Progression: loot, crafting, quests, maps and the league

Beating monsters gets you more items. This page covers everything else that makes your deck stronger and moves you toward the pinnacle bosses.

Loot

Every staff member carries their own loot deck. When you beat them, they draw from it and you keep some of the cards (see After the fight). Loot can include new items and Currency, and from Act 4 onward Maps.

In 2023 each loot deck ended with an “End of Deck” card. It told the staff member to start a fresh loot deck the second time they drew it. See ExileCon 2023.

Crafting

• Use Currency Items to upgrade your item cards at the Crafting Benches on the venue’s upper levels.
• Each item can have only one Quality or one Rune applied. Rune is the league’s mechanic; see below.
• There are three crafting tables at ExileCon 2026, up from one in 2023. Players report two of them next to the Map Device on the 4th floor. Expect queues anyway.
• In 2023, crafting results were stickers applied to the card itself.

Unconfirmed: what each Currency item does, and exactly what Quality and Runes add, isn’t covered by the printed rules. The crafting bench staff explain it when you get there.

Quests

• Quests are printed on the back of your card box.
• When you complete one, turn it in at a Crafting Bench for extra rewards.
• You can do quests in any order.
• A player suggested that one Act 2 quest needs an Orb of Alchemy drop. Not confirmed.

Maps

• From Act 4 you can find Maps.
• Use a Map at the Map Device to face three random monsters, back to back.
• If you go in underprepared and lose, the map is wasted. Your gear isn’t affected, so you can keep farming.

Conflicting locations: the rules leaflet puts the Map Device on the main floor, but a player at the venue reported it on the 4th floor, next to two of the crafting tables. Check the venue map on the day.

The league: Runes of Aldur

ExileCon 2026 runs the Runes of Aldur League. Bring Logbooks to Expedition Island on the main floor, where players explore together to uncover valuable rewards.

How you get Logbooks and what Expedition Island rewards aren’t described in the printed rules.

Pinnacle bosses and the mirror prize

• There are several pinnacle bosses. In a pre-event interview, game director Jonathan Rogers said that staff members Octavian and Andrew are among them.
• The top prize is a mirror, a different design from 2023’s.
• In 2023 the mirror prize was limited in number, and getting one took serious time. One player reported about 7 hours, and said it got easier on day 2.
• Players often pool cards in groups to reach the pinnacles. Some offer to carry others in exchange for their starter packs. This is a player arrangement, not a rule.