In Path of Exile 3.26 Secrets of the Atlas, players continue the never-ending quest for efficient, sustainable currency farming. While high-end juiced maps and deep delve runs promise massive profits, not everyone has the time, gear, or patience to set up those operations, especially in the early stages of a new league. That's where Ritual comes in. Ritual is a low-investment, jackpot-style mechanic that's surprisingly powerful in 3.26, especially if you know how to optimize it.

 

This guide outlines a complete Ritual farming strategy tailored for solo players or time-conscious Exiles. If you're looking for a currency farm, you can start on day two of the league and maintain for hundreds of maps with minimal risk and solid returns, read on.

 

Why Ritual Still Works in Path of Exile 3.26

 

Ritual remains a consistent and rewarding mechanic in 3.26 for one simple reason: high ceiling, low cost. A few maps may feel underwhelming, but then—bam—you hit a massive reward like a Mirror Shard, a stack of Divine Orbs, or a Synthesized item worth a fortune.

 

On average, Rituals give 4,000–5,000 Tribute per map. In ideal layouts like City Square, where the altar can spawn near the map's three bosses, you can net 7,000 to 9,000 Tribute. That's more than enough to reroll rewards and grab high-value loot. Add in Blood-filled Vessels, which you'll naturally accumulate through the Atlas passive tree, and those numbers jump even higher.

 

Getting Started: Atlas Completion First

 

Before diving into Ritual farming, you need a mostly completed Atlas. Having 80+ bonus objectives completed gives you access to more Atlas passive points, better maps, and higher-tier rewards. Don't skip this step. Ritual farming is map-dependent, and the more passives you have, the more efficient your farming loop becomes.

 

Tip: Use your early maps to push progression, complete objectives, and get your favorite map (ideally City Square) into your Map Device favorites.

 

Core Ritual Strategy in 3.26

 

The foundation of the strategy revolves around:

 

1. City Square Map: Ideal boss positioning and Ritual altar clustering.

2. Ritual Scarabs: For Tribute boosts and reroll options.

3. Low-Investment Mapping: Minimal sextants, cheap fragments, and selective atlas passives.

4. Complementary Content: Eater of Worlds Altars, Heist caches, and Improved Lab Trials.

 

Let's break down each component in detail.

 

Atlas Tree Setup for Ritual Farming

 

The Atlas Passive Tree is where you dial in your strategy. In 3.26, you want to:

 

Ritual Cluster (Top Priority)

 

· Ritual Reward Nodes: Increase Tribute and number of rerolls.

· Blood-Filled Vessel Chance: More vessels = more Tribute = more loot.

· Chance for Rituals to Be in Boss Arena: This is huge on maps like City Square where bosses are central.

 

Eater of Worlds Influence

 

· Searing Exarch Blocked: Focus entirely on Eater.

· Altars Spawn More Often: You'll see many altars per map.

· Better Altar Rewards: Currency, scarabs, divination cards.

 

Just be cautious—some altar effects are extremely dangerous (e.g., -max res, reduced resistances, increased enemy crit). Always read before clicking.

 

Heist Nodes

 

· Smuggler's Caches More Frequent: Heist blueprints and contracts drop like candy.

· Rogue Markers in Bulk: Easy to sell on the trade.

 

Lab Trial Enhancements

 

· Improved Trials: Offerings to the Goddess (especially the upgraded ones) can be very lucrative.

 

Quantity and Pack Size

 

· Effect of Modifiers on Non-Unique Maps

· Increased Monster Pack Size

· Increased Quantity of Items Dropped by Maps

 

These stack together to increase both drops and Tribute.

 

Content to Block

 

· Legion

· Expedition

· Abyss

· Harvest

· Breach

 

Blocking these increases the odds of hitting Ritual, Heist, and Trials more consistently.

