If you want to experience the revamped endgame content of Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients as soon as possible, don't waste time studying map layouts.
GGG level designer Sunna publicly warned against studying map layouts before Patch 0.5.0. The new patch brings a lot of content: over 50 hours of new endgame content, 5 new storylines, 15 new bosses, 4 peak encounters, two new advanced classes, over 40 new legendary items, and a brand new League built around the power of ancient runes - Runes of Aldur.
Anything you study now may be completely outdated and useless by the time the new League is released. So what should we do instead of pointless guessing?
Maintain a Sense of Urgency
Minimize your time spent in towns and keep moving during combat. Maintaining a sense of urgency will unconsciously increase your efficiency.
Many players previously mistakenly believed that their inefficiency stemmed from a lack of map familiarity, leading them to spend excessive time studying the map. However, this misconception resulted in a time cost far exceeding the waste of time spent going in the wrong direction.
Constant movement doesn't mean completely ignoring items and Passive Tree . It means understanding a basic logic: continuous progress is better than staying still, even if you're going the wrong way. The focus is on the endgame, so just keep going.
Rational Resource Management
When you're in towns, you'll see many merchants and trading posts, usually where players exchange PoE2 currency for needed items. However, every penny is hard-earned, and every penny should be spent wisely, meaning you must get only what you truly need.
Current usage requires rational planning. Orbs of Augmentation are relatively easy to obtain and can be used more freely; however, the rarer Path of Exile 2 Regal Orbs and Exalted Orbs should only be used when encountering truly valuable equipment upgrades.
Generally, spending 1 to 2 Regal Orbs per Veil, primarily on weapon upgrades, is a reasonable pace. Here are two key points regarding shopping:
Utilizing Rex Expressions
For example, a player using a crossbow can set highlighting criteria to simultaneously filter gear with significant lightning damage and physical damage + projectile skill level. If you follow build guides, they usually provide recommended rex expressions in their descriptions; if you're creating your own build, investing time in learning how to write rex expressions is worthwhile.
Understanding Affix Breakpoints
Affixes like "increases physical damage by x%" on equipment have level ranges, with different item levels yielding different ranges of random affix values. However, you don't need to memorize all breakpoints; just understand one principle: you'll likely only replace equipment a handful of times throughout the entire act.
Therefore, if you find suitable upgrade gear early in an act, completely disable the merchant window until the end of the act before checking it again.
In addition, resources like Jeweller's Orb, Runes, and Blacksmith's Whetstone, while seemingly insignificant, can provide significant benefits if accumulated strategically and used on weapons at key moments, helping you reach the endgame faster.
Experience Management
Besides targeted resource management, monster hunting may need to be strategic.
Not all monsters in Path of Exile 2 are worth fighting. You can skip monsters that allow you to quickly advance to the endgame. So, which monsters are worth fighting, and which aren't?
- Blue Monsters: A single blue monster provides 3.5 times the experience of a white monster of the same level. If you pay attention to clearing groups of magical monsters during your progression, you won't need to worry too much about experience.
- White Monsters: Conversely, white monsters are not worth fighting unless your level is significantly lower than most players and you are not strong enough to defeat blue monsters.
Learning to fight selectively is the first step in experience management, but truly efficient map clearing, especially in the mid-to-late game, depends on a more specific decision: when to choose an Ascendancy class?
Optimal Timing
The best time to speedrun to endgame content is currently to postpone your challenges until after your character reaches level 28. This allows you to utilize Barya farmed in Deahar region, resulting in a better resistance cap and affix strength for your gear base after completing the trials.
Additionally, if you want to play an endgame Ascendancy class with an extremely high skill ceiling but weak early game (such as Abyssal Lich or Blood Mage, which require specific Path of Exile 2 Unique items), then choosing a transitional Ascendancy during leveling might make your endgame speedrun smoother and more stable.
Besides these decisions, this PoE2 update includes some hardware settings that are highly beneficial for your combat speedrun.
Utilizing In-Game Tools
GGG has included numerous convenience - enhancing Build Planners in Path of Exile 2, a significant innovation that allows you to quickly adjust skill allocation and attribute points without opening third-party web pages. Secondly, make good use of the updated hotkeys: quick talent tree assignment and quick weapon binding.
Regarding the talent tree, holding down Ctrl key allows you to quickly confirm and assign talent nodes; using the quick assignment function effectively can save you almost no time when clicking attribute nodes. If assigning talents efficiently on the left side takes 11 seconds, clicking each node individually on the right side might not even complete half the task, this speed difference, multiplied by the number of talent assignments you make throughout the campaign, results in considerable time savings.
Regarding weapon specialization, use Ctrl + Shift + Left Click to assign specialization to weapon group one, and Ctrl + Shift + Right Click to assign to weapon group two. This can save you several minutes when assigning talents.
These new settings in Path of Exile 2 save you a lot of time in your speedrun. In addition to the above, after Patch 0.5.0 is released, you can also improve efficiency by adjusting the game's display settings.
Three Minutes to Prepare
There's a setting you might not have noticed: the layout of the in-game inventory page is synchronized with the corresponding League standard. Therefore, you can spend three minutes preparing before starting a new League.
In the mode you plan to play, first create a character in Standard zone, enter town, and name, categorize, and set the highlight rules for your inventory page according to your preferences. When Patch 0.5.0 is officially released, your inventory will already be well-organized when you enter town, saving you from rummaging through inventory during the most precious few minutes of the initial playthrough. This can significantly save you time, even if it's just a few minutes, it's crucial for the overall speedrun process.
Besides these step-by-step methods to improve speedrun efficiency, some players also consider using a multi-account system.
Muling
Muling involves creating a secondary character, acquiring initial skill gems or specific equipment, and transferring them to the main character. This works as long as both characters are in the same League and not in Solo Self-Found mode.
However, after PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0 update, this method has lost its previous advantages. The time spent acquiring equipment through muling is now sufficient to progress through the new League normally and obtain better gear, or to earn enough Path Of Exile 2 Currency to get better equipment by selling white and blue gear.
Therefore, you can either combine the above strategies with normal gameplay to acquire equipment, or you can buy Path of Exile 2 Items from EZG.com. Both methods are far more efficient than using Muling. Players can choose to accord to their needs.
In short, if you want to speedrun to Endgame mode after Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0 update, which is about a week away, don't just talk about it. Use this preventative guide prepared for you and take action next week!











