The Path of Exile 3.26 Secrets of the Atlas expansion, launched on June 13, 2025, alongside the Mercenaries of Trarthus League, introduces 40 optional challenges designed to test player skill and engagement with the new league mechanics. Below is an analysis of these challenges, based on available information, with tips for efficient completion, especially for players aiming for 36/40 or full completion. The focus is on the Mercenaries of Trarthus mechanics, new endgame content, and strategies to streamline progress.

Overview of the Mercenaries League and Challenges

The Mercenaries of Trarthus League involves encountering unique mercenaries in each zone, each with distinct builds, skills, and gear. Players can duel these mercenaries and choose to:

• Hire them as companions (costing Gold).
• Take an item from their inventory (including rare items with "Infamous" modifiers).
• Exile them to prevent their archetype from spawning for the next 10 encounters.
• Leave without fighting, which lowers your Renown score.

Renown is a key mechanic that increases with consecutive duel wins (up to 3 ranks) and decreases with losses or leaving without fighting. Higher Renown boosts the chance of encountering Infamous Mercenaries, which carry superior loot and exclusive modifiers.

The 40 challenges reward pieces of the Watcher’s Wrath Armour Set (cosmetic microtransactions) at milestones: 12 (Boots), 20 (Gloves), 28 (Body Armour), and 36 (Helmet). These rewards are also usable in Path of Exile 2. Challenges range from simple tasks achievable during normal play to grind-heavy or endgame-specific objectives requiring optimized builds or trading.

Challenge Categories and Analysis

The challenges can be grouped into several types, with varying difficulty and time investment. Below is a breakdown of key challenge types, their requirements, and strategies for completion, based on community guides and insights.

1. Early-Game and Passive Challenges (7–10 Challenges)

These are low-effort tasks that complete naturally during campaign progression or early mapping:

• Complete Mercenary Duels: Win a few duels. This happens automatically as you engage with the league mechanic.
• Equip a Rare Item in Every Slot: Achievable by Act 5 using vendor items or Orbs of Alchemy.
• Defeat Rare Monsters with Modifiers: Occurs naturally while leveling.
• Enter Karui Shores: Complete Act 10 (defeat Kitava).
• Apply a Currency to an Item: Use an Orb of Transmutation on any item.
• Level a Gem to 20: Use your main skill gem consistently without swapping.
• Use a Movement Skill: Use Dash, Flame Dash, or Whirling Blades once.
• Vendor Recipes: Complete recipes like:
  • Vendor 3 identical life/mana flasks for a higher-tier flask.
  • Vendor a normal boot, a Quicksilver Flask, and an Orb of Augmentation.
  • Vendor an Iron Ring and a skill gem for a resistance ring.
  • Vendor 3 different Two-Stone Rings or 2 single-attribute amulets (Amber, Lapis, Jade) with an Orb of Transmutation.

Strategy: These are "free" challenges for most players. Focus on progressing through the campaign (Acts 1–10) and engaging with mercenaries as they appear. Use vendor recipes early to knock out crafting-related tasks. These challenges require no special builds or investment and can yield 7–10 completions by the time you reach maps.

2. Map and Mercenary-Focused Challenges

These challenges tie into the Atlas endgame and the Mercenaries mechanic:

• Complete a Collective 750 Tiers of Maps with an Active Mercenary: Assuming Tier 16 maps, this requires ~47 maps. Use short, linear maps like Mesa to speed up clears. Set favored map slots in the Atlas UI and allocate the Singular Focus passive to sustain map drops.
• Defeat 200 Rare or Unique Monsters in Level 75+ Areas with an Active Mercenary: This progresses naturally while mapping in high-level areas. Hire a mercenary early to start accumulating kills.
• Defeat Infamous Mercenaries: Increase your Renown by winning duels consecutively without fleeing. Higher Renown (preferably Tremendously Renowned) boosts the spawn rate of Infamous Mercenaries, which drop better loot and exclusive modifiers.
• Claim 5 Items with "Infamous" or "of Infamy" Modifiers: Target Infamous Mercenaries, as they are the only source of these modifiers. Check their gear before dueling to ensure they have qualifying items.
• Complete 40 Unique Maps: Use Kirac’s missions or trade for unique maps to complete this efficiently. Running synthesized maps with the synthesis passive on the Atlas tree can also help complete the "run unique maps" challenge while farming gold for other objectives.
• Complete Maps with 20 Scarab Types (Tier 14+, 80% Item Quantity): Scarabs enhance specific mechanics (e.g., Delirium, Ritual). Buy specific scarabs via trade or focus on Atlas passives that increase scarab drops.

