Path of Exile 2 Act 1 Campaign guide: All quests, locations, bosses, and secret
Path of Exile 2 has a lengthy campaign, but it all kicks off in Act 1. Being sentenced to execution by the count, the player ultimately escapes, no matter which character they selected. The tutorial is relatively simple, but the difficulty certainly ramps up the deeper you get into Act 1. Even veteran players could find themselves in a spot of trouble, but that’s not always going to be the case.
Now that early access has begun for Path of Exile 2, it’s unlikely we’ll see any kind of story changes for the game — though balance and boss adjustments could certainly happen. If you’re stuck about important things to know in Act 1, we’re here to help guide you through.
Note: This guide does feature spoilers for Act 1 of Path of Exile 2.
Act 1 campaign walkthrough for Path of Exile 2
Below is the complete list of quests you’ll complete in Act 1 of Path of Exile 2. A few of the quests are optional (Ominous Altars, The Lost Lute, Finding the Forge), but they offer useful features, such as additional Spirit or important game mechanics that you shouldn’t go without.
All important quests in Act 1
- Mercy for the Miller
- Treacherous Ground (Optional, but useful)
- Secrets in the Dark
- The Mysterious Shade
- Sorrow Among Stones
- Ominous Altars (Optional but important)
- The Lost Lute (Optional but important)
- The Trail of Corruption
- Finding the Forge (Optional but important)
- The Iron Count
Mercy for the Miller (PoE 2 Act 1 main campaign quest)
Mercy for the Miller is Path of Exile 2’s tutorial quest, essentially. The game will give you some tutorial prompts to follow, such as learning about the new Skill Gem system. You’ll always get something useful for your class. You’ll also have to defeat your first boss, the Bloated Miller, and also gain an Uncut Skill Gem Level 1 for your efforts, so you can pick an ability.
You’ll unlock the first main hub of the game after defeating the boss — Clearfell Encampment. Your waypoint, well, stash, and a variety of NPCs are here to help you out. Eventually, another will show up here to help you identify items.
Treacherous Ground (PoE 2 Act 1 optional quest)
- Waypoint: Yes
- Bosses: Beira (Clearfell), Devourer (Mud Burrow, optional)
You’ll pick up Treacherous Ground in Clearfell Encampment, and they’ll task you with going to the Mud Burrow to defeat The Devourer. Think of this as a quest that teaches you about exploring dungeons. It’s a long, winding series of underground tunnels.
If you’re having trouble finding the Mud Burrow in Path of Exile 2’s Act 1, look for a mud trail leading to a cavern. This also teaches Path of Exile 2 players that there are often hints for important things in the wild.
While you’re in the first area (Clearfell), you should also look out for Beira, of the Rotten Pack. Defeating her grants an item that gives you a permanent Cold Resistance boost. Ultimately, your objective though, is to get to The Grelwood, to work on the quest Secrets in the Dark.
Secrets in the Dark (PoE 2 Act 1 main campaign quest)
- Waypoint: Yes (The Grelwood and Red Vale)
- Bosses: Gerung, Brambleghast (optional), The Rust King (Red Vale)
Secrets of the Dark takes you through The Grelwood and The Red Vale. In The Grelwood, you’re looking for the Tree of Souls, which will progress the main story forward, but you may as well also seek out The Red Vale, which is where your next objectives will ultimately be. You should work towards whichever you find first.
You can do these in either order. I found the Tree first, which led me to look for The Red Vale. Una will help you at the Tree, and you’ll also find a waypoint here, which is incredibly helpful.
The main task is in the Red Vale. You need to find the 3 Obelisks of Rust, clear the enemies from them, and get the Runed Girdle quest items. Renly will make the Runed Spikes for you out of these. While there are several optional bosses in these areas, you must fight and beat The Rust King at one of the Obelisks.
When you have the Runed Spikes in Path of Exile 2, return to the Tree of Souls and use them to free the prisoner in the tree — The Hooded One. Return to town, and get ready for the next step in the Grim Tangle — The Mysterious Shade.
The Mysterious Shade (PoE 2 Act 1 main campaign quest)
- Waypoint: Yes
- Bosses: Ervig, The Rotten Druid
Your next task takes you through The Grim Tangle, which connects to The Grelwood. These caves are dank, dark, and uninviting. We aren’t certain if Ervig, The Rotten Druid, is a required fight, but we did defeat him on the way. He’s challenging and will test you with plenty of devastating AOE attacks.
