The Abandoned Prison in Path of Exile II is a grim place indeed. A dark, damp island housing horrors from your worst nightmares that awake upon your intrusion.
And yet, unfortunately, if you want to reforge that weapon Doryani was speaking of, you won’t have much of a choice but to brave the swirling waters and get ready for a prison break!
At the end of the Solitary Confinement map, you’ll face off against The Prisoner, which is perhaps the first actually tricky boss in Act 4. He has multiple phases, a few damage types and even map scenery that you need to interact with to put this decrepit denizen out of his misery. So put on your rain jacket and boots; you won’t need SPF 50 for this island adventure.
The Abandoned Prison
This island consists of two main areas: the main prison and the sub area, Solitary Confinement. While the first area is a little tricky to navigate, with lots of dead ends and tight, tricky paths, the real challenge starts in Solitary Confinement.
While this can be a frustrating section, I have to admit, it looks gorgeous, and the idea of travelling through a prison while being assaulted by the undead and the very ocean itself is pretty majestic.
When the waves crash through and flood the prison, you’ll be slowed down, as though you were afflicted with Temporal Chains, though there are high ground sections that you can take to avoid getting swamped. Try not to aggro too many enemies at once when you’re in the water, or you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the ocean before you know it.
Traverse the cramped corridors, and eventually you’ll find yourself at a set of 3 doors. Just a little bit ominous, right?
Boss Attributes
The Prisoner primarily uses the Physical and Cold damage types to attack you with. So, before you go in, try and get your cold elemental resistance up as high as you can. A high elemental resistance, coupled with either decent evasion or a solid energy shield, will protect you from the majority of his attacks.
Naturally, as with many PoE2 bosses, I would argue that this fight is a bit easier as a ranged character compared to melee. A lot of attacks are rather close quarters, and also, when you need to interact with a special mechanic halfway into the fight, it’s better to be on the edge of the arena, away from the boss, rather than next to him.
When you feel like you’re ready and geared, brave the rushing waters and head into the boss’s chamber.
The Prisoner
Phase 1
This phase is extremely easy, with simple attacks that can be mostly run away from. I actually tried simply sprinting around the room non-stop, and he can’t reach you if you keep sprinting.
|
Attack Name |
Description |
How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
|
Claw Swipe |
This is his most basic attack. The Prisoner will swipe at you with either hand. |
Roll past him for an easy dodge. |
|
Crushing Fist |
There are 2 variations of this attack. Sometimes he may lunge forward and strike the ground with a single fist. Other times, he may slam the ground with both fists, causing a decent-sized AoE. |
The easiest way to deal with this is to roll backwards to escape the AoE. Careful not to be too close to him. |
|
Ice Strike |
He will reach into his chest and send a wave of ice flying in your direction. |
This has a pretty long wind-up, so simply anticipating when the ice will come and rolling to the side is enough here. |
|
Spike Chamber |
At around 75% of his health, he will perform a new attack. Spikes of ice will grow all around the chamber, and then he will pummel the ground to shatter them all at once. |
If you sprint to the other side of the arena, this attack will usually miss you. Or you can find the largest gap between spikes and stand there to dodge it. |
Phase 2
At 50% health, The Prisoner will stop, and a prompt will pop up on the screen for you to activate one of the 3 ballistas that are located around the room. Make sure you do this quickly, or else the boss will gain back some of the health that he lost.
In addition, he will pull the ballista bolt from his chest and use it as a sword, so he has a lot further reach now. Many of the previous attacks will now be upgraded:
- Claw Swipes are replaced by Spear Swipes
- Fist slams are replaced by Spear Slams
- Ice Strike is replaced by a shockwave attack that comes out a lot quicker.
- The spikes that come out are now far larger and have a larger explosion radius. They also block projectiles like magic attacks.
He also has one new attack to look out for:
|
Attack Name |
Description |
How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
|
Creeping Frost |
The boss will pull out freezing energy from his chest and implant it into the ground. A ring of cold will then slowly spread across the arena. |
As far as I’m aware, you can’t dodge this, as even by rolling through it, you will be slowed. Try moving to the edge of the arena and then moving through it to give yourself time. |
Phase 3
This is where the fight actually gets serious. He will become imbued with blood and gain new abilities. These next attacks do a crazy amount of damage if you don’t avoid them, so watch out.
This phase can be ended very quickly if you time the ballistas right.
- The Creeping Frost move now gains a damaging blood effect on top of the slow.
|
Attack Name |
Description |
How To Avoid |
|---|---|---|
|
Bloody Slash |
The Prisoner will swipe his spear at you and splash the arena with high-damaging blood. |
Rolling behind him is best for this one. Don’t stand to his side. |
|
Blood Spatter |
He will raise his hand and send out waves of blood that will track you as you move. If you’re too close or still for too long, this will shred your health very quickly. |
Don’t sprint, as you might fall and instantly perish. Instead, focus on moving and rolling away from him. |
|
Blood Blast |
He will perform a large explosive slam with a ridiculously large AoE. |
As soon as you see the red ring on the ground, immediately move away and then roll at the last minute to avoid damage. |
Once you’ve learned all of his attacks, this boss isn’t actually so difficult. Honestly, it’s more about perfecting your movement and using the environment to your advantage.
Once The Prisoner is down, summon The Hooded One and claim the weapon piece for yourself. If you haven’t gotten all three pieces, it’s time to head to Shrike Island and take on the Scourge of the Skies.
Path of Exile II
- Released
-
2024-12
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Nudity, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Grinding Gear Games
- Publisher(s)
-
Grinding Gear Games
- Engine
-
Proprietary Engine
- Franchise
-
Path of Exile
- Early Access Release
-
December 6, 2024
