PoE 2 Boss Guide: The Queen of Filth Strategy & Drops

The Queen of Filth is a grotesque, mace-wielding giant encountered in the Apex of Filth, a corrupted sub-area of the Apex of Filth in Act 3 of Path of Exile 2. She serves as the guardian of the Vaal ruins, blocking the path to the Temple of Kopec. This fight is a chaotic endurance test involving heavy physical slams, hazardous terrain, and stacking debuffs that punish poor positioning.

Lore & Background

In the flooded ruins of the ancient Vaal city, the corruption has pooled into a festering sludge. From this muck rose the Queen of Filth—a monstrous entity that embodies the decay of the Drowned City. Clad in tattered rags and a rusted golden mask, she rules over the "Filth-Born" minions.

She is not a tactician but a brute force of nature, using her immense weight and a colossal stone mace to crush intruders. Her lair is a mud bath of toxins, where the very ground seeks to weaken those who dare to challenge her reign.

Core Mechanics

The Queen of Filth deals massive Physical Damage and Chaos Damage. The arena is small and constantly filled with Debuff Circles and Explosive Fungi. Staying mobile while avoiding the colorful zones is the key to survival.

Phase 1: The Rolling Giant

• 1. Mace Slam
  Description: The Queen shouts "Flatten!" and raises her massive mace high overhead before slamming it down.
  Strategy: This is her signature heavy hit. It tracks your position until the swing starts. Side Roll immediately. Being hit causes massive Physical damage and a heavy Stun.
• 2. Rolling Smash
  Description: She curls her bloated body into a ball and rolls rapidly across the arena, crushing everything in her path.The Queen rolls her massive body toward you, then follows up with a powerful downward mace smash.
  Strategy: Move quickly to either the left or right to avoid the roll and be prepared for the follow-up smash.

• 3. Tri-Color Zones (Debuffs)
  Description: She casts large magical circles on the ground with specific colors:
  
  • Red Circle: Lowers your Armour significantly (Armour Break).
  • Purple Circle: Applies a heavy Slow (Temporal Chains effect).
  • Green Circle: Deals rapid Chaos Damage over Time (Caustic Ground).
  Strategy: Avoid these at all costs. Fighting her while standing in a Red Circle is a death sentence due to her high physical damage.
• 4. Summon Filth Swarm
  Description: She yells "To your Queen!" summoning swarms of small sludge minions from the edges.
  Strategy: Use these weak enemies to recharge your Flasks. One AoE skill should clear them. Do not let them body-block you into a Debuff Circle.

Recommended Builds

The fight is claustrophobic. Builds that can deal damage while moving or have high burst to stagger her are preferred.

• Warrior - Sunder / Ground Slam: The Queen has a large hitbox and low evasion. Sunder allows you to hit her from outside her mace range.
• Ranger - Poison / Caustic Arrow: Since you spend a lot of time dodging her rolls and zones, damage-over-time (DoT) keeps her health dropping even when you aren't attacking.
• Key Stats: Chaos Resistance is mandatory for the green zones. Armour helps survive the physical slams (unless you are in a red circle).

Loot Table

The Queen of Filth drops a mandatory quest item to open the Vaal Temple.