Path of Exile 2 Ritual Farming Guide (Rewards & Atlas Tree Strategy)
Ritual League presents a unique opportunity for focused farming in Path of Exile 2's endgame. Unlike other activities like Breach or Delirium, Ritual's rewards are vendor-based, making it less reliant on item rarity modifiers on your gear. This guide provides a detailed look at Ritual mechanics, reward optimization, and strategies for conquering the pinnacle boss, the King in the Mist.
Understanding Rituals
Rituals are marked by a distinct symbol on your maps. You can add more Rituals to maps using Ritual-specific precursor tablets found in Lost Towers. Each map contains either three or four ritual circles, each increasing in value as you complete them. This is because activating a ritual totem respawns enemies from all previously completed circles on that map, making maps with four rituals significantly more rewarding.
Ritual circles also have unique modifiers that apply to all circles on a given map. Examples include:
| Modifier | Effect |
|---|---|
| Blood Waves | Knockback and displacement |
| Rat Tornado | Physical damage and tracking |
| Chaos Orbs | Exploding projectiles |
During an active ritual, the area outside the circle darkens, and you're confined within its boundaries. If death seems imminent, a quick logout and login can teleport you back into the active ritual, right where you left off.
The Tribute System and Rewards
Completing rituals grants tribute, a currency used to purchase rewards from the Favors window. Item costs vary within a range. Prioritize acquiring:
- Audience with the King: The token to access the pinnacle boss.
- Omens: High-tier crafting materials, especially Omens of Erasure and Annulment.
- Divine Orbs: Offer good value for their tribute cost.
The Favors window can be rerolled once per map for 1,000 tribute. This is key to finding rarer items. Additionally, the deferral system allows you to postpone purchasing an item for 15% of its cost, granting a 10% discount on its next appearance. This is useful for expensive items like Divine Orbs or Audience with the King tokens.
Boosting Your Ritual Rewards
Several strategies can improve your Ritual returns:
- Atlas Skill Points: Investing in the Ritual tree significantly impacts rewards.
- Increased Area Level: Higher-tier maps and modifiers like Radiated and Corrupted increase monster density and tribute gains.
- Ritual Tablets in Lost Towers: Prioritize suffixes like extra rerolls, increased Omen frequency, and increased tribute gain.
- Waystones and Tablets: Modifiers like increased rare or magic monster spawns and pack size boost tribute.
The Atlas Tree and Rituals
While specializing your Atlas tree entirely for Rituals is possible, a balanced approach is generally recommended. Prioritize the following Ritual-specific nodes:
- Ominous Portents: Increases Omen chances and speeds up monster spawns.
- He Approaches: Boosts magic and rare monster chances and Audience with the King token drops.
- Tempting Offers: Grants an additional reroll per map.
- Spreading Darkness: Guarantees four ritual altars per map.
The King in the Mist: Pinnacle Boss Encounter
Accessing the King in the Mist requires the Audience with the King token, obtained through Ritual rewards or trading (currently around seven Divine Orbs). The fight involves close-range attacks, ritual map modifiers, and a teleporting maze phase. In the maze, follow the balls of light to avoid being overwhelmed by rats. The final phase intensifies the chaos, culminating in the boss's defeat and reward drops.
King in the Mist Rewards
- Ingenuity (Unique Belt): Grants increased effect to ring modifiers (40-80%, can be higher with Valor orbs). A highly valuable and powerful item.
- From Nothing (Unique Jewel): Allows access to passives near a specific Keystone without pathing. Value varies depending on the Keystone.
- Beetle Bite (Unique Boots): Aggravates bleeds and increases Thorn damage.
- Pragmatism (Unique Body Armour): Charms don't use charges.
- Burden of Shadows (Unique Staff): Converts mana cost to life cost and adds chaos damage based on life cost.
This guide provides a foundation for successful Ritual farming in Path of Exile 2. Remember to adapt your strategies based on your build and available resources. Good luck!