The Legacy of the Vaal is a lengthy quest and part of the main questline of Path of Exile 2, taking place in the third Act (currently the final one out of the planned six).
The quest, given its length, can be quite complicated and convoluted, so here is everything you need to do to start and clear this mainline PoE 2 quest.
The Legacy of the Vaal quest guide
The Legacy of the Vaal quest begins once you enter the Sandswept Marsh area following the events of Act Two, where you and the Sekhemas parted ways in pursuit of the Beast and a way to curb its power. You will initially speak to the Hooded One, who has featured prominently in the campaign since you freed him in Act One, who will set you on the quest to find the Ziggurat Encampment. The Sandswept Marsh area is very hostile, with enemies crawling out of the swamp to attack you. Chaos and poison resistance will be a godsend in this area due to the spitting and volatile enemies. Rootdredge, an optional boss, can be found in this area.
In the Ziggurat base itself, your town for the Act, you can find Alva and Oswald, new merchant NPCs that will forward the questline once you speak to them. Servi can also be found in the encampment, with several sidequests tied to her character. Once you exhaust all the dialogue with the area’s NPCs, you can move on to the Jungle Ruins area in search of the Matlan Waterways, where the mechanisms for accessing the Sunken City lie.
The Jungle Ruins themselves contain several sidequests. By searching far and wide you can find Servi’s son and uncover his fate, eventually leading you down the path of hunting down Ignaduk (we will touch on this later), and the Slithering Dead quest that tasks you with exploring the Venom Pits located in this area. Servi can be spoken to for extra lore snippets on the culture that inhabited these now-hostile parts, which you shouldn’t sleep on. Beware of the Mighty Silverfist in this zone; he is one of the most formidable and unpredictable bosses in the entire game and can one-shot you no matter the class you choose.
After exploring the Jungle Ruins you will stumble upon the Infested Barrens location. You can access the Azak Bog area from the initial waypoint where the Ignaduk boss fight is located. Check out our dedicated guide on that encounter to ensure no loot is lost and the entire zone doesn’t respawn on your untimely death. Keep in mind that this is entirely optional and that your primary goal is to search for the Chimeral Wetlands, which you will need to find and traverse to obtain the Large Soul Core that Alva and Servi spoke of. This path leads to yet another boss fight, now against Xyclucian, the Chimera, a formidable but not too challenging encounter. Defeating this massive beast opens up the way to Jiquani’s Machinarium. The other side of the Wetlands also houses the Trial of Chaos which grants you a chance to obtain another Ascendancy level.
Once in the Machinarium, your path will be blocked by a Stone Altar. After summoning Alva, you’ll need to find a Small Soul Core to open the way. It’s usually located close by and guarded by packs of enemies. There will be yet another Stone Altar blocking the way in the same manner, with you having to find another Soul Core to proceed deeper into the Machinarium. After you discover a strange symbol in the Machinarium, Alva instructs you to find two Medium Soul Cores somewhere in the area to activate two Generators, eventually granting you access to a Large Soul Core—but not without a fight. Zicoatl, Warden of the Core is your next big enemy, though he is largely immobile and has predictable attacks (I was able to take him down with a few casts of Bonestorm as a Witch while my minions draw his attention) and shouldn’t pose much of a threat.
Returning to the Infested Barrens waypoint, you’ll have a chance to use the Large Soul Core to gain access to the Matlan Waterways. In there, you’re tasked with searching for and activating mechanisms that will drain the water from the locale, slowly but surely giving you access to the coveted Sunken City. After all the mechanisms have been activated, speak to Alva, return to town, and descend the massive set of stairs to enter the Sunken City of Utzaal. Oswald also gives out a quest when Utzaal becomes available, the Treasures of Utzaal, tasking you to find the Molten Vault in the Drowned City area.
