help me understand the map tier system

i dont really understand it yet

is a tier 10 with no mods better than a tier 1 with a bunch of mods?

right now i can buy tier 9 maps from the vendor but occasionally find 10s


should i be running low tier maps with a ton of mods.. or high tier maps with fewer mods so i am less likely to die and retain decent clear speed?

It kinda depends.

A higher tier waystone will almost always give more xp, even without mods on it, as enemy level has a big impact on xp gain.

Higher level enemies generally drop more loot and of a higher item level BUT running a lower tier map with lots of mods will drop more loot than a high tier no-mods.

What I do when working my way up is run my highest tier waystones with 1-2 mods on corrupted zones to get lots of experience. Then drop down a couple tiers to run some more juiced maps for loot/waystone sustain after a level up when i care less about deaths.

To clarify - Tier 1 map = level 65 mobs. Tier 15 map = level 79 mobs.