Atlas tree & Masters
The rebuilt 0.5 tree, the three Atlas Masters, and which nodes to take first on a fresh character.
The 0.5 tree
0.5 reset the Atlas tree and rebuilt it with 300+ nodes (around 311 points, more after the 0.5.1 additions). Because you can eventually allocate the entire tree, there is no Atlas respec. Flexibility comes from multi-choice nodes, which you can switch between options at any time.
You no longer grind a bonus objective on every single map for points. Instead, points come in chunks from Fortress maps, Precursor Towers, Gateways, Enigma Chambers and Halls, plus auto-completing Fortress sections by killing the Arbiter of Divinity (5 times clears different sections). 0.5.1 added 24 more passives at the top of the tree (per-biome) and raised the points those Fortress structures give.
- Fortress maps: beat the map boss and activate the Precursor Relay for 1 point per map. The Tower Relay (after an Arbiter of Divinity kill) auto-completes surrounding maps, usable up to 5 times.
- Endgame region maps: 1 point each around the five regions (Caer Tarth, The Withered Willow, Monastery of the Keepers, Well of Souls, Vaal Ruins).
- Pinnacle bosses: 6 points each, including the quest versions.
Since 0.5.4 there is also a separate 24-node Expedition Atlas tree (Runes of Aldur), unlocked through the Grand Expedition questline. See the Expedition card on the Mechanics tab.
Two one-time pickups grant character passive points, on top of the 24 campaign points. Easy to miss because neither is on the Atlas tree itself:
- Martyr of the First Edict: +1 passive skill point per character. Once any player in the league sacrifices a level 100 character at the Site of the Chosen (behind the Origin Tower, inside the Fortress of the Ancients), everyone can travel there and claim a mote of their power. The point respecs like any other. You need Fortress progression to reach it: Precursor Tower, Ancient Gateway, then the Origin Tower area.
- Sacrificial Heart (campaign, Act 3): +2 Weapon Set passive skill points. The Heart drops from Vaal Goliaths in Utzaal / Aggorat; sacrifice it with the Sacrificial Dagger at the Blood Sacrifice altar in Aggorat. If you rushed the campaign, go back for it. Full list on the campaign cheatsheet.
Verified poe2db + Maxroll / Game8 (2026-07-09). Atlas points themselves are all farmable: nothing on the Atlas tree is permanently missable.
Completing your first Precursor Tower raises the Fortress, a mega-structure with the Arbiter of Divinity at its centre. Its internal zones carry surcharged modifiers (for example all Rares turned into Essences, or every monster stuffed into a Strongbox), and Map Bosses inside grant Atlas points.
The quickest way to fill the tree is repeat Arbiter of Divinity kills. After each kill you activate a Tower Relay that auto-completes the surrounding maps and hands you all their points at once. Community routes report roughly 30-50 points per Arbiter cycle(find halls, collect Cradle and Spark, power the reactor, kill the Arbiter).
Point totals per cycle are community figures (Maxroll / Mobalytics) and depend on how much of the tree you have already cleared.
Each Master is a 12-node sub-tree (4 rows of 3 choices), and you allocate up to 4 nodes per Master. All three are unlocked at once, but only one Master profile applies to a given map. The swap is free via a quick-select before you open each zone.
All-rounder: the Atlas itself, traversal, survival, Waystone mods and biomes.
- Map Bosses have 20% chance to guard a Precursor Terraformer (alters adjacent maps).
- 10% chance on map completion to make nearby maps accessible.
- Strongboxes: 2% increased Quantity per modifier.
- Your maps have an additional Revive.
- Map areas are Irradiated (+1 area level).
Unique / Rare monsters, Azmeri Spirits, pinnacle bosses.
- Pinnacle bosses scavenged: 5% chance to drop an extra Unique.
- 25% chance 1 Rare is replaced by a random Map Boss (5% chance for 3 more).
- 40% increased effectiveness of Unique monsters with modifiers.
- Azmeri Spirits cannot possess Rare monsters.
Uniques, Strongboxes, Anomaly maps, layout manipulation.
- Powerful Map Bosses drop an additional Unique.
- Strongboxes: 100% increased chance to be Unique, 100% more Rare Chests.
- 5% chance on map completion to reveal a nearby Anomaly Map.
- Unique Strongboxes may be a Legacy of the Order (drops a Twilight Reliquary Key).
Node effects from the Maxroll Masters showcase (0.5). Each Master has more than 4 nodes: pick the 4 that fit what you farm.
Pickup order
A fresh character needs three things from the tree: Waystone sustain, monster density, and value (currency to buy gear). General map-wide nodes beat narrow specialist nodes early. Running out of maps in the first hours is the single biggest reason players stall.
Higher-tier Waystone drops and Waystone quantity. The old sustain nodes still exist in 0.5: Constant Crossroads (+Waystone quantity from maps), Fortunate Path (+Waystone rarity) and The High Road. This stops the map starvation that ends most first endgames.
Verify in-game: The High Road's exact wording differs between guides (one tier higher) and poe2db (Rare and Corrupted). Confirm before relying on the number.
Rare monsters, Magic packs, Pack Size, Monster Rarity, Item Rarity, Essence and Shrine nodes. Generic bonuses that scale every mechanic at once. This is your throughput.
Take the whole branch of onemechanic, do not spread across three. Casters commonly favour Breach + Ritual; Lich / Abyssal Lich favour Abyss + Breach (Kulemak's Invitation drop). Then layer your Master profile (Hilda for boss / Unique value, Jado for strongbox / Unique density, Doryani as all-rounder).
- Sustain core first.
- Abyss branch: drops Kulemak's Invitation for the Abyssal Lich unlock at the Vessel of Kulemak.
- Breach branch next, plus the Genesis Tree for ring / amulet / belt crafting.
- Density nodes + Hilda or Jado Master profile once Abyssal Lich is unlocked.
Full detail on /builds/lich and /builds/abyssal-lich.