If you’re used to the original Path of Exile, diving into the new Atlas system in Path of Exile 2 can be frustrating. Unlike the old system, where you simply played, and monsters and bosses could drop maps one to two levels higher than the one you’re on, it’s now focused exclusively on bosses.
In PoE2, Waystones, the new equivalent of maps, have been updated so you actively have to earn progress. While regular monsters and bosses can drop Waystones of the same tier, and Grinding Gear Games has removed the ability for Waystones to drop at a lower tier, higher-tier Waystones are now exclusive to Powerful Map Bosses.
This means that if you want to unlock higher tiers, you now have to either navigate to maps on the Atlas with Powerful Map Boss icons or use Overseer Tablets, which empower regular bosses into powerful bosses.
Not knowing this, I managed to reach Tier 2 Waystones, then got stuck there for a few dozen levels before getting frustrated and looking it up. Once I turned on Overseer Tablets, I quickly went from Tier 2 to Tier 6 in just three maps.
Your lower-tier tablets aren’t completely useless. You can combine three tablets of any tier, as long as they’re the same rarity, into a map one tier higher. This means you can turn three Magic Tier 1 Waystones into one Magic Tier 2 Waystone. If you’re low on stock, you can buy tablets from Doryani as well, and he always sells maps for the tier below the highest one you’ve completed.
This works until you reach Tier 15 tablets, at which point you have to deal with Vaal Orbs and corruption.
To make this entire process easier, invest Atlas points in Waystone drop-rate and quality nodes. Also, keep in mind that you can use orbs to improve their modifiers: use an Orb of Transmutation to convert a Normal Waystone into a Magic one, an Orb of Augmentation to add a second modifier, and a Regal Orb to make it Rare with up to three modifiers.