The Drowned City zone should be no big deal, and I suggest you explore the entire thing as the enemies in it drop tons of XP. I went from level 41 to 43 in half an hour and collected an incredible amount of loot from the many Rare and Elite enemies who spawn across the area. The enemies here largely do Physical damage, though the River Hags conjure up some strange water spells. I’ve also found two Essence of Ice mini-bosses in the Drowned City, alongside two Foul Quarters basements containing several Rare chests and Rare mini-bosses, all of whom drop tremendous loot, especially in the currency department (skill gems are plentiful in the area). After you’ve explored this area, proceed to the Apex of Filth where the Queen of Filth boss awaits you.
Once you defeat her, she will drop the Temple Door Idol, granting you access to the door behind Alva just before the Drowned City entrance in town. If you’ve collected the Red, Green, and Blue Mushrooms from the Apex of Filth area, you should explore further to find the Cauldron Keeper who will grant you buffed Mana and Life Flasks, though they aren’t guaranteed to be better than what you already have.
The mentioned door takes you to the Temple of Kopec, another medium-sized area with several floors that you need to clear to progress the quest. Stack as much Fire resistance as you can, for the enemies in this area are all dependent on Fire damage, spells, and attacks, and there’s even a Ziggurat Sun in the middle, constantly burning you if you’re close to it. The area’s final stage is home to its boss, Ketzull, High Priest of the Sun. My advice for him is to keep a good distance, avoid rolling when he throws the laser attack after stacking fire orbs above himself (rolling is slower and can make you open to getting hit by the orbs), and to try and stagger him as soon and as frequently as possible.
After Ketzull is dead, you’ll need to summon Alva who will activate some sort of contraption, causing an elevator to rise up from the floor and take you back to the Ziggurat Encampment. After doing so, proceed through the gateway that has opened behind you and Alva. The gateway takes you to a Past version of Utzaal. Alva accompanies you throughout this initial zone until she is kidnapped by Viper Napuatzi, one of the most challenging boss fights in Path of Exile 2. She deals a ton of poison damage so Chaos resistance and poison charms are almost a must here. Stick close to the guards when she executes the spear volleys and then try to dodge once they near you (do not stand in the middle between two sets of guards; you’ll take unnecessary damage when the volley nears its end).
Defeating Napuatzi sets you down the path of saving Alva from Doryani, the final boss of the third Act. He is located in Aggorat, accessed by progressing beyond Napuatzi’s zone up a massive set of stairs (as is the tradition in Utzaal). Getting to Doryani isn’t an easy feat, however. Aggorat is by far the most challenging area in all of Act Three, with countless enemies assaulting you wave after wave after wave. The chances of getting body blocked into a corner and killed mercilessly are immensely high, and you’ll need to stack a lot of Armor and Chaos resistance and Fire resistance to have any odds at clearing the area. Once you do, you’ll reach the Black Chambers (go back to get the Sacrificial Heart and clear that optional quest for extra two Passive skill levels; they’ll help with the boss).
At the farthest part of the Black Chambers area awaits Doryani himself with Alva as his captive. This is a powerful boss who will utilize numerous quick and AOE attacks, most of which are Fire-based and can be counteracted by an adequate amount of Fire resistance. He isn’t too complicated, however, and in both phases, he can easily be outmaneuvered (rolling appears detrimental; use it only when at the edges of his AOE spell circles). When he is in his second phase, he is basically a slow but gigantic target that is riddled with endless Bonestorms for massive Physical damage. Seeing how challenging and outright grueling the rest of Utzaal and Act Three are, I have to say the easiness of Doryani felt good.
Defeating Doryani turns him into your ally, but since we’re still in Early Access, entering the gateway will take you back to Act One at Cruel difficulty, essentially looping you back to the start of the game. Don’t fret, you can still access your cleared Acts via a waypoint, though Cruel difficulty carries better loot and gear than the regular loop, so keep that in mind. By entering through the gateway you will have completed the exhaustive and lengthy Legacy of the Vaal quest.
