PoE 3.26 Kingsmarch Guide: Shipping Cheat Sheet, Atlas, and Farm Strategies

The Kingsmarch system in Path of Exile 3.26 has quickly become one of the most impactful mechanics for both casual players and dedicated farmers. With its blend of farming, resource management, and logistics, it’s essentially a city-builder inside Wraeclast. At first glance, the system can feel overwhelming: crops to plant, ores to mine, dust to gather, workers to hire, and shipments to organize. But once you understand how the different pieces fit together, Kingsmarch becomes a powerful tool for generating Path of exile currency, items, and progress toward your endgame goals.

This guide breaks down Kingsmarch into three main sections: a shipping cheat sheet, insights into how it connects with the Atlas, and farm strategies for both early and late game.

Understanding Kingsmarch

Kingsmarch revolves around building and maintaining a settlement that produces resources. Those resources can then be shipped out to various ports across the world. Ports reward you with currencies, items, and sometimes extremely rare drops like Mirror Shards.

The system has four key resource types:

Crops – Grown on farm plots. Common crops like Wheat and Corn are easy to grow and scale well with dust. Special crops like Bluethium or Bzanth have higher base values and are highly sought after.

Ores and Bars – Found in maps, mined by workers or yourself. Raw ores can be smelted into bars, which are much more valuable when shipped.

Thaumaturgic Dust – Produced by disenchanting unwanted items, including rares, uniques, or even crafted pieces. Dust is used as a multiplier to increase the value of shipments.

Maps – Certain workers specialize in running maps, generating loot and feeding both ores and dust into your system.

By balancing these four resources, you can construct shipments that meet port quotas and maximize profit.

Shipping Cheat Sheet

The shipping system can feel like a puzzle. Each port prefers certain goods, and the way you combine resources matters. To simplify, here are the key rules of thumb—the “cheat sheet” for shipping.

1. Use Bars Over Ores

Always smelt ores into bars before shipping. A bar is worth several times the value of its raw ore equivalent, making smelting one of the most efficient upgrades you can invest in.

2. Match Dust 1:1 With Shipment Value

Thaumaturgic Dust works best when paired in a ratio close to the shipment’s value. For example, if you’re sending 10 million worth of crops, adding about 10 million worth of dust maximizes returns. Going far over or under this ratio results in diminished efficiency.

3. Specialize in Key Crops

Some crops are more rewarding than others:

Wheat and Corn: Reliable and scale extremely well with dust.

Bluethium: Favored for Divine Orb shipments.

Bzanth: Excellent for high-tier shipments targeting premium rewards.

Having a consistent supply of these crops makes it easier to meet port demands and produce steady shipments.

4. Target Port Quotas Early

Each port has quotas or preferences. Satisfying these quotas increases “favor,” which boosts multipliers on future shipments. Early on, don’t worry too much about maximizing profit—focus on feeding ports their preferred resources to build favor. Once you’ve unlocked high favor, your large shipments will be far more lucrative.

5. Blend Crops and Dust for Big Shipments

When going for high-tier rewards such as Mirror Shards, combine valuable crops with equal dust to hit milestones like 17 million or higher shipment values. This balance gives you the best odds of hitting jackpot rewards without wasting resources.

6. Don’t Overcomplicate

It’s tempting to try mixing ores, crops, and dust into every shipment, but specialization works better. Choose one or two strong resource types, pair them with dust, and ship them consistently to the ports that value them most.

Atlas and Kingsmarch

The Atlas of Worlds plays a direct role in Kingsmarch efficiency. The more you tailor your Atlas tree to support settlement resources, the stronger your Kingsmarch becomes.

1. Atlas Nodes for Crops and Ore

Several nodes on the Atlas tree boost crop yield and ore vein spawns. These are essential if you want to feed your settlement consistently without relying only on workers. By increasing the amount of raw input, you’ll be able to sustain bigger shipments.

2. Item Quantity and Rarity

Nodes that increase monster item quantity and rarity indirectly help Kingsmarch. More item drops mean more rares and uniques, which can be disenchanted into dust. Dust is one of the hardest resources to accumulate, so boosting loot drops feeds into your shipment engine.

3. Mapping Workers and Map Selection

You can assign workers to run maps, but your own mapping choices matter. High-tier corrupted maps are especially profitable, since they drop more loot and yield better disenchant materials. Scarabs and fragments that boost pack size and reward chests are excellent, because they indirectly provide more dust and crop-related loot.

