Path of Exile 2: How to beat Rathbreaker

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



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As part of an “Earning Passage” mission in Act 2, you are sent into the wasteland to prove your worth to the traveling caravan by defeating the Hyena Raiders in the area. After some searching and killing, you'll eventually meet the boss Rathbreaker, a particularly feral Hyena and the leader of the group – 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 Act 2 map, Vastiri Outskirts. To find Rathbreaker, search the edges of the map on the outskirts of Vastiri 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 the Rathbreaker.

Although the game's maps are randomly generated, this arena will always appear connected to a path leading outwards from the map, not in the middle of the map.


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

If you're having trouble finding the Rathbreaker and taking out all the Hyenic Raiders in the area, be sure to go along the edges of the map and follow anything that looks like a path out. You may not have revealed enough of the Fog of War to see the path when traveling the area before.


Path of Exile 2 Rathbreaker Boss Strategies

The key to defeating most bosses Path of Exile 2 is to understand their mechanics. Like one spirit game, you'll likely face many bosses over and over again 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 quickly throw their spears at you. These spears deal significant physical damage and it's important to keep the boss in the middle of the arena to avoid getting shot.

These enemies cannot be killed before or during combat, and will only jump down (and gain a hitbox) after you defeat the Rathbreaker.

In addition to his ranged support on the walls around the boss arena, Rathbreaker will summon a horde of Hyenas to his side after he reaches about 75% of his maximum Health, and then again about every minute for the rest of the fight. For this fight, make sure you have some sort of AoE ability that can quickly deal with these additions, as they will quickly overwhelm a character that isn't prepared to face a dozen or so Hyenas during the fight.


The hyenas always spawn from the two ramps on either side leading into the arena, so you can plan ahead by launching your AoE abilities as soon as you see the hyenas start pouring out. If your skills are sufficiently level, and your gear is decent, most AoE abilities should clear most of the deck if timed correctly.

Rathbreaker Strategies, Moveset, and Counters

During all these distractions, players must, of course, pay attention PoE 2 The Rathbreaker boss himself.

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There don't seem to be any Rathbreaker weaknesses Path of Exile 2 players can take advantage of – it's a DPS check with mechanics to watch out for. There are five moves Rathbreaker will rotate between during combat.

  • when you engage Rathbreakerit will roar and charge towards your location in a straight line.
    • It won't follow you, so just quickly dodge out of the way or go to the side when it starts charging.
  • After reaching the end of his initial charge, Rathbreaker will begin rotating between his regular abilities.
  • Normally, it will be open with a series of long-range melee attacks that throw three waves of damage forward while standing still. If you can avoid Rathbreaker's attacks during this move, you can do a lot of damage with ranged and AoE attacks.
    • If you see the boss stop moving, draw the weapon on the ground and wave it in the air, it means he is about to use this move.
    • You can move out of the way of the first two swings while spinning the Rathbreaker, then follow up on the third swing, signified by a red VFX on the boss. This red effect also means that the move is Unblockable if you use a shield.
    • The third swing in this combo takes longer to charge, covers a wider area, and deals massive damage. It will track your movement until you throw it, so dodge out of the way as the boss slams its weapon.
  • After his three-hit ranged combo, Rathbreaker will track the player and take a melee ranged swing.
    • Wait for the boss to get about 10m away (about 1 second run time) and Dodge to the side to avoid the Charge and tracking the melee attack.
    • The arena will also suddenly be covered in a barrage of spears from the surrounding Hyena Demons. Follow the starting point and make sure to avoid both the charge and the line of spears.
  • If you are in melee range at any time, the boss may start attacking you with his sword instead of using his other moves.
  • to avoid Rathbreaker's normal attacksOR circle around it counterclockwise (at left of the boss) or Dodge to the left of the boss when swinging.
    • Rathbreaker wields his weapon in his right hand, which doesn't reach that far on his left side.
    • Melee players can relatively safely circle the boss counter-clockwise to constantly take hits and avoid damage.
    • It's not a perfect strategy as the boss will jump far and do ranged attacks, but it helps to avoid getting hit. Rathbreaker can be especially tough for melee builds.
  • At random as part of his regular melee attacks, Rathbreaker will he quickly raises and slams the weapon to the ground, sending an explosion forward not unlike the damage bursts during his three-hit combo.
    • This can be hard to avoid if you are in melee range, especially if Hyenas have joined the fight. Watch for the boss to pick up the weapon without firing it on the ground, usually after another attack combo. Stop attacking and get out of the way immediately.


If you can avoid the stage hazards and the Hyena Demons that join the fray, and learn and respond to Rathbreaker's relatively well-telegraphed (but fast) attacks, you should be able to defeat Rathbreaker in a few tries. Note that an AoE skill is practically necessary for this fight due to the extras, and skills that can deal a lot of ranged damage are supreme.

If you can reliably deal ranged damage while the boss sits still during his long-range three-hit melee combo, you should be able to defeat Rathbreaker with ease. Being in melee range makes this a much tougher fight, and it's worth considering changing your support stones and builds to accommodate a longer moveset.

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