 

Map Choice: Why City Square is King

 

City Square Map is the optimal map for Ritual farming for several reasons:

 

1. Centralized Bosses: All three bosses spawn in the middle, increasing the odds that the first Ritual altar will too.

2. Ritual Altar Density: Rituals close together = faster runs.

3. Good Layout for Fast Clears: The open square shape makes movement efficient.

4. Natural Synergy with Eater Altars: You'll get 4+ altars per run easily.

 

Route Strategy:

 

· Enter the map and immediately rush the center.

· Kill all three bosses to potentially spawn the first Ritual altar with bonus Tribute.

· Clear the rest of the map and complete the other altars.

· Use your rerolls to hunt for high-value items.

 

Rolling Maps & Using Scarabs/Fragments

 

Scarabs:

 

· Budget Option: 1x Ritual Scarab of Selectiveness (reroll once).

· Premium Option: 2x Ritual Scarab of Selectiveness + 1x Ritual Scarab of Abundance.

 

Use the premium option only if your build is solid and you have currency to spare. Don't use two Abundance scarabs—it's diminishing returns.

 

Fragments:

 

· Sacrifice at Dusk/Dawn/Noon/Midnight: Each adds +5% quantity and are dirt cheap.

· Optional: Divine Vessel if chasing Pantheon upgrades, but not necessary.

 

Map Mods:

 

· Roll rare maps with +quantity, +pack size, and avoid:

  · Reduced resistances

  · Lower max res

  · Reflect (if it affects your build)

  · No regen (for RF builds)

 

If you've taken nodes that increase the effect of map mods, you need to be careful with high-penalty rolls.

 

What You Can Expect to Loot

 

Ritual offers a unique blend of loot sources:

 

1. Tribute Rewards

 

· Divine Orbs

· Exalted Orbs

· Synthesized Bases

· Fractured Items

· Jewels and Cluster Jewels

· High-value uniques (Headhunter, Mageblood, etc.—rare but possible)

 

Use your rerolls to refresh the loot screen multiple times per map.

 

2. Blood-Filled Vessels

 

· Use these in your map device to juice up Tribute in your next maps.

· Can also be sold for profit, especially early league.

 

3. Heist Cache Loot

 

· Blueprints (especially fully revealed ones)

· Contracts

· Rogue Markers

· All of these sell well in bulk.

 

4. Altars

 

· Divine Orbs, stacked decks, good scarabs, or double boss drops

· Currency drops from altars alone can add 10–30c per map on average.

 

5. Lab Trial Offerings

 

· Offerings to the Goddess: Trade for 5–20c each, depending on type.

· Fast to collect and highly visible.

 

Ritual Farming Loop Efficiency

 

Ritual is incredibly time-efficient. Each map takes roughly 3–6 minutes if you rush bosses and Rituals.

 

In an hour, you can easily complete 10–12 maps and:

 

· Collect tens of thousands of Tribute

· Roll multiple high-tier reward screens

· Grab free Heist contracts/blueprints

· Gather Offerings and random loot from altars

 

Sample Returns per Hour:

 

· ~50–70c in raw currency (Divines, Exalts, scarabs, etc.)

· 2–4 Blood-filled Vessels (sell or use)

· 3–5 Heist blueprints/contracts

· 1–2 high-ticket items (Synth bases, rare jewels)

 

While not as explosive as full Legion/Delirium strategies, Ritual offers consistent, low-variance profit with less risk and time investment.

 

Final Thoughts: Is Ritual Worth It in 3.26?

 

Absolutely.

 

Ritual in Path of Exile 3.26 is the ultimate farming strategy for players looking for a low-stress, steady Path of Exile currency method. It's ideal for players who:

 

· Don't have GG builds yet

· Don't want to micromanage 5 league mechanics at once

· Have limited time but still want to earn solid currency

· Want a deterministic farming loop with clear goals

 

It's also incredibly satisfying to see a Mirror Shard or Divine Orb pop up unexpectedly in your fourth Ritual altar after 10 average maps. That dopamine hit? Pure PoE gold.