Siege of the Atlas: All about Path of Exile's new expansion

Path of Exile has done it again with the Siege of the Atlas livestream. They've managed to rope me back into the game after that horrible Endless Delirium event. I'm glad to inform all of you that Path of Exile's story continues to devolve into utter chaos and we're just here for the ride.

The Siege of the Atlas expansion is bringing a whole host of new bosses, unique items, and a massive overhaul of the endgame. From introducing new pinnacle boss battles and aspirational content to releasing a new league aimed at enhancing mapping, this announcement has it all and we'll cover the key points.

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Siege of the Atlas is right around the corner

Siege of the Altas starts right where the Maven storyline left off. Zana has left us and gone into exile after Sirus' death. The Envoy senses two more eldritch entities heading towards our reality ,and they have a very simple goal: to end it all. As the lunatics that we are, we have to stop it all by using the very thing that attracts the bad guys.

In Path of Exile, players go through a campaign divided into acts that serve as a tutorial for the endgame. This endgame comprises jumping into maps, killing trash mobs, and fighting bosses at the end of the maps. Ever since Atlas of Worlds was introduced back in the titular expansion, mapping has become the bread and butter of Path of Exile.

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Atlas passive skill tree

Can't wait to spend hours thinking over one point (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

For the longest time, the Atlas was divided into regions which could be influenced by bosses, changing the gameplay and rewards significantly. In Siege of the Atlas expansion, we're saying goodbye to regions and any relevant specialty. Instead, progression and rewards will become linear. In a true Path of Exile fashion, players will be getting a passive skill tree dedicated to the Atlas of Worlds.

Just like the passive skill tree for characters, this Atlas passive tree will have points to invest and upgrade the tree. Points can be earned from completing objectives in each map, fighting endgame, and pinnacle bosses. Just by mapping, players can earn 117 points, with more points coming from specific boss encounters.

It's a massive skill tree with loads of options, considering there are about 600 points to choose from. These changes and specializations will affect all the maps uniformly, so it's going to be a much smoother experience. All in all, my heart goes out to the Path of Building developers, who will have to import another skill tree into the application.

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Goodbye watchstones. Welcome, voidstones.

One wasn't enough, apparently (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

It's not just limited to the skill tree. Siege of the Atlas is changing how maps function at a basic level. Previously, players would acquire watchstones from conquerors to upgrade maps in a specific region. In Siege of the Atlas, players will be saying goodbye to watchstones and instead acquire Voidstones.

There are only four voidstones and they can be acquired from different endgame bosses like Maven, Uber Elder, and so on. Slotting these four voidstones will rank up every map to Tier 16, eliminating the hassle of getting 16 watchstones. But then again, these fights aren't exactly for the weak of heart (and gear), so some players will have to struggle to push their power.

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New bosses

I can't get over how good her design looks (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

What good is a Path of Exile expansion without a few new baddies to kick you in the kneecaps? Hence, in Siege of the Atlas, we're being treated to four pinnacle boss fights. These four bosses will bring new influences, new currencies, and new obstacles to your life.

These fights aren't just casual strolls in the park. Facing The Searing Exarch and the Eater of Worlds will require delving into maps influenced by these bosses, and facing their lieutenants who are formidable in their own rights. Defeating The Black Star and The Formidable Hunger will grant players access to the Exarch and the Eater fights.

These fights are bound to be difficult as they're on the same power level as the Maven. But on the flip side, these bosses can drop some of the strongest unique items in the current state of Path of Exile, and some currencies needed for end-game crafting.

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Quality of life changes to mapping

With so many changes to mapping being introduced in the Siege of the Atlas, players will find that a lot of staple items have been reworked or removed. Zana has left us and Kirac has taken up the duties of cartography.

He looks serious (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Kirac will be selling Compasses and Scouting reports as part of his cartography duties in Siege of the Atlas. Previously, players would add sextants to watchstones, which would add more modifiers to maps. Players would need to move these watchstones depending on the region they were farming in. Now with compasses, players can itemize and save these modifiers for future use or trade them for currencies.

Scouting reports work as a way to reroll Kirac's missions. Certain reports can change which mission type and league mechanics spawn. Kirac is also coming up with a host of maps for sale and he can also sell Conqueror maps, which will function the same way as Elder and Shaper guardian maps.

Conquerors of the Atlas are stepping down from their pinnacle boss fight roles in Siege of the Atlas. Baran, Veritania, Al-Hezmin, and Drox will appear on their maps and upon defeat, will drop their fragments. These fragments combined will allow players to fight Sirus, who can drop the ultra-powerful Awakener's Orb for crafting. Conquerors are not in the endgame rush, but they still drop some of the strongest influenced items so their place in the pecking order is fine.

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Archnemesis league

Archnemesis is Nemesis with extra steps (Image by Grinding Gear Games)

As a staple for every expansion, Siege of the Atlas is coming with a new challenge league. As the image caption suggests, Archnemesis is Nemesis with extra steps. In maps, players will encounter certain rare monsters chained up to altars. These monsters can be released by adding itemized modifiers.

Releasing the enemy with a modifier will infuse the monster with the said modifier. Defeating this enemy will drop rewards based on the modifier used. This is the basic idea behind Archnemesis league. Up to four monsters can be enhanced and fought, with each infusion increasing rewards accordingly.

Releasing a new monster will infuse it with all previous modifiers, so keep that in mind when you release the fourth guy. Players will also have to find recipes for newer, stronger modifiers (with better rewards, of course) by mixing and matching pre-existing ones. Word of advice: try to shoot for the Innocence-touched modifier, it's better than previous Nemesis farming.

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You can play Siege of the Atlas on PC, starting from February 4

The points discussed above don't even speak for the volume of content being shipped with Siege of the Atlas. Some of the uniques are too strong for the power provided. Most of the strongest builds have been left untouched by the nerf hammer, only being adjusted mechanically or numerically.

There are five days left until the launch of Siege of the Atlas, and Path of Exile's official twitter account is dropping one teaser after another.