Path of Exile 2 offers a variety of stat-boosting quest rewards that enhance resistances, Spirit, and more. While many of these rewards are granted for defeating bosses, others come from completing specific quests.
In this guide, we’re going to cover the boss fight with Mektul, the Forgemaster. He is an optional boss that you can find in the Aureaduct, located within The Molten Vault in Act 3.
Fight with Mektul, the Forgemaster in Path of Exile 2
To fight Mektul, the Forgemaster, you’ll need a lot of Fire Resistance. The challenge in this fight is that it’s time-sensitive—if you take too long, the area fills with lava (molten gold). Even with high resistance, you can still die from it. Mektul is the one boss in the game that demands a quick defeat. As of now, players have been unsuccessful in finding a way to prevent the lava from rising. Eventually, it will fill the arena, no matter how high your resistance is you’ll have to deal with the damage.
Note: Using Thunder is recommended as it provides ranged attacks, making it highly effective for this fight. You can use both melee and range along with Thunder to fight off minions as well.
What to Avoid in the Fight with Mektul, the Forgemaster
In this fight, it’s best to avoid close-range attacks and focus on attacking from a distance. If you have high Fire Resistance by this point, it will make the battle significantly easier.
Attacks like jumping and striking from the front can be useful in this fight, as you’ll notice the lava slowly rising. This will require you to act quickly and defeat him fast.
Note: The lava rises slowly, giving you time to move around, but you still need to act quickly to defeat Mektul and make sure that you don’t deal any damage.
Defeating Mektul, the Forgemaster in Path of Exile 2
While Mektul has a few dangerous attacks, the primary challenge in this fight, as mentioned earlier, is the time limit. If you take too long, molten lava will flood the arena, causing heavy fire damage every second.
Upgrade Your Weapons For attack-based builds, focus on flat damage modifiers like Adds X to Y Physical Damage or similar bonuses for other damage types. For spellcasters, the best modifier is +X to Level of All Y Spell Skills, followed by Gain X% of Damage as Extra Y Damage, which boosts spell damage.
Adjust Your Support Gems for Maximum Damage In the fight against Mektul, you can sacrifice speed, defense, or comfort for more damage by tweaking your Support Gems. Look for utility Support Gems to swap in, maximizing your skill damage output.
Important to Remember
The main issue in fighting Mektul is when he gets stuck in the upper portion of the lava and dies there. This prevents you from accessing the loot, including the Hammer of Kamasa, which is necessary for the Treasures of Utzaal quest. Even using a portal won’t help, as the crane that lowers you back into the area becomes nonfunctional. To avoid this, try to lure Mektul out of the lava and defeat him on solid ground. Remember, Path of Exile 2 is still in early access, so bugs and glitches are common.
Tips to Remember
- Debuffs can significantly enhance your damage output. Skills that apply debuffs like Armor Break, Exposure, Wither, or even Curses and Marks can weaken Mektul, allowing you to deal much more damage. Incorporating these debuffs into your strategy can be a key factor in tipping the scales in your favor during the fight.
- Build your character around HP Regen, Life Regen, High Armor, and powerful weapons like Sunder, Stampede, and Boneshatter.
- The fight isn’t particularly difficult, but you need to deal a lot of damage quickly. Try to minimize unnecessary movement—focus on dealing damage and evading, and you’ll be fine.
Conclusion: To defeat Mektul, the Forgemaster, quick action is key. Focus on maximizing damage output while managing the rising lava. With proper preparation, strategic use of debuffs, and optimized gear, you’ll overcome this challenge and claim your rewards.