He’s one of the hardest fights you will have had until this point, that’s for sure. This quest wraps up once you get to the Graveyard, which is home to several important bosses. We’ll come back to the Mysterious Shade during the next quest — Sorrow Among Stones.
Sorrow Among Stones (PoE 2 Act 1 main campaign quest)
- Waypoint: Yes
- Bosses: Asinia, Praetor Consort (Underground Tomb), Draven, Eternal Praetor (Underground Tomb), Lachlan of Endless Lament
Path of Exile 2's Act 1 introduces you to Lachlann the Lost in the graveyard, and you’re going to help him. There are two bosses to defeat here — each one’s in their own little underground zone. Asinia and Draven are both challenge undead bosses, but it doesn’t matter in which order you fight them. Find their mausoleums and defeat them before coming back to Lachlann.
This will give you both parts to the Memorial Gate nearby, which Lachlann is trying to get into. Once he does, he’ll shift into a creature of pure rage, Lachlann of Endless Lament. He’s slow but has long-reaching cone attacks and melee that can smash a squishy character into bits. After this though, the Hooded One revives in Path of Exile 2’s Act 1, which is a great site to see.
Ominous Altars (PoE 2 Act 1 optional quest)
- Waypoint: Yes (The Hunting Ground, Freythorn)
- Bosses: The Crowbell (optional but important), The King in the Mists
Ominous Altars is a quest for which we’ve already created a guide, but you’ll want to get to the Freythorn to cleanse some altars. You pick this quest up in Clearfell and will have to go through The Hunting Ground to find it. You should take the time to fight The Crowbell, as it has a book that grants you Weapon Set Passive Skill points.
In the Freythorn, you’re tasked with cleansing three altars and then defeating the powerful King in the Mists. He’s not incredibly challenging but has lots of tricky ground-based AOEs to deal with.
However, your reward for the quest is okay — a Ruby, Sapphire, or Topaz Charm (normal rarity). Defeating the King in the Mists though, grants you the Gembloom Skull, which increases your total Spirit Stat — a must-have item.
The Trail of Corruption and The Lost Lute/Finding the Forge (PoE 2 Act 1 main and optional quests)
- Waypoint: Yes (The Farmlands, Ogham Village)
- Bosses: The Executioner (Ogham Village)
You can pick up The Lost Lute in Clearfell Encampment from Una in Path of Exile 2. Since you’re going to head to The Farmlands on the way to Ogham Village anyway, you may as well look for her Lost Lute. It’s in one of the huts in the area — a massive zone, so take your time to look for it. You should also already have the side quest Finding the Forge that will take place in Ogham Village.
You’ll get to Ogham Village through The Farmlands, and when you arrive, you’ll see the whole village is on fire. Before you go seeking your way into Ogham Manor and fighting The Executioner, look for Renly’s tools. In our experience, they were down in the southwest section of the map — as far away from The Executioner as possible — that may vary for you. This unlocks Salvaging, which is a pretty useful feature.
The Executioner is your goal here — he guards the way into Ogham Manor/Iron Manor. He’s a dangerous, physical attacker who summons an absolute swarm of archers and melee fighters.
Don’t let these overwhelm you, or you’re going to have a bad time. Defeating him will see you speak to the prisoner. Head back to town for your reward (Uncut Skill Gem Level 5). When you’re ready, go back through the portal, and into the courtyard.
The Iron Count (PoE 2 Act 1 main scenario quest)
- Waypoint: Yes
- Bosses: Candlemass (optional), Count Geonor
Here we are, at the end of Act 1 in Path of Exile 2. It’s a massive mansion with several floors — you’re trying to reach the final floor to encounter and overcome Count Geonor. However, we recommend you go out of your way to fight the mini-boss here, Candlemass. His reward is an item that grants you +20 Maximum Life (Candlemass’ Essence).
The Iron Manor feels very much like a maze, and it’s packed to the brim with powerful foes, and lots of floors to clear through. The boss himself, Count Geonor is all that stands between you and Act 2 of Path of Exile 2.
He will shift forms occasionally into a wolf until he’s almost dead. Then he transforms from his man form, to a more powerful wolf, and the real battle begins. He’s the ultimate test in Act 1. Defeating him will grant you passage to the next part of the story.
Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features
- Path of Exile 2 Review (Early Access)
- Path of Exile 2 Count Geonor boss guide
- Path of Exile 2 The Executioner boss guide