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, Buy POE 2 Orbs, 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: Beyond plus Evolution Shrines, 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 cheap POE 2 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.