Atlas Progression Guide

Introduction

In the Mirage expansion (released in March 2026), the way that the Atlas works was completely redone once again.
This has vastly simplified a lot of the map progression through tiers and introduced a few twists for the endgame.

This guide provides a quick rundown on how to navigate the current Atlas environment and how to efficiently progress through the Atlas at the beginning of your mapping journey.

The new map tier system looks like this:

Maps now drop as these items, and we slot them into our atlas and choose the map to run now. No more hunting that elusive Dunes T3 that didn’t drop.
It’s hard to overstate how much of a quality-of-life improvement this will be for the average exile.

Map Drop Rules

Before we delve into the Atlas Strategy itself, we must cover the fundamentals briefly.

• White (Normal Rarity) mobs may drop Maps up to the same tier of the map that you are in. This is referred to as a +0 map drop.
• Blue (Magic Rarity) and Yellow (Rare Rarity) mobs may drop Maps up to ONE tier higher than the tier you are in. This is referred to as a +1 map drop.
• Orange (Unique Rarity) Mobs may drop Maps up to TWO tiers higher than the tier you are in. This is referred to as a +2 map drop.

Previously, the only maps that were allowed to drop were maps that you had already unlocked (i.e., completed), or maps directly connected (through the lines that snake between maps on your Atlas) to the map that you are running. Note, however, that tier 1 maps ignore this rule and can drop outside of maps in the story content starting from Act 8 onwards.
With this upcoming change in 3.26, maps no longer drop as specific maps. They now drop as a base template item for the Tier, and you select which map to run with it by socketing it into your atlas.

As you complete more and more Bonus Objectives for maps (completing the map as Magic, Rare, or Rare Corrupted, as the case may be), you will now gain an Atlas Passive Point. These can be used to acquire bonus map drops, increased chances of higher map tier drops, and to specialise in certain mechanics you enjoy running.

Note, however, that this bonus does NOT supersede the aforementioned mob-related rules. A White rarity mob will still only drop maps at a maximum of equivalent tier to what you are running, regardless of this additional bonus chance.

Example Node:

General Tips & Advice

With those basic rules out of the way, here are some tips to keep in mind while you follow the Atlas Strategy laid out below:

• The goal is to finish the atlas. This means you focus on completing the bonus objective for each respective map at the tier you have access to it.
• Always use Orb of Binding + Orb of Scouring to roll/re-roll(or Orb of Alchemy if you ran out) your Yellow/Red tier maps, regardless of circumstances.
• The objective and goal of early progression is to reach higher-tier maps and unlock the four Voidstones.

The Atlas Strategy – First Steps

• Complete as many distinct maps as possible.

To start with, you can run ANY maps you find. There is no chance to mess anything up, so as long as a map hasn’t finished its bonus objective yet, throw it in the map device and do it!

We recommend always running the highest possible maps first, as long as you can reliably complete them.

Assuming you have three different maps, one T2, one T3, and one T4, you should run the T4 first.

This will allow you to drop said T4 as you complete the T3s and T2s, as it will be counted among the “completed” maps of that tier immediately. This should vastly ease your progression.

For white tier maps, the minimum investment should be:

• Transmutation Orb, the map to magic

For yellow tier maps, the minimum investment should be:

• Alchemy orb/Binding orb, this makes the map rare

For red tier maps, the minimum investment should be:

Alchemy/Binding orb + Vaal orb, this makes the map rare and corrupted.

You do not have to vaal your map every single redmap if you don’t want to, but the first time you do each of them, you will need to do that.

The Atlas Strategy – Initial Atlas Tree

After getting a couple of Atlas Passive Points, you will likely start getting overwhelmed with choices, so we have prepared an easy-to-follow progression tree that should take you to tier 16 maps without much trouble.
This tree will feature the nodes for map sustain and should be considered by newer players.

The Atlas Strategy – Continuing the Progress

As you progress through your atlas, you will inevitably reach Yellow Maps (T6 and above). Once you do, you will be greeted by the Envoy and the Maven herself.

Try to always have the Maven influence all your maps that she can, as progressing with her storyline is the way to unlock the two Eldritch Atlas influences, as well as gain more Atlas Passive Tree Points.

Each of her distinct invitations will grant you 1 Atlas Passive Point and 2 Refund Points.

