Distance-Based Difficulty Scaling in the Atlas

Hi Exiles!

I had an idea inspired by the Delve system from PoE 1, where the deeper you go, the harder it gets. What if the Atlas in PoE 2 worked in a similar way?

The concept is to introduce a progressive difficulty layer based on distance from the center of the Atlas. As players move outward (measured by a growing circular perimeter), maps would gradually become more challenging — but also offer greater rewards.

This would be an additional layer of difficulty on top of current modifiers like waystones or map crafting. The goal is to make the Atlas feel more alive, more dangerous the farther you go, potentially even removing the level cap in the farthest reaches.

To make it even more exciting, players could be rewarded with points in a new passive skill tree — maybe a generic one, but with impactful changes that enhance or alter gameplay, especially suited for high-end exploration.

This system would offer more depth and agency in endgame progression, rewarding those who push further with meaningful progression and build diversity.

What do you think?