Everything You Need to Know About Secrets of the Atlas
PoE Secrets of the Atlas Launch & Overview
Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas is a major endgame expansion arriving June 13, 2025, for all platforms — PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation. Launching with the Mercenaries of Trarthus league, it kicks off Patch 3.26 and begins a new 4-month content cycle filled with endgame revamps, new systems, and deeper crafting mechanics.
This update adds an entirely new progression path in the form of "Threads of Memory," a layered mapping system exploring distorted reflections from Zana’s memories. These corrupted timelines form linear chains of increasingly unstable maps, eventually leading to warped boss encounters and high-risk, high-reward gameplay.
You’ll face off against memory-born versions of bosses, harness new crafting currencies tied to those memories, and recruit powerful NPC mercenaries who can battle alongside your character using unique builds and gear. New systems like Memory-Strand gear and Runegraft passives bring even more customization options for veterans and newcomers alike.
Here's a breakdown of what’s packed into Patch 3.26:
-
Challenge League: Mercenaries of Trarthus introduces recruitable NPCs and unique encounters.
-
Endgame Progression: Explore chained maps with stacking modifiers, hidden rewards, and dynamic fights.
-
Three Pinnacle Bosses: The Incarnations of Fear, Dread, and Neglect appear at the end of memory chains.
-
New Unique Items: Discover rare gear with unique effects like Starcaller and Wine of the Prophet.
-
Memory Crafting System: Use orbs and strands to enhance gear in powerful new ways.
-
Runegrafts & Kingsmarch Hub: Customize passive trees and enjoy streamlined gameplay with expanded crafting systems.
-
Betrayal Overhaul: Improved rewards, no board resets, and new fragment access to the Mastermind fight.
The memory system lies at the heart of this expansion, linking loot, story, and gameplay in a tightly woven loop of narrative and progression. Whether you're diving into a fresh league start or pushing deeper into Atlas lore, this update gives players more tools, tougher enemies, and better rewards than ever before.
Thank you for your interest in our guide, if you don't want to waste your time on routine, then we recommend you to use our boosting services. For you a bonus of 20% discount by promo code GAID20.
Expanded Story and New Characters
The narrative focus of Secrets of the Atlas revolves around Zana’s return and a mysterious scholar named Eagon Caeserius, who is investigating strange fractures in reality known as Memory Tears. These rifts lead to the Threads of Memory — map chains reflecting Zana’s corrupted experiences and reshaped memories.
As you progress through these distorted realities, you uncover hidden truths about Zana’s fate and the mysterious forces behind the Memory Tears. Familiar enemies and locations return, twisted by emotional echoes and trauma, culminating in memory-born versions of iconic bosses warped into nightmare forms.
This storyline blends immersive storytelling with gameplay, delivering a haunting atmosphere that ties together long-standing lore. To survive these challenges, preparing a strong custom build is essential, and expert guidance can help maximize your character’s potential.
New Crafting Currencies and Mechanics
Patch 3.26 introduces three new crafting orbs designed around the Memory Strand system, offering fresh depth and control over item enhancements:
-
Orb of Remembrance: Adds random Memory Strands to white base items, preparing them for advanced crafting. More strands increase mod tiers.
-
Orb of Unravelling: Consumes all strands on an item to upgrade random modifiers. Greater strand count boosts potential but raises crafting risks.
-
Orb of Intention: Applied to Memory-Influenced maps, it decreases item quantity but greatly raises the chance of Memory Strand drops, ideal for farming powerful gear.
These orbs drop from the three new pinnacle bosses and integrate deeply with the new endgame loop. They enable players to shape their gear with unprecedented precision while embracing the expansion’s memory themes.
Mercenaries of Trarthus Challenge League
The Mercenaries of Trarthus league adds a fresh dynamic to your journey through Wraeclast. You’ll encounter mercenaries with unique builds, gear, and personalities, who challenge you to duels. You can recruit these fighters, loot their items, or exile them for greater rewards.
