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Path of Exile 2: How To Beat Rathbreaker

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2 weeks ago

December 9, 2024

path of exile 2 rathbreaker boss strategy act 2 poe 2

Throughout Path of Exile 2 some bosses will stand in your way and bar progression forward through the campaign. At the beginning of Act 2, you must find a way to join the Mariketh Caravan heading to the east, which is being plagued by frenzied Raiders nearby.

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As part of an Act 2 quest ‘Earning Passage’, you are sent into the wastes to prove your worth to the traveling caravan by defeating Hyena Raiders in the area. After some searching and slaying, you will eventually come across the Rathbreaker boss, a particularly savage Hyena and the leader of the bunch – you’ll get to know him well, if the boss proves troublesome.

How To Get To Rathbreaker

Rathbreaker can be found in the far reaches of the first map in Act 2, the Vastiri Outskirts. To find Rathbreaker, search the edges of the Vastiri Outskirts map until you find a path leading away from the central map mass. One of these thin paths leading away from the edge of the Vastiri Outskirts leads to Rathbreaker.

Though the game’s maps are randomly generated, this arena will always spawn connected to a path that leads outward from the map, not in the middle of the map.

You should find a Checkpoint at the end of the path, which opens into a wider area with dozens of Hyenas all gathered around a central rise, where Rathbreaker stands above the rest of the clan.

If you are having trouble finding Rathbreaker and clearing all Hyenic Raiders in the area, be sure to walk along the edges of the map and follow everything that looks like it could be a path outward. You may not have revealed enough of the Fog of War to see the path when traveling the zone prior.

Path of Exile 2 Rathbreaker Boss Strategies

The key to beating most bosses in Path of Exile 2 is to understand their mechanics. Like a Souls game, you will likely face many bosses over and over as you learn their moveset and figure out how to respond and adjust your build.

Rathbreaker’s boss arena is unique in that there is a group of Hyenic Raiders all standing above the arena.

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If you get too close to the walls of the boss arena, these Hyenic Raiders will throw spears at you rapidly. These spears deal significantly Physical damage and it’s important to keep the boss in the middle of the arena to avoid being gunned down.

These enemies cannot be killed before or during the fight, and will only jump down (and gain a hitbox) once you beat Rathbreaker.

In addition to his ranged support on the walls around the boss arena, Rathbreaker will call a horde of Hyenas to his side after he reaches about 75% of his Max Life, and then again about every minute for the rest of the fight. For this fight, make sure you have some kind of AoE ability that can quickly deal with these adds, as they will quickly overwhelm a character who is unprepared to face about a dozen Hyenas during the fight.

The Hyenas always spawn in from the two ramps on either side leading up to the arena, so you can pre-plan by launching your AoE abilities as soon as you see the Hyenas start to pour in. If your skill is leveled enough, and your gear is decent, most AoE skills should clear out a majority of the pack if timed correctly.

Rathbreaker Boss Strategies, Moveset, & Counters

During all of these distractions, players of course have to pay attention to the PoE 2 Rathbreaker boss itself.

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There do not appear to be any Rathbreaker weaknesses Path of Exile 2 players can take advantage of – it’s a DPS check with mechanics you must pay attention to. There are five moves Rathbreaker will rotate between during the fight.

When you engage Rathbreaker, it will roar and charge towards your location in a straight line.
- It won’t chase you, so just quickly dodge out of the way or walk to the side as it begins its charge.
After reaching the end of its initial charge, Rathbreaker will start rotating between its regular abilities.
Normally, it will open with a series of long-range melee attacks that blast three waves of damage forward while standing still. If you can avoid Rathbreaker’s attacks during this move, you can deal a lot of damage with ranged and AoE attacks.
- If you see the boss stop moving, drag its weapon on the ground, and wave it in the air, it means it’s about to use this move.
- You can walk to the side out of the way of the first two swings while circling Rathbreaker, then watch for the third swing, signified with a red visual effect on the boss. This red effect also signifies that the move is Unblockable, if you are using a shield.
- The third swing in this combo takes longer to charge up, covers a wider area, and deals immense damage. It will track your movement until cast, so Dodge out of the way right as the boss slams down its weapon.
After its three-hit ranged combo, Rathbreaker will chase down the player and take a swing at melee range.
- Wait for the boss to get about 10m away (about 1 sec running time) and Dodge to the side to avoid the Charge and follow-up melee attack.
- The arena will also suddenly be blanketed in a line of spears from the surrounding Hyena Demons. Watch for the start point and make sure you avoid both the Charge and the line of spears.
If you are in melee range at any point, the boss may start attacking you with its sword instead of using its other moves.
To avoid Rathbreaker’s normal melee attacks, either circle around it counter-clockwise (to the boss’ left) or Dodge to the boss’ left when it swings.
- Rathbreaker wields its weapon in its right hand, which doesn’t reach as far on the left side.
- Melee players can relatively reliably circle the boss counter-clockwise to consistently get hits in and avoid damage.
- It’s not a perfect strategy, as the boss will jump away and do ranged attacks, but it does help avoid being hit. Rathbreaker can be especially tough for melee builds.
Randomly as part of its regular melee attacks, Rathbreaker will quickly raise and slam down its weapon on the ground, sending a blast forward not unlike the damage blasts during its three-hit combo.
- This one can be hard to avoid if you are in melee range, especially if the Hyenas have joined the fight. Watch for the boss to raise its weapon without dragging it on the ground, usually after another attack combo. Stop attacking and immediately get out of the way.

If you can avoid the stage hazards and Hyena Demons that join the fight, and can learn and respond to Rathbreaker’s relatively well-telegraphed (but fast) attacks, you should be able to beat Rathbreaker within a few tries. Keep in mind that an AoE ability is practically required for this fight thanks to the adds, and abilities that can deal lots of Ranged damage are supreme.

If you can reliably deal damage from afar while the boss stands still during its three-hit long-range melee combo, you should be able to beat Rathbreaker with ease. Being in melee range makes this a much tougher fight, and it’s worth considering changing up your Support Gems and build to accommodate a more long-range moveset.