Path of Exile 2 is notorious for its massive character skill tree, but what many people tend to overlook is the equally-massive Atlas tree that only becomes available at the start of the endgame. Thankfully, the Atlas tree isn't as complex as the one meant for building characters, but knowing how it works is just as crucial for optimizing your endgame experience.
This PoE 2 guide covers the important things you need to know about the Atlas tree in patch version 0.5, from how to gain passive points and the best skill nodes you should get first.
How to Get Atlas Passive Skill Tree Points in PoE 2
Instead of gaining levels by killing monsters, players can get Atlas tree passive points by completing map nodes on the Atlas map, which is accessed by the Map Device in your hideout or the Ziggurat Refuge. However, not all maps give Atlas passive points, and the ones that do only give points for specific parts of the tree.
The main Atlas tree in PoE 2 contains one big network of skill nodes that affect general gameplay, and it also has smaller, independent skill trees that are each tied to PoE 2's endgame mechanics: Breach, Delirium, Abyss, Vaal Temple, and Ritual (the Expeditions/Runes of Aldur mechanic does not have a passive tree of its own). To gain points for these individual skill trees, you need to complete maps that are directly related to each activity.
For example, if you want to get Delirium points, you need to finish map nodes inside large Delirium biomes on the Atlas map (like the one on the image above). If you want Breach points, complete map nodes surrounding a Breach Fortress, and so on. If you're not sure if a map gives you an Atlas skill point, click on it, then check for a small star icon right above the boxes where you place Waystones before opening the map itself.
You can get main Atlas skill tree points by completing maps in the Precursor fortress north-west of the Ziggurat Refuge.
What Atlas Skills Should You Get First?
I strongly recommend getting skill points for the main Atlas tree first before focusing on any of the endgame mechanic trees. This is because the perks you get from the main Atlas tree affect every map on the Atlas, while the skills you get from individual endgame mechanic trees are restricted to their respective activities. As such, the first endgame questline you should do is Legacy of the Precursors.
Now, as for actual skills, the main Atlas tree contains nodes that modify minor encounters inside of endgame maps, such as Azmeri Spirits, Rogue Exiles, and Strongboxes. There is no right or wrong when it comes to unlocking Atlas skills, but you absolutely must understand what you're getting into whenever you pick a new skill. Here are my personal recommendations for the best skill paths to go for first:
Don't forget to use the in-game search box in the Atlas tree window to find any of the terms mentioned below. Also, you can't respec Atlas skills, but you can unlock all of them eventually.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Essences
By now, you should have encountered monsters encased in crystals that, when defeated, drop items called Essences. These consumables items are used for crafting items in PoE 2, and by getting Atlas trees that improve your odds of getting Essences, you'll be setting yourself up for a strong economy later down the road.
Essences imbue your items with various Affixes that change depending on the Essence itself. For example, the Greater Essence of Electricity adds flat Lightning damage to weapons, making them very valuable for players using elemental builds. If you can craft a good piece of kit using Essences, you'll either end up with a very powerful item to use yourself, or a piece of merchandise that can sell for several Exalted or even Divine Orbs.
Rogue Exiles
Rogue Exiles are hostile NPCs that fight sort of like how players do. More importantly, when defeated, they drop plenty of gear related to their class (Witches drop Witch gear, Warriors drop Warrior gear, and so on). Rogue Exiles may sometimes wield Unique items, and when you beat them, they are guaranteed to drop whatever Unique they were carrying.
While most Uniques in PoE 2 are useless in the endgame, some are still well worth using even if their levels are low, like the Rampart Raptor Crossbow. the Splinter of Loratta Spear, or the Waistgate and Meginord Belts. Perhaps more importantly, any unwanted Unique you receive can be Disenchanted into a Chance Shard. Get 10 Chance Shards to create an Orb of Chance, which you can use on certain Normal items for a chance of turning them into a Unique (or outright destroy the item in case of failure).
If you have no interest in gambling with Chance Orbs, you can just sell them via Currency Exchange. Orbs of Chance tend to be fairly expensive at the start of new trade leagues — as of writing, one of these can be exchanged for ~12 Exalted Orbs.
