For PoE Legion farming, Step 1 is the safest starting route, Step 3 is the best balance for most builds, and Step 5 has the highest ceiling when your character can survive repeated releases. Raw map income still comes from Legion rewards, Timeless Splinters, Stacked Decks, scarabs, support gems, and Divine Orbs, while some players use POE currency to reach the required map tier sooner rather than delaying the farm for early gear upgrades.

Best Legion route by investment level

The five setups use the same Legion-focused Atlas tree. The map device is the only part that changes, so you can move up one step without rebuilding the entire passive tree.

Setup	Map device	Best use
Step 1	Five Legion Scarabs	Lowest entry cost
Step 2	Four Legion Scarabs and one Legion Scarab of Officers	More Sergeants and chests
Step 3	Step 2 setup plus a Timeless Astrolabe	Best general-purpose option
Step 4	Three Legion Scarabs, one Legion Scarab of Officers, a fourth scarab, and a Timeless Astrolabe	Higher input and output
Step 5	One Legion Scarab, three Legion Scarabs of Treasures, one Legion Scarab of Eternal Conflict, and a Timeless Astrolabe	Maximum reward density

Step 1 is the cleanest choice for testing a new character because it adds encounters without relying on volatile input costs. Step 2 adds five extra Sergeants to each Legion faction, increasing the number of chests and splinter carriers. Step 3 adds another Legion and puts Generals on both sides of the formation, making it the strongest middle-ground route.

Why Step 5 produces the largest payouts

Legion Scarabs of Treasures can give a Legion chest a 60% chance to spread its rewards onto nearby monsters. Currency, Stacked Decks, and scarabs that would have stayed inside one chest can then become several reward-carrying kills. Pillaged Treasures adds another random reward to Legion chests, while Logistical Support adds more reward chances to monsters that already carry one.

Legion Scarab of Eternal Conflict lets the formation leave stasis again after the first clear. Each release makes the monsters tougher, but it also creates another round of reward kills. This is why Eternal Conflict replaces the Officers scarab in the highest-investment route: Officers is cheaper, but its extra Sergeants do not match repeated releases combined with Treasures.

Atlas choices and map selection

Take Pillaged Treasures and Logistical Support for the top route. Skip General-focused nodes when using a Timeless Astrolabe, since that scarab already guarantees Generals. The Emblematic notable now converts Timeless Splinters into full Timeless Emblems 0.3% of the time in maps, and its preceding small passive gives 10% more Timeless Splinters from Legion Generals.

Dunes remains the preferred map because its open layout gives the formation room to spread. Jungle Valley is the main alternative. Ordinary eight-mod Tier 16 maps are enough for the top setup, and Delirium Orbs should be treated as an optional add-on rather than a required cost.

Run order and profit checks

Use the map device to place the selected scarabs and Timeless Astrolabe, then confirm that every slot contains the intended item before opening the map. The completed device layout is the useful interface check; replacing one scarab with the wrong variant changes the route and can ruin the cost calculation.

Clear the map while checking for an Eater of Worlds altar offering currency or scarab duplication.
Open each Legion and break out as much of the formation as possible.
With Eternal Conflict active, release the formation again only for rounds your build can safely finish.
Kill both Generals, then collect Timeless Splinters and check for Enshrouding Crystals.
Sort raw currency, Stacked Decks, scarabs, support gems, and splinters before pricing the next batch.

Before moving up, price the complete map device cost in Chaos through the Currency Exchange. Compare that amount with the average value of your last ten maps on the lower step. Steps 3 through 5 are sensitive to the price of Eternal Conflict, Timeless Astrolabe, and the fourth scarab in Step 4, so stay on the lower route when the extra reward does not cover those inputs.

Use Maraketh and Templar Emblems first when choosing between armies for this setup. Remember that ordinary Legion monsters no longer drop Timeless Splinters, while Generals provide more on average and Sergeants and chests provide fewer but larger stacks. After the five crystal effects are available, take the next ten-map sample and compare it again; players who need to shorten the gearing gap can also buy POE currency before committing to Step 5, then return to the Currency Exchange check before every larger farming batch.