Path Of Exile 2: Every Act 2 Boss, Ranked

Path of Exile 2 is enjoying an active early access phase, and its players and developers both agree that this is a challenging game. This is in large part because of the game’s bosses, whose variety and complexity are among the games’ biggest strengths. Path of Exile 2 expects players to learn attack patterns and master its bosses.

Act 2 is a step-up in difficulty from the first act, partly because of the resistance penalty that’s applied to players as soon as they enter the act. There are 14 bosses, some mandatory and some optional, for players to overcome in this chapter, including some epic fights. Here’s a ranking of all of Act 2’s bosses based on how memorable they are, how rewarding they are, and how tough they are to beat.

14

Rathbreaker

Centaur Spear Brigade

• Location: Vastiri Outskirts
• Resistances: None
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem (quest reward)
• Mandatory

Rathbreaker is the first boss of Act 2. Players must take him out before they get access to the Ardura Caravan, which acts as the chapter’s hub. The only stand-out feature of this fight is the boss’s high physical damage, as there’s only one main attack to avoid. The boss does a series of three attacks that send out straight lines of damage in front of him, with the third attack being a high damage slam that players have to avoid. Dodging behind the boss makes this attack a non-issue. Players also need to watch out for hyena adds and the spear barrage from the cliffs.

13

L’im The Impaler

Bleeding Out

• Location: The Hilani Gates
• Resistances: Armor
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: No fixed drop (random loot)
• Mandatory

L’im The Impaler has some fearsome physical damage and the ability to bleed the player. Other than that, they don’t have much in their kit to keep players occupied. Found in the Hilani Gates map, this optional boss feels forgettable, and doesn’t have a side quest or any unique loot attached. Their model does appear to be a nod to Elden Ring‘s Messmer the Impaler, though, so that’s one stand-out feature.

12

Rudja, The Dread Engineer

She’s Coming

• Location: Mawdun Mine (Mawdun Quarry)
• Resistances: Fire, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem
• Mandatory

Rudja, The Dread Engineer is the second mandatory boss in Act 2, and many players will remember her most devastating attack. Most of Rudja’s fight is manageable. She’ll throw bombs that are easy to avoid, and occasionally turn her flamethrower on the player for some big fire damage.

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Rudja telegraphs her worst attack by stopping and strapping a bomb to her weapon, before rushing at the player while swinging wildly. The resulting explosion if the player is caught by the swings is enough to one-shot most characters. Players will get used to the timing of running away and dodging fairly quickly, but this panic-inducing attack makes Rudja memorable, at least.

11

Watchful Twins

The Turkey Twins

• Location: Deshar
• Resistances: Fire, Cold, Lightning, Armor
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem, Djinn Barya
• Optional

The Watchful Twins are an optional boss in Deshar, but not a particularly memorable one. The bosses are a duo of larger versions of the Giant bird-like enemies the player has been fighting on the ramparts of Deshar. They have some elemental abilities, but they don’t do much to stand out from the regular enemy type otherwise. The player just has to watch out in case both bosses decide to jump slam with awkward timing, as taking two of these high-damage melee hits in quick succession is likely to kill.

10

Balbala The Traitor

Rite Of Passage

• Location: Traitor’s Passage
• Resistances: Fire
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Balbala’s Barya (trial of the sekhemas key), uncut skill gem
• Optional

While this boss is technically optional, every player will end up fighting Balbala in the traitor’s passage. That’s because this fight is a part of the side quest to unlock the Trial of the Sekhemas, which players need to complete to unlock their Ascendancy class. The fight also has some interesting mechanics that make it an early stand-out among Act 2’s bosses.

There’s a lot of poison damage, so a poison immunity charm can make things a little easier. Players still need to get used to the two main mechanics, though. First, the boss places circles around the arena that can spawn adds. Players can run over the circles to get rid of them, but will have to dodge the resulting dive attack from the boss. At intervals, the boss will disappear, and the room will start filling with gas. Players need to find the boss to stop the gas killing them. These unique mechanics make this an interesting fight.

9

Iktab The Deathlord / Ekbab The Ancient Steed

Undead Duo

• Location: The Bone Pits (Mastodon Badlands)
• Resistances: Lightning
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Uncut support gem (quest reward), quest item
• Mandatory

Iktab and Ekbab are an imposing final encounter for the Mastodon Badlands. This is one of the three major boss encounters players will have to clear as part of the quest to get rid of the sandstorm created by Jamanra. This undead pair have a complementary set of abilities that can make this fight tough to navigate for some early game builds.

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Iktab is a mage who fires spells from range and creates large AoE projectiles. Meanwhile, the hulking bone mammoth Ekbab charges the player and deals high physical damage. Players can kill either one first, and the remaining enemy will get some new abilities for the remainder of the fight.

8

Azarian, The Forsaken Son

Forsaken Fire Master

• Location: The Buried Shrines
• Resistances: Fire, Armor
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem, Uncut support gem (quest reward), quest item
• Mandatory

Azarian is another major boss that players will need to defeat to progress to the final maps of Act 2. His major attacks are all fire-based, but he packs some moderate physical damage as well. The main thing to watch out for is the destructible braziers at the four corners of the room. If the boss or player breaks them, they will spread scorched ground that deals continuous fire damage.

