A couple of weeks back I looked into some lower tier maps the higher in the tier you go the more diversity there is in each tier and the harder they become. Some of the lower ones did not have many maps in each tier so there was not much need to make one fo reach tier. Moving forward now there are and it increases a lot as you start to progress further up.

Some of them I hate with a passion. While others I’ve rarely ever run just because I never had many of them. Others I really love and always hope to get loads of them. While I’m not the most knowledge about each of them I think the mapping system overall is the best game mechanic Path of Exile has.

As with the last maps, I’ll be upgrading them into rare maps using an Orb of Alchemy which is a currency in the game. As long as they don’t roll anything that would cause me to much trouble which you don’t tend to run into at this low of a tier. I won’t have to be using an Orb of Scouring to wipe them clean and spend another Alchemy to try again.

Tier IV maps are the second to last ground that is considered white color maps and they have level 71 monsters. There are ten of them not including unique ones. Since those ten are cheap and people have loads of them it’s not hard for me to get one of each. Not to mention I still get them as drops in the higher level maps. I won’t be running any unique ones like Whakawairua Tuahu or Perandus Manor since I don’t have them and they are not cheap to acquire

Canyon Map

The overall map itself is a narrow path for parts of it that has land between two cliffs creating an easy flow for the player to go from one end to another once you learn where you need to explore the sides a little more and when to just move forward. Other parts become a couple of screen sizes wide.

While it is an outdoor map so you are not having to deal with endless opening doors and other annoying things as you try and move fast in it. It also has quite a lot of rock debris in the way.

This particular run had a random spawn Trial of Crippling Grief inside it. These are totally random and not something that can be expected and even then it more likely l will not be this one. There are six trial overall. Since I did not need this one or want the key it drops I just skipped over it.

I lucked out somewhat on loot and had a Divine Orb drop worth around 19 Chaos Orbs. Along with a junk unique called a Sundance that I sold to an NPC vendor for half an Orb of Alchemy. Along with some other junk including a tier V and II map. I had about19 Chaos Orbs in profit when all was said and done which is really fantastic for a tier IV map.

Chateau Map

While I have a personal love for outdoor maps this one is not entirely outdoors. It is also on my don’t run unless you have no other choices list. It has both outdoor and indoor sections and while indoors parts are not as annoying as other maps. Every section of this map is like a maze with a bunch of small spaces and narrow paths. You have to do quite a lot of searching and going into smaller pockets of the map.

The best loot I got on this run came from doing an incursion run found inside it that is part of this leagues game mechanic called Temple of Atzoatl that I wrote about last week. The game trying to bribe me with four amulets that I’ll turn later into 8 Chaos Orbs is not enough to change my mind about this place. At least I turned a profit on this one as well.

I ended up not killing every pack of monsters on this map. Just too time consuming to go around to all the little areas. Let’s move on!

City Square Map

This map can be utterly annoying right away. While it has some narrow paths to go down it is also as the name states a city square. As such you have a bunch of square connecting paths which make it really easy to miss packs of monsters. On top of that it just ugly to look at with that concrete jungle-like feel without the tall buildings. Just paved paths, doors, lots of every everywhere that gets in your way.

Not a very pleasant map to try and speed run. Since my build, a Necromancer is not the fastest moving build ever it’s not that bad. At least I’m not getting stuck on fences and shields like I would be if I was playing a different setup.

The loot this run was also lacking luster. I looted one three voices card that drops in maps with three bosses in them from my understanding. This card is over farmed since the turn in is three random essences and it is being over the farm. RIP for anyone who had this as a way to generate some income before certain influential members of the Path of Exile community spilled the beans on it. I personally did not have the perineum stash tab for essences so I never had the bank space to care too much about trying to max profits on something like this.

The good news is by the time I finish this map a buyer for my Divine Orb showed up that I got back on the Canyon map. I still love that old style of trade system of having to trade directly with the other player. Along with a more modern take of having an API in the game list items on external sites.

