The Architect's Dream: Building and Defending Your Temple
Publié : 10 janv. 2026, 09:30
POE 1 Items's league mechanics often aspire to be games within the game, but few have achieved the depth and enduring appeal of the **Temple of Atzoatl**, introduced in the Incursion league. This is not a dungeon you simply enter and clear; it is a monument you literally build room by room over multiple encounters, culminating in a personalized, lucrative, and deadly raid. The **Temple** system transforms players into architects of ancient power, making strategic choices that directly shape their final, one-time reward dungeon.
The process begins with Alva, Master Explorer, who appears in maps to open a portal to the past. Inside, you have a brief, timed incursion into a specific room of a partially built **Temple**. Your goal is to kill the architect within to change the room's future, or, if it's already a powerful tier, kill its boss to upgrade it. Each incursion presents a choice: connect to a new room, upgrade an existing one, or change its function entirely. Rooms come in various types: currency rooms, gem rooms, **corruption** chambers, boss arenas, and the all-important apex—the Throne of Atziri. The connections you make determine the pathways available in your final temple run, forcing you to think like a maze designer to link your most valuable rooms to the entrance.
Once you've completed twelve incursions, the present-day **Temple** is fully realized based on your choices, and you can run it as a single, continuous instance. This is where the payoff lies. A well-built temple is a treasure trove. The "Currency" room might be filled with chests bursting with orbs. The "Gemcutter's" room can drop gems with high quality or valuable corruptions. The "Corruption" chamber allows for the ultra-risky double-corruption of items, potentially creating mirror-tier gear or reducing it to ash. The ultimate prize is reaching the top-tier Throne of Atziri to face a super-powered version of the Vaal queen for a chance at her most exclusive uniques.
The **Temple of Atzoatl** endures because it successfully marries short-term tactical play with long-term strategic planning. Each incursion is a fast-paced, 60-second skirmish with an immediate choice. Over a mapping session, these choices compound into a unique, player-owned dungeon. It adds a layer of deterministic farming—if you need gem quality, you focus on gem rooms—while retaining thrilling RNG in the room drops and boss fights. It is a system that rewards game knowledge, foresight, and adaptability, proving that in Wraeclast, the greatest treasures are not just found, but carefully, cleverly built.
The process begins with Alva, Master Explorer, who appears in maps to open a portal to the past. Inside, you have a brief, timed incursion into a specific room of a partially built **Temple**. Your goal is to kill the architect within to change the room's future, or, if it's already a powerful tier, kill its boss to upgrade it. Each incursion presents a choice: connect to a new room, upgrade an existing one, or change its function entirely. Rooms come in various types: currency rooms, gem rooms, **corruption** chambers, boss arenas, and the all-important apex—the Throne of Atziri. The connections you make determine the pathways available in your final temple run, forcing you to think like a maze designer to link your most valuable rooms to the entrance.
Once you've completed twelve incursions, the present-day **Temple** is fully realized based on your choices, and you can run it as a single, continuous instance. This is where the payoff lies. A well-built temple is a treasure trove. The "Currency" room might be filled with chests bursting with orbs. The "Gemcutter's" room can drop gems with high quality or valuable corruptions. The "Corruption" chamber allows for the ultra-risky double-corruption of items, potentially creating mirror-tier gear or reducing it to ash. The ultimate prize is reaching the top-tier Throne of Atziri to face a super-powered version of the Vaal queen for a chance at her most exclusive uniques.
The **Temple of Atzoatl** endures because it successfully marries short-term tactical play with long-term strategic planning. Each incursion is a fast-paced, 60-second skirmish with an immediate choice. Over a mapping session, these choices compound into a unique, player-owned dungeon. It adds a layer of deterministic farming—if you need gem quality, you focus on gem rooms—while retaining thrilling RNG in the room drops and boss fights. It is a system that rewards game knowledge, foresight, and adaptability, proving that in Wraeclast, the greatest treasures are not just found, but carefully, cleverly built.