In the dismal depths of The Grelwood you’ll find a dark entity that proves even flora isn’t immune to the dire effects of corruption spreading throughout the land. This page will provide strategies for defeating the optional boss Brambleghast in Path of Exile 2.

Page Breakdown¶

Brambleghast Location¶

An optional boss very much following in the model of Biera of the Rotten Pack, in that they’re both foes found randomly in a unique setpiece subarea. Brambleghast can be found in The Grelwood, and instead of looking for snow like you did with Biera, you need to look for a depressed area surrounded by thick, thorned vines. There will be a checkpoint nearby as well as ramps leading down to the low ground surrounded by the brambles, so just explore the map until you find a checkpoint near some spiky vines. This will probably be in the center of the Grelwood (or at least, not along the edges), but its exact location is random.

Brambleghast Boss Strategy¶

Biera and The Devourer may have been largely ranged foes, but Brambleghast switches things up again by primarily being a melee foe… at least at the start of the fight. What makes this fight dangerous is the confined arena you’re forced to fight in - the depressed area surrounded by brambles is not very large and there’s no way to escape once Brambleghast makes its appearance. You’ll have to be diligent about avoiding attacks, dodging constantly to mitigate damage, and sneaking in counterattacks when possible. This will likely devolve into a desperate slugfest, but if you’re aware of Brambleghast’s attacks you should be able to avoid enough of them to survive. Speaking of which, all of Brambleghast’s noteworthy attacks will be discussed below:

Tendril Sweeps¶

The fight will start out pretty tame, as Brambleghast’s only goal is to chase you around and sweep at you with its tendril arms. Stay close (not that you have much choice) and dodge around them clockwise and you should avoid most hits.

Lunging Bite and Arcane Breath¶

Brambleghast can also perform a lunging bite, but if you keep moving this shouldn’t ever hit you. Brambleghast can also lunge forward and expel a sustained gout of arcane energy from its mouth. Both of these attacks share an animation, save that Brambleghast will stay extended for a moment while it completes its arcane breath attack.

Tendril Lance¶

Once Brambleghast has taken some damage, it’ll become a lot more aggressive, planting its tendrils into the ground and using them for various attacks, the most dangerous of which will be covered below. In many cases these tendril attacks summon “Vicious Vines”, autonomous, short-lived adds with fairly dangerous attacks, but Brambleghast can also just project a line of tendrils on the ground, dealing moderate damage if they come into contact with you.

Arcane Orb¶

Another attack that Brambleghast performs directly, instead of delegating to his Vicious Vines, Brambleghast will reach into what passes for a mouth with a tendril and eject a spinning orb of purple arcane energy, which in turn shoots off arcane spikes as it travels. Given the size of this battlefield, this is bound to be a relatively short attack, so you don’t have to worry too much about many arcane spikes propagating. When you see Brambleghast reach into its maw, dodge so you’re not in front of it to mitigate damage.

Vicious Vines - Arcane Lash¶

The later phase of the fight with Brambleghast is complicated by its ability to spawn Vicious Vines, tendrilous appendages which act autonomously and unleash attacks that range from annoying to deadly. The Arcane Lash attack is the most common, as it’ll create several Vicious Vines that whip the ground towards you, sending forth a line of arcane energy on the ground when they impact, giving them more range than they initially seem to have.

Vicious Vines - Arcane Slam¶

The most short-lived Vicious Vines attack, Brambleghast will summon these and they’ll immediately charge up and slam the ground, unleashing an arcane AoE burst when they make contact with the ground, dealing heavy damage in the area. It’s always a good idea to dodge when you see new tendrils emerge, just in case they happen to be ready to unleash this attack.

Vicious Vines - Arcane Bomb¶

Easily the most potent attack Brambleghast can unleash, albeit by proxy. Your foe will summon Vicious Vines as normal, but these vines will shoot slow-moving homing arcane orbs at you. If they don’t catch you, they’ll fade away after a while, but if they get close they’ll stop and after a moment explode for tremendous damage - potent enough that even a level 30+ character might raise an eyebrow! While it’s hard to get hit by the full force of this attack, the orbs can deal hundreds of damage if they connect, which, suffice to say, if something a Lv5~ character isn’t built to withstand. Either keep moving or let the orbs catch you, then dodge before they can detonate.

Brambleghast can prove to be a challenging foe simply due to its tenacity and the limited space in which you have to fight. That said, most of its attacks don’t deal a tremendous amount of damage - Arcane Bombs aside - and there’s not a lot you need to worry about in the way of damage-over-time effects and area denial, although the small size of the arena itself is something of a form of area denial. Keep moving and be ready for the Vicious Vines when they start spawning - if you can kill them you may just limit their attacks, but really, the Arcane Lash variants are the only ones likely to present any serious long-term threat and it’s generally best to simply avoid the Vicious Vines whenever possible.

Defeat Brambleghast and you’ll get… standard boss drops. That’s right, nothing special for besting this beast.