Courthouse Map

If the name of this place sounds like a no fun place. You would be somewhat correct just as you would not want to be in real life version of one. This map is filled with a bunch of buildings you have to search. They are for the most part circler so there not to many dead ends to deal with.

At this point, you might wonder if I have any maps in tier IV that I enjoy running. It can be said for most of us that enjoy running maps that we have one or two favorite ones at best per map tier. Many times we will have one we really like and want to run that as much as possible for every couple of map tiers. Just because I might hate one does not mean others won’t love it. I’m sure some on out there really loves this map it is just not my style.

While this map can be very easy to miss large packs of monsters and I often do. Once you have done it a few times you learn to break everything up into almost quadrants. After you have cleared one area you move to the next. At least the overall map design of this one has a pattern that not too hard to follow. I tend to go counterclockwise for most of it. Still not a map I enjoy much as it requires some thinking to do that I’ve yet to develop natural muscle memory to make it a quick run.

I picked up almost no loot in this one as it was not worth my time. I did get a random Trial of Stinging Doubt spawn but I skipped over this trial as well. Just not worth my time since I’m done with that part for this character since I did his Eternal Labyrinth run the other night.

Gorge Map

An amazing outdoor map that has some narrow and winding pathways all leading in one direction. There is no having to go back or loop back around. You are not going miss things if you are not paying attention. Other than some rocks in your way it is a fun map to run. It is a bit long because of this and therefore is not a very fast map to run. Still, I would take this over everything else up to this point.

The hardest part of this map can be the boss. He jumps around and if you do not have much life you need to avoid where he lands. As he can deal quite a lot of damage. There are many maps where the boss is often just skipped. While I’m way over the level at this point for tier IV maps and had no issue. It is not uncommon for many to skip or even play a build that is not set up for boss clearing. My skeleton and other minions in my armory made quick work of him. He was dead before his second jump.

I looted a Mark of the Doubting Knight and another junk unique. At least I could vendor those for 10 Alchemy shards and make half my cost back for upgrading this map to a rare. It also gave me some tier I map drops which is disappointing at this point to see dropping. This is often just how things are even more so for lower tier maps.

Grotto Map

Lucky for me I already had a map upgraded to rare for this one that I looted the other night waiting to be run. So it’s like getting a free run out of the deal. Whatever I get it does not matter too much.

This map itself is an indoor cave. It has dead ends, winding and looping paths. As you can see from the map I had pulled up over the background I have paths not yet explored. Not a big fan of a map like this with how it is set up and pathed forks. I also just never run this one enough to know it very well. With how many maps there are in this game you really can just skip over ones you hate. As I often do with this one.

Thankfully it does connect and loop back around with a few of the sections in this cave. That also means you are sometimes having to backtrack passes spots you already cleared. Not something you really want on a map.

I at least looted an Orb of Alchemy which would have covered my mapping cost expect the map was already free! I would prefer not buying more of them if I could help it. I also had three cards of Loyalty drop when you get five of them you can turn them in for three Orbs of Fusing (worth half a Chaos Orb each at the time of writing this.) So I’ll take this a win. I also looted one amulet that I’ll turn into two Chaos Orbs later on. It could have been much worse.

Lighthouse Map

I really enjoy this map it has to be my second favorite for tier IV. You have a little bit of clearing till you get up to a pyramid-like structure that is the lighthouses where you get to go up its different levels. Before doing so you can clear a loop around it picking up the extra monsters without having to double back. There also a bunch of stairways up so no backtracking you just go up when you need!

I did end up skipping over a pack of monsters at the start as they had a shrine that was empowering them that kept my minions and I almost permanently froze. I just could not kill them in a timely manner. Since speed is normally the name of the game you tend to want to move as fast as possible.