Rare Monsters
Atlas passives that buff Rare Monsters (the guys that have yellow names) are always going to be worth taking. You'll be blowing up tons of these fellas while you're clearing maps, and passives that make them more rewarding to kill should be a no-brainer.
I want to put special attention on the Adaptive Biology passive that grants the following bonuses for Rare Monsters:
- +1 Maximum Modifiers on Rare Monsters
- Each Monster Modifier grants at least 100% increased Rarity of Items Dropped
- Rare Monsters have 10% increased Chance of Monster Modifiers
Basically, the more modifiers a Rare Monster has, the better the loot you'll get once you kill it. There are additional Rare Monster nodes in the Atlas tree in PoE 2 that give monsters a chance to have extra modifiers. Take those and juice up your prey to make them drop shinier, more valuable loot.
Strongboxes
Strongboxes are locked chests that drop plenty of loot when opened. Atlas passives that affect Strongboxes can give them a chance to be reopenable or make them more valuable. They're pretty easy to open, and perhaps more importantly, they spawn Rare Monsters that are affected by any related Atlas passive that you've already unlocked.
PoE 2 Atlas passive skills that increase the difficulty of Strongboxes will also increase the rewards you get from them, and if you compound that difficulty increase with the ones you can put on Rare Monsters, you can end up with plenty of good loot.
Use Cryptic Keys or Omens of Secret Compartments to get even more value out of Strongboxes, especially Unique ones.
Azmeri Spirits
I don't like chasing after Azmeri Spirits while mapping, but I can't deny that they're pretty good for juicing up the rewards you can get. Rare and Unique monsters can be possessed by multiple Spirits at once, and the more Spirits there are, the better the loot they'll drop. Azmeri Spirits also drop Idols, augment items similar to Runes that you can insert in gear to make them stronger.
If you want to spec into Azmeri Spirits in the PoE 2 Atlas skill tree, I recommend getting the Hunt the Apex node as soon as you can. This gives map bosses a chance to be possessed by Azmeri Spirits, and if you manage to slay a boss possessed by multiple Spirits, you'll get a significantly increased chance to get rare loot.
Azmeri Spirits can also possess Strongboxes after you unlock the right skill, and you can spawn more bosses if your map has Summoning Circles on them. If you want to play around with Azmeri Spirits, consider investing in Strongbox and Summoning Circle passives too.
As for every other Atlas skill archetype, take them at your own leisure. I recommend getting biome-related skills last, though, as they're too limited in scope, and efficiently using them to farm requires a niche farming strategy.
What About Endgame Mechanic Skill Trees?
Endgame mechanics like Breach, Delirium, and Ritual are all pretty lucrative, so you can just prioritize on leveling up whichever you think is more fun to play. Once you're done with your main Atlas tree, or if you want to take a break from farming the Precursor Fortress, pick your favorite mechanic and finish their endgame questline to unlock passive points and challenge their related pinnacle boss.
As far as mechanic passive trees are concerned, here are my recommendations for each of them:
- Get Is this about me...or you? in the Delirium tree as quickly as you can so you can start stocking up on Delirium Splinters.
- Unlock the additional Genesis Tree passive points under the Breach tree first, then focus on using Lavish Wombgifts on the Genesis Tree itself until you unlock the passive node that grants a chance for Wombgifts to yield Divine Orbs.
- Rush Vile Treasures: Omens and Balance of Power: Amanamu on the Abyss tree. This will increase your odds of getting Omens of Light, which are great for crafting, and can be solved for a pretty penny via Currency Exchange.
- Grab Royal Prerogative and Riches of the Empire under the Vaal Temple tree ASAP. The former reduces the destabilization chance of Restricted Rooms, while the latter gives you a chance to get double Vaal Temple-exclusive currency items.
Path of Exile II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88/100 Critics Rec: 100%
- Released
- December 11, 2026
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Nudity, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Language, Users Interact, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items)
- Developer(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
- Grinding Gear Games
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Cross Save
- All platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Path of Exile
- Franchise
- Path of Exile
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Early Access Release
- December 6, 2024
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash, MMORPG
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 35 hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 100.32 GB
- Wiki
