Path of Exile 2 Walkthrough Part 4: Act 4, Interludes and Endgame Start

This is part 4 of our full Path of Exile 2 walkthrough. It covers everything after Act 3 in the current early access build: Act 4 in the Karui islands, the three Interludes, and the short trip from the last Interlude boss to your first map in the endgame.

Path of Exile 2 walkthrough: ← Previous part

The whole walkthrough

Written for the current early-access version, before the 1.0 launch on December 11, 2026. Acts 5 and 6 arrive with 1.0, and this walkthrough will be updated then.

What comes after Act 3 right now

The campaign has changed a lot during early access. At launch, finishing Act 3 sent you back through Acts 1 to 3 on "Cruel" difficulty. That is gone. The Third Edict update (0.3.0) removed Cruel and added two new things in its place:

• Act 4, a full new act set on the Karui islands.
• Three Interludes, shorter side stories that carry you from the end of Act 4 to the endgame at around level 65.

This is still the structure in the 0.5.x patches, right up to the 1.0 launch. The Interludes are temporary. When Acts 5 and 6 arrive with version 1.0 on December 11, 2026, the Interludes are set to leave the campaign. We will update this page when that happens.

Act 4: the Karui islands

Act 4 starts in the port town of Kingsmarch. From here you sail a ship between islands. The big difference from earlier acts is that Act 4 is not linear. You can visit most islands in any order. The main story asks you to find the three parts of an old Precursor weapon, and a way to put it together, so you can deal with the Beast.

Suggested route

Many guides follow a route like this, but feel free to change it:

• Kingsmarch - talk to the NPCs, then board the ship.
• Abandoned Prison - an old Eternal Empire prison and home of The Prisoner.
• Shrike Island - save Matiki from the Scourge of the Skies at the end of the island. This ties into the Trial of the Ancestors quest.
• Isle of Kin - find the Volcanic Warrens for Krutog. The Blind Beast also lives on this island.
• Whakapanu Island - home of the Great White One.
• Arastas and The Excavation - main story zones tied to the Precursor weapon.
• Halls of the Dead - Yama the White waits here.
• Ngakanu - sail here last and enter the Heart of the Tribe for the final fight.

After the final boss, return to Kingsmarch, watch the cutscene and talk to The Hooded One to close the act.

Act 4 rewards

Do not rush past the side content. Act 4 hands out weapon set passive points, a bonus to maximum mana, and a few permanent choices, such as picking between attribute or resistance bonuses. The exact list has shifted between patches, so check each quest reward window before you click. Optional bosses are often where the extra points hide.

Act 4 bosses and how to beat them

Act 4 has around eleven bosses, counting the optional ones. These are the ones that stop most players:

• Yama the White (Halls of the Dead) - He jumps away and fires pairs of chaos projectiles. Dodge roll often, or hide behind a pillar to block the shots. Later he makes clones. Watch for the one that slams a second time or teleports, as that is the real Yama. Extra movement speed on your boots helps a lot here.
• Torvian, Hand of the Saviour - Hits hard with physical damage that turns into chaos. Some chaos resistance makes this fight much safer.
• Benedictus - One of the tougher story bosses. Respect his big attacks and do not stand in front of him when he winds up.
• Krutog (Volcanic Warrens) and the Blind Beast (Isle of Kin) - Mid-act checks. Keep moving and fight from range if you can.

Tavakai, the final boss

Tavakai is a long, three-phase fight. Go in prepared.

• Phase 1: He throws a blade on a rope that pulls you in. He also drops jade crystals that explode after a short delay. Walk away from the crystals as soon as they land.
• Totems: Karui god statues around the arena give bad effects if you stand near the wrong one. One heals Tavakai when he hits you. Another cuts your damage. Fight away from them when you can.
• Phase 2: He sends waves of jade spikes. He does not have special resistance to cold or chaos, so those damage types work well.
• Phase 3: He heals to full and covers the arena in a forest. The safest spot is the middle, so expect to fight up close.
• Flasks: Many players run dry by phase 3. Pace your flasks, and use flask charge gain if your build has it.

