The Rust King is a rusted automaton you'll encounter during the Path of Exile 2 campaign. He appears during Act One. This boss guide will tell you what to expect when you find him and explain how to defeat him when you do.

Where to find The Rust King

You'll encounter The Rust King during the Secrets in the Dark quest in Act One. He appears after you interact with the third Obelisk of Rust you encounter in The Red Vale.

How to beat The Rust King

The Rust King is well-armored and resistant to fire damage, so physical and fire damage won't help you. However, he is vulnerable to lightning damage, so if you have a move with that damage type, use it to deal significant extra damage.

The Rust King's attacks are all straightforward area-of-effect attacks. He summons blades that shoot out in straight lines, drop down from above, or fire at you in a swarm. They're all avoidable through positioning yourself correctly, blocking, or dodging at the right time.

When he summons his Exomyte army, they're little more than distractions, but take them out quickly so they aren't in your way. You can kite them behind the trees to bunch them up for area attacks and give yourself some cover from The Rust King.

Your best bet is to stun him by building up his stun bar. While stunned, he kneels to the ground for quite a while so you can go in for the kill. If you aren't equipped to stun, you'll need to play his way: dodge his attacks, kill his minions, and get in hits whenever possible.

The Rust King's rewards

When The Rust King is defeated, he'll drop a collection of Path of Exile 2 items and some gold. The most important item is the Runed Skull Cap, which you'll need to complete Secrets in the Dark.

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