The Path of Exile 3.22 Trial of the Ancestors League introduces a fascinating array of new Atlas Passive Keystones, fundamentally altering how Exiles approach their farming strategies. These 16 keystones offer unique twists on familiar mechanics, ranging from simplifying complex encounters to entirely overhauling how certain content is played. Understanding their implications is key to optimizing your atlas tree and maximizing your returns in the current league.
Whether you’re looking to speed up your farming, make challenging content more accessible, or simply try a fresh approach, these keystones provide powerful options. We’ve delved into each of these new additions to help you discern which ones best align with your build and preferred farming style, ensuring you pick the most effective paths for your journey through Wraeclast.
All Hands
Effect: Maps have a 40% chance to contain a random Master. Master Missions are not granted upon map completion, but modifiers increasing the chance to find a Master are 150% more potent.
This keystone is ideal for Exiles who enjoy the variety of Master content without the hassle of managing or saving Master Missions. By taking “All Hands,” you trade precise control over which Master appears for a more frequent, passive inclusion of their missions in your maps. This can be particularly beneficial for general mapping strategies where you’re not specifically targeting one Master but still want the occasional bonus from Alva, Niko, or Einhar. It streamlines the Master system, ensuring a steady trickle of their unique encounters without requiring active management or selection from the map device. Builds that clear maps quickly and efficiently will naturally encounter more Masters over time.
Timeless Conflict
Effect: Legion Encounters in your maps have no timer. Breaking out monsters and chests progressively causes a schism. Legion encounters begin once a Schism has occurred.
“Timeless Conflict” redefines the Legion experience by removing the iconic time limit. Instead of a frantic race against the clock, players can leisurely clear out desired units, contributing to a “Schism” meter. Once full, the encounter begins. This keystone is a boon for builds with lower clear speed or those that struggle with the time pressure of traditional Legion. It allows for a more methodical approach, prioritizing high-value targets like Generals, Sergeants, and chests, which contribute more to the schism. While it might not be the fastest way to clear *all* Legion content, it significantly enhances the profitability of focused strategies, especially for those aiming for specific unique items or emblems from key Legion mobs.
Extreme Archaeology
Effect: 200% increased Explosive Radius in your Maps, 100% increased Explosive Placement Range in your Maps. Expedition Monsters in your Maps spawn with an additional 10% of Life missing. Number of Explosives is one.
“Extreme Archaeology” simplifies Expedition encounters dramatically. By consolidating all your explosive power into a single, massive blast with extended placement range, you can cover a significant portion of the Expedition area. Monsters affected also start with 10% less life, accelerating their defeat. This keystone is perfect for players who prefer a streamlined, less complex Expedition setup, eliminating the need for intricate explosive chains. It excels in compact map layouts, allowing for swift and potent activation of remnants. For both new players and speed farmers, this node offers a robust and user-friendly way to engage with Expedition, often leading to more consistent and rewarding outcomes.
Crop Rotation
Effect: Harvest crops are only Tier 1 plants. Harvesting crops in your Maps has a chance to upgrade the tier of plants of different colors.
“Crop Rotation” transforms Harvest into a nuanced mini-game centered around strategic order. While it restricts initial crop spawns to Tier 1, it introduces an exciting mechanic where harvesting one color can upgrade others. This means careful planning is paramount; selecting the right plot to harvest first can significantly impact the final yield, potentially leading to a plethora of high-tier plants. This keystone demands player engagement and optimization, rewarding those who understand Harvest mechanics deeply. It’s a high-investment, high-reward option, offering unparalleled potential for crafting currency and specific plant types if executed skillfully, especially when combined with multiple Harvest plots per map.
Lucid Dreams
Effect: Vaal Side Areas in your Maps are no longer Corrupted.
“Lucid Dreams” introduces an intriguing modification to Vaal Side Areas by removing their inherent corruption. This seemingly simple change unlocks a world of possibilities: players can now use currency such as Scours, Orbs of Transmutation, and even Chaos Orbs on these areas, just like regular maps. The true value of this keystone hinges on the potential of specific mods or unique Vaal areas that might become highly desirable when they can be manipulated. It offers a sandbox for experimentation, potentially allowing for targeted farming of unique items, valuable bases, or specific crafting outcomes from Vaal encounters. While its immediate power isn’t fully apparent, it presents a compelling option for those willing to explore and discover new profitable avenues within the overhauled Vaal content.