Rare mercenaries carry exclusive modifiers and gear unavailable elsewhere, making recruitment decisions strategically important. Alongside new league mechanics, players can complete 40 challenges tied to encounters and endgame content, unlocking the Watcher’s Wrath Armor Set — a dark, ornate cosmetic outfit reflecting the mercenaries’ brutal aesthetic.
New Pinnacle Bosses
Secrets of the Atlas introduces three powerful new pinnacle bosses, each embodying a distorted memory linked to Zana’s past. These challenging fights occur at the climax of the Threads of Memory, where map modifiers and difficulty steadily increase.
The bosses are:
-
Incarnation of Fear
-
Incarnation of Dread
-
Incarnation of Neglect
Each boss features unique mechanics and upgraded abilities, offering exclusive loot including powerful new unique items and crafting orbs tied to the Memory Strand system. Defeating these foes is essential to unlocking the expansion’s most rewarding content.
New Unique Items
The expansion brings several exciting new unique items, with two confirmed as drops from the pinnacle bosses:
-
Starcaller (Abyssal Axe): Dropped by the Incarnation of Fear, this melee weapon triggers a Starfall effect on critical strikes, perfect for area-of-effect critical builds.
-
Wine of the Prophet (Flask): Grants a random Divination Card effect on use, providing buffs like increased movement speed or rare monster mod bonuses.
More unique items are expected to drop from other league encounters, expanding your arsenal with fresh, thematic gear.
Quality of Life Improvements
A variety of quality of life updates make gameplay more enjoyable and efficient, including:
-
Pause support in solo and offline play.
-
A Map Device inventory to store scarabs and fragments.
-
Auto-loot for Breach Splinters after encounters.
-
Improved vendor UI with saved search options.
-
Right-click unveiling for veiled items without needing an NPC.
-
Horizon Orbs can reroll Elder and Guardian maps.
-
Essence and strongbox currency shortcuts appear automatically.
These updates streamline core systems and bring the experience closer to modern standards.
Expanded Crafting Options
Secrets of the Atlas deepens crafting with new mechanics tied to the memory system. Gear found in memory-infused maps can drop with Memory Strands, a special property that enhances item stats and crafting potential.
Key features include:
-
Items with more Memory Strands roll higher-tier modifiers.
-
New currency orbs consume strands to create stronger crafting results.
-
Safehouse crafting now offers pre-generated rare and unique items, some re-corruptable.
-
Runegrafts, earned through shipments, replace passive mastery nodes with custom effects.
These systems encourage strategic crafting and optimization for endgame players.
The Memory System
At the core of Secrets of the Atlas is the Memory System, an endgame progression mechanic centered on linear chains of maps called Threads of Memory. These represent corrupted memories connected to Zana, revealed through the NPC Eagon.
Highlights:
-
Each Thread is a sequence of maps with stacking altar modifiers.
-
Enemies drop Memory Petals, granting temporary combat skills.
-
Players unlock and combine these skills to boost loot, experience, and damage.
-
Final maps include warped boss fights culminating in the new pinnacle bosses.
This system offers high-risk, high-reward gameplay integrated with new crafting and loot mechanics.
Betrayal Rework
The Betrayal system receives a major overhaul to be more rewarding and less punishing:
-
The Mastermind boss is now accessed via a fragment drop from Safehouse leaders.
-
Defeating the Mastermind no longer resets the Syndicate board.
-
New rewards like Allflame Embers add unique monster packs to maps.
-
Safehouse crafting sprees offer stronger items and fresh corruption options.
-
Veiled Chaos Orbs and unveil recipes are fully integrated.
-
Items can be unveiled directly without interacting with Jun.
These changes make Betrayal more consistent, faster to progress, and more appealing in the endgame.
Summary
This overview covers all key features of the latest expansion: new memory-powered endgame systems, deadly bosses, a fresh challenge league, expanded crafting, and meaningful quality of life upgrades. Prepare well and enjoy the journey through the corrupted memories!