Path of Exile 2 has entered a strange moment in its progression meta—a moment defined by massive shifts in what players previously took for granted. Breach, once the cornerstone of speed-leveling and monster density strategies, was gutted by sweeping nerfs this league. Fortress events, island events, and even stable breaches have slipped dramatically in efficiency. The result? A gaping knowledge chasm where players are scrambling to re-discover how to efficiently hit level 100, sustain maps, and generate meaningful profit along the way.
In the middle of that uncertainty, a new strategy has emerged—not only viable, but explosively strong. After testing numerous setups, iterating on several builds, and finally hitting level 100 on a Toxic Rain Pathfinder live on stream, one combination stood out above everything else: POE 2 Chaos Orbs, fueled by enormous magic pack size and supported by a carefully structured Atlas tree.
This article will break down the strategy in full: why it works, how to build around it, which maps maximize the XP curve, what scarabs you should run, and how to retain both survivability and profitability. If your goal is the highest XP per hour possible while farming delirious eight-mod corrupted maps—without dying and without bankrupting yourself—this is your guide.
1. The First Principle of XP Farming: Spawn, Kill, Survive
At its core, XP farming has always had a deceptively simple formula:
Kill as many monsters as possible, as quickly as possible. Don’t die.
Everything else—scarabs, maps, Atlas nodes, league mechanics—exists only to serve those three pillars.
The failure of Breach this league illustrates this perfectly. Despite historically being the fastest way to flood your map with monsters, the XP numbers behind Breach events were hit so hard by nerfs that they’re no longer competitive. Fortress events are dreadful XP. Island events, while thematic, simply don’t keep pace with top-end mapping builds. Stable and unstable breaches are “fine,” but fine isn’t enough when you’re racing for level 100.
To push past the old meta and reach new XP-per-hour thresholds, we needed something that:
spawns an overwhelming number of enemies
synergizes cleanly with map pack size scaling
doesn’t require awkward setup like Alva
feeds both XP and currency
remains safe for high-juice environments
The answer came from a surprising place: Beyond, supercharged by the new behavior of Evolution Shrines.
2. Why Beyond is Back: The Power of Endless Monster Waves
Beyond has always been capable of generating absurd monster counts when properly fueled—but in the past, it was risky, clunky, or inconsistent depending on league state. This league, however, everything aligned perfectly.
Beyond monsters spawn any time you kill enough monsters close together. This means:
The more pack size you have, the more Beyond spawns you get.
The more Beyond mobs you kill, the more portals appear.
The more portals appear, the more monsters flood into the map.
But the real breakthrough comes from combining this with Evolution Shrines.
3. Evolution Shrines: The Quietly Buffed XP Engine
Evolution Shrines were quietly buffed in the patch notes, though the exact math isn’t written anywhere in-game. Formerly, they granted a 10% chance to upgrade a monster’s rarity (normal → magic → rare). The new value is 25%, but with diminishing odds on subsequent upgrades. The results are still spectacular.
With the right setup:
you flood your map with magic monsters
those magic monsters upgrade into rares by the hundreds
killing those rares triggers Beyond Scarab of the Invasion
those Beyond spawns add thousands of additional monsters
which further upgrades and chain-spawns more rares and portals
This feedback loop is what creates the tidal wave effect—screen after screen of tightly packed mobs rushing you with no downtime.
You cannot see the shrine effect in-game, but the difference in map density is obvious the moment you enter your first Evolution map.
4. Why This Beats Abyss and Breach
Abyss isn’t terrible as a density engine, but in testing it had two fatal flaws:
It’s deadly. Those sudden spike bursts undermine XP runs where death is unacceptable.
It’s worse XP per hour. Even optimized Abyss pathways underperformed compared to Beyond–Evolution synergy.
Currency returns are lower. Beyond and shrines simply shower you in scarabs, raw currency, and divination cards.
Abyss is usable, but this strategy outpaces it in every metric.
Breach? Completely dead for XP this league.
5. Building the Atlas Tree: The Skeleton of the Strategy
Building the right Atlas tree is essential. You want:
every shrine node (mandatory)
100% Beyond chance (non-negotiable)
high map pack size and quant scaling
Eldritch altar pack size bonuses
all major scarab wheel nodes
Endless Tide, to prevent Beyond bosses
Why block Beyond bosses?
Because Beyond bosses instantly stop new Beyond spawns for the rest of the map. If one appears early, your run is bricked. Endless Tide prevents this entirely.
