Last week we discussed the upcoming changes to the Atlas system in Path of Exile: Conquerors of the Atlas. Since then we've received a lot of questions regarding those changes and we've answered some of them in this news post.

Will Shaper Guardian Maps (our current T16s) still work post 3.9.0 on Standard?

Absolutely.

The important question is whether or not Shaper/Elder/Uber will be a challenge in Metamorph.

We'll be cognisant of the fact that those encounters are becoming less accessible than they once were and will make sure that any challenge that requires killing any of those bosses is reasonable to complete.

What is the expectation for the map tab? Provided we will have multiple tiers of the same maps. Are the map tabs getting reworked?

Map Stash Tabs are being reworked to handle the upcoming Atlas changes. We will provide more information with specifics in a future post.

So what happens when you start up a new character and get to the atlas which you've boosted to T14s? Can we unsocket them to lower them?

You'll be able to unsocket Watchstones, so you'll be able to reduce the tiers of maps that drop within a region temporarily if you'd like.

Are Watchstones tradable?

No, they're quest items, and as such, can't be traded. Though, that said, there might be a special set of Watchstones that can be traded...

Do these Watchstones do anything, or are they simply "+# to map tiers in this region? Like, do they give various mods, increase the likelihood of certain mods or anything along those lines?

In addition to increasing the map tiers of maps within a region, Watchstones also reveal previously hidden maps within that region. For example, socketing a Watchstone may reveal a hidden Shore Map that you previously couldn't see. Those maps will remain revealed for as long as the Watchstone is socketed. As for whether there are Watchstones that add modifiers, you'll just have to wait and see!

Do the Watchstones have affixes they can roll?

Most Watchstones won't be able to roll any modifiers but there are some special Watchstones that we'll talk about more at a later time.

Can Watchstones be obtained in any order, or are some of them expected to be obtained earlier or later than others?

Players will likely find their Watchstones in varying orders, though, given that most of them do the same thing, there's not much harm in this.

How is the "unique" Watchstone mentioned by Neon in the Q&A session different from the others?

That one will do the same thing that other Watchstones do (increase tier of maps within a region and reveal maps), but it will also do a little bit more. More information on that to come later!

Will unique maps scale too?

They sure will!

Will tier variability affect the Hall of Grandmasters?

It will, though the tier of this map doesn't affect the damage or life of the Grandmasters.

We hope you found these answers useful. We'll answer more questions in the coming weeks!