Strategy
This is a fresh-endgame roadmap rather than a single farming loop: a fixed order of operations that takes a character from its first Waystone to sustained Tier 15 maps and repeatable Divine income. The core insight is that Atlas points are the real currency early on — they raise item rarity, rare-monster density and Waystone quantity, so every point banked early compounds across every map that follows. Chasing loot before those points are banked is the most common way a new endgame character stalls out.
The route deliberately splits into two halves. The first half is a speed run: travel Ziggurat Refuge to the first Precursor Tower and on to the Ancient Gateway, then blast maps for tier progression and Atlas points while skipping league content entirely. Only once the Atlas is unlocked does the second half begin — Hilda’s beasts, the Ruins of King’s March for Grand Expedition, and finally 200% Delirium as the profit engine.
It suits any character that can survive the campaign and reach maps. There is no gear gate on the strategy itself, but the later Delirium and Grand Expedition steps assume a build that can already handle Tier 15 content.
Atlas Tree & Setup
Early on, deliberately hold your tablets. With zero points in a mechanic’s tree, Ritual will never generate enough favour to buy the good items, so slotting tablets before the tree is filled is pure waste. Likewise, keep map rarity minimal during the climb: an Orb of Augmentation on a blue map is the ceiling — no Alchemy, no Regal, no Exalt slams.
Once the Arbiter of Divinity is down, tree priorities are:
- Centre of the Atlas — 100% increased chance of a chosen content type on almost every map. Summoning Circles are the recommended pick.
- Powerful map bosses — pair Summoning Circles with powerful map bosses, then take the Domination-side nodes so those bosses drop Overseer tablets, which in turn make every map boss powerful.
- Essences everywhere — cheap crafting supply for the early economy.
- Exceptional item nodes — white items that roll with more sockets than normal. Good to craft on and genuinely valuable to sell; the creator sold a pair of exceptional boots for three Divine Orbs.
Powerful map bosses can drop one map tier above the map they spawn in, which is the main lever for climbing tiers without buying.
Investment & Returns
- Investment: low. A Tier 1 map from Doryani is the only mandatory purchase. Optional accelerators: a Tier 7 Waystone for around 3 Exalted Orbs on entering maps, and an Origin Core for roughly 5 Divine Orbs to skip straight to a full Atlas.
- Returns: high. Grand Expeditions on Tier 14+ maps roll maximum Vaal-monolith remnants — the creator reports a single remnant paying 10 Divine Orbs, plus stacks of Perfect Jeweller’s Orbs (about 1 Divine each) used to five-socket every skill. Delirium layers Distilled Emotions on top: Suffering around 1 Divine, Contempt around 4.
- Scaling: returns rise sharply with Atlas completion. The gap between a partly-allocated tree and a finished one is the difference between breaking even on Waystones and printing Divines.
Step-by-step
- Travel Ziggurat Refuge to the first Precursor Tower, then on to the Ancient Gateway. Every map after this grants one Atlas point.
- Buy Tier 1 maps from Doryani — three at once, upgrading straight to Tier 2, if your build is already strong. At level 64 you still gain full XP against level 71 enemies, so you can start well above Tier 1.
- Blast straight to the map boss, skip league mechanics, keep map rarity minimal, and clear all four turrets.
- Prioritise maps flagged with a powerful map boss to climb a tier per clear.
- Kill the Arbiter of Divinity, then kill it a second time — in 0.5.5 the second kill grants all remaining Atlas points, and no third kill is needed. Buying an Origin Core for around 5 Divines shortcuts this entirely.
- Unlock Hilda at her campsite and clear her beast bosses for two Atlas Master points, which raise rare-monster density on every map.
- Push toward the Ruins of King’s March to open the Expedition area. Run Grand Expeditions on Tier 14+ maps only — below that the remnant rolls degrade badly.
- From Hilda’s area head to the Withered Willow and clear the Delirium encounters plus the Simulacrum and the Raven for Delirium Atlas points.
- Layer Delirium tablets onto Expedition encounters for compounded loot and XP toward level 90.
- Finish by unlocking Ritual via Kirac’s Tath, then juice Abyss with Delirium.
- Max the Atlas Masters — Hilda marks the next beast, Jedo wants special maps such as Hurricane, and Doryani needs corruptions (there is reliably one near the precursor tower gateway beside the Western Enigma Chamber).
Risks
- The strategy is order-sensitive. Slotting tablets or juicing maps before the relevant tree is allocated wastes both, and it is exactly the mistake this route exists to prevent.
- Grand Expedition below Tier 14 rolls weak remnants, so rushing there early actively destroys value.
- 200% Delirium and Tier 15 Grand Expedition are genuine difficulty walls — a build that clears white maps comfortably can still die repeatedly here.
- An Origin Core is a real 5-Divine outlay, and on a fresh economy that price moves fast. Check it before committing.
Credits & Source
Method credited to P4wnyhof. See the source video for the full route and footage: PoE 2 0.5.5 Atlas Guide - Endgame What Now? How I Sustain T15 Maps & Print Divines.