Path of Exile 1's Return of the Ancestors event brings back one of the most beloved league mechanics from 2023, blending nostalgic auto-battler chaos with fresh endgame content. With the Trials of the Ancestors (TotA) returning alongside the Mirage core endgame and the Affliction-era alternate ascendancies, players have a packed playground to dive back into. In this PoE 3.28 Return of the Ancestors guide, we will walk through everything you need to know about TotA, including loot, top tattoos, Atlas tree setup, and the most profitable farming strategies for the event.

PoE 3.28 Return of the Ancestors TotA Guide (Rewards, Tattoos, Mechanics, Atlas Tree & Farm Strats)

The Return of the Ancestors event resurrects the Karui tournament mechanic, where you act as a battle leader commanding up to 16 troops against opposing tribes in double-elimination tournaments. Entry costs one silver coin per match, and victories reward you with favor (a temporary in-tournament currency), real loot like currency and tattoos, and end-of-tournament chests containing some of the best tattoos in the game. Combined with the Mirage endgame and Affliction ascendancies, this event offers a unique blend of mechanics not seen together before. With that overview in mind, let's get into the meat of the guide.

How Return of the Ancestors Work in PoE 3.28?

Before getting into strategies, you need to know the rules of the arena.

Entry and Tournament Format

• Cost: One silver coin per match. Silver coins drop from core gameplay (maps) but not from inside TotA itself, so pure TotA players will need to trade for them.

• Format: Double elimination. You can lose once and stay in the tournament; the second loss ejects you.

• Gold rewards: TotA was patched to grant gold, which should help sustain trading for silver coins.

The Three Loot Types

1. Favor – A meta currency used to buy troops, items, and field supplies during the tournament. Resets to zero when the tournament ends.

2. Round Rewards – PoE Currency, divination cards, uniques, or tattoos. Each match offers two columns: favor or a real reward.

3. Tournament Chest – Awarded for completing and winning the tournament, containing exclusive items like the best tattoos that can't be obtained elsewhere.

Win Condition

You don't have to wipe the enemy team. Instead, channel all enemy totems down by holding left click for 5 seconds each. Each totem ban removes one enemy unit from the match permanently. If your team channels all enemy totems before they do the same to yours, you win.

The Channel Stun

Getting hit while channeling triggers an Uber Stun lasting at least 3 seconds, which ignores all stun mitigation. Damage-over-time effects do NOT trigger this stun, only direct hits. This is why DoT-only builds like Righteous Fire and Death's Oath struggle in this event.

Cheese vs. Fair Strategies

You can approach TotA in two distinct ways, and picking the right one depends on how deep you plan to go.

The Fair Strategy

Your character acts as the strongest combatant on the battlefield, taking down disruptive enemy units (especially ranged ones with screen-wide projectiles) while your allies channel totems on the flank. This works well until around ranking 700–1,000, after which monster scaling becomes punishing.

The Cheese Strategy

Instead of fighting, you become a slippery distraction. Build for:

• High movement speed

• High attack block and spell block

• Spell dodge (overcap suppression to 150% + Acrobatics)

• Evasion rating

Your defenses can look ridiculous (–60 resists, sub-1000 ES on a CI build), because the goal is to never actually get hit. You channel a totem briefly to taunt all nearby enemies, then kite them in circles while your allies push down totems elsewhere. Above ranking 1,000, this is the only viable approach.

The Ranking Problem

Difficulty scales with your tournament ranking, which can climb as high as 2,000. The annoying part: ranking drops slowly (you might gain 30 per win but lose only 8 per loss), so once you outscale your build, you'll be forced to throw matches repeatedly to get back into fun territory. Plan your build accordingly.

Building Your Roster: Troop Placement

Now that you know the format, let's talk about how to actually fill out your team. There are four positions, and the order matters.

Flankers (Fill First)

Flankers run around the edges of the map and prioritize channeling enemy totems. This is the actual win condition, so put your best agile units here. Anything that teleports or stealths shines in this slot.

Attackers (Fill Second)

Attackers charge straight in, channel totems if possible, and fight anything they see. Slower but tougher units belong here.

