Summary
Path of Exile 2's Patch 0.5 "Return of the Ancients" has reshaped the endgame economy, making currency farming more diverse and profitable than ever. The current meta favors specialization in one or two mechanics rather than general mapping. Expedition offers the highest burst currency potential with 14-25 POE 2 Divine Orbs per map, Abyss provides steady Omen and Divine income for characters that can clear juiced maps, and Ritual remains the only source of Omens—the reagents that power deterministic endgame crafting. This guide breaks down each strategy so you can choose the farm that fits your build and playstyle.
Expedition Farming: Highest Burst Currency Strategy
Why Expedition Prints Currency
Expedition is one of the most reliable currency farms in Patch 0.5 due to its artifact-based reward loop. Every encounter pays out artifacts, which you convert into currency through four vendors. The deep layer—Logbooks and Grand Expeditions—multiplies this income significantly.
Grand Expedition with Alder Saga
The juiced version of Expedition farming revolves around Alder Saga maps, which grant the modifier "All remnants have at least five rune slots". This guarantees high-value remnant chains even without perfect rolls.
Average Returns:
Standard Alder Saga map: 14-15 divines
Good map: 20-25 divines
Great map: 50 divines
Best maps: 100+ divines (rare but attainable)
Setting Up the Farm
Tablet Configuration: Use three tablets with two additional random modifiers. Prioritize increased rare monsters, monster rarity, item rarity, or monster effectiveness.
Waystone Setup: Eight-mod Tier 15 waystones with max monster effectiveness produce the best results. One map using this exact setup dropped 41 raw divines. Tier 16 is unnecessary because the Grand Expedition atlas node provides +1 area level.
Master and Atlas: Juggernaut with Unexpected Missions, Eastern Knowledge, Partial Translations, and Keen Appraisal has shown the best results. For Expedition nodes, Desert is the best choice for maximum loot—Forest is a viable alternative if your build struggles with the difficulty.
The Rune System
There are three rune types: purple, blue, and golden. The golden Opulent rune is the most valuable by far. Purple runes are strong; blue runes are largely worthless.
Rune Priority:
1. Opulent (Golden): Always prioritize—it doubles loot
2. S-Tier Purple: Power, Death, Bond, Oath
3. A-Tier Purple: Time, Rebirth (Rebirth is the only blue rune worth noting)
4. B-Tier: Other purple runes (worth keeping but not essential)
Key Rule: Runes do not stack. If Time is already proliferated, another Time rune is useless.
Selective Detonation
Do not explode everything. Scout reward modifiers first, only detonate high-value remnants, and skip low-reward chains to maximize speed per hour. This separates average Expedition farming from high-end Divine printing.
Abyss Farming: Consistent, Stable Income
Why Abyss Works
Abyss is the surprise breakout currency farm of 0.5. It works on almost any character that can clear a map, and Patch 0.5.3 buffed Abyss significantly—Abyssal Commanders and the final Large Abyssal Trove now always drop Desecrated Currency. Patch 0.5.1 reduced the one-shot potential of Abyss monsters, making it far more accessible for budget builds.
The Core Strategy
Abyss rewards scale with rare monster density and map juice. The key insight: Abyss rewards scale more efficiently with rare monster count than with raw monster effect alone.
Critical Technique: The Pull-Out Strategy
Abyss monsters spawn inside a "dark cloud" zone. Killing inside the cloud reduces loot quality—specifically reducing Omen of Light drops. Always lure monsters outside the cloud before killing them, or burst them instantly upon exit.
Required Setup
This is not a casual strategy—it requires full system investment:
Full Atlas Tree completion
Full Abyss specialization tree (35 points minimum)
Full Delirium progression tree
Atlas Priorities
Focus on:
More Abysses, more often
More fissures and more monsters per Abyss
The Amanamu faction—the key notable is "Lightless Legions," which raises the chance Abysses spawn monsters loyal to Amanamu. This is the single most-cited Abyss currency node
Nodes that turn Rogue Exiles into Lichborn—the main source of Heart of the Well Diamond jewels
Map Choice
Val City maps are the clear winner due to an extra Atlas talent slot and 24% additional tablet effect scaling. Among Val City layouts, Sun Temple is the strongest variant—dense monster clustering, excellent Abyss pit overlap, and efficient Delirium fog coverage.