If all four braziers are broken, this essentially forces players to stand in the center of the room with the boss to avoid taking continuous damage. It’s not the most challenging fight in the Act and can be overcome with high fire resistance, but it’s thematically interesting as this scion of fire holds a goddess of water as his prisoner.

7

Kabala, Constrictor Queen

Burrowing Snake Queen

• Location: Keth
• Resistances: Cold
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Book of specialization (plus 2 passive skill points)
• Optional

The Constrictor Queen doesn’t stand out much, but the reward of two free passive skill points is an essential pickup. The other distinct factor of the fight is its small arena. Kabala will try to trap players for a big damage AoE, and alternately try and zone them out of the arena so she can burrow underground to restore her energy shield. If players have enough damage output, they don’t need to worry too much about this rotation. Her energy shield will disappear quickly once players can target her again.

6

Jamanra, The Risen King

Jamanra, Part One

• Location: The Hilani Gates
• Resistances: Fire, Lightning, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem (quest reward)
• Mandatory

The first encounter with Jamanra happens early in Act 2, and is a precursor to what comes later. His lightning moves aren’t as strong here as they are at the end of the Act, but he’s still capable of cutting down players who haven’t stacked any lightning resistance yet. The fight is memorable as it sets up the rest of the Act, with Jamanra escaping and summoning a sandstorm that blocks players from pursuing him. This sets up the most open-ended quest chain in the game. Players have to visit multiple locations in any order to get the parts required to progress.

5

The Ninth Treasure Of Keth

A Living Treasure

• Location: The Galleria (The Lost City)
• Resistances: Lightning, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Random Jewel
• Optional

While exploring the Lost City map in Keth, players can optionally visit the Galleria. This optional map includes some chances at extra loot, and the unique optional boss The Ninth Treasure of Keth. This boss is unlikely to give many players trouble, but the concept of a living, bejeweled, beetle-automaton is fun and creative.

The main thing to watch out for is managing the waves of small beetle adds that the boss summons. The reward will interest new players who stumble across this boss, as it will likely be the first time they drop a Jewel, which players can socket into their skill tree for a passive buff.

4

Rattlecage, The Earthbreaker

Defend Your Honor

• Location: Trial of the Sekhemas (end of floor one)
• Resistances: Fire, Lightning, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Ascendancy unlock, 2 Ascendancy points
• Optional

Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker, is an optional boss that is too important for players to ignore. He awaits in the last room of the first Trial of the Sekhemas, standing between the player and unlocking their Ascendancy class. This is a class specialization option that gives players powerful passive bonuses that define their build, and its points are all locked behind tough trials.

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Rattlecage is mechanically simple. Players just have to dodge his melee slams, avoid falling rocks, and stay out of the way of the fire-based ground attacks. Getting to him and surviving the fight can be difficult for some builds though, as the honor mechanic means taking hits can fail the trial without a player ever taking fatal damage.

3

Zalmarath The Colossus

Colossal Threat

• Location: Valley of the Titans
• Resistances: Fire, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Uncut support gem (quest reward), quest item
• Mandatory

The massive form of Zalmarath makes for an impressive boss, and he has a ton of physical damage output. His swiping sword attacks can be a one-hit kill for players with no physical damage reduction. It’s not necessarily a fun fight, though. The small circular arena offers little room to work with, and can cause some bugs with movement as it starts to break apart later in the fight. Zalmarath is the third of the major bosses players need to kill to progress past the sandstorm.

Avoiding his big physical attacks is easy enough once a player has seen them a couple of times. Players also need to watch out for his chaos projectiles, which can drain health bars with multiple hits. There’s also one attack that players have no choice but to avoid. The boss will plant his sword in the arena, and players have to use it as a shield from the subsequent blast, or be killed instantly. The fight is mostly memorable for its visuals, rather than its gameplay.

2

Tor Gul The Defiler

Construct Of Bones

• Location: The Spires of Deshar
• Resistances: Fire, Armor
• Weakness: None
• Rewards: Uncut skill gem
• Mandatory

Tor Gul the Defiler is another visually impressive boss. Jamanra summons this amalgamation of bones atop the spires of Deshar to halt the player’s progress. The fight is relatively simple, although the boss packs some high damage fire-based moves.

The best tactic is to stay by the side of the boss or behind, as this will let the player easily rotate away from his most damaging attacks without dodging. This also puts players in a perfect position to dodge moves that track the player more closely, like the boss’s massive fiery head slam. The fight is mostly notable for the visuals, but it’s also a fun encounter.

1

Jamanra, The Abomination

The Return Of Jamanra

• Location: Dreadnaught Vanguard
• Resistances: Fire, Lightning, Armor
• Weakness: Cold
• Rewards: Unlocks Act 3
• Mandatory

The fight against Jamanra is the climax of Act 2, and it lives up to its billing. It starts aboard the moving Dreadnaught that players have just fought their way across, before the boss cuts the arena in half and leaves them and the player to fight out phase 2 among the sands. The boss deals high lightning damage, so lightning resistance and a lightning charm are essential.

In phase 1, players need to be aware of the sandstorm move, and take cover behind Asala’s shield when it happens. This move also summons adds, forcing the player to deal with these in tight confines. Jamanra’s lightning moves can be a nuisance, especially when he tries to zone out players with lightning pillars, portals, and tornadoes all at once in phase 2. Once players defeat Jamanra, they’re free to progress to Act 3.