Delirium is back, and better than ever. Path of Exile: Ritual has exploded onto the scene since its launch last month, and it’s incredibly fun. The challenging new Maven boss, Atlas reworks and so much more are stupidly challenging, and some of the most rewarding POE players have seen in a while. With the reworks from Echoes of the Atlas too, this league has spawned an incredible new meta-game that is all about getting the best you can from your map pool.
Before we start, let’s cover some basics. We’re going to be combining the new Atlas Passive Trees with Delirium Orbs to make an insane profit. You might want a more thorough refresher on Delirium League by checking out our guide on the mechanic from back in 3.10. It’s a good idea to read that Atlas Passive guide linked above as well. For now, let’s just stick with the basics.
The basic gist is that a splintered mirror will spawn in a map, it has a 5% chance of spawning after Act 5, and you will want to trigger it as soon as you can. New players make the mistake of clearing mobs before triggering it, don’t do this! To get the best rewards from the mechanic in POE, you need to be able to kill as many mobs as possible.
So when you trigger the mirror, follow this overall plan:
- Trigger the mirror as soon as you find it, don’t clear any mobs in the map before you do, if you can help it.
- Run through the zone inside the fog and kill mobs AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!
- There will also be various growths and blisters on the ground. They will appear in three common forms: blue bulbs which spawn a Delirium mob pack, red bulbs which explode, and large black spines. Running over these when you find them will trigger more mobs to kill.
- Clear the map as fast as possible, and don’t stop taking out mobs.
- Don’t stop to loot. if you’re using a good loot filter, you can came back for the drops after Delirium has completed.
So that’s the basic premise of completing a Delirium run in a map. But that’s not what this guide is about. Instead, we’re going to make it so all of our maps have Delirium influence, and use that to farm huge piles of items. We’re going to assume you have completed the Maven questline and at least unlocked the Passive Trees.
In short, that means completing the Atlas Regions by having the Maven witness boss fights. You will eventually be led down a questline that leads to having the Maven witness fights with the Elder and Shaper Guardians, as well as the Breachlords and some other tough bosses.
By completing each Region’s Maven Invitation, you can unlock a passive tree for that region, with 10 points per region. Then there are the Atlas-wide Uncharted Realms. Unlocking this is where those tougher fights come in. You need to complete the multi-boss fights with the Elder/Shaper Guardians, Breachlords, Synthesis bosses, and more. Most players avoid the questline known as The Feared, as it involves too many tough bosses. But anyway, once you complete some of these fights you have Atlas Points to spend.
How to “Juice” maps for huge gains
The wonderful thing about the new Atlas Passives is that you can hyper-focus your gameplay based on both your build and your preferred gameplay system. Each Region on the Atlas has a ton of options. Use this Atlas passives guide to figure out what map region you want to farm. By focusing on that region from the beginning, you can increase your returns by putting your effort into the systems you enjoy.
By putting as much rarity and quantity on our maps as we can at the start, then applying some “secret sauce” we can literally print currency. For general purposes, Delirium is one of the best for raw loot. that means you should generally focus on getting Passives that improve Delirium encounters, while also having a build with incredible clear speed.
Here are the best regions in the game to juice a map in:
- Haewark Hamlet – Harvest (Crafting) or Betrayal (Loot)
- Tirn’s End – Bestiary (Crafting) or Delirium (Loot)
- Lex Proxima – Harvest (Crafting) or Delve (Loot)
- Lex Ejoris – Delirium and Perandus (Loot)
- Glennach Cairns – Legion (Loot)
First Step – Watchstones
The Watchstones that drop from Guardians are a key part of the Atlas. To unlock the higher Tiers beyond White maps, you have to uncover these stones by defeating the boss and claiming the Watchstone from them. Each region has four different ones, and the Atlas will change color to tell you where a boss has spawned. Slotting a Watchstone into the Region you want to farm will bump the Maps there up to the next Tier. You can place up to four, but beginners might want to start with just one to see how they handle the more dangerous maps.
The variety of Watchstones will vary a lot depending on what maps you choose to farm. When using this method and juicing maps via Delirium, you can get certain Unique Watchstones that increase the returns via something like the Builder. this is great for those trying to find a Headhunter. If you pair the Fracturing method below with a Map with Nemesis mods on it, you’re going to be getting some good chances of getting items like Headhunter or The Taming.
Once you have your Watchstones for the Region you want to farm, it’s time to pick a Map. We’re going to want to pair the Watchstones with a good high-investment map. We’ll get to how to sustain maps when we talk about the Secret Sauce below.
