Ascendancy and the Atlas

Two systems define the back half of a Path of Exile 2 character: your Ascendancy, a subclass earned through Trials, and the Atlas of Worlds, the map based endgame you enter after the campaign. This page explains how you unlock and grow both. The version described is Content Update 0.5.x “Return of the Ancients,” which reworked the Atlas into a directional layout. Exact gates, tier counts, and point targets are version-sensitive and flagged where they matter.

Ascendancy and the Trials

Your base class branches into distinct Ascendancy subclasses, chosen after you complete a Trial. You do not get your Ascendancy automatically; you have to earn it and its points through Trials. The main early route:

• The Trial of the Sekhemas, entered with a Djinn Barya item, becomes accessible in Act 2. It unlocks your Ascendancy plus the first 2 ascendancy points.
• The Trial of Chaos, available around Act 3, grants points 3 and 4.
• Higher level Trials grant points 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the endgame.

The Trial of the Sekhemas uses a special resource called Honour. You lose Honour when hit, and the run ends if it reaches 0, which makes it a distinct challenge from normal combat: avoiding damage matters as much as dealing it. Exact level gates may be outdated, so run the Trials as soon as they open rather than assuming a specific level.

Do the Trials on time. Missing your Act 2 Ascendancy leaves you badly underpowered for the rest of the campaign. In the Sekhemas Trial, prioritize not getting hit.

Entering the Atlas

After the campaign and interludes you reach the Ziggurat Refuge, the endgame hub that holds the Map Device. This is where the endgame loop begins. You insert a Waystone into the Map Device to open a Map, a randomized zone with its own monsters, modifiers, and often a boss. Waystones come in 15 tiers, which set the Map level and difficulty, though the tier count may be outdated.

The Atlas passive tree and layout

The Atlas has its own separate passive skill tree, distinct from your character passive tree. It is themed around endgame mechanics rather than character combat power, so it shapes how your Maps behave rather than how hard you hit.

0.5 reworked the whole Atlas into a directional progression. In each direction you find a questline for one of the recurring league mechanics: Breach, Delirium, Abyss, Expedition, or Ritual. Each direction also includes a new structure called the Fortress, used to earn Atlas passive points. Sources cite a target of unlocking 311 Atlas passive points as a completion goal, though that number may be outdated.

Precursor Towers and the Fortress

Two structures drive your movement across the Atlas.

• Precursor Towers are placed on the Atlas. Clearing a Tower reveals more of the Atlas and lets you insert Precursor Tablets to buff surrounding Maps. Clearing a Tower can raise a Fortress you then clear.
• The Fortress is the structure you clear to earn Atlas passive points, sitting at the end of the directional questlines.

The current 0.5 endgame progression arc is called “The Origins of Divinity,” which centers on the Precursors and “The First Edict,” activated after completing your first Tower.

Pinnacle bosses and the reward chase

The pinnacle bosses sit at the top of the endgame. In 0.5, the Arbiter of Divinity is the new main pinnacle boss tied to the Origins of Divinity arc, and repeated Arbiter of Divinity kills are cited as the fastest repeatable route to Atlas passive points, with five kills cited for a full Fortress run. The Arbiter of Ash, the previous main pinnacle boss, is still present in the Fortress route but is no longer the sole core target. The full current 0.5 pinnacle roster is unconfirmed.

Layer	What it does
Trials	Unlock the Ascendancy and its 8 points
Map Device	Opens Maps from Waystones (15 tiers)
Atlas passive tree	Separate tree themed around endgame mechanics
Precursor Towers	Reveal the Atlas and buff Maps with Tablets
Fortress	Awards Atlas passive points
Pinnacle bosses	The top of the reward chase

Next: the bosses at the top of this endgame in Act and Pinnacle Bosses. For the systems feeding your character power, see Passive Tree and Gems. For the whole path in brief, see Campaign to Maps.