Destructive Play
Effect: Maven summons 1 to 3 additional bosses when witnessing map bosses. Modifiers to the final boss in each map also apply to the summoned bosses.
“Destructive Play” is a keystone designed for boss-slaying enthusiasts. It significantly amplifies the challenge and reward of map boss encounters by causing Maven to summon multiple copies. Any modifiers that would normally apply to the single final boss are now applied to all summoned bosses, multiplying the potential drops from boss-specific loot tables and enhancing progress towards Maven invitations and Awakened Gems. This keystone is a powerful choice for builds optimized for high single-target damage and survivability, capable of handling increased boss density and difficulty. For those who relish confronting multiple formidable foes, this offers an accelerated path to valuable boss-related rewards.
Immutable Dogma
Effect: Cannot re-roll Favours. Monsters sacrificed have 100% more Tribute.
“Immutable Dogma” offers a simplified, yet potent, approach to Ritual encounters. By preventing players from re-rolling the Ritual reward window, it removes a layer of decision-making that can often be complex. In exchange, all sacrificed monsters grant 100% more Tribute, effectively doubling your purchasing power from the initial offerings. This keystone is perfect for players who prefer a straightforward Ritual experience without the optimization puzzle of when to re-roll. While it sacrifices the chance to ‘fish’ for extremely rare or high-value items, it ensures a consistent and generous amount of Tribute for buying items from the first available selection, making Rituals more accessible and reliably profitable.
Meticulous Appraiser
Effect: Modifiers to the quantity of items found in your Maps instead apply to the Rarity of items found in your maps at 300% of their value.
“Meticulous Appraiser” fundamentally alters how item drop bonuses function, converting all quantity modifiers into significantly amplified rarity bonuses. This makes it an exceptional choice for Exiles specifically hunting for unique items or highly desired rare bases. Instead of getting more overall items, you drastically increase your chances of finding rarer ones. This keystone is particularly strong for Solo Self-Found (SSF) players who need specific unique items to complete their builds. It encourages a magic-find-oriented approach, focusing less on raw currency drops and more on high-value, unique acquisitions, offering a distinct path for gearing up or targeting niche markets.
Speaker of the Dead
Effect: Tormented Spirits in your Maps can Possess Players for 20 seconds. Tormented Spirits in your Maps cannot Possess Monsters.
“Speaker of the Dead” flips the traditional Torment mechanic on its head. Instead of spirits buffing enemies, they now possess the player, potentially granting powerful temporary buffs for 20 seconds. This keystone eliminates the need to carefully guide spirits onto rare monsters for optimal loot, instead focusing on player empowerment. It introduces a dynamic and engaging playstyle, transforming you into a “ghosted” entity that can then devastate enemies. While the specific benefits of player possession are left to discovery, this node promises a unique and potentially very strong self-buffing mechanic, allowing for creative build synergies and a distinct approach to map clearing for those who enjoy novel interactions.
Endless Tide
Effect: Beyond Portals in your Maps cannot spawn Unique Bosses. Beyond Portals in your Maps have 50% less Merging Radius.
“Endless Tide” is designed for players who want to engage with Beyond content but prefer to avoid its dangerous unique bosses. By preventing these formidable foes from spawning, maps become safer, especially for builds that struggle against high-damage boss encounters. However, this safety comes at a cost: Beyond Portals also have 50% less merging radius. This makes it significantly harder to chain Beyond monster spawns and reach high densities, which traditionally leads to lucrative tainted currency drops. Consequently, this keystone is a trade-off: enhanced safety at the expense of overall Beyond content quantity and its most valuable rewards. It’s best suited for players prioritizing a smoother, less risky mapping experience.
Cassia’s Pride
Effect: Blight Monsters in your Maps take 75% less Damage from Players and their Minions. Blight Towers and their Minions in your Maps deal 300% more Damage.
