the Atlas of Worlds is a different place you can explore. You’ll need maps (the item) to enter each location, and as mentioned above, you can customize those maps for different encounters and better loot. You’ll begin by completing the first maps you have at Tier 1. The goal should be to complete as many distinct maps as possible at the highest rarity you can muster, since a map’s rarity can be increased with different orbs. Eventually, you’ll reach Tier 6 maps. Always complete the highest tier map you have first, and then work your way down. Once you get to Tier 6 maps, you’ll meet the Maven, who can influence your maps and begins a storyline for you to complete. The more maps you can have the Maven influence, the better, and as you go about the process of grinding through maps and doing the Maven’s questline, you’ll unlock Atlas skill points as well as eventually unlock two new other Atlas influences. Once you make your way to Tier 11 maps, you should have a good feel for the Atlas system. You’ll have experienced influences, gotten deep into the Maven’s questline, and unlocked lots of Atlas points to use. By this point, you can start gearing your Atlas tree for a specific purpose or League mechanic, if that’s your thing. For Tier 11 and onwards you’ll be completing endgame questlines until you meet the Eater of Worlds, the final boss. Along the way, you’ll inevitably pick up Voidstones that can be socketed into your Atlas and improve the tier of every map on the Atlas up to Tier 16.
Other Endgame Mechanics in Path of Exile
If mapping seems daunting, that’s because it kind of is in the sense that there’s almost another full game of content there. However, mapping isn’t the only thing you can do at the endgame, and there are lots of other mechanics you can engage with to keep things feeling fresh. For each League there are League challenges you can complete, while you can always try to efficiently grind currency to invest into better gear to clear areas quicker and get even better gear. Then, there are lots of discrete endgame mechanics. You can delve into the mines, deeper and deeper, earning rarer and more valuable items and currency as you go, or you can complete contracts and do Heists for a similar effect, getting more and more powerful gear the better the Heist you do. There’s the Labyrinth to make sure you fully complete to unlock all your Ascendancy points, too. Then, of course, there are Pyramid runs, and there’s a ton of crafting you can do to upgrade your gear and make currency outside of trading or grinding for gear, too. Ultimately, all your endgame activities will funnel you into making your character or gear better to better deal with punishingly tough enemies, but that’s what PoE is all about anyways.
