Summary
DuringPath of Exile 2’s early access phase, it’s become clear thatthis is a challenging game. A lot of this challenge comes from the game’s bosses, who experience a step up in mechanical design from the first game.Path of Exile 2expects players to be much more on point with dodges and attack timings than its predecessor, but it makes for some exciting and challenging boss fights.
Act 1 is where new players will learn about the game and how their build works, but that doesn’t mean the game is going to go easy on them with tutorial bosses. There are 15 bosses in Act 1, and they range from minor inconveniences to true challenges that caneasily one-shot squishy, early-game characters. This topic ranks all Act 1 bosses by their difficulty, how memorable the fight is, and how good the reward is.
15The Bloated Miller
The First Gatekeeper
The Bloated Miller is the first boss players will come across, as he’s guarding the way into the Clearfell Encampment, the game’s first hub settlement. He’s a step above a lot of ARPG tutorial bosses and has some hard-hitting attacks, but his highly telegraphed forward rush and ground slam attacks are mostly designed to teach players the basics of dodging more dangerous boss attacks. That means he’s not too hard to get past, or particularly memorable.
14Areagne, The Forgotten Witch
The Forgettable Witch
This is a forgettable fight that’s easily missed. Areagne, The Forgotten Witch will appear if players enter her abandoned hut in the Grelwood, and then die in seconds to even the most ill-equipped player. Avoid her slow-moving projectiles, and she’s no trouble at all. She does drop an uncut support gem though, which at this early stage will be a welcome drop for any player.
13Beira of the Rotten Pack
Ice Witch
Biera of the Rotten Pack stands out only because she inhabits a small, incongruous patch of ice in the middle of an otherwise temperate zone. The fight appears close to the start of the game and is relatively easy if players dodge her ice-based attacks, so she doesn’t do much to stick in players' minds.
However, this is an optional boss that every player should find as the reward she drops grants a permanent 10% bonus to the players' cold resistance, which is available again in Cruel difficulty.
12The Brambleghast
Forest’s Wrath
The Brambleghast is a visually interesting optional boss that players will likely stumble into by accident. Its arena stands out as a distinctive patch of brambles in the Grelwood map, which practically invites players to investigate.
Once inside, players are trapped in the small arena by brambles and have to fight this living monstrosity of wood, brambles, and thorns. The boss mixes melee attacks, shooting vines through the ground from range, and slow-moving but damaging projectile attacks. The reward is just a humble skill gem, but it’s an interesting optional fight.
11The Devourer
Burrowing Menace
The Devourer is an optional boss with a side quest attached, so it’s worth pursuing for some extra rewards. The Mud Burrow is an optional location that players don’t need to visit unless they’re going after the boss. Clearing it out and defeating the boss will get players some much-needed early-game experience, as well as a skill gem from the boss and a support gem from the side quest.
The boss itself is quite memorable for an early game boss, able to burrow underground and attack with its protruding head as well as its lower body parts in the latter stage of the fight. Its attacks are easily dodged but hard-hitting, and the boss will attempt to keep up the pressure on the player by summoning weak but numerous insects.
10The Rust King
Keep Your Distance
The Rust King is a story progression boss that will attack when the player attempts to claim the last rune in the Red Vale. He’s the first boss where players will have to learn to dodge his bigger attacks or risk getting one-shot. Fortunately, all these deadly attacks have easily readable telegraphs if players know how to look for them.
When the boss stands still and raises his hands, he’s about to summon lightning bolts, so players need to back up, and then dodge the strikes. When swords appear above his head, move back and dodge as he fires them, keep moving to avoid the barrage. The last quirk to be aware of is that the boss has a lightning aura that can drain the players' health and shock if they stay near the boss too long. Arguably the first tough boss, players will definitely remember the Rust King.
9Ervig, The Rotten Druid
Spore Druid
The Rotten Druid is one of the more memorable optional fights in Act 1, as his fungal aesthetic helps explain the presence of theLast of Us-style fungal zombies found in the Grim Tangle. He’s also a challenging fight, perfectly capable of one-shotting lower-health builds with his high-damage boulder throw and ability to pull the player into damaging AoE attacks.
Dodging these attacks, avoiding being pulled into the center of the arena, and avoiding at all costs his barrage of explosive spore projectiles are the keys to surviving in this fight.
8Asinia, Praetor Consort
Eternal Consort
Asinia, Praetor Consort and Draven, Eternal Praetor are two bosses that are linked both in lore and in gameplay, and it’s this connection between the two that makes these fights memorable. Asinia’s fight starts with her spell-casting power on display with large AoE attacks that the player must avoid. As the fight goes on, Asinia will summon Draven for assistance, and start using some nastier attacks.
She’ll start trying to trap players in a bone prison so she can drain their full health bar with a barrage of flames. The only way to avoid dying here is to get out of the bone prison, though that’s easier since dodging was patched to allow players through smaller gaps. The fight is visually interesting and moderately difficult, but it’s only one-half of this story beat.
7Draven, Eternal Praetor
‘Til Death Do They Part
Slaying Draven, Eternal Praetormakes up the other half of the Sorrow Among Stones quest objective, along with his Consort Asinia. As he is summoned for the Asinia fight, Draven will summon Asinia to assist him when he drops below 66% health. This is the dangerous phase of the fight, as players now have to avoid Draven’s ranged flame attacks and shockwave, deal with Asinia’s ranged attacks, and cope with the fight’s other main mechanic.
Ghouls (green spirits) spawn around the arena throughout the fight, and if Draven absorbs them, he becomes empowered. That’s not all. The player can eliminate the spirits by stepping over them, but if it happens while they’re over a grave, an eternal knight will spawn, creating more enemies to deal with. This mechanic is repeated in the Asinia fight, so it’s worth getting used to moving to eliminate these ghouls with the right timing. Together, these fights make up a memorable story beat.
6Candlemass, The Living Rite
Fire Starter
The optional boss in Ogham Manor, Candlemass is one that players should definitely not skip, whether they’regoing through the map for the first time, or again on Cruel difficulty. That’s because this boss’s reward is a permanent bonus to maximum life, a flat plus 20 in regular difficulty, and another bonus of plus 8% in Cruel difficulty.
The boss isn’t too hard to take out, but players need to be aware of his high-damage fire-based attacks. A little fire resistance will go a long way in this fight, so if players can find a ruby ring or gear with a small fire resistance buff in Act 1, this can make a big difference.
