Tor Gul, The Defiler is a major boss in Act 2’s The Trail of Corruption quest in Path of Exile 2. After finally assembling and blowing the Horn of the Vastiri, you can continue tracking Jamanra and the Beast of Corruption into Deshar.
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Exploring around this region for a while will eventually reveal Jamanra, but before you can get to him, he will summon the massive skeletal abomination, Tor Gul, The Defiler. Below, we’ll take a look at everything you need to know about this boss, including each of its attacks and strategies for how to avoid them.
Where To Find Tor Gul, The Defiler
Tor Gul is found at the end of the Spires of Deshar, which are preceded by Deshar and the Path of Mourning, in that order. You’ll fight him as part of the Act 2 Trail of Corruption main story quest.
How To Beat Tor Gul, The Defiler
The fight will take place in an octagonal arena, with Tor Gul being stationary in a hole in the center. It will use the following attacks throughout this fight.
|
Attack |
Description |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Claw Rake |
Tor Gul will drag both of its arms across the arena, from its right to the left. |
When you see Tor Gul pull back its arms, quickly dodge behind it to avoid taking damage. |
|
Skeleton Vomit |
Tor Gul will vomit up several skeleton enemies that will begin to attack you. The vomit will persist on the arena, dealing damage over time. |
Kill the summoned skeletons and quickly get out of the vomit pool if you’re standing in it. |
|
Fire Strike |
Tor Gul will open up its chest, letting out fireballs that fly in random directions to the front of the boss. |
Tor Gul will stand up straight before using this back, then use its arms to pry open its chest. Watch for these tells and move near the back of the boss to avoid taking damage. |
|
Head Smash |
Tor Gul will stand up straight before slamming its head down, dealing massive damage. |
The telegraph for this attack is similar to Fire Strike, but in both cases, the back of the boss is a safe spot, so move there regardless. |
|
Hand Crush |
Tor Gul will quickly slam one of its hands down on top of you, dealing high damage. |
This attack can be difficult to avoid because of how fast it comes out. If you can keep your eye trained on Tor Gul’s hand, dodging at the last second will safely avoid this attack. |
|
Flamethrower |
Tor Gul will breathe fire and then slowly turn, covering half of the arena with its flamethrower. This will leave behind flames that deal damage over time. |
Run to the opposite side of the arena when you see Tor Gul start to breathe fire. This attack has a fairly long animation, so as long as you’re safe, use this opportunity to deal some damage to the boss. However, keep in mind the persistent flames around the edge of the arena as you move and avoid Tor Gul’s other attacks. |
|
Bombs |
Tor Gul will crouch down and generate bombs around the arena, marked by orange sigils. |
The explosion of these bombs is slightly larger than what the sigil shows, so factor this in when moving to avoid them. |
|
Flame Tornados |
Occasionally, after Tor Gul uses its bomb attack, it will create tornados of fire on some of the sigils that persist for a few seconds. |
These are fairly easy to avoid, since you should already be avoiding the bomb sigils when they appear. |
The key to this fight is to constantly stay on the move, and to stay behind the boss as much as possible. Being behind the boss will make it easier to avoid almost all of its attacks. If you’re behind Tor Gul, it will always turn towards you to perform its attacks, giving you precious additional seconds to react and hopefully dodge out of the way.
This fight also involves a lot of chip damage and damage over time, so making efficient use of your potions is essential. Tor Gul’s skeleton vomit and persistent flames on the arena will slowly drain your health if you stand in them, and these can be difficult to see when you’re busy avoiding its other attacks.
Make sure your Flasks are up to date, and having a Life Flask that gains Charges over time will be a great help.
As you may expect, Tor Gul will mainly use Fire and Physical attacks, so preparing your resistance accordingly will greatly increase your chances of survival. Swapping in Ruby Rings and fire resistance Charms will improve your survivability without having to alter your whole build around this single fight.
If you’re still struggling with Tor Gul, try grinding out a level or two in the nearby areas. The additional skill points may not seem like much, but they can make a huge difference in fights like this.
After Tor Gul is defeated, you’ll be onto the Dreadnought, the final location of Act 2.
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