Hello, everyone! If you're like me and enjoy diving deep into Path of Exile 2 mechanics, you might have come across the Ritual mechanic and wondered if it's worth investing your time in. Today, I'm going to take you through my experience running 100 Ritual maps to evaluate the currency returns and whether this mechanic is a viable option for farming in Path of Exile 2. Spoiler alert: while there are some great rewards, it may not always be the best choice for steady POE2 Currency farming.

Let's dive into the specifics.

What Makes Ritual a Worthwhile Mechanic?

Ritual is a high-risk, high-reward mechanic that can drop a range of valuable items. Some of the most notable drops include the Audience with the Kings, which sells for about 3 Divines, and Omens, particularly the purple ones, which can fetch anywhere between 14 to 40 Divines per drop. These high-value items are what make Ritual worth considering as part of your farming strategy. However, it's a gamble—sometimes you’ll go through multiple Ritual maps without seeing anything of value, and then you might land one of the juicy Omens that can significantly boost your profits.

Moreover, Ritual also drops gear with potentially high rolls that can be sold for decent amounts. The Ritual Tablets themselves also hold value, ranging from 1 to 3 Divines, depending on their quality. Therefore, despite the RNG (Random Number Generator) involved, the potential returns are what attract many players to this mechanic.

Setting Up for Ritual Farming: The Atlas Passive Tree

Before we go into the results of my 100 Ritual maps, let’s talk about the setup I used to increase the chances of good drops. I put points into specific areas of the Atlas Passive Tree that focus on increasing the chances of receiving high-value Ritual drops:

• Ominous Portents: This node grants a 50% increased chance to contain Omens, especially the purple ones that can yield 14+ Divines per drop.

• Heed Approaches: This increases the chance to contain Audience with the Kings, which are worth 3 Divines each. It's an excellent way to guarantee some solid returns if you're lucky enough to trigger it.

• Tempting Offers: This node allows you to reroll Ritual favors and gives you additional time. This means you can see more items per map, increasing the chances of encountering valuable drops like the Kings or Omens.

• Promise Devotion vs. Spreading Darkness: Promise Devotion lowers the cost of deferring Ritual items, while Spreading Darkness guarantees four Ritual altars per map. I opted for Promise Devotion since around 40-50% of my maps already had four altars, so this node felt like a better investment to maximize efficiency. However, you can go with Spreading Darkness if you want to ensure that every map has four altars.

My Ritual Farming Strategy

With my Atlas tree set and the focus on maximizing the potential of Ritual drops, I dove into the 100 Ritual maps. Here's how I approached it:

• Run Three Rituals: In every map, I aimed to complete at least three Rituals, even if the map had four altars. I focused on rolling for valuable items and skipped over less promising gear and non-high-value Rituals.

• Focus on Kings and Omens: While running the Rituals, I targeted the Audience with the Kings and the Omens, especially the purple ones. These are the high-ticket items, and my strategy was centered on farming them as efficiently as possible.

• Skip Non-Profitable Runs: If I didn’t see anything valuable after rolling the Rituals, I left the map and moved on to the next. This helped me avoid wasting time on low-value runs and ensured I spent more time farming potential high-value drops.

Results of My First 50 Ritual Maps

The first 50 Ritual maps were a bit underwhelming. While I ran a variety of maps with different monster levels and configurations, the results were modest:

• 2 Audience with the Kings

• 1 Omen of Corruption

• 1 Divine Orb

In total, these drops were worth approximately 7 Divines and about 150 Exalts. Given that I had run 50 Ritual maps, this wasn’t as profitable as I had hoped. I was feeling a bit disheartened after the first 50 maps, as it seemed like I hadn’t hit the jackpot yet.

What Went Wrong?

After some reflection, I realized that I hadn't been running Level 80+ Maps consistently. Running maps with monsters above level 80 increases your chances of seeing the rarer drops, especially the purple Omens. These are some of the most profitable drops from Ritual, so I decided to adjust my strategy for the second set of 50 maps.

Additionally, my Atlas Passive Tree wasn’t fully optimized for Pack Size, which I learned from research. By increasing the monster pack size, you get more monsters, and therefore, more tribute per Ritual altar, boosting your chances of encountering valuable drops.

The Second Set of 50 Ritual Maps

With the changes made—running higher level maps (T16s, corrupted, or irated to ensure level 80+) and optimizing my Atlas tree for pack size—I went back into Ritual farming for another 50 maps. Here’s what I got from this second batch:

• 4 Audience with the Kings

• 1 Omen of Corruption

• 1 Divine Orb

This set of runs nearly doubled my returns from the first set of 50. In total, I made 13 Divines and 150 Exalts from the second batch. The improvement was clear, but it was still nothing mind-blowing compared to the high-value drops I had hoped for.

Final Tally of 100 Ritual Maps

After completing all 100 Ritual maps, I tallied up my total profits:

• 20 Divines

• 300 Exalts

While this seems like a solid haul, especially if you’re fortunate enough to land Omens or Audience with the Kings, it’s important to note that this is still a highly RNG-dependent mechanic. The potential is there to hit massive profits, but you can also run dozens of Rituals with nothing of value dropping.

Is Ritual Worth It?

So, after testing and reflecting on the 100 Ritual maps, here’s my conclusion:

1. RNG Factor: Ritual farming is definitely a high-risk, high-reward activity. You might get lucky and hit one of those super valuable Omens that could yield 40 Divines or more, but most of the time, your profits will be modest.

2. Better Alternatives for Consistent Profits: If you're looking for consistent, steady currency farming, there are other mechanics like Breach, Delirium, or Thematic Trials that can yield more consistent profits without relying too heavily on luck.

3. Good for a Secondary Farming Strategy: Ritual can be a great secondary mechanic to run while you’re farming other, more consistent mechanics. For example, if you're already running Breach maps, adding Ritual to the mix could give you an extra shot at high-value drops without disrupting your main focus.

4. A Fun Gamble: If you enjoy the thrill of gambling for high-value drops, Ritual can be a fun way to mix things up. The dopamine hit from landing an Omen or an Audience with the Kings is undeniable, but don’t rely on Ritual as your primary farming strategy.

Final Verdict: Not Worth It as a Primary Mechanic

While Ritual can yield excellent results if you’re lucky, the volatility and RNG factor make it less reliable for consistent farming compared to other mechanics. If you're aiming for high returns, you might want to consider other activities or use Ritual as a side-farm to complement your main strategy or buy Path of Exile 2 Orbs at eld.gg.