Before you start, aim for capped elemental resistances and a healthy life pool. If you keep dying, it is fine to level up a bit in the Interlude zones first, then come back.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Running out of space for all your games? A 2TB NVMe SSD is the easiest upgrade for PC and PS5.

The Interludes

The three Interludes send you back to the lands of the first three acts with new zones and new bosses. The Hooded One moves you between them. The game numbers them one to three, but area levels scale with the bosses you have already killed in the other Interludes, so the order is fairly flexible. Each one ends with a main boss and holds extra passive points along the way.

The Curse of Holten

This Interlude returns to Ogham. You pass the Stones of Serle, the Scorched Farmlands and the town of Holten, which acts as the hub.

• Wolvenhold - Optional, but do not skip it. Oswin, the Dread Warden gives two weapon set passive points. Many players who end up "missing" points forgot this zone. Keep heading to the top of the map to find it.
• Sigbert and Godwin - Optional bosses in Holten with smaller rewards.
• Holten Estate - The final fight against Thane Wulfric and Lady Elswyth. It is a duo fight, so keep both on screen and do not let one of them get behind you.

The Stolen Barya

This one is set in the Vastiri desert, with the Khari Bazaar as the town.

• Sel Khari Sanctuary - Travel through the Pools of Kathal to reach it and defeat Elzarah, the Cobra Lord. Optional Baryas can also be found here.
• Qimah Reservoir - Open it with Jado's help and stop the ritual of Azmadi, the Faridun Prince.
• How to beat Azmadi: He deals physical damage with long combos. Wait out his chains instead of trading hits. At around 40% health, Zarokh stops time and powers him up. Roll away right after this, because a blink attack usually follows. Stay out of the corners in his big arena.

Doryani's Contingency

The last Interlude climbs Mount Kriar.

• Kriar Village - Defeat Lythara, the Wayward Spear. Her reward gives +40 Spirit, which brings most characters to the full 100 Spirit from the campaign. This is one of the most important rewards in the whole game, so never skip her.
• Kriar Peaks and the Etched Ravine - Find the way to the Cuachic Vault, guarded by Stormgore, the Guardian, who uses physical and lightning attacks.
• Cuachic Vault - A maze of halls ending with Zolin and Zelina. They are a physical and fire/lightning pair. Burst down Zelina first to cut off Zolin's sustain, then finish him.

Optional bosses across the Interludes add more passive points. Finishing all three also gives a small bonus on top, so clear every one before you move on.

How to get into the endgame

Once the final Interlude boss is down, the campaign is done and you should be close to level 65.

• Talk to The Hooded One and travel to the Ziggurat Refuge.
• Speak to Doryani to unlock the Map Device.
• Put a Waystone in the device, pick a map on the Atlas and step through the portal.
• Your first map must be done from the Ziggurat. After that, you can open maps from your own hideout.

Before your first Waystone, spend every passive point you earned and check your resistances. Doryani also sells Waystones, which is handy if you run short early on. Our next part covers the Atlas and mapping in detail.

FAQ

How many acts are in Path of Exile 2 right now?

Before 1.0 there are four full acts plus three Interludes. The Interludes stand in for the missing acts and take you to the endgame.

When do Acts 5 and 6 come out?

They arrive with the full 1.0 launch on December 11, 2026. The Interludes are set to be removed from the campaign at that point, and this page will be updated.

Is there still a Cruel difficulty?

No. Cruel was removed in the 0.3.0 update. Act 4 and the Interludes replaced it.

Can I skip the Interludes?

No. You need to finish them to unlock the Map Device. They also hold many passive points and the final +40 Spirit, so you would not want to skip them anyway.

How do I start maps?

After the last Interlude, travel to the Ziggurat Refuge, talk to Doryani and use a Waystone in the Map Device. After your first map, you can map from your hideout.

Path of Exile 2 walkthrough: ← Previous part