The bosses for this one can be a bit rippy at least for me when I was a lower level. Sometimes I would often just skip over them. Since they are a cake walk now I took them out as well. This map tier is not very important to me and I did not feel it would have been worth it going back.

Best find in this map was my incursion run within it. Not only did I get a room I was able to upgrade to Office of Cartography (level 2 map room inside of the temple) it also drops a few rings and one amulet as well. Along with three junk unique that I will vendor to make my money back on this map. It really is surprising how well these incursions are paying out. I will miss the next league as being something you get on every map.

I ended up looting a Portal skill gem which tends to go for around 1 Chaos Orb since it's my first of the league I’ll be keeping it for my own personal use. On top of that, I got a unique ring called Lori’s Lantern also worth the same as the portal. It is a level 30 ring that has 19 total all elemental resistance on it. I’ll be holding onto that if I make another character. Along with four lower-tier maps. This run ended up loot wise better than I thought halfway through.

Relic Chambers Map

I despise this map and try to avoid it at all costs. It feels almost like you are trapped inside a library of shorts expect it is a “relic” chamber. Bunch of dead ends, looping pathways that you backtrack on. I almost never run this map so I just felt lost inside it while doing the run.

In fact dear reader you will never know if I finished this map (wink wink) or if I just ran off to the next one since I love Strand map so much. Anyways not much loot this time around for some reason or another that I have no clue why that would be the case.

Strand Map

You start off this map by entering in next to a ship that must have been stranded. It is a wonderful forward map where you are just following a coastline. While some parts of it can be a little wide you learn this map rather easy and fast.

I just find running this map to always end before you want it to. Very relaxing seeing the waves comes in and out. Not too much to think about map wise so it is hard to mess it up and waste it. Since it is a bit darker setting it is not too hard on the eyes either. This is one of those maps I could run hundreds of times and not feel like such a grind to wear me out.

I’m also out of incursion runs without running the entire Temple of Atzoatl so the loot for this map and the next won’t be that amazing. I’m saving it as a reward for myself later in the day after I get some stuff done.

Volcano Map

Worst map of tier iv? Well, maybe not that bad but I do rank it as one of my least favorite! There just too many little pockets to clear out. You need to find a ramp or a walkway to move up it. On top of that, you are around a Volcano who needs that kind of heat and desolate setting! Take me back to the nice and calm coastline of Strand Map--fast.

This is one of those maps you have to pay close attention to getting all the packs of monsters or you will end up missing a lot of kills. You can also become lost and have to do a lot of backtracking. Overall just not a very effective map to run. Too many things on the ground, you can run into.

Sometimes when you really hate a map the game tries to make up for it in loot. I guess with me still having over 50 monsters left to clear by the time I was at the end. I must have missed the games kindness in that regards. Oh well, I won’t be seeing this map for a while again and I’m relieved!

Final Thoughts

Tier Iv maps are not too bad. They are still rather easy to run even when you are lower level and lacking gear. I really love stranded and Lighthouse for running maps in. While I’m just not a fan and even hate Chateau Map, Relic Chambers, and Volcano. Everything else tends to be if I have to run it I will. I don’t normally spend too much time in Iv maps unless I have a bunch of Strand.

I started these runs with 20 Orb of Alchemy. Afterword I’m down to 14 of them. Despite not being able to maintain those I’m certain I had over 40 Chaos Orbs in loot. In theory, if I did not need to buy any maps and just Orb of Alchemy to upgrade them into a harder rarity I could buy 80-88. On top of that, I did all the incursions I needed for my next run and that could be nice and rewarding as well.

While I did loot a few maps most of them where low level. I did get around three-tier V maps but not one I’m missing for when I do all of those again. Since I don’t need tier IV or lower anymore I can turn in three of each to get the next tier up. I have a stockpile 50 maps from tier I to IV that I’ve yet to upgrade from the last week or so.

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Screenshots were taken and content written by @enjar. Screenshots are from a game called Path of Exile.