Boss skill points in Path of Exile 2 are essential for enhancing your endgame experience. Whether you're looking to boost your map sustain, increase loot drops, or unlock unique encounters, these points offer significant customization options for your build. In this guide, Blu Phoenix will show you how to acquire all boss skill points after the 0.2.0 update - Dawn of the Hunt. Remember, since this is an early-access game, any information provided may change with future patches or updates.
Introduction to the Boss Skill Tree
The boss skill tree enhances both the difficulty and rewards of bosses and boss maps on your Atlas. Bosses are arguably the best source of loot in the game, so focusing on this aspect can be beneficial, especially if you can manage the increased difficulty.
Important Tip
If you're using the "Corrupted Infusion" Atlas Passive, there's a chance that your map may de-level when you enter it if you've used a corrupted waystone. This can prevent you from earning credit and obtaining your skill book. It is recommended to remove that passive if you're trying to earn your boss map points, especially for the last one, as that requires a corrupted waystone. Also, make sure to equip strong weapons and armor to efficiently defeat the bosses in PoE 2.
Acquiring Skill Books
Book 1: Area Level 79 Boss
Book 2: Area Level 80 Boss, 2 Points Spent
Book 1: Area Level 81 Boss, 2 Points Spent
Book 1: Area Level 82 Boss, 2 Points Spent
First Skill Book - Area Level 79
You'll receive skill points in pairs of two from skill books dropped by bosses. Your first skill book drops when you defeat a boss in a map with an area level of 79 or higher (equivalent to a tier 15 map). Ensure your area level is at least 79 when you enter the map.
Second Skill Book - Area Level 80
To obtain your second skill book, spend your first set of points in the boss tree and then defeat a boss at area level 80 or above. Running a tier 15 irradiated map is the easiest way to achieve this. If you defeat a boss without spending your points first, you won't receive another skill book.
Third Skill Book - Area Level 81
To obtain your third skill book, you must defeat a boss at area level 81 or higher while having four points spent in the skill tree. This is where things change significantly from version 0.1.0. Previously, corruption was similar to irradiated maps and guaranteed a +1 to area level, making it easy to acquire the third book by running a tier 15 map that was both irradiated and corrupted. However, with the 0.2.0 update, corruption no longer guarantees this benefit.
Now, corruption has its own set of modifiers that can apply to map nodes, including a potential +1 to the area monster level. While there is a chance for a corrupted node to spawn, it is not guaranteed. If you hover over a node and it doesn't indicate a +1 to the monster area level, it won't count.
This change makes finding suitable maps a bit more challenging, but cleansed maps can also spawn with this modifier. When a map is cleansed, its modifiers are rerolled.
To find a suitable map, search for areas of corruption and hover over the nodes to check for the desired modifier. If none of the nodes have it, head to the Nexus to cleanse the area and examine the modifiers on the cleansed maps. After a few attempts, you should be able to find one that has it. Once you do, ensure it's irradiated, which you should be able to add through a tower if one is within the range. Running a tier 15 map with these conditions should bring the area level up to 81.
Fourth Skill Book - Area Level 82
To obtain your fourth skill book, which grants points 7 and 8, you must defeat a boss at area level 82 or higher while having six points spent in the skill tree. For this, you'll need a tier 16 waystone. You can either purchase one from the trade site or use a Vaal orb on a tier 15 waystone in hopes of upgrading it to tier 16.
Once you have the tier 16 waystone, you'll need to run it on an irradiated map that also features the +1 to area level modifier. This modifier can spawn on corrupted or cleansed maps, so keep an eye out for those conditions.
It's important to clarify that whenever you defeat a boss under the qualifying conditions, you will only receive one skill book, specifically for the lowest tier you haven't yet acquired.
For example, if you have already obtained and used your first two skill books, which gives you four skill points, and then you defeat a boss at area level 82, you will receive your third skill book, even though you only need to reach area level 81. After acquiring the third skill book, you will need to spend those two points and defeat another boss at area level 82 to obtain the final skill book.