4. Atlas Synergy With Shipments

Think of the Atlas as the backbone of your Kingsmarch. By directing your points into resource-oriented passives, you create a feedback loop: run maps → gain crops, ores, and items → convert to bars and dust → ship out → earn currency → reinvest into maps and workers.

Farm Strategies

Once you understand the basics, it’s time to put everything into practice. Your strategy depends on whether you’re in early or late game.

Early Game Strategy

When first unlocking Kingsmarch, you won’t have many plots, workers, or resources. Your focus should be on building a foundation:

Plant Basic Crops – Stick with Wheat and Corn at first. They’re cheap, simple, and give you a consistent supply.

Start Mining Early – Even low-tier ores smelted into bars will add meaningful shipment value.

Collect Dust Slowly – Don’t blow all your dust on early shipments. Save it until you can hit quota milestones.

Hire Essential Workers Only – Farmers and smelters should be your first hires. Shippers can wait until you’re producing larger volumes.

Meet Quotas – Your first goal is to gain favor with ports. Even small shipments matter if they raise future multipliers.

By the end of this phase, your settlement should be stable enough to start experimenting with bigger shipments.

Mid to Late Game Strategy

Once you’ve unlocked more plots, upgraded workers, and built port favor, you can move into high-efficiency farming.

Specialize – Focus on a few high-value crops and bars. This makes shipments easier to plan and maximizes resource efficiency.

Optimize Dust Usage – Save dust for big shipments. Aim for 50/50 splits of crops (or bars) and dust to reach thresholds for Divine Orbs, Mirror Shards, or tattoos.

Scale Up Shipments – Shipments valued at 17–50 million are the sweet spot for rare drops. Don’t waste resources on small, inefficient shipments unless you’re targeting a quota.

Invest in Mapping – Use your Atlas tree and scarabs to farm high-loot maps. The extra rares and uniques will keep your dust supply flowing.

Upgrade Workers – High-tier shippers and mappers drastically improve throughput. Don’t hesitate to reinvest your profits in worker upgrades.

Experiment With Ports – Once favor is maxed, test different ports with your resources. Some ports reward certain crops more heavily, and spreading shipments smartly increases your total yield.

Endgame Loops

At the highest level, your loop looks like this:

Run optimized Atlas maps for loot and ore.

Smelt ores into bars.

Farm and harvest specialized crops.

Disenchant loot into dust.

Balance crops/bars with dust for high-value shipments.

Target specific ports for quotas and jackpot rewards.

Reinvest currency into maps, scarabs, and worker upgrades.

This loop can become semi-self-sustaining, turning Kingsmarch into a primary engine for both progression and profit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Overspending Dust Early: Dust is best saved for large, favor-boosted shipments.

Neglecting Bars: Shipping raw ore instead of smelting into bars is a huge waste of value.

Unfocused Farming: Planting every crop type at once dilutes your efficiency. Focus on 2–3 key crops.

Ignoring Quotas: Ports need quotas satisfied before they pay out top rewards. Skipping this step limits your growth.

Underestimating Workers: Low-tier workers cap your production. Always aim to upgrade them as soon as possible.

Why Kingsmarch Matters

Kingsmarch isn’t just another side system. It ties directly into the core progression of Path of Exile 3.26:

It’s one of the most reliable ways to generate Divine Orbs and even Mirror Shards.

It integrates with the Atlas, rewarding smart map choices and farming strategies.

It creates a satisfying long-term loop of planning, shipping, and reinvestment.

For players who love the economy side of PoE, Kingsmarch is a dream system. For those focused on combat, it provides a steady supply of currency and gear to fuel mapping and bossing.

Final Thoughts

The Kingsmarch system may seem intimidating, but once you break it down, it’s a rewarding and flexible way to buy POE orbs. Focus on growing high-value crops, smelting ores into bars, saving dust for big shipments, and investing in Atlas nodes that support your settlement. Meet port quotas early, then scale into massive shipments for jackpot rewards.

With the right approach, Kingsmarch becomes more than just a side project—it’s a cornerstone of efficient farming in Path of Exile 3.26. Whether you’re a casual mapper or a dedicated currency farmer, mastering shipping, Atlas synergy, and settlement strategies will pay dividends throughout the league.