Citadels are Atlas maps in Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2), which players must find and conquer to obtain three crisis fragments, enter the Burning Monolith, and defeat the Arbiter of Ash. See how to farm these Citadels and their locations, bosses, a farming and clearing guide, the drops, as well as what happens if you fail a citadel in this guide!

Citadel Beam Colors and Locations

Citadels	Beam Colors
Iron Citadel	Blue Beam
Copper Citadel	Orange Beam
Stone Citadel	Red Beam

Iron Citadel

The Iron Citadel, commonly found in Grass and Forest biomes, is marked by a blue light beam on the Atlas Map. Its map node is in a walled-off town with numerous buildings and a single mansion.

It is a corrupted version of Ogham Manor, and clearing it for the first time completes the Ezomyte Infiltration quest.

Ezomyte Infiltration Quest Walkthrough

Copper Citadel

The Copper Citadel, commonly found in Desert biomes, is marked by an orange light beam on the Atlas Map. Tents, tarps, caravan carts, and stone pillars encircle its map node.

It is a corrupted version of the Dreadnought, and clearing it for the first time completes the Faridun Foray quest.

Faridun Foray Quest Walkthrough

Stone Citadel

The Stone Citadel, commonly found in Vaal Cities or along coastlines, is marked by a red light beam on the Atlas Map. Vaal Pyramids and Monuments surround its map node.

It is a slightly modified version of the Black Chambers, and clearing it for the first time completes the Vaal Incursion quest.

Vaal Incursion Quest Walkthrough

Citadel Farming Tips

Citadel Farming Tips
Locate Citadels via Beams of Light Unlock Nearby Lost Towers and Add Tablets with a Waystone Drop Chance Use Waystones with a High Waystone Drop Chance Clear the Boss to Finish the Map

Locate Citadels via Beams of Light

Beams of light in different colors can be seen across the Atlas, even under the thick fog. These beams indicate the location of a citadel, and the type of citadel depends on the color of the beam.

▲ Citadel Beam Colors and Locations ▲

Unlock Nearby Lost Towers and Add Tablets with a Waystone Drop Chance

After reaching a citadel, the next step is to head to the surrounding Lost Towers and clear them. Don't add Precursor Tablets onto these Lost Towers yet. Make sure that the citadel is within the radius of the Lost Towers.

Get yourself some Precursor Tablets with a high percentage of Waystone Drop Chance, and add them to the Lost Towers you've cleared near the citadel.

Lost Towers Maps Explained

Use Waystones with a High Waystone Drop Chance

Use a Waystone with a very high Waystone Drop Chance, about 500% or more, and add it to the Citadel map node. This modifier, combined the modifiers from the Lost Towers, will increase the chances of Crisis Fragments dropping after clearing the map.

Mapping Guide and List of Atlas Maps

Clear the Boss to Finish the Map

Once all preparations are done, enter the map to clear rare enemies and defeat the boss for it to drop the Crisis Fragments. The team managed to get 2-3 Crisis Fragments by following the steps above.

The boss depends on which citadel you're in. Make sure that you're well prepared, as dying inside the citadel will cause you to fail it, losing accessing to the citadel. This also consumes the Waystone, meaning that you'll have to find another one with a high waystone drop chance for the next citadel.

To ensure your survival, follow a build guide to maximize your damage output. Having the right modifiers on waystones are helpful too. The best waystones to use are the ones with little to no suffixes, as suffixes makes the map progression more difficult.

▼ All Citadel Bosses ▼

Citadel Bosses

Count Geonor

Boss	Overview
Count Geonor	Drops: Ancient Crisis Fragment Damage Types: Physical, Cold Resistances: Cold Weakness: None

Geonor, the Putrid Wolf, is the boss found in the Iron Citadel. It is a modified and more powerful version of his Act 1 counterpart.

Count Geonor Boss Guide

Jamanra, the Abomination

Boss	Overview
Jamanra, the Abomination	Rewards: The Trail of Corruption quest completion Damage Types: Physical, Lightning Resistances: Physical, Lightning, Fire Weakness: Cold

Jamanra, the Abomination, is the boss found in the Copper Citadel. It is a modified and more powerful version of his Act 2 counterpart.

