Welcome to our guide on optimizing your Atlas Tree Strategy for the Path of Exile 3.24 update, featuring the Necropolis expansion. This guide focuses on early, mid, and late-league atlas mapping strategies that will help you efficiently navigate the Atlas and ensure you're making the most of your map runs.

PoE 3.24 Best Atlas Passive Skill Tree Strategy Guide (Early, Mid, End League Map Farm Plans)

In Patch 3.24, Grinding Gear Games introduced a series of changes that scale back some of the unpredictability associated with using Vaal Orbs on maps. Previously, when a Vaal Orb was applied to a map, there was a chance it could become unidentified. That mechanic has been removed and replaced with new implicits.

PoE 3.24 Atlas Changes

First of all, let's take an overview of the main changes to the atlas passive skill tree and maps in Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League:

Multiple Atlas Passive Skill Trees

In Path of Exile 3.24 update featuring the Necropolis league, players are granted the ability to manage multiple Atlas passive skill trees—up to three in total. This new system allows for strategic diversity as players can unlock additional trees by progressing through the endgame content. Each tree can be customized and labeled for different farming strategies or league mechanics, giving players the flexibility to swap between these trees at will when opening maps, thereby tailoring their endgame experience to their current objectives or playstyle preferences.

Impact of Vaal Orb Changes

The new implicits that come with vaaling maps offer a mixed bag of nerfs and quality-of-life improvements. Here's a quick rundown:

• 10% Increased Item Quantity: A direct Nerf compared to the 30% quantity from running unidentified maps. However, it simplifies inventory management.

• 10% Pack Size: Comparable in power to the previous 30% quantity, this implicit is a welcome change.

• Atlas Passives have 10% Increased Effect on Area: This can significantly enhance specific Atlas mechanics, making it a potentially powerful implicit.

• Shadow Shaping on the Atlas has been nerfed as it will clash with the new Vaal implicits. However, its transformation of favored maps is still effective.

Best Practices with the New Implicits

While progressing through the Atlas, the new Vaal implicits can be beneficial, especially when combined with the best cartography Scarab you have. For endgame players, Blight events in maps are where the 10% increased effect on Atlas passives truly shines, followed by Heist mechanics. Be cautious with Ultimatum nodes, as the 10% increased magnitude can alter their difficulty unpredictably.

Unique Atlas Passive Implicits

One of the teased implicits is that players' Vaal skills do not apply Soul Gain Prevention, which could signal a future change in sextant mods or their mechanics. Another teased implicit makes all map device crafts free for that map, hinting at potential changes to the map device crafting costs.

Best Atlas Strategies & Mapping Plans for Path of Exile 3.24 Necropolis

With these new changes to the atlas passive tree and map in mind, we have the below atlas strategies and map plans to ensure you maximize efficiency and loot acquisition:

PoE 3.24 Basic Efficient Atlas Progression Strategy

Start with a Solid Base: Begin by unlocking as many maps as possible. This increases your map pool and provides a variety of options for running different content.

Favorited Maps: Utilize the map favorite system to increase the drop rate of specific maps that you prefer running, whether it's due to layout, boss ease, or valuable drops.

Sextants and Scarabs: With the new Vaal implicits, sextants, and scarabs have become even more potent. Use them wisely to augment your maps with additional monsters, loot, and modifiers that benefit your build.

Target Farming: If you're after specific item types or currencies, tailor your Atlas strategy around nodes that enhance those drops. For instance, if you need more currency, focus on nodes that increase the drop rate of currency items.

PoE 3.24 Early Atlas Trees For Affliction League Start and Currency Farming

Now let's begin with three budget but fastest progression and effective currency-making strategies for early league:

1. PoE 3.24 Early-Game Fast Atlas Progression Strategy

2. PoE 3.24 Blight Atlas Stragety for League Start

Blight maps are a great league starter as they require little to no budget and are scalable. They can yield a variety of rewards, including rare uniques, currency, and more. In Poe 3.24, blight should also be an amazing and great currency-making strategy, especially for early league, below is the Blight atlas strategy for casual players wanting to gather up some good currency to start our build or strategies we want to farm.

