Path Of Exile 3.24: Is The Dunes Map A Wise Choice For Essence Farming In Necropolis?

In this guide for Path of Exile 3.24, the purpose is to clarify the currency farming strategy that I customize for the Essence. This farming is set in the Dunes Map, including the effects of 3 Essence Scarabs, a Scarab of Ascension with the Essence map mod and the Searing Exarch influence.

It is advisable to pick the Dunes Map for Essence farming. Compared with other maps, we can avoid the demand for large-scale map rolling and can maximize the number of quantities and rareness.

Strategy Overview

The strategy is straightforward: Utilize the Cartography Scarab of Ascension along with 3 small Essence Scarabs, the Essence map mod, and Searing Exarch influence. The decision to use the Dunes Map for Essence farming is intentional and the simplicity of its navigation and the potential of Boss Rush.

It should be noted that killing the boss isn't necessary, as it garners ample essences from Crystal Resonance. The boss is nowhere near as crazy as it is in the high-end strategy where you use the Essence Scarab of Calcification, but it is still advisable to bring the boss below 50% health to speed up the kill at the end of the map.

Farming Build

If your build boasts a formidable damage output, let’s say around 20 million DPS or higher, it’s advisable to prioritize eliminating a few essences before engaging the boss. This precautionary measure prevents accidental boss kills, which could diminish your number of Essence each time it occurs.

For minion-based builds, strategic allocation of passive points is crucial. Consider investing in skills like Indomitable Army and physical damage reduction to counter the effects of Corrupted Blood. Without these defensive measures, your minions will require substantial damage output and life recovery capabilities to effectively contend with the Essence monsters.

Map Rolling Tips

The Dunes Map doesn’t have to be rolled much. I recommend to just chisel and alch the Dunes Map to increase loot and get the occasional high-quantity maps for other strategies.

Even though this is not a strategy for Essence Scarab of Calcification, it’s still advisable to roll maps with strong defensive mods like more monster life and damage reduction for physical and elemental builds because you want to kill the Essence monsters and the boss as quickly as possible.

Farming Investment

The investment in the farming required is minimal. It’s around 8 chaos for the map itself, 14 chaos for the Scarabs, and another 3 chaos for the map mod, for 25 chaos per map. In the 20 loot breakdown maps, there are 6 Fortress Maps, which actually constitute most of our total amount of Essence farming.

All the Essences that we found still dwarf this, with the Essences of Envy and Loathing being the most valuable ones. So, they make up more of the total than the other essences. The Incandescent Imitation is on 20 maps. So you can probably reduce this by 20% or so, given the total amount of POE Currency.

The total map cost, including the 25 chaos, actually translates to profit rather than losses. While there are some additional items, like the Polaric Invitations, chaos orbs, and great jammers, they don't contribute substantially to the total currency gained.

Final Thought

If there were any exceptionally valuable drops, they would have been highlighted. We did find one fortunate drop, but it was quite average. As for items like coffins and Allflames, they don't significantly contribute to the overall currency.

Considering coffins, for instance, they don't add much to your earnings, so skipping them won't cause a substantial loss. Allflames, on the other hand, are a bit more impactful. But overall, the main contributors to currency are the Essences and the Fortress maps we found, with smaller items like Polaric Invitations and bubblegum currency also playing a role.

While the sample size isn't huge, the consistency of the earnings is noteworthy. You can expect to earn around 15 divines per hour if you consistently run this strategy and can navigate the maps efficiently. On average, it took me about 2 and a half to 3 minutes per map. Cutting down on this time further could potentially increase your earnings even more.