Path of Exile 3.28 Kingsmarch Guide: How to Farm Ore and Maximize Profit

In Path of Exile 3.28, Kingsmarch farming has quickly become one of the most interesting and potentially rewarding strategies in the game. With recent changes shifting the focus from crops to ore, players now rely on efficient mapping, smart resource management, and shipment strategies to generate profit. While the system involves a fair amount of randomness, it's entirely possible to generate massive returns-including high-value rewards like Mirror Shards-if you optimize your approach.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know, from farming ore efficiently to sending profitable shipments.

Understanding Kingsmarch in 3.28

The biggest change in 3.28 is the shift from crops to ore as the primary resource for shipments. Instead of running farming setups, your goal is now to gather as much ore as possible in maps. This ore is then refined into bars and sent through shipments to different ports.

The rewards from shipments can include valuable items like rune grafts, tattoos, POE currency, and occasionally Mirror Shards. However, it's important to understand that this system is highly RNG-based. Some shipments will yield massive profits, while others may feel underwhelming.

Because of this randomness, consistency comes from volume-sending more shipments rather than relying on a single big payout.

The Role of Thaumaturgic Dust

Alongside ore, you'll need Thaumaturgic Dust to send shipments. Typically, about half of your shipment value must come from dust, making it a crucial resource.

Dust is obtained by disenchanting items through Rog in your hideout. A common strategy is to purchase unique items in bulk and disenchant them for large amounts of dust. While this requires an upfront investment, it allows you to quickly prepare multiple shipments.

To maximize efficiency, always improve item quality before disenchanting. Using currency items like Blacksmith's Whetstones or Armourer's Scraps increases the dust yield significantly.

While some items provide better dust-to-cost ratios, many players prefer faster methods-buying high-value uniques in bulk and converting them quickly rather than optimizing every single trade.

Farming Ore Efficiently

The key to Kingsmarch farming is generating ore as quickly as possible. The most important stat for this is map quantity-the higher your quantity, the more ore you'll receive.

Running eight-mod maps with a high quantity (around 100% or more) is highly recommended. The goal is to maximize ore per map while maintaining speed.

Speed is critical. To efficiently build shipments, you should aim to complete each map in under two minutes. This allows you to farm enough ore for large shipments within a few hours.

Best Scarab Setup

To maximize ore gains, you should focus on a specific set of scarabs:

Kalguuran Scarabs (core for ore generation)

Scarab of Enrichment (increases ore rewards as you clear deposits)

Scarab of Refinement (converts ore directly into bars)

The refinement scarab is especially valuable if you play for long sessions. Normally, ore must be mined and smelted by workers, which can take hours. Refinement bypasses this delay, allowing you to send shipments much faster.

If you only play short sessions, you can skip refinement and let your workers process materials over time. However, for maximum efficiency, refinement is highly recommended.

For your final slot, you can add fragments to increase the map quantity further.

Map Selection and Strategy

Choosing the right maps is just as important as your setup. You want layouts that are fast, linear, and easy to navigate.

Top choices include:

Silo - Straightforward and quick to clear

City Square - Compact and efficient

Strand - Simple pathing with minimal backtracking

Avoid wasting time on bosses unless they're directly on your path. The goal is to collect ore and exit quickly, not to fully clear every map.

Optimizing Ore Collection

When running maps, the order in which you collect ore matters.

With enrichment effects, each deposit increases the value of future ones. This means you should:

Clear lower-value ore first

Save high-value deposits (like Verisium) for last

This approach significantly increases your overall yield.

However, be cautious-high-value ore encounters can be difficult, especially when fully charged. If your build struggles, it's better to avoid overcharging rather than slowing down your run.

Atlas Strategy for Kingsmarch

Your Atlas tree should focus on increasing ore generation and map efficiency.

Key priorities include:

Maximizing map quantity

Boosting explicit modifiers

Investing in mechanics that convert rewards into ore

You can also use nodes that replace certain rewards with ore deposits, further increasing efficiency.

If your goal is pure shipment farming, it's best to block other mechanics. However, if you want additional profit during mapping, you can leave some mechanics active.

Making Maps More Profitable

One downside of pure ore farming is that the maps themselves may not generate much profit. To offset this, you can adjust your strategy.

Options include:

Running Nightmare maps for boss fragments

Adding scarabs that introduce extra bosses

Combining ore farming with additional loot mechanics

These strategies will slow down your mapping speed but provide consistent income alongside shipments.

Shipment Strategies

Once you've gathered enough ore and dust, it's time to send shipments.

There are two main approaches:

1. High-Risk, High-Reward (50 Million Shipments)

Sending large shipments to top-tier ports gives you the best chance at Mirror Shards. However, this is highly RNG-based-you may receive nothing of significant value despite large investments.

2. Stable Profit (Smaller Shipments)

Alternatively, you can send smaller shipments to other ports for more consistent rewards like tattoos and rune grafts. This approach reduces risk and provides a steady income.

Final Thoughts

Kingsmarch farming in Path of Exile 3.28 offers a unique blend of strategy, efficiency, and risk. Success comes from optimizing your mapping speed, managing resources effectively, and choosing the right shipment strategy for your goals.

If you enjoy high-risk gameplay, chasing Mirror Shards through large shipments can be incredibly rewarding. If you prefer stability, smaller shipments provide consistent returns.

Ultimately, the best approach depends on your playstyle-but with the right setup, Kingsmarch can become one of the most profitable systems in the game.

MMOexp POE Team