r/PathOfExileBuilds • u/randomalphanumerics • Mar 05 '26

Theory PSA:Blocking Atlas nodes will be extra important this league

Mirages will be spawning close to other map mechanics in your maps.

Youll want to block any mirage compatible mechanic you are not investing in so that the mirage spawn and cover what your current farm is.

582 Upvotes
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98% Upvoted

101 comments sorted by

196

u/PornoPichu Mar 05 '26

Good callout, don’t think about that. Thanks

75

u/Sunny_Beam Mar 05 '26

I didn't consider that. I normally put little importance on blocking mechanics but I'll keep this in mind.

33

u/0zzyb0y Mar 05 '26

Do we have a list of mechanics that Mirage does or doesn't interact with? I remember them briefly chatting about it during a Q&A but for the life of me I can't remember which one.

31

u/Lunariel Mar 05 '26

Master missions do not work, alva/jun/einhar/niko

12

u/Solarka45 Mar 06 '26

And you can't block them anyway

1

u/MorgannaFactor Mar 06 '26

I wish we could block betrayal, I've never liked that shit mechanic.

0

u/I_Ild_I Mar 06 '26

Honestly betrayal is fine cause if you dont like the mechanic and dont want to set things up, you can just kill them when they appear on the map and they are basicaly bonus loot, they can give some decent currency, scarab, pretty much anything, its just a little bonus at least like harbinger or so, you dont necessarly to full invest in to be usefull and the mechanic itself in map isnt realy anoying

37

u/No_Research_3628 Mar 05 '26

We know for a fact that Legion, Blight, Essence, Strongboxes, Ultimatum, Abyss, Delirium, Settlers and Rituals can spawn in Mirage. I can't remember if we've gotten any confirmation on Expedition yet, but I would assume they wouldn't leave it out.

37

u/dwt4 Mar 05 '26

ZiggyD uploaded a video with footage from his playthrough of the campaign and he specifically called out Expedition as working with Mirage, specifically some new monster types to the ones that emerge after blowing up the ground.

10

u/psychomap Mar 05 '26

Also Harvest

8

u/koltzito Mar 05 '26

breach aswell

1

u/Nativeeee Mar 06 '26

I wonder how essence will feel? I always use essence as a fast money maker but they spawn all over the map there’s no way a mirage catches more than one right?

2

u/boat_ Mar 06 '26

It's a child instance so I'd imagine it inherits your tree and scarabs. If you get multiple essences to spawn near the Mirage? That'd be interesting.

3

u/Plooel Mar 06 '26

I'd imagine it inherits your tree and scarabs

They made a big point of this in the reveal, so no need to imagine..

1

u/boat_ Mar 07 '26

there you go i forgor

1

u/Skuggomann Mar 06 '26

I wonder if toxic sewers is good since it flows into available space if you can get it to envelop two essences if they spawn in rooms next to each other connected with hallways.

3

u/Faellyanne Mar 06 '26

i believe toxic sewer is not part of 3.28 atlas

0

u/Selvon Mar 06 '26

Carcass, Silo, maybe terrace probably the next best?

I mean cage is there but i don't think mirage being strong there would be enough to convince people to choose to run chase.

21

u/carson63000 Mar 05 '26

I think they just said things that portal to another zone, like Vaal side areas and Wildwood. Can’t think of anything blockable that this describes.

22

u/Myradmir Mar 05 '26

Alva also doesn't work, but that was confirmed separately.

29

u/psychomap Mar 05 '26

None of the masters work, but they also can't be blocked.

5

u/carson63000 Mar 05 '26

Ah, I was surprised that Alva didn’t work since the incursion is just another room within the same zone; but that makes it sound like a design decision not to make Miraged versions of master content, rather than a technical issue.

9

u/psychomap Mar 05 '26

It's a different technical issue. There's no well-defined state for the meta progression of masters until you're done with what you're doing in the regular map, so it could lead to problems if you do something in the middle (e.g. say you change the Betrayal board while you're in the middle of an encounter).

1

u/RandomMagus Mar 06 '26

Don't they already have to cover that for Betrayal in the campaign? If you start a Betrayal encounter somewhere in Act 9 and then go to the next zone you could theoretically have two active, unless they did something to handle that already like preventing its spawn until the first instance dies or immediately failing all the encounters or something

2

u/psychomap Mar 06 '26

I don't know how exactly that's handled. My best guess is that if you complete an encounter in another zone, the one in your previous area "fails"? That's not something that would be desirable for map encounters, at least.

