Quick Links
Draven, the Eternal Praetor, is an early-game mini-boss players will encounter during the quest Sorrow Among Stones during Act 1 of Path of Exile 2. Defeating him is a requirement to complete the map and unlock Lachlann of Endless Lament at the end of the graveyard.
For many players, Draven might be the first difficult boss they encounter in the game, and their first taste of the new direction GGG is taking PoE 2, an ARPG with Soulslike combat that requires careful positioning, learning boss moves, and extreme patience.
Related
Path of Exile 2: How To Unlock Ascension Classes
Reach your character’s full potential by unlocking Ascendancy classes in Path of Exile 2.
How to Beat Draven in PoE 2
Draven is a tricky boss to fight, thanks to his tendency to fill the field with spam effects. Despite the large size of the arena, his moves are excellent at area denial, preventing the player from moving freely. Ranged characters will have an easier time beating Draven than melee characters, but it’s still a struggle if you don’t understand the mechanics of the boss fight.
Draven Attack Pattern
|
Attack |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Basic Sword Combo |
Draven swings his sword in a 4-hit combo. |
|
Necrotic Bolts |
Draven swings his sword in a large arc, sending out bolts of necrotic energy in a large cone around him. |
|
Double Necrotic Bolts |
Draven swings his sword in two quick arcs, creating two waves of Necrotic Bolts in a large cone around him. |
|
Necrotic Sword Wave |
Draven creates two lines of necrotic energy by slamming his foot on the ground before swinging his sword down, sending both waves outward and dealing medium damage. |
|
Summon Minions |
Draven creates ghostly hollows of his minions around the battle arena. If the player steps into one, an Eternal Knight will spawn to help Draven. |
|
Summon Asinia |
Draven cries out, ‘Asinia!’, summoning a specter of a ghostly ally. Asinia creates three or four necrotic runic circles on the ground, which detonate after a brief delay, dealing medium damage. The last circle is larger in diameter than the first two. |
Related
Path of Exile 2: Best Solo Class
Playing solo in POE2 can be difficult with so many enemies running at you at once; here’s the best class for a solo player.
Draven Boss Strategy
The key to beating Draven is patience and proper positioning. His moves are really easy to avoid if you know where to stand when he uses them. Necrotic Bolts and Double Necrotic Bolts can both be avoided by moving behind him as soon as he charges up the attack or running away from him to widen the gap between the individual bolts to make weaving between them easy.
Necrotic Sword Wave is a nearly arena-wide attack, and the safest place to be is right by Draven’s side. Since there are no iframes in Path of Exile 2, it’s impossible to avoid damage if you’re caught in the blast, so moving out of the way or blocking are the only options.
The Summon Minions spell is the easiest one to avoid. All you have to do is not move into the green ghostly figures around the arena, and you’re golden. Do note that in certain situations, like if you need to gather Power Charges for a powerful attack, you may actually want to trigger the minion summon.
Lastly, Summon Asinia is often the biggest cause of death in this fight. The runic circles that Draven’s wife creates on the ground are hard to dodge in the heat of battle. The trick to avoid them is simple. Instead of dodging to avoid them, simply keep walking through them. The walking speed of a character is faster than the delay before the runes explode. Spamming the dodge button is not the answer.
Individually, these attacks are relatively easy to avoid, but combined, they tend to be overwhelming. Luckily, after a couple of failed attempts, it’s easy to get a handle on things and recognize the attack pattern well enough to avoid anything Draven has to throw at you.
Related
Path Of Exile 2: 12 Things You Should Not Sell To Merchants
Don’t sell these items in Path of Exile 2. Instead, keep them on hand, as they’ll come in useful quickly.
Draven Boss Rewards
After Draven is defeated, he drops Draven’s Memorial Key Piece on top of the regular loot. This is one of the two Key Pieces needed to progress further in Sorrow Among Stones, the other being in the possession of Asinia, Draven’s wife, who can be encountered on the same map in a different tomb.
