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Let's talk about how to set up your Atlas passive tree in the early days of Path of Exile 3.26. This isn't a racing guide—this is a setup focused on long-term progression. The goal here is to unlock your entire Atlas, get all four Voidstones, reach 115/115 map completion, and open up all your favorite map slots. It's a structured foundation to carry you into mid and late game, not a speedrun to Tier 16 maps.

The Importance of Atlas Completion First

The priority in your tree should be boosting map sustain and increasing the odds of getting maps of a higher tier. Start by taking any nodes that give you:

· Increased chance for maps to drop one tier higher

· Extra Kirac missions (free maps = faster progression)

Don't ignore the small nodes either. They might seem underwhelming, but they're very efficient for early Atlas snowballing. In particular, make sure to pick up “Commissioned Officer” while pathing—it grants a 6% chance for maps to be duplicated through Kirac missions, and it's easy to grab along the way.

Pathing to Unwavering Vision

Your next big target is the Unwavering Vision keystone. Unlocking this gives you 20 additional Atlas passive points, which is a massive early power spike. Getting there means investing points in nodes that don't immediately benefit you, but these points are a good setup for later.

Some people are hesitant to go for Unwavering Vision early due to its downside—it disables scarab drops. But early on, this downside is negligible. You're not getting many scarabs, and the ones that drop are usually low-value and not in bulk. Plus, you won't be selling them at this point anyway.

Once you've unlocked it, you'll have more breathing room to build out your strategy.

Shaping the Atlas: Prioritizing Map Nodes

After Unwavering Vision, take Shaping the Skies and Shaping the Mountains. These help increase map drops and map quality, which is crucial for sustaining your progression into red maps. You don't need to take any cryptic gateway shortcuts—they won't save much time, and the pathing nodes themselves are efficient enough.

Around yellow maps (Tier 6–10), Kirac missions become even more valuable. I invest in nodes that grant additional Kirac missions over Scouting Reports, but if you prefer using Scouting Reports to find specific maps, you can consider taking that point.

Early Utility Nodes: Sulphite, Shrines, and Map Juice

Once your map sustain is solid, you can start adding in utility passives. One personal favorite combo is:

· Frantic Mining (Niko nodes)

· Packed with Energy (Sulphite buffs)

These give you nice combat boosts like movement speed, damage, and max resistances whenever you consume Sulphite. They're especially helpful when your gear isn't perfect and you need that little bit of extra power.

I also recommend picking up Shrine nodes—specifically Drawn to Power and Syncretism. These can delay your progression into Altar farming slightly, but they provide a lot of map-clearing power early on.

Don't forget to go back and pick up any small nodes you skipped while rushing up to Unwavering Vision.

Transitioning to Altar and Maven Strategy

As you move deeper into red maps, you'll want to start unlocking the Maven questline. That means it's time to focus on Altars:

· Take Light of Dawn

· Grab all the small nodes nearby

· Optionally take Wrath of the Cosmos

Be aware that Altar farming increases map difficulty significantly. Wrath of the Cosmos boosts monster damage and reduces your resistances. If you're confident with your build, go for it—it can boost your currency drops dramatically.

One thing to note: Baptized by Fire isn't worth taking unless invitation drops are especially profitable. Most of the time, they don't sell for much, and you'll get plenty just by running bosses.

Unspeccing Unwavering Vision

Once your Atlas is complete and you've reached consistent red maps, it's time to unspec Unwavering Vision. Now you'll start dropping valuable scarabs from Altars, and at this point you will be able to sell them in bulk.

Unspec by removing points starting from the top side where you entered. You can also specify the small node granting additional Kirac chance. Most of these early nodes were there to support your progression and are now less relevant.

Setting Up for Expedition Farming

Now that you've got a solid Atlas and some currency, it's time to pivot into Expedition farming. This is a personal favorite strategy of mine. Expedition is lucrative, doesn't require scarabs, and fits well into a sustained mapping playstyle.

However, make sure your build can handle Expedition. You'll want:

· Good AoE or proliferation

· Some ranged ability (melee can struggle)

· Strong mitigation against bleed, poison, or block mechanics

Some Expedition mods (via the Extreme Archaeology keystone) can't be avoided, so plan around bricking mods. For example, if you're playing an EA Ballista build, your only bricking mods are “Cannot be Ignited” and “Immune to Fire.” Other builds may have more problematic mods.

If you're an attack-based build, consider grabbing attack mastery that negates enemy block chance. Alternatively, use specific weapon nodes like sword mastery to reduce the chance to block.

The Expedition Cluster

Spec into every node that has to do with Expedition:

· Artifacts Quantity

· Logbook drop chance

· Vendors spawn rate

· Increased number of explosive markers

· Extreme Archaeology

All of these are valuable and synergize with each other. Getting your Expedition encounters without needing scarabs helps with consistency and budget mapping.

I prefer Rog over Tujen, but only if you know what you're doing. Rog crafting can generate major profits, but requires knowledge. Tujen is easier and gives raw Path Of Exile currency.

Never spec into Gwennon, and always choose Dannig if possible. Dannig gives you vendor conversions, which are extremely helpful in optimizing your Expedition yield.

Bonus Synergies and Extensions

You can extend this tree by integrating another mechanic, but keep in mind that it reduces your Expedition frequency:

· Essences: Good to combine if you want more frequent currency crafts. You'll need to path down to reach the essence nodes.

· Harvest: Very synergistic with Expedition. Gives extra crafting value and is scalable with additional Atlas investment.

· Strongboxes: Recently improved—less clunky to interact with, easier to identify, and now visible on the mini-map.

· Map Juice Nodes: You can add extra explicit modifiers at the top of the tree to increase quantity, but it comes with higher danger in maps.

Be careful when adding more mechanics. One of the strengths of Expedition farming is how fast you can get in and out of maps. Adding too many side objectives (like Essences or Harvest) forces you to fully clear maps, making the strategy slower and less efficient.

Final Thoughts and Adaptation

This build sets you up for a smooth league start by giving you map sustain, early power, and a strong currency base. By transitioning from map sustain into Expedition, you avoid the burnout that comes from overloading your early Atlas with too many complex mechanics.

If you're planning to play longer, remember that PoE 3.26 supports multiple Atlas trees. You don't need to fully respec—just swap trees depending on your farming goals later in the league. Use quest respecs and naturally acquired Orbs of Unmaking for adjustments. No need to spend Chaos Orbs unnecessarily.

Once you've got your red maps on farm and your Expedition setup running smoothly, you can begin customizing your tree for profit or bossing. Adjust according to what you enjoy—be it Delirium, Harbinger, or Uber content.

Just remember: the best Atlas tree is the one that supports your build and your goals.