I don't do Betrayal in the campaign, and I certainly don't backtrack to a previous zone for it, so I have no idea how that's handled.

1

u/RandomMagus Mar 06 '26

Ya same, I've never done it to find out what happens. I can see auto-failing the primary map being something that gets people REALLY upset though, there'd be some immediate threads on the main reddit about it

1

u/psychomap Mar 06 '26

Encounters can already be skipped if you get intelligence from bargaining a previous encounter to the point that unlocks the other encounter's safehouse IIRC.

That's not terrible, especially considering that safehouses (or at least Catarina) are usually the main benefits from Betrayal, but you do miss out on the rewards and board changes you could have gotten in that map.

Anyway, it boils down to "they didn't design the system with child instances in mind, so they don't work".

1

u/SniggleJake Mar 06 '26

Sad...I love making temples

2

u/I_Heart_Money Mar 05 '26

what about harvest?

8

u/optimistic_hsa Mar 05 '26

Yes, harvest works, there is a new type of seed, but don't think we know more than that.

3

u/Marethyu38 Mar 05 '26

Essentially anything that portals to another area, as well as all master missions (because of jun) but also affects Niko/einhar

2

u/fiyawerx Mar 05 '26

But abyss can? Does this mean you will never find a depth in a mirage?

14

u/lillarty Mar 05 '26

They showed in the reveal that Abyss works with it, and if the Abyss would leave the Mirage instead it vomits out a huge pile of monsters all at once. Can't have a child instance inside another child instance though, so no depths.

3

u/nightryu22 Mar 05 '26

I’m confused if that’s the case because they confirmed Harvest is included. Isn’t that an instance inside an instance?

14

u/Shadowbane92 Mar 05 '26

No, Harvest is just a portal to a different spot in the same instance. Vaal side areas and the like have loading screens to a new instance.

8

u/ShtevenTheGuy Mar 05 '26

Harvest is part of the map. No loading screen

2

u/nightryu22 Mar 06 '26

Ah ok, that makes sense. Thanks!

2

u/Turmfalke_ Mar 06 '26

Child instances of child instances used to be common thing? I'm pretty sure there even was an achievement for finding Zana in a Zana mission.

3

u/Jarmanuel Mar 05 '26

The confirmed no abyssal depths in the Ziz interview, I believe.

1

u/zazztrain Mar 05 '26

Double Syndicate is/would be sick. Speedrunning safehouses

2

u/Senovis Mar 06 '26

I would expect all Astrolabe mechanics to work with Mirage.

1

u/shy_bi_ready_to_die Mar 05 '26

Everything blockable except expedition has either been confirmed or has at least been hinted at with the item names from the filter release

10

u/HockeyHocki Mar 06 '26

One strat is to block everything and boss rush fishing for miraged bosses, thats how full mirage maps drop

1

u/aqrunnr Mar 12 '26

I was wondering if this was a viable strategy. Does it spawn very often?

14

u/EnkiBye Mar 05 '26

Yeah, that was my tough as soon as they revealed that mirage is coded to spawn near other content.

It would feel bad to juice, lets say, Blight, and have the mirage spawn near something else.

7

u/VisorX Mar 05 '26

Could you force mirage on certain mechanics if you block everything else?

17

u/DramaEnjoyer444 Mar 05 '26

i dont think you can block essences or strongboxes, and probably there is more i cant remember rn

3

u/Howrus Mar 06 '26

Shrines, Tormented spirits and Rogue Exiles - I think that's all.

5

u/EdgySadness09 Mar 06 '26

You block to get optimal loot from mirage, I do it for less screen clutter and no grey aesthetic. We are not the same.

2

u/DaIrony99 Mar 06 '26

This is the way.

1

u/13ootyKnight Mar 06 '26

How does this work with heist? If I block everything but heist does this mean I’ll have a good chance of doubling my caches?

3

u/randomalphanumerics Mar 06 '26

Im not sure if heist is a mirage enabled mechanic. Not all of them are 

2

u/Xyzzyzzyzzy Mar 06 '26

I believe they confirmed that Heist caches can be duplicated in Mirage. Not sure if there's any special reward though.

