Path of Exile 2: Crafting maps and maximizing loot

Publication date : 2025-11-13

Table of Contents

Map Function & Structure
Map Function
Map Structure
Map Crafting Process
Map Tier/Difficulty Classification
Map Crafting Workflow
Tips

Map Function & Structure

Map Function

Maps in PoE 2 are not only instances you run but are also tradeable items, gateways to higher-tier zones and better loot, and hosts for unique in-map mechanics. Regular (white) maps drop from playing and can be refined into higher-tier maps via crafting/upgrade.

Map Structure

Map modifiers are broadly split into prefixes (positive buffs) and suffixes (often increasing challenge and risk).

Prefixes are beneficial, e.g., “Increased % Item Quantity,” “Increased % Item Rarity,” “Increased % XP Gain,” and “Increased % Monster Pack Size.”
Suffixes tend to raise difficulty (more monster damage/movement/attack speed), but often yield better rewards—e.g., “Monsters deal extra % Elemental Damage” or “% increased Monster Elemental Resistance”—these can improve map rewards such as additional Map(s) drop or better loot.

Therefore:

If you aim for high item/loot quantity & rarity, you prioritize maxing prefixes.
If you aim for more map drops (or map keys), you may lean into heavy suffixes.
If you want both, you craft a map with many modifiers (both strong prefixes & suffixes)—but note this means higher risk/harder content.

Map Crafting Process

Given that current season monsters are much stronger, a recommended crafting route is to use “Alchemical Foreshadowing (Right-Rotate)” + “Golden Stone of Fortune (Scroll of Wealth).” [These terms are illustrative adaptations of the original crafting items]. The Alchemical Foreshadowing ensures your next upgrade gives maximum suffixes, and the Golden Stone upgrades a normal item into a rare one with multiple modifiers. Thus the combo allows you to push a map to a high prefix count (or suffix) while retaining stability (e.g., fewer deaths).

Map Tier/Difficulty Classification

Normal gold T15
Oiled gold T15
Vaal-gold T15
Oiled Vaal T15

Map Crafting Workflow

Crafting a normal gold T15 map

Choose an un-corrupted T15 map (white/blue/gold all allowed)
Identify the map, then use the Alchemical Foreshadowing, then the Golden Stone (or use Orbs of Augmentation + Jeweller’s Stone) to push it to gold status with at least 3 modifiers.
Discard maps with weak/irrelevant prefixes (e.g., “Increased Gold Drop” or “Increased XP” might be less desirable in certain builds)—store/sell in bulk if the map pool permits.
On the remaining maps, use a “Glorious Stone” to craft so that at least 3 strong prefixes remain; if weak prefixes still appear, evaluate whether to keep or recycle.

Crafting an oiled gold T15 map (4 sample designs for full‐prefix maps)

Monster Pack map (3 monster packs) → oil with Wrath or Sin: Wrath early in the season, Sin mid-season; gives +1 monster pack (so 4 packs total) → ideal for altar/ritual drops or fissures.
High Rarity + 2 monster‐pack map: if you have a low-rarity build, oil with Greed to boost rarity; if you have a high-rarity build, oil with Sin to boost monster packs. Ideal for fissures/exploration.
Item Drop Quantity + Rarity + 3 monster‐pack map → oil Greed for low-rarity build; Sin for high-rarity build (if rarity <400 then Greed). Good for altars/fissures and exploration.
Rarity > 90 + Item Quantity + single monster pack → oil: high-rarity build uses 2× Obsession + 1× Sin; low-rarity build uses 2× Obsession + 1× Sin or 3× Greed. Suited for altars, fissures, and exploration.
Oil logic: low rarity builds stack rarity; high rarity builds stack item drop quantity.

Vaal/corrupted gold/oiled T15 crafting

After oiling (or on non-oiled gold T15), you may use a Vaal Orb to corrupt—which may upgrade to T16 or downgrade to T14—a high-risk map.
In practice: once the map is inserted, use the Atlas passive “Twist of Fate” to allow extra corruption. If you aim for stable T16/level 82 monsters, temporarily disable that passive, run the map, then re-enable the passive to keep pushing extreme prefixes/suffixes.
In such maps (aiming for T16/level 82), you can get maps with all strong prefixes (massive item drop) or all suffixes (massive map drop); T14 maps may be used for certain mechanics like towers/forts where suffixes dominate; the remaining maps with retained prefixes are your top‐tier mapping ones.

Tips

Using the right map plus the right “map key” generates more than 1 yield (the 1+1>2 effect). Example: if a map has a boss, use a 3-prefix + 3-suffix map key → 3 prefixes guarantee loot from the map boss, and 3 suffixes guarantee large T15 map drops.
If it’s a Fortress map, a map full of suffixes may be more efficient. Map key drop count affects ticket drop for your Fortress end‐boss; you can get up to 4 tickets at once, which yields ~8-10 “Divine Orbs” (premium currency) [~fictional value].

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