How to find and navigate the Molten Vault in Path of Exile 2

Navigate the Molten Vault in Path of Exile 2 with our comprehensive guide. Uncover hidden treasures and master the challenges that await you.

Reaching The Molten Vault in Path of Exile 2 can be a bit of a navigational challenge due to the expansive nature of the preceding area, The Drowned City. While pinpointing its exact location can be tricky, understanding its general placement and the layout within will significantly aid your journey. This guide will walk you through finding the vault, navigating its depths, and ultimately defeating the formidable boss that awaits: Mektul, the Forgemaster.

How to Find The Molten Vault in Path of Exile 2:

The Molten Vault is an optional side area that you can discover within The Drowned City location on the map. It's known for housing one of the more challenging pre-endgame bosses and presents a generally difficult experience due to its confined spaces and relatively powerful enemies.

Reach The Drowned City: Progression through the Path of Exile 2 campaign will eventually lead you to The Drowned City, so it's an area you cannot miss. Be aware that The Drowned City is populated by numerous undead enemies, including dangerous hags that can instantly kill you if you remain stationary for too long. Exercise caution as you explore.

Navigating the Ambiguous Scenery: The Drowned City's environment is characterized by a lack of distinct landmarks, making many areas look similar and blend together. This visual homogeneity is the primary reason why locating the entrance to The Molten Vault can be a taxing task.

Understanding Map Generation: It's crucial to remember that most maps and areas in Path of Exile 2 feature randomly generated layouts. This means that each time you enter The Drowned City (or any other zone), you will encounter different arrangements and pathways within the same general area. Due to this procedural generation, providing an exact, static location for The Molten Vault's entrance is impossible.

General Location Clues: While the exact spot varies, the entrance to The Molten Vault tends to be situated near the edges of the map. It often lies at the end of dead-end paths that branch off from the main routes through The Drowned City.

Checkpoint Indicator: A helpful visual cue to look out for is a checkpoint. There is typically a checkpoint located very close to the entrance of The Molten Vault. You will likely see the checkpoint icon on your minimap or encounter the actual checkpoint shrine before you actually spot the entryway to the vault itself.

Exploration Strategy: Given that you're looking for dead-end pathways, the most effective strategy is to stick to the outskirts of The Drowned City map as much as possible. While you won't be able to remain exclusively on the edges due to the labyrinthine nature of the area, consistently exploring the routes that lead to the boundaries of the map and following them to their ends will eventually lead you to the Molten Vault.

Utilize Your Map: Make frequent use of your in-game map to keep track of the areas and routes you have already explored. This will prevent unnecessary backtracking and help you focus your search on unexplored sections of the map's edges.

How to Navigate The Molten Vault in Path of Exile 2:

Despite the potential difficulty infinding its entrance, navigating The Molten Vault itself is surprisingly straightforward. Compared to many other areas in Path of Exile 2, theMolten Vault is relatively small, and its layout has a reduced degree of randomness. Regardless of the specific variation of the vault youencounter, there is always a single, central route that leads directly to the boss at the end.

This central route follows a generally square shape, leading from the entrance of the vault upwards to the north, thenturning and heading back down south to the location where the boss,Mektul, the Forgemaster, awaits your arrival. While the preciseorientation and minor details of this square path might differ slightlybetween map variations, the fundamental structure remains consistent.

The reason for this relatively fixed layout is that the boss arena forMektul takes up a significant portion of the Molten Vault's overallspace, thus limiting the variations in the path leading to it.

Be aware that The Molten Vault is populated by dangerous machines of the Vaal Empire, which are considered some of the deadliest enemies you'll encounter before reaching the endgame. Coupled with the extremely close-quarters nature of the vault's corridors and chambers, you will need to proceed cautiously and be prepared for intense engagements.

You will know that you have reached the end of The Molten Vault when you arrive at The Aureduct, which is the specific location where the boss, Mektul, the Forgemaster, resides.

How to Defeat Mektul, the Forgemaster in Path of Exile 2:

Mektul, the Forgemaster, is considered one of the tougher bosses you'll faceduring the campaign, primarily due to a unique and dangerous mechanic: a timer. When you enter The Aureduct using the nearby elevator, the boss fight will immediately begin with lava spilling out from Mektul's initial position. This lava will continuously flow towards you as you battle him.

Your primary objective is to defeat Mektul before the encroaching lava reaches the end of the arena. If the lava reaches you before Mektul is defeated, it will result inyour death. This makes the encounter with Mektul, the Forgemaster,essentially a DPS (Damage Per Second) race.

To defeat him in time, your character needs to have a sufficiently strong build with a high damage output. It is generally recommended to utilize ranged attacks and cold damage for this fight, as both can significantly simplify the encounter. Melee combat is generally not advised due to the need to maintain distance from the boss and the rapidly advancing lava.

During the fight, Mektul will occasionally summon rock constructs and unleash lava waves in an attempt to hinder your ability to attack him. Prioritize avoiding these hazards while maintaining as much consistent DPS pressure on Mektul as possible.

The most challenging aspect of this fight is typically having enough damage to defeat him before you run out of safe space due to the advancinglava. Mektul's core mechanics can be summarized as "avoid the dangerous things on the ground." If your build has the necessary damage output and you can effectivelydodge his attacks and environmental hazards, you should be able toovercome Mektul, the Forgemaster, and continue your journey through Path of Exile 2.

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