Jamanra, the Abomination Boss Guide

Doryani, Royal Thaumaturge

Boss	Overview
Doryani	Drops: Weathered Crisis Fragment Damage Types: Physical, Fire, Cold, Lightning Resistances: Fire, Lightning Weakness: None

Doryan, Royal Thaumaturge, is the boss found in the Stone Citadel. It is a modified and more powerful version of his Act 3 counterpart.

Doryani Boss Guide

Citadel Drops

Crisis Fragment

Crisis Fragments and Locations
Ancient Crisis Fragment (Iron Citadel)	Faded Crisis Fragment (Copper Citadel)	Weathered Crisis Fragment (Stone Citadel)

Defeating the boss within each type of Citadel gives players a guaranteed crisis fragment used to enter the Burning Monolith. Listed above are the different types and their locations.

Note that there is a chance for players to obtain more than one crisis fragment when defeating a Citadel boss, albeit rare.

Citadel Guide

Citadels Tips and Tricks
Look Out for Light Beams Prepare and Gear Up to Avoid Dying Obtain and Store Quality Tier 15+ Waystones Maximize Atlas Passive Tree Move Towards the Fog

Look Out for Light Beams

As of the 0.1.1 patch, each of the Citadels now has different colored light beams as their indicators on the Atlas Map. Players should look and move toward these indicators as much as possible.

0.1.1 Patch Notes and Summary

Prepare and Gear Up to Avoid Dying

Before running a Citadel, players should properly gear up and optimize their builds to avoid dying. Dying in one will effectively fail the map, and players must find other Citadels to get their Crisis Fragments. This is extremely detrimental, considering how rare Citadels are.

Best Builds

Obtain and Store Quality Tier 15+ Waystones

Since players can only enter Citadels with Tier 15+ Waystones, they should store an ample amount of them to avoid shortages.

Additionally, players may want to modify these waystones to maximize loot and rewards when doing Citadels. Decent modifiers include increased rarity of items dropped and increased rare monsters.

Mapping Guide and List of Atlas Maps

Maximize Atlas Passive Tree

Similarly, players may optimize their Atlas skill tree to maximize the efficiency and benefits of Citadel farming. For the most part, players should capitalize on passive nodes that increase the quantity and rarity of Waystones to gain a surplus of Tier 15+ Waystones.

Meanwhile, while doing Citadels, they should opt for passives that increase the rarity and quantity of loot found and the effects of Waystone modifiers. Note that players should prioritize these when they have discovered Citadels.

Atlas Skill Tree Guide

Remove Increased Boss Level Nodes

If players find difficulty in defeating any of the Citadel bosses, especially Jamanra, they may temporarily remove any passive skill nodes that increase boss levels. Since Crisis Fragments are guaranteed drops, players can effectively get them even while fighting lower leveled bosses.

However, players should note that removing these skills nodes is costly and will also lower the quality and chances of getting better loot upon defeating the boss.

Move Towards the Fog

Players should map toward undiscovered foggy areas instead of running revealed maps. Ultimately, the only way players can find Citadels is to move towards the unrevealed areas of the map to locate and spawn them.

Additionally, if mapping from another Citadel, players should move as far away as possible, as Citadels usually spawn far apart.

What Happens If You Fail A Citadel?

Players Lose Access To It and Must Find Another Citadel

As mentioned earlier, failing a Citadel leads to players permanently losing access to it. As such, players must find another Citadel to enter and gain Crisis Fragments from.

Citadel Not Completing

Clear the Boss and All Rare Monsters

Similar to Atlas maps with bosses, players must kill the boss and all the rare monsters in the area to officially complete a Citadel map.

Atlas of Worlds Endgame Explained

Game Bug

If the method above does not work, the cause is likely a game bug. Players have reported a bug where the game will not register their Citadel as completed despite accomplishing all the completion requirements. As of the recent 0.1.1 patch, no official bug fixes were mentioned.

What are Citadels?

Atlas Maps for Unlocking the Burning Monolith

Citadels are Atlas Maps players must find and conquer to enter the Burning Monolith. There are three types of Citadels: the Iron Citadel, the Copper Citadel, and the Stone Citadel.

Each of these Citadels contains a boss that drops one of three Crisis Fragments. Players must acquire one of each and slot them into the Burning Monolith Entrance to unlock it and enter.

The Burning Monolith Explained

Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) Related Guides

Atlas of Worlds Endgame Explained

Atlas Guides

Atlas Maps