Path of Exile 2 Citadel Farming Currency Guide

With the launch of Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.2.0, a powerful and profitable farming method has emerged: Citadel farming. While some players dabbled with Citadels back in Patch 0.10, the latest update introduced unique tablets and Citadel quality-of-life improvements that elevated this from a niche curiosity into the single most Path Of Exile 2 currency profitable solo strategy in the game right now.

Whether you’re a hardened PoE veteran or someone coming back to try the sequel, this in-depth guide breaks down everything you need to know to optimize your Citadel farm for divine-tier profits.

What Are Citadels in Path of Exile 2?

Citadels are special zones that appear as you push through the fog surrounding your base of operations—the Ziggurat Refuge. You’ll encounter three distinct types:

• Iron Citadel (Act 1 boss – Count Geonor)
• Copper Citadel (Act 2 boss – Abberath)
• Stone Citadel (Act 3 boss – Malachai)

Each Citadel culminates in a boss fight that drops a Crisis Fragment, which is then used to challenge the Arbiter of Ash. The Arbiter drops some of the most lucrative loot in PoE 2, including items like The Sacred Flame, which can sell for 20+ divine orbs.

Why Citadel Farming Is So Profitable

Citadels reward players with Crisis Fragments, and with the right setup, you can guarantee 2–3 fragments per Citadel, up from the default 1. Each fragment sells for 1.5 to 2 divines, and you need a full set (Iron, Copper, and Stone) to challenge the Arbiter.

With optimal strategies, you’re looking at 4–6 divine orbs per Citadel—and up to 10+ divines per hour with proper gear, strategy, and map rolling.

How to Find and Spawn Citadels

1. Push into the fog from your Ziggurat Refuge.
2. Stick to a single direction (e.g., always go north).
3. Look for the shining lights in the distance—these mark Citadel locations.
4. Avoid “looping” or circling back—Citadels are best found by continually pushing outward.

Pro Tip:

Citadels generate when you approach them (roughly two screens away), so you may not see them immediately. Move forward until one appears.

How Patch 0.2.0 Improves Citadel Spawning

The patch added a Citadel clustering mechanic. Now, when you find one Citadel type, the other two types are likely nearby, reducing the RNG involved in assembling full sets of fragments.

• This isn’t retroactive, so you’ll need to push into unexplored fog to take advantage.
• Solo Self-Found (SSF) players benefit from more balanced fragment acquisition.
• Trade League players enjoy more stable fragment prices.

Rolling Maps for Citadel Farming: The Waste Drop Chance System

The waste drop chance on your maps determines how many Crisis Fragments a Citadel boss will drop.

• Below 300% waste drop chance = likely only 1 fragment
• Above 300% = guaranteed 2, with a chance for 3
• Around 500%+ = often 3 fragments

Key Mechanics:

Waystones and waste modifiers are the primary way to boost fragment drops.

Your goal is to push maps to at least 300% waste drop chance for optimal returns.

How to Maximize Waste Drop Chance

 1.Roll 5-6 modifiers on maps.

  5 modifiers give you a revive chance.

  6 modifiers = no revives but higher suffix potential.

2. Corrupt maps and aim for:

  All suffix modifiers

  High suffix weights contribute directly to the waste drop chance

3. Use Distilled Envy:

  Adds +90% increased waste found in the area

  Use this after rolling and corrupting

4. Tablet Modifiers:

  Add precursor tablets that increase the quantity of wastes found (10–20%)

  Stack these with overlaps via towers

Optimal Atlas Passive Tree Setup

Focus on:

• Waste quantity passives: Take every node that increases waste quantity.
• Map modifier effect: Boosts the impact of suffixes, increasing waste drops.
• Unstable Energies: Ensures suffixes apply exclusively if prefixes are absent.

Avoid corruption passives during Citadel runs—they add too much danger.

Example Passive Choices:

• 5-point clusters of waste quantity
• Map effect nodes
• Boss quantity/radiant waystone nodes
• No Beyond Reality unless you can handle extra difficulty

You can optionally drop some boss difficulty nodes if you find bosses too hard. This lowers the reward slightly but increases consistency and survival.

Efficient Navigation: Grand Project Tablets

The Grand Project is a unique precursor tablet that makes all maps in a tower accessible at once, which is huge for efficient Citadel hopping.

• Let’s you skip 3–5+ maps worth of fog travel
• Enables 3+ Citadel kills per hour
• Slightly expensive (~0.25 divine), but pays for itself quickly

Tablet Strategy for Max Profits

Use These:

• Precursor Tablets (Standard):
• Increase waste quantity
• Ideal for overlapping onto Citadel maps
• Remnant of Power:
• Double tablet effects if present
• Combine with Precursor Tablets for +200–250% waste quantity in total
• Grand Project Tablets:
• Used for skipping maps between Citadels
• High value, so use wisely

Avoid These (in most cases):

• Visions of Paradise:
• Allows two runs of the same Citadel
• High risk (you lose everything if you die)
• Costs ~3 divines
• Not recommended unless you’re an elite player with an ultra-strong build
• Season of the Hunt:
• Adds spirits that make bosses tankier
• Doesn’t increase fragment drops
• Not worth it in Citadel runs
• Overseer Tablets:
• Slightly buff boss drops (5–10% waste)
• Inferior to Precursor Tablets (10–20%)
• Only use them for filler maps

Transition Maps Between Citadels

For the maps you run between Citadels:

• Use Delirium Mirrors (they encourage fast clearing and are profitable)
• Consider Precursor Tablets or Overseer Tablets
• Skip Expedition, Ritual, or other slow league mechanics

How Many Divines Per Hour?

• Low-end setup (1 Citadel/hour):

→ 3–6 divines/hour

• Optimized setup (3 Citadels/hour with tablets):

→ 9–12 divines/hour minimum

• Juiced setup with lucky tablets and high waste chance:

→ 15+ divines/hour possible with good RNG and overlaps

Most importantly, these returns do not include any other loot from maps. You’ll still earn PoE2 currency from incidental drops, raw chaos/divines, and uniques.

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for a top-tier solo farming strategy in Path of Exile 2, especially post-Patch 0.2.0, Citadel farming is it. With efficient routing, proper use of tablets, and high-suffix map crafting, you’ll be consistently banking 10+ divines an hour—all while enjoying a boss-focused loop with minimal league clutter.

Whether you’re gearing up for endgame, chasing mirror-tier gear, or just wanting to break out of the mapping grind, Citadel farming offers a fast, focused, and highly rewarding gameplay loop.