Balbala is that Act 2 fight where you stop thinking about damage numbers and start thinking about space, timing, and whether your character can actually survive a mistake. Before you walk in, it’s worth doing the unglamorous prep—tweaking flasks, swapping a ring, even sorting your stash—because burning portals on this boss feels awful, especially if you’ve just spent your last PoE 2 Currency on a tiny upgrade that doesn’t help you live through poison.

Arena Awareness Comes First

The room is the real opener. It’s tight, it’s awkward, and that big central pit messes with everything you want to do. Your movement skill won’t save you if you keep aiming across gaps you can’t cross. So don’t. Treat the edges like a track and keep your path simple: wide turns, no sharp panic cuts, no backing into dead corners. You’ll also notice line of sight gets weird. If she slips behind the pit, you can lose her for a beat, and that’s usually when a hit lands. The goal isn’t fancy kiting. It’s staying calm and keeping her in your peripheral view so you’re not reacting late.

The Gas Phase Is a Test of Nerves

When the green fog rolls in and she disappears, most people do the same thing: they sprint like it’s a fire drill. That’s the trap. Your health ticks down, you can’t see cleanly, and you end up running into the worst spot possible. Stick to the outside and move like you’re searching, not fleeing. You’re looking for the tell—her shape, a hint of movement, anything. Once you spot her, close the distance to break the phase, then immediately be ready to dodge because the follow-up can chunk you. And yes, poison resistance matters more than you want it to. If you’re sitting in negatives, the fog isn’t “hard,” it’s basically a timer on your attempt.

Use the Coins Instead of Dreading Them

The coin and shade stuff can look like pure chaos, but you can turn it into something useful. Shades aren’t just extra problems; they’re also opportunities to refill flasks if you kill them cleanly. If your build struggles to sustain, you can even bait a shade spawn when you’re running low, delete it fast, and get charges back before the next scary pattern. Just don’t tunnel. The fastest way to throw an attempt is staring at a shade while Balbala lines up something nasty off-screen. Keep your eyes moving, keep your feet moving, and only commit when you’ve got a safe lane.

What to Fix Before You Re-Enter

If you’re wiping, it’s usually not because you “need more DPS.” It’s because your setup has holes. Roll your flasks so they actually answer the fight: one for instant recovery, one for sustain, and whatever helps you handle poison or mobility depending on your options. Swap in any gear with poison res, even if it’s ugly. Give up a bit of damage if that’s what it takes to stop getting erased in the fog. Once you win, the reward isn’t just relief—it’s momentum, because unlocking the Trial and your Ascendancy shifts your whole character, and that’s exactly why people push through this wall instead of rerolling, even if it costs a poe2 mirror worth of pride along the way.