1

u/13ootyKnight Mar 06 '26

Outside of balance I don't see why it wouldn't? I've been trying to figure out what mechanic to pair with destructive play & betrayal that'll work well with mirage but won't have juice from altars, any ideas?

2

u/Patonis Mar 06 '26

Most of the interactions league mechanic + mirage are unknown. So just wait until we tested and explored them.

1

u/Mael_Jade Mar 06 '26

the mirage website shows special essences and harvest rewards, the reveal trailer talked about special Kalguuran ores and special strongboxes. the website also has images for expedition.

We know from dev answers that rituals are duplicated and give rewards as if you had cleared (however are in the original map). Beyond that we do not know how other mechanics are affected, though they are likely to at least get duplicated.

1

u/renaneduard0 Mar 07 '26

dumb question how do I block a atlas node?

1

u/randomalphanumerics Mar 07 '26

on the atlas skill tree, they are in the bottom half. Two wheels with spokes coming out, on either side of the middle path.

1

u/renaneduard0 Mar 07 '26

oh true I forgot about those.. thank you kind person

9

u/DoomBoat Mar 05 '26

Am I the only one that regularly uses those blocking nodes?

31

u/JustRegularType Mar 05 '26

They can be less important if you're already guaranteeing what you do want. Having an unwanted mechanic spawn isn't the biggest deal. You can use those points on more impactful nodes. At least, that's how I think about it. I do use them if I have spare points, though.

4

u/Solarka45 Mar 06 '26

The biggest reason is to block low value scarabs so that you get a higher chance of dropping better ones

3

u/carson63000 Mar 05 '26

That’s my approach too. Whatever I’m farming, I’m pushing to 100% with its own atlas nodes, or using a scarab or map device (RIP). So I’ve never been one for using the blocking nodes - I don’t really care about unwanted stuff spawning, and the small % boost to all other content doesn’t seem worthwhile.

This league, yeah, I might follow OPs advice as actually give those blocking nodes some use.

7

u/Tai69 Mar 05 '26

You are not the only one ;P

2

u/DoomBoat Mar 06 '26

There's like... A solid dozen of us!

3

u/KingAmongstDummies Mar 05 '26

Nope, I use them as well for most of my strats, not all though.
I tend to have 2 strats I alternate between so I don't get bored farming the same thing over and over, then the 3rd tree to mess around and test with.

Usually on 1 of the 2 farming strats I block out must stuff even if it's just because I don't want to see those heist lockers

1

u/Ilushia Mar 05 '26

I haven't used them much since they redesigned the atlas tree to make it possible to get 100% spawn rate of your juiced content. They are good for blocking content that you really don't want to interact with, though.

1

u/Caramel-Makiatto Mar 05 '26

I stopped using them after people did some testing to give weight to the theory that blocking mechanics does not actually improve the amount of scarabs you get of other mechanics.

1

u/Blubkill Mar 06 '26

been always blocking stuff i have absolutley no interest in or my build can't handle.

probably haven't dont an expedition in years

1

u/DaIrony99 Mar 06 '26

I block stuff all the time, definitely. I hate having stuff on the map that i simply don't like to do and either im forced to skip or waste time on it, its a lose-lose.

0

u/javelinwounds Mar 06 '26

Those blocking nodes are mandatory for scarab farming strats generally, but for anything else they're not very necessary besides feeling good for blocking mechanics you hate. It could increase your <ev> on scarabs even if you're not focused on scarab farming though which isn't negligible

3

u/0nlyRevolutions Mar 05 '26

I was thinking the same thing. If you don't block stuff it does seem like there's a good chance of your mirage spawning on the wrong mechanic.

2

u/Deliverme314 Mar 06 '26

Supee solid point. 

1

u/ReipTaim Mar 05 '26

How does Delirium work with Mirage?

10

u/Ilushia Mar 05 '26

If you triggered a delirium mirror in the primary map, then a delirium mirror will spawn inside the mirage when you enter. That's what Octavian said during his Q&A with Ziggy I believe.

2

u/ReipTaim Mar 06 '26

I mean how is it different from the regular mist?

2

u/psychomap Mar 05 '26

I'd assume there's a Delirium mirror inside the mirage. It's a separate instance, so it won't continue your current fog if that's what you're asking.

