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All Path of Exile 2 map icons
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How map icons work in Path of Exile 2
Path of Exile 2 has several acts for you to complete, each with its own map full of icons to discover. your map will be central to fast travel to multiple areas at once, though the icons found on the map can help a lot when looking for optional content.
Each area you visit will usually be tied to a main quest, but there will still be plenty of optional content worth completing. Here's what each map icon means and how to visit the different icons found on the map.

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All Path of Exile 2 map icons
Map icon |
Name |
Explanation |
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Current location |
Appears above the area the player is currently in. |
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City |
Location of a hub city in Act. |
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Unknown area |
An area you have not visited at all. |
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Visited area |
An area visited without a waypoint. |
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Area with inactive waypoint |
An area visited, but the waypoint was not discovered. |
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Area with active checkpoint |
An area with an active waypoint that will be the fast travel destination. |
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Mission location |
Location of a main or side mission. |
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Travel destination |
A location you can travel to from the map. |
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Encounter rare monsters |
A powerful enemy with a yellow name is found in that area. |
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Rare monster encounter with Djinn Barya |
A powerful enemy with a yellow name is found in that area that will drop ascendant items. |
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Meeting with bosses |
A boss can be found somewhere in that area. |
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Upgraded Boss Encounter |
A boss is found somewhere in that area and will drop a quest item used for an upgrade. |
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Boss encounter with Djinn Barya |
A boss is found somewhere in that area and will drop an ancestry item. |
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The meeting with the heads of the act |
The final boss of the respective act can be found in the respective area. |
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Remarkable chest |
A rare chest containing powerful loot is found in that area. |
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Outstanding article |
A rare item is found somewhere in that area. |

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How map icons work in Path of Exile 2
If you want to find an icon, such as a boss encounter, you will need to travel to the area that icon is attached to. Traveling there will create a Court and randomly generate the icon cause location somewhere in that instance. There will almost always be some level of exploration to find the cause of an icon due to the random nature of the game's maps.
There will also be unique icons for some side missions that indicate where you need to go to complete that mission. A small yellow cave icon above a waypoint also indicates a dungeon instead of a more open area.