I stopped "winging it" in the Temple once I realised most bricked layouts come from one bad connection you could've prevented. If you're chasing upgrades or PoE 2 Currency, you don't need luck—you need a repeatable shape, then you need to protect it. The game's pathing isn't out to help you, so you've got to tell it what the map is allowed to be.

Build the neck first, then freeze it

Your early job is simple: create a clean "neck" so later rooms can't spawn awkward branches. I like to rotate Spymaster with either Armory or Garrison as I push toward that first corner. Drop a Spymaster, then a Garrison, then another Armory or Garrison, then a second Spymaster to finish the corner. The moment that corner is in place, lock it. Not "in a bit." Right then. Do the same pattern on the opposite corner so both ends of your main line are stable and predictable.

Thread in your payoff rooms without choking the lane

Once the neck is safe, start feeding in Alchemy and Sacrifice rooms so you can reach Corruption Chambers without the layout turning into spaghetti. Here's the rule that saves runs: the second a Corruption room hits the board, lock it. If you don't, the Temple loves to generate a side connection that steals your next placement. At this stage you'll be swapping through Armory, Smithy, and Golem a lot. And if a room is sitting there "active" but blocking a key placement, just remove it. People get stubborn and keep a filler room, then wonder why they can't drop Smithy or Golem where it matters.

Target a clean first line and set up the second line

For the end of your first line, aim for a smooth chain like Armory into Alchemy, then another Alchemy, then Corruption Chamber. When it lines up, you can sometimes land two Corruption Chambers adjacent. That's where the Temple starts paying you back. After that, the second line should feel almost boring: place your ready rooms in a straight run and lock both ends so nothing branches off and ruins the route.

Keys, bosses, and the locks that actually matter

Key rooms and boss detours don't have to trash your plan. You can place a key room, lock it, go kill the boss, and come back without the whole thing reshuffling. The real danger is locking an entry point before you've planned the next connection, because you can cut off your own chain for the following run. Take a breath, check the next two placements, then lock—do that and the Temple becomes consistent, and the poe 2 currencies you pull out of it starts to feel earned instead of random.