The Path of Exile 2 endgame is filled with hundreds of hours of content, making up for the shorter campaign available to players in the early release of the game on Steam. The game follows suit similarly to how the endgame was in the first edition in the franchise, this time bigger and better than ever. Let's take a look at the Atlas of Worlds in Path of Exile 2.

Path of Exile 2 Atlas of World Beginners Guide

To put it simply, once you complete the campaign for a second time, this time on cruel difficulty, you will gain access to the World of Atlas. This is the endgame map where you'll have the opportunity to spend hundreds of more hours exploring new maps, new enemies, and more. To gain access to the World of Atlas, you'll need what is called a Waystone.

Players will need to use Waystones in order to travel to different parts of the endgame map. At the end of the cruel difficulty campaign, players will be given their first tier 1 Waystone to use in the Atlas of Worlds.

The key thing to remember here is that every player will have a completely different endgame map. Even if you're playing in a party, one friend will have an entirely different map to the one that you will have. This is just to avoid confusion if you believe you're in the wrong endgame map or something, it's meant to be like that.

Atlas of Worlds explained Path of Exile 2

Now that you've unlocked the Atlas of Worlds, you'll now need to understand how the map functions. Firstly, you'll need to establish a hideout, this will make your playthrough of the endgame a lot better as you won't have to keep teleporting between one of the towns from the campaign and the endgame.

We will discuss what the different icons mean later, but for now, use your first Waystone on a map that has hideout on it. You need to clear this area completely before you can claim it as your hideout in Path of Exile 2. Now that you have your hideout, lets look at the different areas of the map, what the icons above them mean, and more.

Atlas of Worlds PoE2 Icons explained

There are several icons scattered across the Path of Exile 2 endgame map, each with its own meaning and sets of challenges. The developers have ensured players can easily tell which icon it is as they all have their own distinctive colors and logo. Let's take a look at what each icon means in the Path of Exile 2 endgame.

1. Delirium: This is where there will be a mirror that players can walk through, taking them to a different timeline to which a delirium fog takes over the map. During this time players have to survive hordes of enemies. The longer they survive, the better loot they will get at the end of the task.
   
2. Corruption: This makes the map a little chaotic in the sense the enemy levels are increased, along with random buffs that will make them that much harder to play against.
   
3. Breach: A breach event is where you will open a tear in reality which expands rather quickly across the map. The aim is to kill the enemies within the breach as quickly as possible.
   
4. Expedition: An expedition is one of the more unique tasks within the Path of Exile 2 endgame. Players are literally sent on an expedition quest where they must uncover hidden artifacts buried within the map.
   
5. Hideout: A hideout is an area that can be taken over and used for a player's personal hub in the same way the towns are used throughout the Path of Exile 2 campaign. To obtain a hideout, one must clear the entire area and defeat the boss. When defeated, the player can claim the hideout as their own.
   
6. Irradiated: This is one of the simpler effects in the sense monsters have plus one level.
   
7. Map Boss: The map boss icon is to help players know the type of boss they will be facing based on the map they have selected.
   
8. Ritual: An altar located on the map and when players interact with it, they then must slay a certain number of monsters to sacrifice them for the ritual. Once completed, players will earn favors that they can use to purchase items in the store.