How I Made My First 100 Divines in Return of the Ancients [PoE2]

Strategy

In Return of the Ancients, the early endgame rewards players who commit fully to a single league mechanic rather than spreading thin across every new system. This guide focuses on Ritual as the primary currency engine — fully speccing the Ritual Atlas tree from the moment you enter the Fortress maps. The core loop is simple: run Ritual-tabletted maps in cleansed areas, accumulate omens and valuable unique items, and leverage a specific Atlas passive interaction to also farm Fracturing Orbs in bulk.

The underlying philosophy applies to any mechanic you prefer (breach, abyss, etc.), but Ritual stands out in this league because its rewards — high-value omens and rare unique items — translate directly into currency without requiring deep crafting knowledge.

Atlas Tree & Setup

The most important early step is navigating to Keratarth on the Atlas, the entry point for the Ritual region. From the starting area, head northwest to the Fortress, then push toward Keratarth and eventually clear maps to unlock the Crux of Nothingness (the ritual boss). Completing the maps in this cluster unlocks Atlas passive points for the full Ritual sub-tree.

In parallel, detour southeast early to cleanse the corruption and reach Doriani’s Science. This NPC grants one additional revival, letting you safely run six-mod maps with only a single portal — a significant jump in map rewards.

Key Atlas passives to prioritize:

Hidden Scars: Cleansed monsters have a chance to drop Fracturing Orbs. When combined with Ritual in a cleansed area, monsters killed during a ritual completion can drop Fracturing Orbs in stacks of two or three — a passive that was worth multiple divines per orb early in the league.
Danger in the Wilds: Each Summoning Circle has a 5% chance to spawn a random Deadly Map Boss instead of the normal boss. These bosses drop Lineage Support Gems, some of the most expensive items in the game (ranging from 49 to over 130 divines each).
Journey of the Head (effectiveness option): Set to Effectiveness mode, which acts as a quantity multiplier — rare in the current game and stacks well with rarity from other sources.

For the Ritual sub-tree keystone (Invigorated Sacrifices), pick Increased Favors if your tribute is high but the shop feels empty. Switch to the tribute-heavy option when you have a large backlog of deferred items. This swap costs nothing and can be changed map to map.

Use three Ritual Tablets per map to maximize Ritual spawn density. If you don’t have enough from natural drops, buying a few from trade is worthwhile — the return from three tablets versus fewer is substantial.

Investment & Returns

Investment:

Low: Basic maps with one or two Ritual Tablets, no six-modding. Works once you have the Ritual tree unlocked and Keratarth completed.
Mid: Three Ritual Tablets per map, six-mod maps (needs Doriani revival), Spreading Darkness ritual type active for targeted unique farming.
High: Full Ritual tree + Hidden Scars + Danger in the Wilds passives; juiced Summoning Circles; targeting specific belt/charm unique types via the ritual type selection.

Returns:

Low tier: Omens of Whittling (~2 div each), Lavianasa Spirit uniques (~2 div), consistent minor currency.
Mid tier: Named uniques like Guiding Palm (~6 div), Kadira’s Gambit (~16 div), Fracturing Orbs (~2–4 div each when selling bulk stacks).
High tier: Lineage Support Gems from Deadly Map Bosses (49–134+ div), jackpot uniques like Headhunter or Mageblood from targeted ritual type farming.

Expected income is difficult to pin to a strict div/hour because it depends heavily on build speed and map tier, but reaching 100 Divines over a league start period is achievable without elite gear.

Step-by-step

Enter the Fortress and head northwest to begin the atlas quest chain.
Push toward Keratarth — the hub for Ritual content. Unlock and complete enough surrounding maps to earn Ritual Atlas passive points.
Detour southeast to cleanse the corruption zone and unlock Doriani’s Science for the extra revival.
Fully allocate the Ritual sub-tree with your Atlas passive points.
Pick up Hidden Scars as soon as the path allows — this is the fracturing orb passive.
Pick up Danger in the Wilds to enable 5% Deadly Boss spawns from Summoning Circles.
Begin running maps with three Ritual Tablets. Prioritize cleansed-zone maps to trigger the Hidden Scars fracturing orb interaction.
Set your Ritual type to Spreading Darkness and target high-value unique item types (belts, charms) if hunting specific jackpots.
In the Ritual shop, defer expensive items if tribute is high. Use the Invigorated Sacrifices keystone switch if the shop fills up with desired items.
Collect and sell Fracturing Orbs in bulk. List high-value uniques immediately; omens accumulate quickly and can be sold in stacks.
Use Journey of the Head set to Effectiveness for extra quantity across all map runs.

Risks

Build survivability: Ritual can overwhelm undergeared builds — losing a ritual wipes the tribute and any deferred items. A solid defensive layer or high damage to clear rituals quickly is essential before fully juicing content.
Six-mod maps: Without the Doriani revival, six-mod maps mean one death ends the map. Only adopt this once Doriani is unlocked.
Fracturing Orb price decay: These orbs were worth 3–4 div at league start but will decline as supply increases. Sell early and in bulk rather than hoarding.
Lineage Gem RNG: The 5% Deadly Boss proc is rare. Some map sessions will yield nothing — this is a long-run passive, not a guaranteed income stream per map.
Tablet availability: Building a stock of three Ritual Tablets per map may require buying from trade early. Factor the cost into your budget before mass-running.

Credits & Source

Strategy by aer0 — watch the original video for a live walkthrough of the Atlas tree, stash tabs, and market prices at league start.