Strategy
This Season of the Hunt strategy targets maps with powerful map bosses and stacks loot multipliers onto them until the boss kill turns into a loot explosion. The engine is two unique tablets plus shrines: Season of the Hand makes the boss possessed by a random spirit (dropping idols and extra loot), while Cruel Hegemony adds a random monster modifier that acts as a further loot multiplier. On top of that, shrines have a 25% chance to buff the map boss instead of you, and a boss can stack multiple shrine buffs — so a single juiced boss can rain tiered gear.
The catch is danger: spirits possess rares, strongboxes, and the boss itself, turning encounters into “absolute demons.” The payoff is worth it — beyond raw currency you’re farming tiered bases to craft, fragments and lineage supports from citadels/anomalies, and the occasional Rakiyata flower.
Atlas Tree & Setup
Focus the powerful-map-boss Atlas nodes and the shrine nodes so every map starts with a shrine. Key picks from the source video: Chosen Path (+100% shrines appearing), Overlord’s Influence → shrines, Journey Ahead → effectiveness (tougher boss, more quantity), and Sacred Sap (purified spirits can become sacred spirits). For anomaly maps, take the forest mastery lineage gems. Layer the two unique tablets (Season of the Hand + Cruel Hegemony) and boost shrine count/chance so you routinely see four or five shrines per map. Delirium on top is a big extra multiplier when it appears. Confirm exact node names against the source video.
Investment & Returns
- Investment: mid — requires the Season of the Hand and Cruel Hegemony unique tablets plus shrine/boss Atlas investment
- Returns: high — loot explosions of tiered gear, fragments, idols, and rare Rakiyata flower drops
- Scales with: shrine count, delirium uptime, and how much tiered gear you pick up to craft/sell
Step-by-step
- Take the powerful-map-boss and shrine Atlas nodes listed above.
- Slot Season of the Hand + Cruel Hegemony tablets and run maps that have strong bosses.
- Collect every shrine in the map before engaging the boss, and clear the side content (skip ritual if you have no ritual tablets — it’s a time waste here).
- Kill the buffed map boss last to trigger the loot explosion.
- Pick up all T2–T5 tiered bases off meta-build slots and craft them — this can multiply your value out of each map.
Risks
- Possessed bosses and rares are genuinely dangerous — a squishy build will die to the buffed encounters.
- The biggest multipliers (Cruel Hegemony modifier, delirium, shrine-on-boss) are RNG and can’t be fully controlled.
- Crafting tiered bases is a long-run payoff, not instant currency.
Credits & Source
Method credited to Peuget2. See the source video for the profit breakdown and full Atlas-tree setup: Map Bosses are Printing! Season of the Hunt Boss Farming Strategy | PoE 2 0.5.