Pale Clarion & Bait Followers
Pale Clarion is incredible—it massively improves the value of Beyond breadcrumbs, showering you in:
raw currency drops
tainted currency
miscellaneous high-volume items
It’s one of the reasons this strategy feels so profitable per hour.
Optional Nodes
Covetous shrines – can be dangerous; drop them for safety
Fish Opulence – cute, not required
Chisel Perfection – only useful if you’re manually alch-and-corrupting your maps
If you need to drop nodes, drop the 4% scarab chance micro-nodes first.
6. The Scarab Setup: The Heart of the Strategy
You need five scarabs for this build, four of which are locked in:
Mandatory Scarabs
Monstrous Lineage Scarab
+80% magic pack size
Absolutely insane. Core to the strategy.
Evolution Shrine Scarab
Spawns your Evolution Shrine
Without it, the build collapses.
Beyond Scarab of the Invasion
Rares you kill spawn Beyond portals
Turns the shrine-boosted rares into Beyond triggers
Second Shrine / Influence / Hordes
Options:
Another Evolution Shrine (safest)
Influencing Scarab of Hordes (+40% pack size)
Domination Scarab of Evolution (gives 2 shrines)
Recommended 5th Slot
A second shrine scarab is the most consistent choice. Two shrines means:
easier to locate the Evolution Shrine at start
faster full-map uptime
quicker chain spawns
immediate recovery if shrine uptime drops
If you want maximum density and can handle more danger, Hordes is a valid alternative.
7. Map Choices: Which Maps Give the Highest XP?
Though Beyond works everywhere, some maps are elevated by layout, pathing, and boss behavior.
Top Maps for XP (Estimated 70M+ XP/hr potential):
Toxic Sewer – dense, fast loops, perfect for shrine chaining
Glacier – many unique bosses at the end for massive Beyond portal spikes
Atoll – linear, smooth flow, perfect for speed-clears
Good but Slightly Lower Yield:
Dunes – what was used on stream; still hits ~60–64M XP/hr
Glacier is especially notable because of the pack of unique goatmen at the boss arena—each one counts toward Beyond portal spawns, leading to huge final waves. But beware: the true boss can leap and kill you if you're not careful.
8. Tactical Map Approach: Shrine First, Boss Later
The optimal path in each map is:
Rush the shrine
Everything revolves around activating your Evolution Shrine early.
Trigger the shrine and full clear
Once active, do a fast but thorough kill loop.
Kill the boss last
Killing the boss early spawns Beyond portals prematurely, wasting potential.
Killing them after clearing the map spawns portals at peak density.
This ordering ensures:
maximum shrine uptime
maximum rare mob conversion
maximum Beyond triggers
9. Survivability: Why Toxic Rain Pathfinder Works So Well
Though you can run this strategy on many builds, Toxic Rain Pathfinder shines for XP farming in delirious 8-mod corrupted maps:
high evasion + spell suppression
strong recovery through flasks
strong DoT clears massive packs without exposure
high mobility
high uptime even in heavy chaos or phys modifiers
The key point is simple: you cannot die. Any death ruins the hour’s XP rate and likely costs a chunk of profit.
10. Currency Generation: The Hidden Bonus of the Strategy
While the goal is XP, this setup is shockingly profitable:
huge scarab drops
large volume of raw currency from Beyond followers
divination cards
tainted fusings, chromatics, and more from Fish Opulence (optional)
Eldritch drops from altars
In general, players report earning as many Divine Orbs per hour from this strategy as dedicated currency strats like Expedition or Legion buy POE 2 Divine Orbs.
It’s rare for an XP strategy to also double as a currency farm—but this one does.
11. Conclusion: The New Gold Standard for Level 100 Grinding
With Breach dethroned, Abyss underperforming, and traditional XP strategies fading, the Beyond + Evolution Shrine method has stepped into the spotlight. It checks every major box:
Top-tier XP per hour
Massive monster density
Synergy with pack size and Atlas tree scaling
Strong raw currency generation
Safe if executed correctly
Affordable to run
Whether you're casually pushing toward level 100 or trying to crack 70+ million XP per hour in POE2, this strategy represents the current pinnacle of mapping efficiency.
If you enjoy fast gameplay, endless waves of enemies, and a constant stream of loot flooding your screen, Beyond Evolution mapping may be the most satisfying version of Path of Exile farming in years.