PoE 3.24 Blight Atlas Passive Tree for League Start

Advantages of Running Blight

• Drops: Frequent unique drops, with a chance at rare meta items like Headhunter or Mageblood.

• Currency: Abundance of 'bubble gum' currency such as Chaos Orbs, Alchemies, and Regrets.

• Anointments: Oils for anointing amulets and rings are in demand and can be sold early for good prices.

• Chaos Recipe: Blight maps are excellent for completing the Chaos recipe due to the variety of uniques dropped.

• Scarabs: Collecting and trading Scarabs can be profitable, especially when combined with Harvest crafting.

• Stack Decks: Bulk selling or opening Stack Decks can provide a steady flow of currency.

• Fractured and Synthesized Items: Identifying and crafting with these items can lead to significant profits, especially for popular league starter builds.

Farming and Selling Tips

• Map Completion: While Blight maps don't contribute to Atlas completion, the dropped maps can help you progress through your Atlas.

• Map Layouts: Choose maps with good layouts to assist your towers in completing Blight encounters more efficiently.

• XP Gain: Blight maps provide good experience, making them suitable for leveling as well.

• Crafting with Blight Loot

• Identify Crafting Opportunities: Monitor popular builds and craft items that suit those builds using the loot from Blight maps.

• Crafting Videos: Consider creating or watching videos on crafting with Blight loot for more detailed instructions.

3. PoE 3.24 Essence Atlas Stragety for Early-Game Currency Farming

At the beginning of a league, Essence farming is a valuable and straightforward method to generate currency with minimal gear requirements. Essences are crafting materials that can be used to reforge a piece of gear with guaranteed stats, much like Chaos Orbs, which makes them incredibly useful for both crafting and trading. Best of all, getting Essence started is very cheap, all you need are tier 1 white maps!

PoE 3.24 Early Essence Atlas Passive Tree

Why Farm Essences?

• Ease of Farming: Essence farming is simple; defeat Essence mobs and collect the loot.

• Valuable Crafting Material: Essences can be used to add specific desired stats to gear, making them highly sought after.

• Increasing Value: Throughout a league, the value of Essences typically goes up, making early farming profitable.

Farming Strategy

• Map Device: Using an Essence in the map device costs two Chaos Orbs but adds two Essences to your map, making it a good investment once affordable.

• Sextants: There is a Sextant mod that adds one Essence mob to your maps and gives all Essences a 50% chance to be corrupted; however, it's optional based on your preference.

• Atlas Nodes: Focus on nodes like Prolific Essence, Crystal Lattice, and Crystal Resonance to increase Essence drops and improve their quality.

• Selling in Bulk: Sell Essences in stacks of nine to manage trade requests efficiently and to leverage bulk pricing.

When to Farm

• After Gaining Some Progress: Essence mobs can be tough at the very start. Begin farming once you're comfortable with yellow or red maps.

• Keep Farming Sessions Dedicated: Alternate between farming and selling periods for better efficiency.

• Stash Tabs: While not mandatory, an Essence stash tab can greatly improve the quality of life for organizing and upgrading Essences.

PoE 3.24 Best Atlas for League Start Leveling & Endgame Farming

In the lead-up to Path of Exile's 3.24 patch, it's vital to consider a holistic strategy that encompasses not just your character build but also your Atlas passive tree in relation to the endgame content you aim to engage with. This approach involves tailoring your Atlas tree to complement the strengths and playstyle of your chosen build, enhancing your efficiency in your preferred in-game activities. Here are two different Atlas passive trees are presented to illustrate this point, although neither is fully optimized:

1. Expedition, Breach, Eater of Worlds, and Betrayal Atlas Strategy

This Atlas tree is tailored for builds that excel in area-of-effect (AoE) damage, capable of impacting the entire screen. Such builds might not deliver the strongest single-target damage but thrive in situations where dealing with large groups of enemies is advantageous. This strategy would suit characters such as a Volatile Dead (varlar) ignite build or a bleed bow Gladiator, which can benefit from the increased encounter rates of Expeditions, Breaches, and Eater of Worlds content. Betrayal encounters are included but are a secondary focus. The key is that the tree complements builds that are great for clearing but might struggle in situations that demand high single-target damage output, making it less suitable for Trapper builds which excel in burst damage against single targets.