Strategy: Invest in Atlas passives that boost mercenary encounters or map sustain (e.g., Singular Focus for favored maps or The Light of Dawn for Searing Exarch altars). Short maps like Mesa reduce clear time. For Infamous Mercenaries, maintain high Renown by always dueling and avoiding resets. Trading for unique maps or scarabs can save time for players with currency. These challenges are grindy but achievable solo with a decent build.

3. Master Mission and League Mechanic Challenges

These focus on Atlas Masters (Niko, Jun, etc.) and past league mechanics:

• Complete Any 5 League Mechanic Encounters (Specified Times): Examples include Delirium, Ritual, or Abyss encounters. Use Atlas passives or scarabs to increase encounter rates.
• Complete Any 2 Master Mission Encounters in Red/Purple Tier Maps: Niko and Jun missions are faster than others. Join other players’ missions, as progress is shared. This also overlaps with other mapping challenges.
• Complete Any 6 Kirac Atlas Missions: Focus on Kirac missions that align with your map progression or challenge goals (e.g., unique map missions).
• Complete Any 4 Past League Encounters (Area Level 81+): Examples include Blighted Maps or Simulacrums. These are easier in groups or with optimized builds. Solo players may need to trade for specific content or farm high-tier maps.

Strategy: Prioritize Niko and Jun for Master missions, as they are quicker to complete. Use Atlas passives to target specific league mechanics (e.g., Ritual or Delirium) and scarabs to force encounters. Joining public groups for Blighted Maps or Simulacrums can significantly reduce grind time, especially for weaker builds.

4. Endgame and Boss Challenges

These are among the hardest, requiring strong builds or specific strategies:

• Defeat Atziri, Queen of the Vaal in the Alluring Abyss: Atziri is challenging due to her reflect mechanics. Use builds with high chaos resistance or avoid reflect damage (e.g., Chaos Inoculation or spell-based builds). This is not considered among the top 10 hardest challenges by some players, but it requires preparation.
• Defeat Delve Bosses in Level 75+ Areas (x3): Farm high-level Delve nodes to encounter bosses. Strong builds or group play make this easier.
• Defeat 3 New Pinnacle Bosses (Incarnations of Fear, Dread, Neglect): These bosses drop new crafting currencies (Orbs of Remembrance, Unravelling, Intention) and require high-tier builds. They are tied to the Threads of Memory mechanic, accessed via Memory Tears and Eagon. Farm high-tier maps to trigger Memory Tears (every 3–5 maps with a light Atlas tree).
• Complete Any 4 Encounters in Area Level 81+: Focus on accessible high-level content like Elder/Shaper Guardians or Conquerors. Trade for fragments if needed.

Strategy: Atziri and Delve bosses are more accessible than pinnacle bosses but require specific builds (e.g., chaos or totem builds for Atziri). For pinnacle bosses, invest in a strong endgame build and farm Memory Tears by running high-tier maps with minimal Atlas passives to increase tear spawns. Joining groups or buying carries for pinnacle fights can save time for players with weaker builds.

5. Crafting and Gem Challenges

These involve item modification and gem progression:

• Unlock 60 Crafting Bench Recipes: Progress through maps and complete content like Incursion or Betrayal to unlock recipes. This is a natural grind for active players.
• Complete 3 Divination Card Tasks: Open 50 Stacked Decks or complete specific card sets. Stacked Decks are tradeable and relatively affordable.
• Complete 3 Gem Tasks: Examples include corrupting a gem to level 21 or 23% quality, using a Facetor’s Lens to add experience, or reaching level 30/53% quality on a gem. These are expensive or grindy—buy Awakened gems or use Vaal Orbs strategically.
• Apply Eldritch Implicits: Farm T10+ maps for Eldritch currency (e.g., Lesser Eldritch Embers). Use Searing Exarch or Eater of Worlds altars, enhanced by the The Light of Dawn Atlas passive.

