The Crux of Nothingness is an area in Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) where players can fight and defeat The King in the Mists. See a guide to the Crux of Nothingness, its drops, boss, and location below.

Crux of Nothingness Guide

Crux of Nothingness Tips and Tricks
Destroy Mystic Fetishes and Affliction Totems Follow the Glowing Wisps in the Maze Do Not Stay on the Platforms for Too Long Raise Crux of Nothingness Difficult

Destroy Mystic Fetishes and Affliction Totems

Players should immediately destroy Mystic Fetishes and Affliction Totems that the King in the Mists plants or activates. These objects may summon numerous hazards in the arena or inflict lethal DoT damage on players, ultimately putting them in a precarious spot. Players can find these objects on the platforms around the arena.

Follow the Glowing Wisps in the Maze

When the boss fight transitions into the second phase, players get teleported to a new maze area that will slowly fill with swarms of rats and kill players. As such, players must follow the nearby glowing wisps to find the portal back to the main arena and avoid death.

Do Not Stay on the Platforms For Too Long

Players should not stay on the nearby platforms, at least not for long. While the platforms around the arena may seem like a strategic position, standing on them inflicts players with Portent Vapors, which increases the damage players take per stack.

Accumulating enough stacks will likely lead to players getting one or two-shot by the boss' attacks.

Raise Crux of Nothingness Difficulty to Get Better Rewards

Players should increase their Crux of Nothingness difficulty throught the Ritual Atlas tree to get better loot. However, this results in fewer respawn attempts and a harder boss fight. Given this, players should ensure that their builds are capable enough to handle the set difficulty.

Atlas Skill Tree Guide

Crux of Nothingness Drops

Unique Items

Name	Implicit and Modifiers
The Burden of Shadows Chiming Staff Staff	Fixed Modifiers: ・20-30% increased Cast Speed ・Skill Mana Costs Converted to Life Costs ・Skills gain 1% of Damage as Chaos Damage per 3 Life Cost
Beetlebite Velour Shoes Boots	Fixed Modifiers: ・20-30% increased Movement Speed ・60-120% increased Evasion and Energy Shield ・Aggravate Bleeding on Enemies when they Enter your Presence ・100% increased Thorns damage
Pragmatism Explorer Armour Body Armour	Fixed Modifiers: ・200-300% increased Armour and Evasion ・+10-20% to all Elemental Resistances ・-17% to Chaos Resistance ・Charms use no Charges
From Nothing Diamond Jewel	Fixed Modifiers: ・Passives in Radius of X Keystone Passive can be Allocated without being connected to your tree

Players may obtain the following Unique Items upon defeating the King in the Mists. Some items only drop or have higher chances of dropping at higher Crux of Nothingness difficulties.

List of Unique Equipment

Rare and Valuable Items and Currency

Item/Currency	Description
Divine Orb	Randomizes the numeric values of modifiers on an item
Exalted Orb	Augments a Rare item with a new random modifier
Perfect Jeweller's Orb	Adds a Support Gem Socket to a Skill Gem with 4 Support Gem Sockets.
T14-15 Waystones	Used to enter and run high level maps in the Atlas.

Completing the Crux of Nothingness area can also give players multiple rare and valuable items. Listed above are some of the most notable ones.

List of Items

Crux of Nothingness Boss

The King in the Mists in the Crux of Nothingness is a more powerful version of the boss players faced in Act 1 of the normal and cruel campaigns. It specializes in debuffing players and putting them in disadvantageous circumstances.

The King in the Mists Boss Guide

Crux of Nothingness Location

Access Through the Realmgate with an Audience With the King

Players can enter the Crux of Nothingness area by inputting An Audience With the King into the Realmgate. Players can obtain this item as a tribute from the Ritual Atlas mechanic.

Realmgate Explained

Crux of Nothingness Explained

Boss Arena for the King in the Mists

The Crux of Nothingness is a boss arena where players can fight the pinnacle boss version of the King in the Mists. It is a round and relatively large area that has three platforms to the sides.

Players Get 5 Respawn Attempts

As of the 0.1.1c patch, players get five respawn attempts while in the Crux of Nothingness. If they die while fighting the boss, they will get teleported inside the arena again and can make another attempt at the boss.

0.1.1c Patch Notes and Summary

Path of Exile 2 Related Guides

Atlas of Worlds Endgame Explained

Atlas Guides

Atlas Maps