Path of Exile 2: Ervig The Rotten Druid boss guide

Hidden in Path of Exile 2’s Grim Tangle, Ervig The Rotten Druid awaits players. Located in the Den of the Druid section of the map, this arena has an interesting doughnut shape. There are noxious mushrooms in the center, giving off a constant yellow cloud of gas, and it’s ill-advised to try and wander through it. This forces the player to fight in a circular arena, cut off in the middle. There are more of these mushrooms on the map as well, restricting the player’s movements.

A very mobile boss in Path of Exile 2, Ervig The Rotten Druid can hit incredibly hard. However, he’s susceptible to cloud-based poison attacks and other AOEs if you drop them early, before he starts moving. While you have a fair amount of room (similar to the Beira of the Rotten Pack fight), Ervig’s attacks can take up plenty of screen real estate.

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How to beat Ervig The Rotten Druid in Path of Exile 2

In Path of Exile 2, Ervig The Rotten Druid’s portion of the Grim Tangle map can appear in a variety of places on it. Thanks to this randomization, it is harder to find; but in this case, you’re looking for glowing yellow mushrooms and a huge open area, compared to the rest of the map, which is more short, small tunnels. There’s also a checkpoint, likely to the south.

These thorn attacks aren't too bad at first, but the longer the fight goes on, the more you deal with (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Ervig The Rotten Druid’s primary attack in Path of Exile 2 is a blast he fires that lands on the ground and becomes a group of thorny spikes to avoid. You have a small amount of time to move before they land and harm you; this is signaled by a stream of yellow light. He’ll also fire these back to back at times, creating a huge area to avoid.

He also creates large AOEs around himself, and the center of the map, highlighted by a red and black circle. You want to avoid standing in these at all costs. You also want to be careful whenever Ervig The Rotten Druid makes the ground glow red and black everywhere. You’ll be hunted down by plant tentacles that smash the ground to try and hit you; this will go on for several seconds. Just keep running and/or dodge-rolling to avoid being hit.

You really have to stay mobile in a fight like this, since Ervig constantly chases you with huge thorn patches, AOEs, and more of the tentacles. Towards the halfway point, he will introduce a huge boulder that he summons from the middle of the screen. When it smashes into the ground, it also creates temporary spiked thorns.

These tentacles are definitely not your friends (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

While the individual thorn attacks aren’t too bad on their own, a clump of them hitting at once can almost one-shot you. The same as taking one of the boulder strikes head-on, these attacks definitely hurt squishy characters. Late in the fight, Ervig The Rotten Druid may also begin teleporting to get away from you.

Success against this boss rewards you with a variety of items, and also allows you to continue exploring the Grim Tangle.

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