After the first boss in the game - the mandatory encounter with The Bloated Miller, the next two bosses you face may be optional. One, Biera of the Rotten Pack introduces you to the idea that bosses aren’t only encountered after proper buildup and warning, yet these optional bosses can still provide you with permanent stat boosts that make them well worth rooting out and slaying. The second optional boss, The Devourer, awaits you at the end of your first side quest, setting the standard that bosses can appear during main quests, during side quests, or just during random exploration! This page will provide strategies for defeating The Devourer in Path of Exile 2!

Page Breakdown¶

The Devourer Location¶

After reaching Clearfell Encampment for the first time, you’ll find yourself chatting with the village blacksmith, Renly, and at the end of your conversation he’ll mention putting your violent proclivities to use by dispatching some monster called “The Devourer”. This starts the side quest Treacherous Ground, and while starting it may not be optional, you’re under no obligation to actually complete it, either. Of course, you’ll get loot in the process and a reward for completing the quest, so you’ve plenty of incentive to take care of this bit of business.

Exit out to Clearfell and find the waypoint, near which you’ll likely find the Mud Burrow, an optional side dungeon. Enter it and fight your way through until you find an unusually large chamber. The Devourer dwells within.

The Devourer Boss Strategy¶

There’s not a lot of room for negotiation of ambiguity when it comes to most bosses in Path of Exile 2 - their threat is overt and non-negotiable, and it should be no surprise that a giant burrowing centipede monster named “The Devourer” is lacking in-depth motivations. It’s here to eat, and you’re a mere morsel. What it lacks in social graces it makes up for in aggression, having a surprisingly robust arsenal of attacks, including melee attacks, ranged attacks, AoEs and adds. These attacks will be detailed below:

Digestive Loogie¶

At the start of the fight, The Devourer doesn’t show a whole lot of initiative - why burn more calories for your food than you have to? It’ll sit back and spit digestive loogies at you, dealing moderate damage if they hit. Just dodge roll when it spits and you should avoid contact. Once you deal a bit of damage to the overgrown bug, however, it’ll start fighting you in earnest, although the digestive loogie will remain a staple attack throughout the fight.

Burrow Attack¶

Damage The Devourer and it’ll burrow, exposing some looping segments of its massive body along with its tail. The former isn’t dangerous - it’s the two ends you need to watch out for. More on the tail later, but for now, be wary of the head, as The Devourer won’t remain burrowed for long, explosively surfacing and dealing heavy damage if you’re caught nearby. It doesn’t seem to actively target the player with its burrow attack and you get a warning reticle letting you know where the head will reemerge, so just stay clear. The burrow attack is the least of your worries, however, as many other attacks will occur following The Devourer’s reappearance.

Flesh Larva Spawn¶

After burrowing, The Devourer will spawn several Flesh Larva when it resurfaces. These critters are little more than annoying fodder, but they can block your movement, making it more likely that you’ll get pegged by one of The Devourer’s other attacks.

Acid Spew and Sweep¶

When The Devourer surfaces it’ll likely begin using a more potent ranged attack, which comes in two forms, and are often used in succession. First it’ll spew a sustained torrent of green acid that can inflict poison. This deals much more damage than “Digestive Loogie”. After this first attack The Devourer will spray a line of acid, sweeping across the battlefield - this deals less damage than the Acid Spew, but it covers more ground, so it’s more likely to hit.

Tail Sweep and Slam¶

As if the head wasn’t bad enough, the tail will also get involved in the fight after the first burrow. This massive root-like appendage can sweep and slam if you get too close, forcing you to keep your distance. Even this isn’t quite good enough, however, as the tail can also slap the ground and send a shockwave forward in a line. Just another distraction to keep in mind, especially as the tail can move when The Devourer burrows.

The Devourer introduces a lot of elements you’ll be dealing with as you fight bosses going forward, with the notable exception of damage-over-time effects. That said, while this boss has a lot of moving parts (literally!), but neither the head nor tail move and attack at the same time, so it’s not aggressive in the sense that it won’t be chasing you down. Keep your distance from the tail, watch out for the head’s ranged attacks and delete the adds whenever they spawn and you should bring the beast down eventually.