“Cassia’s Pride” fully leans into the tower defense aspect of Blight. Your character’s damage contribution to Blight monsters is severely reduced, forcing you to rely almost entirely on the power of your Blight towers and their minions, which receive a massive damage boost. This keystone is excellent for early league farming, new players, or builds that lack strong clear speed, making Blight accessible and highly effective without significant personal damage investment. It shifts the focus to strategic tower placement and synergy, turning the encounter into a true tower defense mini-game. If you enjoy planning and executing optimal tower setups, this node offers a uniquely satisfying and profitable Blight experience.
Arbitrary Tenents
Effect: Favours at Ritual Altars in your Maps randomly cost between 90% less and 80% more.
“Arbitrary Tenents” injects a high degree of randomness into Ritual favor costs. While it introduces the exciting possibility of purchasing incredibly valuable items for a fraction of their usual price, it also carries the risk of making desired items unaffordable due to significantly increased costs. This keystone appeals to players who enjoy gambling and are comfortable with extreme variance in their farming outcomes. On average, the costs might slightly decrease, but the unpredictable nature of each Ritual makes it a less consistent farming strategy. It’s a choice for the risk-takers and those with ample currency reserves who can absorb bad rolls in pursuit of an occasional massive bargain.
Unending Nightmare
Effect: Delirium Fog in your Maps never dissipates. Delirium Orbs cannot be found in your Maps. Simulacrum Splinters cannot be found in your Maps.
“Unending Nightmare” removes the timer from Delirium encounters, allowing players to clear maps at their own pace without the fog dissipating. This makes Delirium much more accessible for builds with slower clear speeds or on challenging map layouts. However, it comes with a significant trade-off: Delirium Orbs and Simulacrum Splinters, typically the most valuable drops from this mechanic, are no longer found. This keystone refocuses Delirium towards consistent monster density for general experience and currency drops, as well as the farming of cluster jewels. It’s an excellent option for those who want the added monster count and rewards of Delirium without the stressful time constraint or the emphasis on specific, high-value unique drops.
Bold Undertakings
Effect: Fortune Favours the Brave applies an additional random Option. 100% more Cost of the Fortune Favours the Brave Map Crafting Option.
“Bold Undertakings” supercharges the “Fortune Favours the Brave” map craft. Instead of applying one random League mechanic for 3 Chaos Orbs, it applies two random options for 6 Chaos Orbs. This guarantees a denser, more varied map experience by including two distinct League mechanics. It’s a fantastic option for players who seek consistent, diverse content in their maps without wanting to individually select specific mechanics. This keystone promotes general farming strategies where varied monster types and potential rewards are beneficial. While still random, the increased number of mechanics often leads to more engaging and potentially more profitable maps for a relatively modest cost increase, especially in Solo Self-Found.
Overloaded Circuit
Effect: League Map Crafting Options also choose 3 random Notable Atlas Passive Skills associated with that League to treat as allocated. 100% more cost of Map Crafting Options.
“Overloaded Circuit” offers an incredible boost to map crafting options by temporarily granting three random Notables associated with the chosen league mechanic. For a 100% cost increase, you gain significant Atlas passive benefits without spending your own points. This allows for immense flexibility, enabling players to experiment with different farming strategies or stack bonuses without re-speccing their entire Atlas tree. Imagine crafting an Essence map and getting three powerful Essence Notables for free! This keystone is a powerful tool for optimizing specific mechanics on the fly, making it highly attractive for players who want to maximize a particular league’s output or explore various farming avenues without long-term commitment.
The Seventh Gate
Effect: All possible League Map Crafting Options are Available while six Gateways are Allocated.
“The Seventh Gate” is the ultimate keystone for map crafting flexibility. By allocating six “Gateway” nodes on your Atlas tree, you unlock every single possible League Map Crafting Option, regardless of your Atlas completion or other passives. This grants unprecedented control over your map content, allowing you to run any league mechanic you desire, whenever you want. This offers unparalleled adaptability; if one farming strategy becomes less profitable, you can instantly pivot to another. It’s a high-investment keystone that provides the ultimate toolkit for seasoned Exiles who value boundless options and consistency in tailoring their farming sessions to any meta or personal preference, offering true mastery over the Atlas.
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