After you complete her first invitation, the Envoy and Maven will greet you in another yellow-tier map and unlock either the Exarch or the Eater of Worlds influence. Which one you get first seems to be random.

Whichever one you get, you will receive the other one fairly soon afterwards at random.

Continue running yellow-tier maps and progress further through the atlas, utilising effective investment strategies.

Note, you will manually have to check which of the three buttons for the Exarch/Eater/Maven influences that are lighting up when you insert a map in the device. If Eater is greyed out, and Exarch is lighting up, swap to Exarch. And vice versa.

For yellow maps, the minimum investment should be:

• Alch/Binding Orb the map to rare

The Atlas Strategy – Finishing the Progress

Similar to the previous segment, you continue running your maps until you reach Red Tier Maps (T11 and above).

At this stage, you should have collected and finished all possible invitations from the Maven in the Yellow Tier Maps, as well as collected a couple of bosses for each of the Influences Mini-Bosses (Hunger/Black Star).

You should also get a good idea of what League mechanics you want to invest in using your Atlas Passive Tree at this stage.

Generally speaking, the Essence and Strongbox nodes are safe choices that work for most builds.

Continue your endgame questlines by chasing down the Maven, the Searing Exarch, and the Eater of Worlds in high-tier Red Maps.

To get access to The Searing Exarch, you will have to defeat The Black Star mini-boss using the Polaric Invitation quest item with your Map Device.
Afterwards, you will have to influence Red Maps in order:

• T12+
• T13+
• T14+
• T15+
• T16+

Once you’ve completed the 5th influenced map like this, the Unique Boss of said map will drop the Quest-version of the Incandescent Invitation, which can then be used with your Map Device to fight The Searing Exarch.

To gain access to The Eater of Worlds, you will have to defeat The Infinite Hunger mini-boss using the Writhing Invitation quest item with your Map Device.

Afterwards, you will have to influence Red Maps in order:

• T12+
• T13+
• T14+
• T15+
• T16+

Once you’ve completed the 5th influenced map like this, the Unique Boss of said map will drop the Quest-version of the Screaming Invitation, which can then be used with your Map Device to fight The Eater of Worlds.

After you have completed the respective Quest chain, you will be able to drop tradeable versions of all the Invitations in Influenced Red Tier Maps (T14+ required for Pinnacle Boss invitations).

Upon defeating them both, you will receive the Voidstone for these influences, and all of your future maps will be empowered by it. More on this later.

The Atlas Strategy – We’re done!… unless?

During your Quest Progress, you will inevitably defeat the various bosses that unlock Voidstones. This portion of the map progression underwent a large number of changes, which we will address now.

Previously, the Voidstones unlocked after you defeated the following boss encounters:
Uber Elder
The Maven
The Searing Exarch
The Eater of Worlds

This has drastically changed in 3.26, and the unlock conditions for each Voidstone are now different.

Voidstone 1 – You acquire this stone after you defeat the Shaper and the Elder. Importantly, you no longer need to do Uber Elder. Defeating the regular boss encounters will grant the Voidstone now.
Voidstone 2 – You acquire this stone after you defeat the Searing Exarch and the Eater of Worlds. Previously, these two dropped one stone each, but now they share a stone.
Voidstone 3 – You acquire this stone from defeating the Incarnation of Dread. You will have to progress through the Aegan questline to access this boss fight. Remember to speak to him when he appears to you in redmaps and to finish his questline.
Voidstone 4 – You acquire this stone from defeating the maven, same as before.

It is more important than ever to acquire these early as they now provide a host of powerful bonuses to each boss found in areas once socketed in addition to their normal benefit of increasing minimum map tiers.

New things from Mirage

The main introduction, alongside the new mapping system, are the Astrolabe’s. These items are applied to our atlas and conquer a section of it with an influence that provides the maps found within it with some additional modifiers.
Exactly what the astrolabe will provide will vary from Astrolabe to Astrolabe, and most of them are not yet known to us.

Here’s a visual representation of what an astrolabe applied to the atlas looks like, and an example of a bonus provided by one.

FAQ

For any frequently asked questions, I will compile an FAQ section here to address them properly and clarify any uncertainties, without requiring you to sift through our Discord. At the time of release, this FAQ will be empty.

I am looking forward to your questions and feedback!