In the world of Path of Exile 2, corruption is an essential yet often misunderstood mechanic. It allows players to enhance or alter their items, gear, or maps in powerful ways that can yield substantial benefits. However, with great power comes great risk. While corruption can unlock incredible potential, it can also turn your items into unusable junk. One of the more notorious aspects of corruption is how it interacts with maps, which are the backbone of the game's endgame content. Cleansing corrupted maps is a nuanced skill, and mastering it is crucial for both survival and progression in Path of Exile 2. This guide will help you understand how corruption works on maps, how to cleanse them, and how to manage corruption for the best possible results.

What is Corruption in Path of Exile 2?

Corruption is a powerful game mechanic that can alter the properties of an item or map. On maps, corruption typically involves adding additional modifiers that make the map more challenging but also more rewarding. Corrupting a map can add extra difficulty, change the number of monsters or their affixes, or even add unique properties to the map, such as increased item quantity or rarity.

However, with the addition of these potential benefits comes a high chance of unpredictability. Some of the effects of corruption can be detrimental, such as reducing the map's quality or adding dangerous modifiers. Because of this, it's crucial to understand how to cleanse corrupted maps and manage these risks effectively.

How Corruption Affects Maps

When you corrupt a map in Path of Exile 2, several things can happen. The map can gain new properties, such as:

1. Increased Difficulty

One of the most common outcomes of map corruption is an increase in difficulty. For example, you might corrupt a map to make the monsters within it more powerful, leading to greater rewards but also higher risk.

Monsters may deal more damage.

Monsters might have enhanced affixes, making them harder to defeat.

New, dangerous modifiers can be added.

2. Additional Affixes or Mods

Some map corruptions add additional affixes or modifiers, which can change the experience within the map. These could include modifiers like:

Increased item quantity or rarity – This increases the loot potential from the map, making it more rewarding.

Increased pack size – This boosts the number of monsters you'll face, which can result in more drops but also more danger.

Additional damage modifiers – Certain corruptions may make enemies hit harder, adding an extra layer of challenge.

Special encounters or mechanics – Some corruptions might add new mechanics to the map, such as time-based challenges or unique boss encounters.

3. Unpredictable Outcomes

Sometimes, corrupting a map can result in an entirely unexpected outcome, such as a map becoming unplayable due to excessive difficulty or incompatible modifiers. It's always a gamble, and this is where map cleansing comes into play.

4. Loss of Map Quality

Another possible result of corruption is a reduction in the map's quality, which can lead to decreased loot chances and less favorable outcomes. Players often need to balance corruption with quality to make the most of a map's potential.

How to Corrupt Maps

Corrupting a map in Path of Exile 2 requires the use of a Vaal Orb. These orbs can be found during regular gameplay or purchased from other players. To corrupt a map, simply:

 
Obtain a Vaal Orb – These orbs are often dropped from monsters, chests, or specific events in the game. They can also be bought from other players through the Poe 2 trade system.

Apply the Vaal Orb to the Map – You'll need to right-click the Vaal Orb in your inventory and then left-click the map you want to corrupt. Once applied, the Vaal Orb will modify the map, resulting in one of the possible outcomes mentioned earlier.

Assess the Outcome – After corrupting the map, check the new properties and modifiers. This is crucial because it will dictate how you approach the map. Some outcomes can be highly beneficial, while others may make the map less manageable.

Cleansing Corrupted Maps

Cleansing a corrupted map is not about removing corruption per se, but rather managing the effects it introduces. Players need to understand how to handle the difficulty spikes and new mechanics that come with corruption to make sure they can still succeed in the map. Below are several key strategies to cleanse your maps and survive corruption.

1. Use of Map Mods and Currencies

One of the most effective ways to cleanse corrupted maps is to use map mods and other currencies that mitigate the added difficulty. Here's a list of currencies and mods that can help:

Divine Orbs – These can reroll the map's properties and might fix some of the more difficult or unwanted modifiers. While Divine Orbs don't directly cleanse corruption, they can help you reshape your map'sexperience.

Chaos Orbs – These can be used on maps to reroll the mods and potentially remove negative effects or harmful modifiers introduced by corruption.

Vaal Orbs – You can apply a second Vaal Orb to your corrupted map to reroll it further. This gives you a chance to get a better outcome and cleanse some negative effects of corruption, though it's still a gamble.

Map Fragments – Some map fragments or special modifiers can help counteract the difficulty spikes from corrupted maps. For example, using specific Atlas Passive Skills may help reduce the difficulty or add beneficial bonuses to corrupted maps.

2. Managing the Map's Difficulty

One of the most critical components of managing corrupted maps is ensuring that your build is suited for the increased difficulty that comes with corruption. Here's how to deal with the changes in difficulty:

Boost Your Defenses – Ensure that your character has strong defensive stats. Corrupted maps often increase the damage output of enemies or add dangerous affixes, so having a high amount of resistances, life, energy shield, and armor can be a lifesaver.

Improve Damage Output – At the same time, ensure that your character has enough damage to handle the increased monster count or more difficult enemies. A high DPS output is crucial in clearing maps quickly, minimizing the number of enemies you face at once, and reducing the risk of being overwhelmed.

 
Use Utility Flasks – Prepare flasks that can help you in tough situations. Flasks that grant immunity to certain statuses or increase your damage output temporarily can be invaluable when dealing with corrupted maps.

3. Specific Cleansing Strategies

Each map corruption requires a unique strategy, but some general guidelines include:

 
Use High-Tier Maps – Consider using high-tier maps when corrupting. These maps generally provide more loot and are more forgiving due to their higher base rewards, making it worth the added risk of corruption.

 
Prioritize Quick Boss Kills – Some corrupted maps introduce a more dangerous final boss or multiple bosses. Prioritize killing bosses quickly to reduce the threat and gain the rewards associated with their defeat.

 
Look for the Right Mods – Before corrupting a map, check its existing mods. Some mods are inherently more dangerous than others (e.g., increased monster damage or physical damage), so avoid corrupting maps that already have difficult mods if you aren't prepared for the challenge.

4. Be Prepared to Abandon Maps

Sometimes, despite all efforts, a corrupted map simply becomes too difficult to handle. In these cases, be ready to abandon the map. It's better to cut your losses and look for another map to corrupt than to waste time and resources on one that you can't complete.

Conclusion

Corruption is one of the most exciting and dangerous mechanics in Path of Exile 2. While it introduces an element of risk, it can also provide great rewards when handled properly. Cleansing corrupted maps is a key skill to master, as it allows players to fully exploit the benefits of corruption while mitigating the associated risks. Whether you are looking to create powerful maps or simply survive the chaos of corrupted areas, understanding how to cleanse maps is essential for mastering the endgame content in Path of Exile 2.

By using the right cheap POE 2 Currency, understanding the map mods, and making sure your character is prepared for the increased challenge, you can turn corrupted maps into a rewarding and profitable experience. Always remember that the risk is part of the fun, and with the right preparation, you can cleanse your corrupted maps and reap the rewards that come with them.