Path of Exile 2: Legacy of the Vaal quest guide

Act 3 of Path of Exile 2 is essentially the whole of the Legacy of the Vaal quest. There’s plenty of other stuff to do throughout the Act, but the main campaign focuses on just this questline. It will take players to a huge amount of areas, fight a few challenging bosses, and ultimately, wrap up the main story so far. As you're working on this quest, you're likely to break off and do other side content as you go, which is fine!

Only you control when you complete the main campaign/side quest objectives. After this, players are free to just wait, do endgame content, or head into Cruel difficulty. However, if you want to just focus on Legacy of the Vaal in Path of Exile 2, we’re gonna help you get it all wrapped up, start to finish.

How to complete Legacy of the Vaal quest in Path of Exile 2

As soon as you defeat Jamanra the Abomination, and set off for the Sandswept Marsh in Path of Exile 2, you’ll start Legacy of the Vaal. Many of the sections of this quest are simply “Explore this map,” or “Get to the next place,” which is perfectly okay. If there’s something important you need to do, we’ll highlight it. However, since the maps are randomized, there’s not a lot we can do to give you an exact location.

This map starts on Sandswept Marshes, but you're going to see quite a lot of varied maps before the end (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Explore Sandswept Marsh and reach Ziggurat Encampment
Explore Jungle Ruins
Explore Infested Barrens and return to Ziggurat Encampment
Return to Infested Barrens to find/explore Chimeral Wetlands (defeat Xyclucian)
Explore Jiquani’s Machinarium
Explore Jiquani’s Sanctum (defeat Ziocoatl)
Return to Infested Barrens and Ziggurat Encampment
Explore The Drowned City
Explore the Apex of Filth and return to Ziggurat Encampment (defeat Queen of Filth)
Explore the Temple of Kopec (defeat Ketzuli)
Return to Ziggurat Encampment and explore Utzaal (defeat Viper Napuatzi)
Explore Aggorat and The Black Chambers (defeat Doryani)
Return to Ziggurat Encampment

The first step is to explore the Sandswept Marsh and reach the Ziggurat Encampment. That will be your main hub for Act 3 of Path of Exile 2’s Legacy of the Vaal quest. Just make your way through this map, and ultimately, you’ll get to where you’re going. However, there’s also a useful enemy to kill out here, Rootdredge. When you see the torch-lit path, you’re close to the Ziggurat Encampment.

Here, you’ll meet treasure hunters Alva and Oswald. Additionally, you’ll talk to The Hooded One, who will recommend you explore the Jungle Ruins. We want to get to the Matlan Waterways, but that’s not accessible yet. Before you leave the Jungle Ruins and enter the Infested Barrens, take the time to fight and defeat Mighty Silverfist.

The next step is to explore the Infested Barrens and keep heading along the canals until you find a Summon Alva icon next to the Canal Mechanism. This doesn’t pan out, so return to town and speak to Servi.

When in doubt, ask Alva. When in doubt again, ask Servi (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

You’ll be heading to the Chimeral Wetlands next for Path of Exile 2’s Legacy of the Vaal quest, which is connected to the Infested Barrens. Like many of the important locations, it’s almost certainly going to be on a map edge, so explore until you find it. When in the Chimeral Wetlands, you’re trying to find the Ancient Machinarium, but if you want to open it, you also need to go to the Deadly Nest section of the map and slay Xyclucian, the Chimera.

You should be able to enter Jiquani’s Machinarium, which will have you taking care of a few things while you’re here. This part of the Path of Exile 2 Legacy of the Vaal quest wants you to find a Large Soul Core, but you need to find a few small ones first. The gimmick of this dungeon requires you to find Small Soul Cores to open up a few passageways.

One of these will lead to an optional fight, Blackjaw, but it’s worth going out of your way for. Exploring Jiquani’s Machinarium will inevitably lead you to explore Jiquani’s Sanctum in Path of Exile 2 — this is where the Soul Core we need is.

Thankfully, the Matlan Wetlands map is mercifully easy to navigate (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

In this dungeon, you need to find a pair of Medium Soul Cores and use them to power a pair of Generators. Both of these will wind up creating huge waves of enemies you must defeat before progressing. Once you have these and head back to the beginning of the map to speak with Alva, you’ll unlock the Ziocoatl, Warden of the Core fight.

After defeating the boss and its waves of frustrating AOE and laser attacks, return to the Infested Barrens with the Large Soul Core. This will finally give you access to the Matlan Waterways. You must find a series of control systems to pull to proceed through this map, but it’s very straightforward. You won’t find much confusion on this step of Legacy of the Vaal in Path of Exile 2.

After you pull the final Control Lever, you can return to the Ziggurat Encampment. Head down the steps to meet Alva, and ultimately, enter The Drowned City. This is another massive map, with tons of enemies and loot. You’re looking for a Checkpoint that leads up a pair of gigantic stairs — this leads to the Apex of Filth map.

The Queen of Filth is slow and gross, but she packs a punch (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

The Apex of Filth map is fairly complex as well, but eventually, you’ll reach the Stenchpools and have to fight the Queen of Filth. Everything in this area is pretty repulsive. The Stenchpools aren’t too hard to find, though — it’s in an isolated section of the map heralded by a Checkpoint. Slay the boss, pick up the Temple Door Idol, and meet Alva back at the Ziggurat’s base.

When you return to the Ziggurat Encampment again, you’ll unlock and explore the Temple of Kopec at the base of the Ziggurat. The Temple of Kopec is kind of a frustrating one if you try to explore everywhere. If you get too close to the center of the map — except the boss room — you’ll immediately start taking heat damage.

The appropriate stairs and locations are all on the borders of the map. Just be safe and head through those stairs until you reach Ketzuli, High Priest of the Sun. They’re the next boss to beat. Avoid his AOE attacks and various beams, and you will overcome him.

Viper Napuatzi makes you do some pretty serious dodging throughout the fight - pay attention! (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Summon Alva and talk to her about what has happened. Take the elevator, and now you’re back at Ziggurat Encampment. Enter the Gateway, and this takes you to Utzaal, which you can now explore.

A massive city map, you’re looking for the Legion Blockade, which is where you’ll fight Viper Napuatzi after she kidnaps Alva! This is one of the harder boss fights since you have almost no room to work with, and lots of AOE attacks to deal with. However, like all bosses in the game so far, we’ve got a guide on how to beat her.

Hopefully, the transition to the next area — Aggorat — is close by. You may have to do a bit more exploring to get to the final areas of Path of Exile 2’s Legacy of the Vaal quest. Aggorat only exists to get you to the Black Chambers, the final portion of the Early Access portion of the campaign.

There's so much going on in the Doryani fight - it's a worthy final boss battle (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

The Black Chambers of Path of Exile 2 will no doubt feel familiar — it’s a dimly lit series of long corridors and hallways. You’re looking for a Checkpoint that leads to The Testing Pit — a large, circular area where you fight both forms of Doryani to wrap up the main campaign so far.

The most important part is to stay on the sides of Doryani’s second form — do not get behind it, or you can easily be one-shot by a powerful laser array. Defeating Doryani will send you back to Ziggurat Encampment to go back in time, and begin Cruel difficulty. Just like that, you’ll be back at the beginning again, though we won’t say why.

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar