If you are going use a chisel on maps its best to use them on white ones before you upgrade them if I recall. I personally don’t unless I know a map has some higher end loot chance it into it. As maps can start to get expensive once you start spending heavy on them with chisel, sextants, upgrades from mapping device and other stuff(which I’ve never used hehe)
The correct hammer and a map can be vendor together for the chisel. I personally don’t like losing a map out of the deal so I just don’t.
Okay, gotcha. Makes sense. I just got my arse kicked around the arena in my first lookout map. Bastard raises four simultaneous ancestral warchiefs and then leaps all over the place. Straight over my skeleton army and onto my head.
Used up all 6 portals, so that map's wasted. Live and learn I guess.
After a while you learn what mods you don’t want on a map. If you are struggling then hold off up using Alchemy to upgrade them to rare map or other things. Not all builds are great at killing the end boss in each of them. Sometimes I’ll just do a full clear expect the boss unless i’ve not killed it yet for the Atlas Bonus Objective.
Rare maps most of the times are more than worth the Alchemy to upgrade a normal one into rare. You just tend to get more mods you don’t like so you just don’t run that map and wait till you get 3 of the same one to vendor for 1 tier higher. Unless it’s a higher level map that worth a fair bit to buy off market then people will use a Orb of souring to wipe and try rolling it again.
I tend to stay away from reflect damage maps for the type of damage I deal. While you can try and mitigate that kind of damage it just tends to be to rippy. Also a great way to die if you are up late and not checking what mods you rolled on a map!
Most people who spend their silver coins on on Prophecies tend to wait for maps. You can start getting ones that give double boss spawn, exile rouges, map drops, and all kind of things that add more challenge to a map.
The way GGG went about mapping is just amazing. A great risk vs reward with some control if you choose not to run it. There are so many things that influence that map.
So many surprises await ahead of you. I can't wait till you run into this one mapping mechanic. I'm not going spoil it :)
I never even thought to save up my silver coins. I think I have half a dozen, as my prophecy wheel has been full for ages, and I haven't bothered going back to do any of the location-specific ones.