You don’t really understand Act 2 until Balbala floors you once. I walked in feeling fine, pockets light on PoE 2 Currency and heavy on confidence, and that lasted about ten seconds. This fight isn’t a pure DPS check. It’s a stress test: can your build move, recover, and stay readable when the room itself is trying to trip you up.

The Arena Is the First Enemy

That tiny chamber and the big pit in the middle change everything. You can’t just loop her like a normal boss, and your camera’s constantly getting bullied by angles and blocked lines. If you drift into a corner, you’ll feel it instantly. The trick is to keep sliding around the outside, little steps, not huge panicked runs. Leave yourself an exit at all times. You’re not “kiting,” you’re managing space, and there’s a difference.

Surviving the Green Fog

The poison gas phase is where most attempts fall apart. She disappears, your life starts melting, and your brain screams to sprint in circles. Don’t. Hug the edges and scan for her shape in the fog. When you spot her, close the gap and break the phase, but don’t tunnel in. She tends to follow up with a nasty hit the moment you commit. Also, if your poison res is sitting in the negatives, you’re basically signing up for extra difficulty. Swap a ring, craft something scuffed, anything that keeps you from getting deleted.

Coins, Shades, and Free Resources

Those coins and shade copies look like pure chaos, but there’s a practical angle. If you’re running low on flask charges, popping a shade and killing it can be the refill you need. Just don’t do it in a bad spot. Pull the shade to the edge, kill it fast, then reset your position. A lot of people try to “save” flasks for later and end up with nothing when the fog returns. Use them. Roll your flasks so they actually help, and make sure your movement skill isn’t clunky or on an awkward cooldown.

What You Get for Beating Her

Once Balbala goes down, the whole character starts to open up. The Trial of the Sekhemas and your Ascendancy are the real reward, and the power bump after that feels massive. If you’re stuck, don’t rewrite your whole build in rage. Make small fixes: poison res, one defensive swap, cleaner movement, better flask mods. Then go back in and play it calm. You’ll win more attempts by not standing in the gas than by chasing some perfect gear set, even if you’re still short on path of exile 2 currency for upgrades.