Second Step – Choosing a Map
There is only really one wrong choice when it comes to this method, STAY AWAY FROM CLUTTERED MAPS! Wide-open maps with easy-to-navigate layouts are the best for most people, as they reduce the risk of getting trapped in tight spaces with tons of dangerous mobs. Also, if you’re doing something like Legion or Blight, you don’t want to get stuck in tight hallways and slow down.
The Tier of the map should be at least Yellow, and it should be from the Region you chose to focus on. But really, your playstyle and desired outcomes will determine what Map you choose. If your goal is to farm Nurse Divination Cards, you’re going to farm the Tower, for example. And you’re going to pair that with Watchstones that add Currency items.
It’s best to complete the Corrupted Rare version of your desired map to see if your build can reliably clear it first. The juicy version is much more dangerous though. It will be tough, but it’s good to have some idea of what to expect.
Here’s the basic process for “Juicing” once you’ve chosen a map:
- Apply Cartographer’s Chisels to maximize Map Quality.
- Apply an Alchemy Orb, checking modifiers to see if there are any dangerous mods—such as “Reflect Elemental Damage” on the map.
- If no dangerous mods, continue. If there are, scour down and redo. Depending on the league economy, it might be cheaper to use an Orb of Scouring rather than a Chaos Orb to change a Map that’s too dangerous.
- Once you have the map ready, you can get your other parts ready, namely the stuff you’re placing in the Map Device. Any item placed in the Map Device will alter the Map, as well as adding Quantity of items, which increases returns.
- Map Fragments can be added to the Map Device in a slot, adding buffs to the Map.
- Scarabs can be placed in a Map Device, applying their effect to the Map.
- Blood-filled Vessels can be added to the Map as well, adding better Ritual rewards and more mobs.
- Apply “Secret Sauce” of your choice
So what else do we do? That’s where Delirium orbs come in.
Third Step – Secret Sauce
Delirium Orbs are the secret sauce for many who Juice their maps. Using these Orbs on a map forces the mechanic to spawn. Be careful though, you need a fairly tanky build to handle the layers in higher tier maps. But once you get going, you’ll be printing currency.
Fracturing
When you pick your map, you want it to be as high-Quantity as possible. Having a base map with plenty of Delirium effects applied is key. You will want to have a map that you can reliably duplicate via Fractured Fossils. A resonator with the Fractured Fossil will reroll the mods on the original item, and create a mirrored copy of the original. The original map will retain its Delirium effects and any Harvest crafts. This is why Delirium effects for Currency and Divination Cards are so powerful in 3.13.
What Delirium to use?
The downside is that the best ones are very costly. You can sometimes get the Orbs via Ritual rewards, you should always grab them when they come up, regardless of what they are. The ones you don’t use yourself can often be sold to another player for a nice profit.
The best possible options for raw returns with Delirium Orbs are:
- Cartographer’s Delirium Orb
- Diviner’s Delirium Orb
- Fine Delirium Orb
- Fossilised Delirium Orb
- Skittering Delirium Orb
You can find a full list of Delirium Orbs and their best drops down below. Once you’ve picked your Orbs and applied them to your finished map, place it and any Fragments in the Map Device and go.
Item | Effect(s) |
---|---|
Abyssal Delirium Orb | Abyss Drops |
Amorphous Delirium Orb | Metamorph Parts and Drops |
Armoursmith’s Delirium Orb | Armour items |
Blacksmith’s Delirium Orb | Weapons |
Blighted Delirium Orb | Blight Drops |
Cartographer’s Delirium Orb | Maps |
Decadent Delirium Orb | Perandus Coins |
Diviner’s Delirium Orb | Divination Cards |
Fine Delirium Orb | Raw Currency |
Foreboding Delirium Orb | Harbinger Drops |
Fossilised Delirium Orb | Fossils |
Fragmented Delirium Orb | Fragments |
Imperial Delirium Orb | Labyrinth Drops and Enchanted items |
Jeweller’s Delirium Orb | Jewellry |
Obscured Delirium Orb | Breach Drops |
Portentous Delirium Orb | Prophecies |
Primal Delirium Orb | Talismans |
Singular Delirium Orb | Unique Items |
Skittering Delirium Orb | Scarabs |
Thaumaturge’s Delirium Orb | Gems |
Timeless Delirium Orb | Legion Drops |
Whispering Delirium Orb | Essences |