Quick Links
The Atlas Skill Tree is an endgame mechanic inPath of Exile 2that unlocks after playerscomplete all six Acts of the campaign. Completing objectives in the main quest, Cataclysm’s Wake, issued by Doryani, rewards players with Atlas skill point books, which grant 2 points each.
Knowing where to spend these points effectively is key to ensuring your endgame journey is smooth and without hiccups. The early points are the most crucial and, therefore, need to be spent with the most care. Here are the best setups for the Atlas skill tree inPoE 2.
Updated July 05, 2025, by Hamza Haq:With the release of the Dawn of the Hunt update for Path of Exile 2, the Atlas Skill tree was vastly revamped and overhauled, removing certain nodes and reworking others. The article has been updated to work on Patch 0.2.0 to account for these changes.
Best Early Mapping Atlas Skill Tree in Path of Exile 2
The biggest concern of players in the Tier 1-10 mapping phase ofPoE 2issustaining Waystonesto continue progressing to the real endgame. Juicing maps for increased monster drops might sound tempting, but it’s a short-sighted approach. Reaching T15s should be the primary goal of everyone who plans to actually farm in the endgame and not just dabble.
To facilitate this, the first few points of the Atlas skill tree are crucial. Three, in particular, should be the highest priority:
The High Road
Waystones have a 20% chance of being a tier higher.
By the time you clear the Tier 4 map quest by Doryani, you should have enough Atlas points to obtain all three of these important nodes. Constant Crossroads is a direct buff to your Waystone Drop chance, a no-brainer. Fortunate Path allows you to save onRegal Orb,Exalted Orb, andOrb of Alchemyyou’d otherwise want to spend on your Waystones. And finally, The High Road is perhaps the most important as it gives you a 1 in 5 chance of obtaining maps that are higher tier than they otherwise would be, solving a pain point for jumping tiers.
Finalize your build before stepping into T5+ maps. No Atlas skill tree setup will help if you die in maps.
Best Endgame Atlas Skill Tree in Path of Exile 2
In Tier 15 maps, Waystones become much less of an issue as there is no jumping in tiers anymore. This allows players to gradually create a surplus of T15 maps, solving the Waystone problem entirely. Now, the important part is increasing the amount of rare monsters on the map, which are by far the most lucrative kills on any map. Here are the nodes you should prioritize first:
Best Endgame Atlas Skills
Grueling Journey
Gives 2% increased effect of your explicit modifiers on your Waystones for each Explicit modifier. This can easily stack up to +12% effectiveness of your Waystones across the board.
Twin Threats
Rare monsters are the primary source of drops in maps, other than bosses, and increasing their number in a map is huge. That is why Waystones with ‘Increased number of Rare Monsters’ are the most sought after. Twin Threats adds a flat +1 Rare monster to every map, and you’re able to grab Rising Danger along the way to get a 15% increased Rare monsters in your maps.
Precursor Influence
Precursor Tablets are instrumental in making the true endgame grind profitable. Beelining towards the Towers, putting in Tablets to juice the maps is the cheapest way to make runs profitable. Precursor Influence increases the drop chance of Tablets by +30%.
Local Knowledge (Optional)
Local Knowledge can have potentially huge rewards as it shifts the weighting of drops depending on the map biome. The only problem is that two out of the five map biomes it affects become worse instead of better (Mountain and Desert). ensure you’re paying attention to which biome you’re stepping into if you have Local Knowledge activated on your Atlas tree, and respec if the result is not desirable. When not using Local Knowledge, put the points in the Higher Tier Waystone node (below Crystalline Growths) and Tablet Effect (next to Precursor Influence).
Strongbox Type Selector
The bottom left corner of the Atlas tree is filled with nodes that buff two core mechanics: Shrines and Strongboxes. You can aim for either, but Strongboxes tend to be more lucrative, especially the Ventor’s Contraption Researcher’s Strongbox, which can sometimes even drop 10x Divine Orbs and Level 20 Skill Gems for only 2k gold. Select the ‘Researcher’s Strongbox’ in the Strongbox Type Selector to spawn more Ventor’s Contraptions in your maps. Take the surrounding nodes that increase the spawn rate of Strongboxes as well.
In the final stages of the Atlas point allocation, players need to decide what they want to specialize in. If they want Strongboxes or Shrines, take the points at the bottom left corner of the tree. If they want Essences andAzmerian Wisps, go to the bottom right corner. However, if you encounter a unique map like the Silent Cave (which has multiple confirmed Essences), it may be worth respeccing into this side of the tree just for that map.
Thefinal ten Atlas tree pointscan only be obtained by completing unique maps like the Silent Cave, Phaaryl Megalith, and others.
