Path of Exile - Facing Malachai, The Nightmare

The Nightmare can be a tough battle without the right preparation.

Fans of Path of Exile looking to challenge themselves will get the opportunity to do so at the end of Act 4. Players will find this boss in the final area of the Black Core in the Harvest. This location is known as the Black Heart, and defeating Malachai here will grant you access to the next act. If you are having a hard time defeating him no matter how much PoE currency you invest, then the following tips should help you overcome this beast.

Watch Malachai’s Movements

You won’t be long into the fight before you realise that the boss attacks coming your way are well executed. To be successful in this battle, you need to study the movements of the Nightmare. Once you feel like you have his patterns down to a tee, then you should be capable of dodging most attacks coming your way.

Stocking up via PoE Trade is one thing, but knowledge of his attacks is what will really get us over the line. Malachai in Path of Exile favours ground attacks throughout each phase of the fight, but the climax of the second phase is when you really need to watch out. The rings of fire and blood pools can do a lot of damage, as can the rune traps.

Meanwhile, we also have the teleport to keep an eye on. Although this is slow, and it gives you the opportunity to attack which we will be discussing shortly, it is also capable of killing you with a single hit. Your best plan of action would be to wait for the teleport to explode.
Early in the first stage, melee players may struggle with the smash attack that’s coming at them. If you favour the use of two handed or multi-attacks, it may get to the point where you can’t dodge this attack. It’s important that those taking a melee approach exercise caution in the first phase if they are to survive.

As your progress through the battle, Malachai will transform Piety to attack you whilst regaining a shield too. This will occur when you get his health down to 50%. This is where the true challenge of the fight starts to come in. The transformed Piety will require you to showcase your evasion skills. Whilst she does lack the chaos beam attack known from her own boss encounter, the chaos spheres are there to make up for it. These will cause huge damage if they connect with you. With that in mind, you should prepare by finding some form of chaos resistance to mitigate the potential damage that you can take.

Take A Safe Approach

The nature of Malachai’s attacks mean that you need to take precautions when approaching to attack. As you will be able to see from his offensive techniques, it can be tough to find the best time to hit him without getting hurt. One factor that you should keep in mind is that every hit counts, since Malachai has neither health regeneration or an energy shield.

When to Strike

A cautious approach is going to be very important if we are to be successful, but when is going to be the best time to attack? Malachai in Path of Exile is able to use a tentacle portal skill, which will provide you with the best window to start attacking him. However, even in this situation you’ll want to be aware of the potential area of effect damage that you can take. In this animation Malachai will be staying still, which gives you the chance to go around the side of the portal and start to attack whilst avoiding damage at the same time.

About Malachai, The Nightmare

In Path of Exile, Malachai is recognised as having created augmented humans known as Gemlings. He also served as the thaumaturgist to Chitus, and would go on to forge a relationship with Lady Dialla before transforming her into the Gemling Queen. Having survived the Purity Rebellion, Malachai would then go onto constructing a deadly entity called the Rapture Device.

You might find that you need to invest a little if you’re going to be fully prepared for this fight. Not that you need to go out and get your hands on as many Exalted Orb or anything like that. Investing time in learning the attacks and how to avoid them is going to be what’s really going to win you this boss fight. Once you’ve learnt the necessary animations to expect, the Nightmare won’t stand a chance against you.

Have you fought Malachai, the Nightmare in Path of Exile? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!