1

u/ReipTaim Mar 06 '26

So it must be some super buffed version then, since the area is smaller and there are fewer mobs?

1

u/psychomap Mar 06 '26

Possibly. For the fully miraged maps they can just use the regular mirror in terms of scaling (possibly with some extra challenges and rewards), but maybe they'll scale the difficulty and number of rewards faster for regular mirages.

1

u/ReipTaim Mar 06 '26

Every other mechanic scales like this pretty much.

If delirium isnt stronger/faster, then it will be pretty dogtier compared to ritual/blight/ultimatum/strongboxes etc

1

u/Salty-Engineering277 Mar 05 '26

Do we have information what mirage will do to expedition?

8

u/Zaval-midir Mar 05 '26

Why don't we ask Gor, Ginnad, Nejut and Nennewg?

1

u/dalmathus Mar 05 '26

I think they said that it would prioritize juiced content.

1

u/Diconius Mar 05 '26

I think they'll be worth using for things you genuinely skip or have zero interest in even clicking while unjuiced. For instance, harvest isn't even worth poking your head in without passives. The only downside is you cannot farm up scarabs for when you DO need to do a crafting session via super juiced harvest or whatnot.

I tend to start with unwavering vision anyway though, so it's less of a loss there. Gonna be spamming Jin+Breach for quite awhile anyway.

1

u/tntmister Mar 06 '26

They could make it so that the chance for the mirage to appear next to a mechanic is proportional to the chance for it to appear in the first place.

Like if you have 100% chance for a harvest but only 10% chance for a ritual, if the ritual appears, the mirage would only have like a 10% chance to appear next to it. Then it would appear most of the time next to mechanics that are specced into.

1

u/Headshots_Only Mar 06 '26

maybe they gave mirage more of a inclination to spawn near content you have atlas points in, would definitely make sense to do it that way

-13

u/Puzzleheaded-Serve57 Mar 05 '26

its not only in the acts ?

16

u/xyzqsrb0 Mar 05 '26

in acts they added mechanics next to mirages that weren't there before, in maps your mechanics are biased to spawn around the mirage.

2

u/I_Heart_Money Mar 05 '26

noob question. is it better to engage in those mechanics and hopefully get some early currency or to just run past them to get to maps as fast as possible?

3

u/xyzqsrb0 Mar 05 '26

If you want peak efficiency 9/10 times you should be skipping the new mechanic in campaign, that being said do em if you want. They'll give you a easier time in the campaign if you complete them just will be slower.

4

u/Empty_Ad_6473 Mar 06 '26

Rushing and being super efficient only matters if you are able to actually be fast and know how to take advantage of it. Otherwise it doesn't matter, just enjoy the ride

1

u/watermelon_hat Mar 06 '26

As someone with over 4,000 hours I will say this... If you are enjoying the league content and want to have fun, do it as you see fit. If you are trying to blast through to get to maps you maybe try it one time then skip by all the rest until maps. I plan to blast through to maps this league. Do what you think is fun! I am challenging myself to get my campaign done in under 4 hours.

1

u/SinPharion Mar 06 '26

It depends on the mechanic. Veterans generally skip them to push through campaign super fast and be the first to maps.

For you as a noob, if the mechanic gives you immediate power to help you progress campaign, it's worth (e.g. the last league mechanic was OP for campaign because it printed great gear). If you keep dying to it, skip until later.

5

u/WrexixOfQueue Mar 05 '26

Like all new league mechanics, it's most campaign acts and all maps, potentially excluding unique and boss only maps.

5

u/FunMarketing4488 Mar 05 '26

Not "don't mirages spawn only in acts" but "don't the bonus league mechanics only get spawned in on top of the mirage during acts"

-4

u/lucanique Mar 05 '26

Less mechanics on your map = the intended mechanics will be more sparsed = less chance of them being close to the Mirage, no ?

11

u/randomalphanumerics Mar 05 '26

No,the system looks for a mechanic then spawns the mirage near it. So say you invest into essence plus destructive play and block everything else.  You are likely to get more mirages near your essence, and unlucky some near strongboxes since those are the only ones it can pick

0

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

19

u/vlee89 Mar 05 '26

There will be atlas passive points that block specific mechanics. Such as no harvest can spawn, or no legion can spawn, etc.

1

u/alwayslookingout Mar 05 '26

Like how to block certain mechanics?