Midfield/Escort (Fill Third)

These balance between flanking and attacking and can also stick with you for support. Solid generalist slot.

Defenders (Fill Last)

Defenders sit at home and turtle. They won't go help retake anything, so they're the weakest slot use. Place units 13–16 here, ideally ranged attackers who can disrupt enemy back lines.

Quick Placement Rules

• Best units → flanking (unless very slow)

• Slow tanky units → attacking

• Anything else → midfield

• Ranged junk → defending

Favor Spending Priorities

Favor is use-it-or-lose-it, so spend it wisely.

• Troops first, always. Fill your roster before anything else. Better troops cost more (some up to 2,000 favor), but they're worth it.

• Items second. Equipment items act as force multipliers for any unit costing 800+ favor. Skip equipment on cheap units.

• Field supplies last. These take up a troop slot and most are single-use. Only revive items are worth grabbing.

• Convert favor late. You can convert favor between NPCs at 50% loss, which is better than letting it expire. Concentrate spending on one or two ancestors for better unlocks.

Early in the tournament, prioritize favor over real rewards (unless it's chaos value or better). The further you go, the less important favor becomes.

Tattoos and Rewards

The tournament chest is where the real prizes live, and many of these tattoos are exclusive to TotA.

Tattoo Categories

• Honored Tattoos – Available in the event and transferable to Standard.

• Mckanga Tattoos – Also transferable to Standard.

• Forbidden Tattoos – Brand new for this event; will NOT work in Standard.

Round-by-Round Reward Hunting

• Early rounds: Prioritize favor unless the reward is genuinely chase-tier (a Divine, Mageblood, etc.).

• Late rounds: Real rewards scale up; favor matters less.

• Final round trick: If you reach the finals undefeated and the offered reward is trash, intentionally throw the match. Double elimination lets you reroll the final by playing the loser's bracket finish.

Best Tattoos & Rewards from Tribes & Tournament

Each of the ten Karui tribes drops a specific pool of tattoos, unique items, and warriors. The tournament finale, run by Hinekora, drops a separate pool of Honoured Tattoos, Omens, and chase items. Use the breakdowns below to decide which tribes to eliminate early and which to keep alive deep into the bracket.

The high-tier honored and forbidden tattoos are in heavy demand, both for in-event use and for selling. You can either apply them directly to your character, save them for Standard transfer, or flip them for profit.

According to Grim's Patch 3.22 Min Max Sheet (reward cheat sheet), the value of specific tattoos varies wildly, with some commanding multiple divines on day one of the previous launch. Keep an eye on tournament chest contents for top-tier rolls.

Ngamahu Tribe

The Ngamahu Tribe drops a powerful Makanga tattoo and two strong units, but its common and unique rewards are mediocre. Keep Kaom around until later rounds, but don't prioritize him.

Hinekora Tribe

Hinekora drops a great Makanga tattoo and well-rounded defensive units. Tawhanuku is dangerous; eliminate early if you're struggling.

Arohongui Tribe

Arohongui lacks strong tattoo rewards, and Ikiaho is a significant threat. Eliminate early but use favor on their valuable units before doing so.

Rongokurai Tribe

One of the most dangerous Champions with lackluster rewards, this should usually be the first tribe you eliminate.

Kitava Tribe

Kitava drops a strong unique (Utula's Hunger) but weaker tattoos. Eliminate at a moderate pace.

Tawhoa Tribe

One of the best tribes to keep alive late, valuable tattoos and a top-tier unique. Their warriors are cost-efficient.

Ramako Tribe

By far the most rewarding tribe. Aim to defeat Ahuana in the finals to maximize chances at the Ramako Makanga.

Tasalio Tribe

Powerful Flanker units, but you'll want to keep this tribe alive longer for shots at rare tattoos and Rakiata's Dance.

Tukohama Tribe

Moderately rewarding. Fine to eliminate early-mid, but spend favor on Jade Hulk and Jade Shaman first.

Valako Tribe

Watch their flankers. Eliminate before late rounds since the tattoos aren't valuable, but milk favor for Thunderbirds and Storm Guards.

