In Atlas Skills, Prioritize Waystone Rarity & Drop Chance First
As you venture into the Atlas of Worlds in Path of Exile 2, you’ll be introduced to a new layer of customization through the Atlas Passive Skill Tree. After completing your first 10 maps with Tier 1 or higher Waystones, you’ll receive a book from Doryani that grants 2 Atlas Passive Skill Points. These points can be invested in the Atlas Passive Skill Tree, which offers various bonuses that affect how you interact with maps in the Atlas.
When deciding where to allocate your first points, focus on Waystone Rarity and Waystone Drop Chance. These two aspects are vital for ensuring that you acquire more Waystones and better-quality Waystones as you progress. You’ll find nodes near the bottom-right of the tree that significantly increase both the rarity and drop chance of Waystones, and they should be your first priority in the early stages of your Atlas journey.
Increasing Waystone Drop Chance ensures you get more Waystones per map, while boosting Waystone Rarity increases the quality of the Waystones you obtain, allowing you to unlock higher-tier maps more easily. These nodes are essential for efficient mapping and will save you time and effort as you progress through the Atlas. While other nodes in the Atlas Passive Skill Tree become useful later on for specific situations, prioritizing these two is key to optimizing your mapping experience early on.
Avoid Using High-Tier Waystones for Lost Towers
As you explore the Atlas, you’ll eventually encounter Lost Towers—special locations that require a Precursor Tablet to unlock. These towers are relatively simple to complete, consisting of a short map with a set of stairs leading to a Precursor Beacon. Once activated, the beacon emits a beam of light, signaling that the tower has been completed, and you’ll be able to access the Precursor Tablet slot on the Atlas map screen.
Although the Lost Towers may seem intriguing, they are not worth using high-tier Waystones for. These locations don’t offer much in terms of challenge, as you simply need to rush past weak enemies to activate the beacon. Using a high-tier Waystone here is inefficient and wasteful, as these maps don’t require much effort to complete.
Instead, opt for a Tier 1 Waystone (or a low-tier Waystone) for Lost Towers. This will allow you to quickly rush through the map without dealing with difficult enemies or high-level modifiers, and you can still complete the event efficiently. Reserve your high-tier Waystones for larger, more rewarding maps where the effort is worth the investment. This way, you’ll be able to farm valuable rewards from tougher maps, while still benefiting from Lost Towers without wasting your best resources.
To speed up your PoE 2 progression and optimize your Atlas mapping experience, consider platforms like u4gm.com, where you can acquire path of exile 2 currency and other useful resources to enhance your gear and Waystones. This will allow you to focus on the fun part of mapping—defeating bosses and collecting rewards—without being bogged down by the grind.
If you want to know more, you can read this article: Woolie’s Armor Break Warbringer Build in Path of Exile 2: A Powerful Melee Guide