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There are many boss fights inPath of Exile 2that are only going to be small steps along your journey, with you taking them down in one attempt, without needing to do anything special in order to defeat them. And then there are bosses like Mektul, the Forgemaster.
Mektul is not a particularly difficult character to face, but what makes him difficult is the situation that you need to fight him in. You are placed under extraordinary constraints in your fight against him, and many builds are going to need to change themselves specifically for this fight, swapping support gems and respeccing passive skills.
Where To Find Mektul, The Forgemaster
Mektul is found in theMolten Vault, an area located in the Drowned City. You’ll gain a quest to enter this area called Treasures of Utzaal in Act Three. The Molten Vault is going to be located on the outer edge of your map; skirt around the edges, and eventually, you’ll find it.
Preparing For Mektul
As mentioned before, Mektul himself is not a big issue. Most of his attacks are clearly telegraphed, don’t do very much damage, and are easily avoided.In many cases, Mektul himself is not going to kill you.
But, the fight with Mektul begins with him unleashing the lava in the forge of the Molten Vault.That lava is going to be creeping forward the entire fight, and you do not have unlimited space to back up before it engulfs you.
This means your fight with Mektul is under a time constraint; if you don’t kill him quickly enough, you are going to be burnt alive by the lava.
Every Mektul Attack
Mektul has a few different attacks, andavoiding them quickly and properlyis going to ensure you cancontinue to pour as much damage as possible into him.
How To Avoid
Hammer Slam
Mektul will pull one hand back, andslam a small hammer into the ground. This is telegraphed pretty clearly, and doesn’t do too much damage.Dodge to the side, and he’ll miss.
Axe Slash
Mektul willslash one axe across his body; before he does this, he’ll pull the axe back and form it in his hand. This also doesn’t do too much damage, but is easily avoided bydodging either backwards or forwards, behind Mektul. Occasionally, Mektul will slash back again with this attack quickly.
Leap Slam
If you’re a distance from Mektul, he’llleap and slam into the ground toward you. This is another attack that’s easy enough tododge by jumping in either direction, and doesn’t do too much damage.
Magma Slam
If you’re at range from Mektul, he’ll occasionally charge one arm up behind him, and then slam it into the ground, similar to a slower Hammer Slam. But here, it’s going tocreate a trail of damaging magmain a line in front of him.Dodge to the sidefor this one.
Magma Slash
Similar to his Magma Slam, Mektul will occasionally slash with his axe, but instead of hitting in melee range, he’llspew magma across the ground in front of him. Just like Magma Slam,dodge to the side.
Detonate
The further down the path you go in this fight, the morestalagmites are going to be littering the ground. These are usually just a movement impediment, but sometimes,Mektul will roar and glow orange. When he does, anynearby stalagmites are going to glow and detonate. This is going to cause heavy damage, and if there is more than one nearby, it will usually kill you. When he roars,get away as quickly as you can.
Magma Circle
Once he’s around half health, Mektul will start occasionally placing his hammer on the ground,creating a glowing orange circle around him. The circle willgrow brighter, and after a second, explode. This will cause a medium amount of damage; to avoid it,dodge toward whatever edge of the circle you’re closest to.
Magma Walk
At least a couple of times during the fight, Mektul is going to move backward into the lava. When he does, he’ll slowly walk toward you, andbits of lava are going to roll forward toward you along the ground. They’re fairly easy to avoid if you keep clear of the stalagmites in the way, though it’s much more difficult to damage him during this portion of the fight.
How To Build Your Character For Mektul
If you don’t put Mektul down before you reach the quite literal end of the line, you’re going to die, regardless of how well you’ve been fighting him. This means you’re going to need toget as much single-target damage going as you possibly can.
Forsome builds, this is going to be fine. For others, you’ll need to retool more or less everything about your build, fromsupport gemsto passive skills, in order to squeeze as much damage out in as small amount of time as possible.
Because of the amount ofbuilds possible in PoE 2, this is going to look a little bit different for each build. There are some general suggestions that will prove beneficial to most builds, though:
Tips For Defeating Mektul
For most bosses, the answer is patience; the opposite is true for Mektul.You need to be constantly dealing as much damage as you possibly canto put him down in time, but still do enough dodging and/or blocking to stay alive.
Move Mektul Away From The Lava
Meknul will stand and fight you more or less wherever you take the fight. You’ll need to move backwards every once in a while to stay away from the encroaching lava;move a decent way away from the lava, to ensure you have agood portion of time when you won’t need to move again. This will let you get through your damage rotations more often, and keep you from getting interrupted.
Dodge Toward Mektul
Most of Mektul’s attacks are easily dodged, and the instinct of many players is to dodge away from an attack. But, this is going to take time away from attacking him, because you’ll need to move back toward him afterward.
If youdodge toward Mektul instead, you’ll be able to damage him a second or two sooner. This might not seem like a big difference right away, but it will make a difference if done throughout the entire fight.