Tournament Finale: Honoured Tattoos & Omens (Hinekora)

Winning the entire tournament rewards you with one of two reward types from Hinekora herself — either an Honoured Tattoo or an Omen.

Atlas Tree Progression for League Start

A strong Atlas setup will fuel your early currency, levels, and bonus objectives. Here's a proven progression path:

Phase 1: Map Sustain

Grab higher map tier chance nodes on the left side immediately. You don't need to over-invest, but a few points here are mandatory for early progression.

Phase 2: Unwavering Vision Keystone

Rush this keystone for an immediate 20 free passive points, which lets you spec into a major mechanic instantly.

Phase 3: Blight Investment

Blight is forgiving, profitable, and works with any build (even a naked character).

• Take cost reduction for Blight buildings/towers first.

• Grab Cassia's Pride at the top for easy-mode Blight.

• Take "more life for the pump" for safety.

• Allocate 100% Blight encounter chance per map.

• Add the Blight chest reopen chance node (chests can open multiple times).

Phase 4: Blighted Maps

Push into Blighted map nodes for red Blighted maps, which print currency, oils, and items. Especially valuable this event because of the Mirage bell anointment demand.

Phase 5: Heist Cluster

Take The Dudes' Field Soldier to bring Hawk into your maps for combat buffs. Smuggler's Caches in Mirage can drop multi-divine blueprint enchantments.

Phase 6: Ultimatum

Once you're in red maps, swap focus to Ultimatum.

• Specialize into Survival as your only-start (easiest variant).

• Take the 25% chance to duplicate Ultimatum rewards node (massive currency multiplier).

• Add inscribed Ultimatum chance for divine orb inscribed drops.

• Take Trial Master chance for catalyst stacks.

Phase 7: Altars

Allocate Eater of Worlds altars (better than Searing Exarch in most cases) for jackpot divine orb altars.

Phase 8: Final Points

Spend remaining points on quantity nodes and the central rarity/quantity wheel. Once your Atlas is fully unlocked, drop Unwavering Vision to use Scarabs and respec into your final farming strategy.

Farming Strategies for the Event

With your Atlas progressed, here are the most profitable farming directions for 3.28.

Blight Farming

Blighted maps remain a top-tier league-start farm. They reward bubblegum currency, oils (very expensive given the Mirage bell anointment demand), and stackable rare items. Run them yourself early; sell them off once you've geared up.

Ultimatum Farming

The 25% duplicate reward node makes this strategy exceptional. Inscribed Ultimatums are the real money, chase divine orb inscribed variants and stack catalysts from Trial Master kills.

Heist Farming

With many players hunting Mirage Smuggler's Caches, blueprint enchantments command divine-level prices. Run Heist contracts in parallel with mapping for a steady income stream.

TotA Itself

Pure TotA farming is viable if you target the tournament chests for valuable tattoos. The forbidden tattoos in particular will likely command high prices throughout the event due to their exclusivity. Hardcore TotA grinders should commit to a cheese build from the start to avoid the ranking wall.

More Tips and Snowball Mechanics

A few last points to keep in mind as you grind through tournaments:

• TotA snowballs hard. Getting one extra troop early makes every subsequent match easier. Stack early advantages aggressively.

• Rongokurai tribe was overpowered in 3.22 (physical overwhelm). If a specific tribe gives your build trouble, face them in the first couple of matches when difficulty is lowest to knock them out early.

• Well-rolled rares from tournaments were extremely strong in 3.22 early progression — pick up anything that looks juiced.

• Avoid pure DoT builds like Righteous Fire and Death's Oath. The channel stun mechanic punishes them severely.

• Pay attention to enemy leader attacks. Each leader has bullet-hell style telegraphed mega-attacks. They're survivable with care, but a clip from one at high difficulty can one-shot even uber-pinnacle-tanky characters.

With this combination of TotA mastery, a planned Atlas progression, and focused farming priorities, you'll be set to make the most of the Return of the Ancestors event. May your Va'al lobs have interesting results, and good luck out there, exiles.