PoE 2 Map Guide — How to Run Maps, Modifiers & Scarabs

Map Tier System Overview

How the Map Device Works

The Map Device is installed in your hideout and is the gateway to all endgame mapping. To run a map, place a Waystone (the map item) into one of the Map Device slots and activate it. The device opens a portal to the map zone. Before opening the portal, you can also insert Scarabs into additional slots to add specific league mechanic content to the map. Each map run is independent — the Waystone is consumed when you enter the map.

Maps can be upgraded with orbs before running to increase their difficulty and reward. Using an Orb of Transmutation makes a normal (white) Waystone magic (blue) with one or two modifiers. Using an Orb of Alchemy upgrades a normal Waystone directly to rare (yellow) with four modifiers. Rarer Waystones with more modifiers provide higher item quantity and rarity bonuses, but the modifiers make enemies harder. This tradeoff is the core economic decision of mapping.

The Map Device interface also shows the number of portals available for each map. Standard maps grant six portals. If your character dies in the map, one portal is consumed. If all six portals are used before completing the map boss, the map instance closes and remaining content is lost (though any loot already picked up is kept). Hardcore leagues have only one portal per map and death is permanent.

Dangerous Map Modifiers to Avoid (or Skip)

• 'Monsters deal X% additional Fire/Cold/Lightning Damage as Chaos': Bypasses resistance mitigation; very dangerous with low chaos resistance.
• 'Players are Cursed with Elemental Weakness': Reduces all elemental resistances by 50%; effectively removes your resistance capping.
• 'Monsters have X% increased Critical Strike Chance' + 'X% increased Critical Strike Multiplier': Combined crit mods create one-shot potential from critting enemies.
• 'Players cannot Regenerate Life, Mana, or Energy Shield': Removes all passive regeneration; life flask dependency becomes total.
• 'Monsters Reflect X% of Elemental Damage': Kills elemental damage dealers instantly; skip this modifier entirely on elemental builds.
• 'Monsters Reflect X% of Physical Damage': Same as elemental reflect but for physical builds; always skip.
• 'Players have -X% to Maximum Resistances': Lowers your resistance cap below 75%; very dangerous on maps above T10.

Scarabs — Adding Extra Content to Maps

Scarabs are consumable items that add a specific league mechanic to a map when inserted into the Map Device alongside a Waystone. Each Scarab type adds one mechanic: a Breach Scarab adds a Breach encounter, an Expedition Scarab adds an Expedition remnant, an Abyss Scarab adds an Abyss crack. Multiple Scarabs can be inserted simultaneously (typically up to 4 slots in the Map Device) to add multiple mechanics to the same map.

Scarabs come in four rarity tiers: Normal, Polished, Gilded, and Winged. Higher-rarity Scarabs add more of the mechanic or improve its rewards. A Normal Breach Scarab adds one Breach encounter; a Gilded Breach Scarab adds a Breach encounter with significantly more monster spawns and a higher chance of Breachstone fragment drops. Winged Scarabs are the rarest and most powerful, adding maximum amounts of content.

Scarabs drop from any endgame content but are most efficiently obtained from their matching league mechanic — Breach Scarabs from Breach encounters, Ritual Scarabs from Ritual Altars, and so on. The Atlas passive tree has nodes that increase Scarab drop rates for specific content types. Selling Scarabs on poe2.trade is a reliable income source since demand for popular Scarab types (Breach, Delirium) is consistently high.

Efficient Map Farming Routine

Steps

1. Select a preferred map layout (linear layouts like Canyon, Burial Chambers clear fastest).
2. Upgrade map to rare with Orb of Alchemy; check modifiers and skip deadly ones (reflect, -max resists).
3. Insert 2–4 Scarabs: combine Breach Scarab + Essence Scarab for maximum value per run.
4. Open map via Map Device; clear all packs moving toward the map boss.
5. Trigger Breach encounters in order as you clear (do not ignore breaches — they add significant loot).
6. Complete the map boss last; boss drops are often the highest-value items in the run.
7. Return to hideout; manage inventory; resupply Waystones from the next tier.

Tips

• Running the same map repeatedly builds familiarity with the layout, increasing clear speed and efficiency.
• Keep 20+ Waystones of your preferred tier stocked before starting a session to avoid interruption.
• Use Scarab Stash tabs to organize Scarabs by type for quick selection when loading the Map Device.