Path of Exile: Hive Fortress guide

As you reach the Path of Exile endgame in the Keepers of the Flame season, maps can occasionally contain Hive Fortresses. These are a new bit of content for the season that will culminate in a huge battle versus waves of enemies, and a Super Metroid-style race to the exit, where you constantly take damage, and there’s only one way out. It’s something that can be frustrating, especially because there’s no guaranteed path out.

This is thanks to the randomized maps of PoE, and the system that they’re using for Hive Fortresses. However, while there’s no one right way to get out of these portals, we can give you some tips to know what you’re doing well in advance before you dive into one of Path of Exile’s Hive Fortress portals.

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What are Hive Fortresses in Path of Exile?

Hive Fortresses are an extension of the Hives you’ve already seen in Path of Exile’s Keepers of the Flame season. Like Hives, you’ll be clearing through waves of enemies, with Ailith burning things down. However, Hive Fortresses are far more challenging, and you’ll start seeing them in the endgame, when you’re clearing maps. Hive Fortresses are portals that lead to small mini-maps that feature a ton of Hive monsters.

The good news is, once you've started the encounter, you should be able to see the hands that will potentially bar your path on the overlay map (Image via GGG/pumpoe1

These maps will culminate in a Hive encounter that has 24 waves of monsters, once you interact with the altar in the center of the map. When you’re done with your waves, Ailith will begin burning the entire zone, which means you’re going to start taking damage at a consistent, frustrating rate. To make it more difficult, all the routes out of the map but one will be available.

That means you have to know where you’re going, and get there quickly. The enemies don’t stop attacking you, after all, and fire is pretty bad for your health pool. While there are a few ways to tackle finding the way out, here’s our recommended method.

Before you do anything else in the Hive Fortress in Path of Exile, explore the whole thing to find the various Grasping Coffers and any other loot that you can. Grasping Coffers are important, because they can drop some great loot, like Wombgifts. Instead of just rushing in, take your time and check the whole map.

Once you interact with the altar in the center, the real fight begins. Get ready for 24 waves of enemies! (Image via GGG/YouTube@pumpoe1)

That means, when you’re on the way out, you can easily see which routes are blocked off, and which route is safe. That’s how we’ve been able to clear Hive Fortresses easily, without dying in any of them.

The important thing is to look at the map and see which routes have stuff in the way, and which routes have a clear path. You can start scouting early to see which routes have the large hands that will be in the way.

When you’ve cleared out the waves of enemies, Ailith will start burning down the zone, and that’s your cue to exit. That’s why we recommend scouting the area and completing the map before you start dealing with waves of enemies.

Having a clear idea of where you're going really helps when leaving a Hive Fortress. Either way you have to act fast, and have good heals (Image via GGG/YouTube@jstnabzgg)

You definitely want to go out of your way to find Grasping Coffers, which can appear anywhere in the Hive Fortress. It’s possible to see several in one Hive Fortress, so be on the lookout. You could find Wombgifts here, as well as potentially useful loot. Wombgifts are used in the seasonal Genesis Tree.

Players will socket the Wombgifts into the Wombs on the Genesis Tree UI, and after infusing enough graftblood, it will create one or more of an item in a specific category. You can get some truly fantastic gear this way.

In fact, this is how you get Foulborn Uniques, which are mutated versions of current Uniques. They will have one or more modifiers replaced with different ones, and are birthed from the Genesis Tree. This just makes the Hive Fortresses all the more important to the late game of Path of Exile this season.

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Check out our other Path of Exile guides and features

• 7 best League starters for Path of Exile 3.27
• All Bloodline Ascendancies in Path of Exile known so far
• Path of Exile: Biggest winners and losers of patch 3.27

Edited by Jason Parker