You don't need to go back and defeat a boss at area level 81; you can skip that step. The only requirement is that all your points must be spent, and you should be at or above the corresponding area level.
Fifth Skill Book - Arbiter of Ash
The final two points will be obtained by completing the Pinnacle of Flame quest and defeating the Arbiter of Ash. In short, you'll need to locate all the Citadels, collect a fragment from each, and then combine them at the Burning Monolith to face the Arbiter of Ash. Your first kill will net you two additional boss skill points, along with your first two Arbiter skill tree points.
One important update with the 0.2.0 version is that the Pinnacle boss fights, including the Arbiter, now allow unlimited revives at difficulty zero (when you have no points spent in the skill tree). This makes the fight less daunting when using your first fragments and giving it a try. As long as you have the time and patience, you should be able to succeed, even if you're slightly undergeared or face some bad luck.
Skill Tree Recommendations
For every two points to use on the tree, you can either increase the difficulty of the map bosses or enhance the rewards from bosses and boss maps. For your first set of points, you can choose between a 15% increased quantity of items dropped by map bosses (Spoils of War) or a 25% increased rarity of items dropped by map bosses (Fit for a King).
For your next two points, if you continue upward in the tree, you'll reach Radiant Waystones, which increase the quantity of waystones dropped by map bosses by 10%. However, in the current game state, this node is among the least valuable in the tree. Waystone sustainability isn't a significant issue with 0.2.0, making this choice feel somewhat unnecessary. If you have only four points, it’s recommended to use them to unlock whichever node you missed initially. This way, you would gain both a 15% increased quantity of items dropped by map bosses (Fit for a King) and a 25% increased rarity of items dropped by map bosses (Spoils of War). However, for your third set of points, it's advisable to remove these two nodes to access one of the four middle options that add bonuses to all boss maps: an Essence (Crystal Realm), a Shrine (Directed Worship), an Azmeri Spirit (Drawn to the Light), or a Strongbox (Old Pirate's Trick). Your choice will depend on personal preference. Compared to Shrine and Essence, Strongboxes and Azmeri Spirits are less helpful. Strongboxes are currently not very exciting unless they're unique, and Asmary Spirits are not particularly useful. They are expected to receive buffs in an upcoming patch, which may change their value.
As for your last four points, the allocation depends on your playstyle and the types of maps you typically run. While it might seem logical to choose Organized Forces next, if you use normal precursor tablets in your towers, many of your boss maps will likely already be irradiated, making this node nearly useless. In that case, it would be better to allocate your points to other bonuses, such as increasing rarity or quantity or securing an extra guaranteed Essence or Spirit based on your map preferences.
The same logic applies to your final two points. The topmost nodes offer either a 50% increase in boss experience (Brutal Lessons), which I consider a poor investment, or a 30% chance for boss maps to contain corruption (Beyond Reality). While the extra corruption chance can enhance monster density and rewards, it only applies to about one in three boss maps and does not affect maps that are already corrupted.
There are some valuable benefits within the tree, but many are conditional and depend on your preferred playstyle.
Final Thoughts
The extra value gained from those last few points is somewhat negligible. It's important to note that as you progress, boss difficulty increases significantly. For instance, going from 0 to 10 points not only boosts how hard the bosses's hit but also raises their total health pool. A boss with 1 million HP with 0 points spent will have around 5 million HP with 10 points spent. While the loot improves slightly, the difference isn't substantial. Depending on your character's power level, you might find that maxed-out bosses take too long to kill.
With the recent 0.2.0 update, where rares are displayed on the map at all times, you can complete some maps in just 2 or 3 minutes. However, a maxed-out boss could potentially double that time, especially if you end up dying. At a certain point, it might be more efficient to spend around six points instead of ten, ensuring you can defeat the boss quickly and move on to the next map.
It is recommended not to stress too much about it. Just earn points naturally unless you specifically want to farm the Arbiter or complete it for the sake of saying you did. The benefits aren't significant, and you'll likely have more fun and earn better loot by focusing on playing juiced maps rather than trying to uncover every corner of your Atlas in search of Citadels.
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