Once you finally get into Act One’s Treacherous Ground and drop down into the Vile Nest, you’ll be staring at The Devourer – a huge worm that fills the cavern with its body. It’s tight in there, hard to manoeuvre, and you’ll notice fast that you don’t have much space to work with. One thing to lock into your brain right away – the burrow move will kill you if you’re not paying attention. It goes underground, the ground under you flashes red and black, and you’ve only got a couple seconds to shift away. Don’t hang around thinking you can squeeze in an extra hit; you’ll just eat a massive chunk of damage. Keep moving, especially if your build’s a bit slow or you’re light on mobility skills. The loot from this fight can drop some decent PoE 2 Items, but you’ve got to survive first.

You’ll probably think a creature this size would crumble under heavy hits, but pure physical damage barely scratches it. If you’re running melee or bows, you’ll feel that struggle unless you adapt. This thing’s soft spot is elemental damage – fire, cold, lightning – they all rip through much quicker. Physical builds can still make it work if they slot in some added elemental modifiers or use supports that convert part of their damage. Honestly, leaning into elemental attacks earlier on helps everywhere, not just for this fight. Faster clears, more drops, and better stash management right from the start.

The tail’s another distraction you’ll have to deal with. It pops up now and then, swiping across your space. Hitting it does nothing to the actual health bar, so save your energy. Think of it like a moving hazard – dodge it and focus your strikes on the head whenever it surfaces. The smaller larvae it spits out are worth a quick clean-up if you’re ranged, just so they don’t clog your line of fire. Melee players often kill them in the swing of things, but letting them pile up is a mistake, especially in such a cramped arena.

Staying mobile makes this fight dramatically simpler. Treat every burrow as a call to reposition, every tail sweep as a dodge challenge, and burn through its health with the strongest elemental options you can muster.

When it finally goes down, you’ll pick up some gold and gear, but the big win’s turning in the quest to Renly. He’ll hand you an Uncut Support Gem – either a nice boost for your set-up or something you can flip for quick currency. If you’re chasing early trade gains, that gem is worth considering alongside other rewards like preserved jawbone poe2.