All Rust Runes of Power locations in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2 Rust obelisk in the red vale — (Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

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Rust Rune locations
Rust King

The Path of Exile 2 Rust Runes of Power are special quest items that must be gathered from Obelisks of Rust. However, when you try to snatch a rune from an obelisk a small horde of enemies will be summoned to put you down. That's on top of all the other horrors within the Red Vale, so the Secrets in the Dark quest ends up being quite tough for low-level players. So, with that in mind, I've explained exactly where to go to find all three Obelisks and Rust Runes of Power in Path of Exile 2, and what you need to do with them.

All Rust Runes of Power Locations in the Path of Exile 2 Secrets in the Dark quest

Path of Exile 2 Rust Rune locations — (Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

The Rust Runes of Power in Path of Exile 2 and the locations of the Obelisks are marked on the map above, though keep in mind that POE2 has a habit of reversing the maps and shaking up layouts, so you might have to mirror what's above. Still, we've played it through a couple of times and it was a consistent layout on both occasions, so the locations of the Obelisks should be constant.

When you find a Rust Obelisk, interact with it to trigger a wave of enemies. Once you've beaten them all, you'll be able to claim the Rust Rune. The last Obelisk you interact with will summon a boss called the Rust King, who you'll need to beat as the grand finale to this quest.

How to beat the Rust King

Path of Exile 2 rust king boss near rust obelisk in the red vale — (Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

The Rust King is a comparatively easy boss for the level of challenge you've experienced so far, at least compared to the challenge of the Path of Exile 2 Devourer boss before this. I'd say that the hordes of minions around you are more testing, though that might depend on which of the classes in Path of Exile 2 you're playing as (some are better for crowd control over single-target damage).

Still, the Rust King is an enemy who'll struggle against fast players who focus on evasion. His melee attacks are highly telegraphed, and his ranged electrical attacks tend to sweep across the battlefield, giving you ample chance to dodge them. You should also focus on AOE attacks - the incoming undead minions are arguably more of a threat than the King himself, so burn the battlefield wherever possible to thin out the growing horde. The arena can be a little claustrophobic and restrictive, and this can work both for and against you - there's less space for you to dodge, but it's easier to bottleneck and control enemies accordingly.

With the Rust King beaten, You can return to the Clearfell Encampment and speak to Renly. He'll automatically take them and turn them into Runed Spikes which you can then take back to the Grelwood to carry on with the Secrets in the Dark quest.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.