2. Heist, Map Boss-Focused Atlas Strategy

This Atlas tree is designed for builds that prioritize speed and mobility to quickly navigate to map bosses and eliminate them efficiently. It places heavy emphasis on Heist encounters due to their quick engagement nature and the valuable rewards they can provide with minimal time investment. The tree also focuses on nodes that enhance the rewards from killing map bosses and may even allow you to encounter additional map bosses for multiplied rewards. Notable nodes like 'Remnants of the Past', 'Conquerors', and 'Vivid Memories' are leveraged to maximize the loot from bosses. This strategy is ideal for Trapper builds or any other build that can deliver a concentrated burst of damage in a short time period, making it less effective for builds that rely on wide-reaching, less intense damage.

The overarching advice is to design an Atlas passive tree that complements your character's playstyle. For instance, if you're set on playing a Cobra Lash Assassin, you would tailor your Atlas to enhance content that Cobra Lash excels in. Conversely, if you're focused on a certain type of Atlas content such as Ultimatum, you should choose and tune a character build that can effectively tackle that content. The text also reminds players that the Atlas can be respecced using Orbs of Unmaking, although this comes at a cost, so thoughtful initial planning can save resources in the long run.

3. PoE 3.24 Best Heist Atlas Strategy & Farming Guide

Heist is a league mechanic in Path of Exile that can be both complex and simple. It's a community favorite for generating currency early in the league. Heists are done in the Rogue Harbour, which is an alternate endgame to mapping, focusing on stealth and theft rather than combat.

Why Farm Heist:

• Currency Generation: Heist is excellent for generating basic currency at the beginning of a league. You can earn Chaos Orbs, Orbs of Alteration, Chance Orbs, Alchemies, and more. In higher-level heists, you can obtain special uniques, replica items, and rare bases for crafting. Stacked Decks are also common rewards.

• Fun Factor and Build Speed: The enjoyment of Heist can depend on the speed of your build. Fast builds, like the Toxic Rain Pathfinder, can make Heists both fun and efficient, while slower builds may find the mechanic less enjoyable.

• Profitability: Heist throws currency directly at you, reducing the friction of trading. Selling replica uniques and experimental bases can be profitable.

• Time Investment: Heist favors speed and can distract from Atlas progression.

Costs of Running Heists:

• Rogue's Markers: The primary currency for Heist found throughout the game, especially from Smuggler's Caches in maps.

• Smuggler's Caches: Found in maps, they contain Rogue's Markers, contracts, and sometimes blueprints.

• Sextants: While useful for adding Smuggler's Caches, they're not essential early on due to their cost.

• Map Device Option: Adding Smuggler Caches in maps for six Chaos Orbs might be too expensive early on.

Atlas Nodes for Heist:

• Secret Stash: Increases the chance of finding a Smuggler's Cache.

• Dutiful Soldier: Huck becomes a helpful companion after opening a Smuggler's Cache.

• No Honor Among Thieves: Gives more rewards from Smuggler Caches and a chance for extra caches in maps.

• Casing The Joint: Increases the chance of obtaining high-value blueprints.

• Friends in High Places: Makes contracts from maps more rewarding.

More Tips for Heist Farming:

• Rogues and Equipment: You start with three Rogues and unlock more by completing contracts. Each Rogue has specific skills and can be equipped with items to enhance their abilities and reduce heist costs.

• Contracts and Blueprints: Contracts are the map equivalent in Heist, while blueprints are expanded versions with multiple wings. Revealing wings and assigning Rogues to jobs is part of the preparation.

• Unique Contracts: These end in a boss fight and offer substantial one-time Rogue's Markers rewards upon first completion.

• Stash Tab Tips: Use the Heist Locker and enable affinities to auto-sort your Heist items into the locker.

More Effective Atlas Passive Tree and Map Plans for Path of Exile 3.24 Mid & Late-Game will be updated here, stay tuned!