The King in the Mists is a challenging pinnacle boss in Path of Exile 2, requiring precise movement and strategy to defeat. With chaotic arena mechanics and deadly debuffs, mastering this encounter is just as important as dealing damage to the King himself.

How to Reach The King in the Mists Pinnacle Boss

To summon The King in the Mists for the final battle, you'll need to acquire An Audience With the King, a rare fragment that drops from Ritual encounters in the endgame. Here's how you can prepare:

Acquiring the Fragment: The fragment can be dropped as a reward from Ritual activities, but it is expensive to purchase, meaning you may need to defer it multiple times before you can afford it. Alternatively, you can buy it from the Path of Exile 2 Currency Exchange if you want to skip the grind and prepare for the battle more quickly.

Opening the Portal: Once you have An Audience with the King, take it to the Realmgate. This will allow you to create portals to The Crux of Nothingness, the arena where the fight against the King in the Mists takes place.

How to Beat The King in the Mists Pinnacle Boss

Arena Setup and Phases

The arena for The King in the Mists is a circular battlefield with three totems placed evenly along the edge. These totems have ramps leading up to them, which block ranged attacks, forcing melee and ranged fighters alike to climb the ramps to destroy them when necessary.

The fight is divided into two phases, each with distinct mechanics and challenges.

Phase 1: Managing Debuffs and Ritual Effects

In Phase 1, the King in the Mists utilizes several debuffs and ritual effects that will complicate your fight.

Key Mechanics in Phase 1:

Portent Vapors:

effect: The King summons mist clouds that spread randomly across the battlefield. These mists inflict damage amplification on you with every stack. The more stacks you accumulate, the more damage you take.

Counter: To lose stacks, quickly head up the ramps to avoid the mist and cleanse yourself.

Ritual of Dance:

Effect: The King will shout "Rith!" and inflict a debuff that imprisons you if you stop moving. This can leave you vulnerable to his attacks.

Counter: Constant movement is essential here. Keep moving until the debuff wears off to avoid being caught in a devastating attack.

Shadow Surge:

effect: Occasionally, the King will drop an Affliction Totem that pulses out dark energy. Getting caught in the pulse causes increasing Physical damage with each stack of Shadow Surge.

Counter: Destroy the Affliction Totem as soon as it drops to avoid accumulating too many stacks of damage.

Mystic Fetishes (Totem Activation):

effect: The King periodically activates one of the Mystic Fetishes placed around the arena, causing one of the Ritual effects:

Rat Tornado: A swirling chaos of rats that damages you.

Weakening Miasma: A debuff that weakens your defenses.

Frog Pools: Pools of Chaos damage left behind by the frogs.

counter: When the King announces "Nothingness approaches!", a totem will be activated. Quickly climb the ramp and destroy the totem to negate the Ritual effect and prevent further damage.

Phase 2: The King's Transformation

Once the King reaches about 33% health, he will banish you to a root maze. Here's what you need to know about Phase 2:

The Maze:

The maze is a sprawling area that will gradually be overrun by bugs, but small lights are leading you to the exit. Follow these lights to safely navigate through the maze.

tip: If you become hopelessly lost, you can log out, and when you log back in, the portals will teleport you back to the Crux of Nothingness, allowing you to continue the fight.

King's Transformation:

Upon your return to the battlefield, the King will transform into a towering abomination, gaining heavy armor and increasing his overall strength.

He will also unleash all of his totem powers at once, including all previously encountered Ritual effects. His health will refill, and you'll need to fight him all over again while avoiding every Ritual effect and debuff simultaneously.

Phase 2 Strategy:

Use Mobility to Your Advantage:

After his transformation, the King is slower, giving you a mobility advantage. Weave through his attacks and Ritual effects, taking advantage of the extra time to deal as much damage as possible.

Avoid Ritual Effects:

Every Ritual effect will be active, so prioritize destroying any Affliction Totems before they can pulse out dangerous energy.

Always be on the lookout for the "Nothingness approaches" warning, and be ready to climb the ramps to destroy the activated totem before its effect overwhelms you.

"Keep Running!" Warning:

When the King shouts "Keep Running!", he will cast Ritual of Dance on you. Keep moving at all costs to avoid being imprisoned and vulnerable to his devastating attacks.

Choose Windows of Opportunity Carefully:

The fight becomes increasingly frantic as the King unleashes multiple Ritual effects. Be patient and choose your windows of opportunity to deal with damage. Focus on avoiding damage from the Ritual effects while pouring out as much damage as possible during the safe moments.

Rewards for Defeating The King in the Mists

Defeating the King in the Mists in Path of Exile 2 offers a variety of high-end rewards, including:

High-level loot: Expect drops of rare and powerful gear and currency items that are exclusive to pinnacle bosses.

Chaos-themed items: Some rewards from The King in the Mists may include chaos-oriented Path of Exile 2 items, including unique gear with powerful modifiers that tie into chaos and ritual mechanics.

Achievements and Titles: Defeating this boss may also unlock achievements and exclusive titles for your character, marking your triumph in the endgame of Path of Exile 2.

Key Takeaways:

1. Phase 1 is about managing debuffs, totems, and Ritual effects, while Phase 2 involves dealing with a transformed King and multiple Ritual effects simultaneously.

2. Stay mobile to avoid the Ritual of Dance and other dangerous mechanics like Portent Vapors and Shadow Surge.

3. Destroy Affliction Totems to prevent accumulating devastating stacks of damage.

4. Take advantage of the King's slow movement in Phase 2 to dodge attacks and pour out your damage.

By maintaining focus, moving constantly, and handling the Ritual effects efficiently, you'll be able to bring down The King in the Mists and claim your rewards from this challenging pinnacle boss encounter.