Strategy: Focus on Betrayal and Incursion for crafting recipes, as they are reliable sources. For gem challenges, corrupting gems is RNG-heavy, so consider trading for pre-corrupted gems or Awakened Support Gems. Eldritch Implicits are straightforward with consistent high-tier mapping. Save currency for high-value tasks like Facetor’s Lens.

6. Grindy or Expensive Challenges to Skip

Some challenges are time-gated, costly, or overly difficult for casual players:

• Revered Return Orbs: These are expensive and often skipped, as other challenges are faster to complete.
• Eldritch Expedition: Requires finding specific bosses, which can take longer than other challenges, even in groups. Memory altars (e.g., Eater/Exarch) are quicker alternatives.
• 300% Quality in Total Sockets: Some players report issues with this challenge not registering, even with 20% quality gems. Try using Dialla’s Malefaction with 5 green sockets (250% quality) and additional quality on other gear. Use /recheck_achievements if it fails to register.

Strategy: Skip Revered Return and Eldritch Expedition unless you have significant currency or a dedicated group. For the quality challenge, use the Dialla’s Malefaction trick or report bugs if it doesn’t complete.

Recommended Strategies for 36/40 Completion

To efficiently reach 36 challenges for the full Watcher’s Wrath Armour Set:

1. Prioritize Passive Challenges: Knock out the 7–10 early-game challenges during the campaign and early maps.
2. Optimize Atlas Tree: Allocate passives for:
   • Map sustain (Singular Focus).
   • League mechanics like Delirium, Ritual, or Expedition for challenge overlap.
   • Searing Exarch altars (The Light of Dawn) for Eldritch Implicits and profit.
3. Maintain High Renown: Always duel mercenaries to maximize Infamous spawns. Check gear before dueling to target Infamous modifiers.
4. Use Short Maps: Mesa or similar linear maps reduce clear time for map-tier and mercenary kill challenges.
5. Trade Smartly: Buy unique maps, scarabs, or pre-corrupted gems to skip grindy tasks. Avoid expensive items like Revered Return Orbs.
6. Join Groups: Blighted Maps, Simulacrums, and pinnacle bosses are faster in parties. Use public groups or buy carries for endgame content.
7. Focus on Overlap: Combine challenges (e.g., Niko/Jun missions with map-tier grinding, unique maps with boss kills).

For full 40/40, expect significant grinding or investment (e.g., buying Awakened Gems, farming pinnacle bosses). Casual players should aim for 36/40 to avoid burnout.

Tips for New Players

• Choose a League Starter Build: Pick a budget-friendly build (e.g., melee or ranged) that can clear maps without rare gear. Check PoE Vault or Maxroll for guides.
• Engage with Mercenaries Early: Hire mercenaries that complement your build (e.g., Strength archetypes for melee builds). Check their skills and gear to ensure synergy.
• Farm Gold: Use Kingsmarch (now core) or synthesized maps to gather Gold for hiring mercenaries.
• Report Bugs: If challenges like 300% quality don’t register, use /recheck_achievements or report to Grinding Gear Games.
• Join the Community: Use the PoE Vault Discord or Reddit for tips and group play.

Challenge Difficulty and Community Sentiment

• Easier Than Expected: Some players note that the 40/40 challenges are less daunting than previous leagues, with many completable through normal play or light grinding.
• Atziri Debate: While listed as a challenge, Atziri isn’t among the hardest due to manageable reflect mechanics for prepared builds.
• Server Issues: Early league bugs and server instability (e.g., rollbacks) frustrated some players, particularly with challenge tracking.
• Renown System: The Renown mechanic is well-received for rewarding consistent engagement without harsh penalties for occasional skips.