The long-awaited Early Access of Path of Exile 2 has finally arrived, and while the features available to play are limited compared to the full game, the new mechanics and changes are enough to keep players busy for a while!
When it comes to features in this new sequel, the most interesting thing is the playable classes in the game. In fact, POE 2 offers a total of 12 classes for players, but only 6 are available in Early Access. However, each class also has two Ascendancies, unique specialization roles that can be selected for your class, which satisfy many players’ desire to customize their play style.
To unlock Ascendancy classes, you need to complete Trial of the Sekhemas in POE 2, which is a severe test in which you must complete multiple challenges in a row before facing the last boss. Therefore, it is recommended that you optimize your equipment with POE 2 Exalted Orbs before starting the trial to increase your chances of successfully completing the challenge.
Rest assured, unlocking Ascendancy will grant your class new abilities that will greatly increase your effectiveness, making it definitely worth investing your time and money.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to access Trial of the Sekhemas and tips on how to make this Trial easier to pass. Let’s get straight into it!
Finding Balbala’s Barya Quest Item
In order to unlock Ascendancy, you’ll first need to complete the main quests up to Act 2.
Shortly after reaching Act 2, you’ll be given Trail of Corruption main quest, which will have you heading to Traitor’s Passage. At this point, you’ll need to deviate from the main quest objective, which is to reach the top of the gate. You’ll then need to explore Traitor’s Passage to find Ancient Seal. You can interact with this seal to open up a hidden room.
Inside this, you’ll need to remove three Runic Seals and defeat the resulting boss, Balbala, The Traitor.
The main mechanic you have to pay attention to in this boss fight is that when Balbala disappears from sight, you must search the room to find him, lest he fill the room with poisonous gas, which will be fatal. Balbala will also summon minions, but it is not difficult to kill them, and you can also get extra POE 2 Currency by killing these monsters.
Once Balbala boss is defeated, you can pick up Balbala’s Barya, a Quest Item that is able to start Ascent to Power quest, and completing this quest is necessary for us to choose Ascendancy.
Completing Ascent To Power Objectives
At this point, you can return to Ardura Caravan and talk to Zarka. After that, you need to use Desert Map to go to Trial of the Sekhemas.
Inside the first room, you will find a Relic Altar. The squad leader can place Balbala’s Barya on the altar and then talk to Balbala to advance the quest. This allows us to obtain the first relic and officially start Trial of the Sekhemas.
You can then place the relic into a free space in your altar inventory to grant boons for your Trial. You’ll also need to insert Urn Relic and click Confirm to open the trial.
In order to complete the trial, there are a number of encounters that require you to go through, each with its own unique challenges. You’ll need to do this without dying or losing all of your Honor, as both will result in the failure of the entire trial.
It’s worth noting that if you fail your first trial, you can speak with Balbala in order to retrieve Balbala’s Barya and restart the trial. However, failure in all other future trials will result in the permanent loss of the quest item used to start the trial.
Key Trial Tip: Raise Honour
With that in mind, let’s talk about some ways to make Trials easier to complete.
Of course, the most important factor is Honor, which is basically your health bar as you run the trial. Your maximum Honor is determined by the sum of your character’s health and energy shield values. Honor disappears whenever any character in the trial takes damage, so make sure your teammates are always well-defended.
Additionally, because of the way Honour works, investing more POE2 Currency in gear that increases your max health and shields is very beneficial. Regardless, Honour can only be restored in a few specific ways during the trial, and you need to get as much Honour as possible in order to easily defeat the final Trial boss.
Trial Of The Sekhemas
Next, let’s take a look at the specific steps to pass Trial of the Sekhemas.
Passing Predetermined Trial
The first room we need to pass will have a predetermined encounter or trial, which may be different for each player, and here we’ll use Hourglass Trial as an example. This one is pretty simple, as you just have to survive before the timer runs out. Additionally, defeating the rare enemies here will make the timer count down faster.
Once you’ve passed the trial in the room, you can either head to Reward Room to claim the prize for that specific encounter, or you can interact with Trial Map and select the next challenge or trial.
Completing Different Trial Types
As far as I know, there are five types of trials here, from hardest to easiest, these are Gauntlet, Escape, Hourglass, Chalice and Ritual Trial. Each trial usually comes with a curse or debuff, as well as a reward.
For example, Ritual Trial rewards you with a Bronze Key and gives you Dark Pit debuff. Please read these debuffs carefully, as some of them can be extremely harmful.
If you find these trials easy, it is recommended that you choose those trials that reward Keys or Fountains as they increase the amount of loot you can get from the trial. Of course, if you struggle in the trials, then choose the easy trials or those that reward restoring Honour.
Also, you have to pay attention to the routes that connect different trials, as they determine which next trials you will be able to play after you complete the current trial.
Remember to find a Gold Key in these trials, which will come in handy after defeating the final trial boss.
Defeating The Trial Boss
After restoring our Honour, let’s move on to the final Trial Boss.
The last boss in Trial of the Sekhemas is Rattlecage the Earthbreaker. This is a pretty powerful boss that can deal a lot of damage with AoE attacks. Our biggest advice for this boss is to try to stay at a distance from it and also stay away from the small volcano that it causes to erupt from the ground.
As long as you pay attention to dodging and continuously deal damage to the boss, it will only be a matter of time before you kill this Trial boss. Of course, if you want to be more efficient in combat, it is recommended that you first upgrade your equipment to rare with POE 2 Regal Orb to increase overall damage.
Unlock Ascendancy Classes
Anyway, as long as you manage to survive and defeat the boss, you can enter the reward room. Here, you can exchange your Sacred Water for relics from Balbala or convert them into keys at Keth Forge.
After opening all the treasure chests and claiming the rewards, we can go to Ascendancy Altar to choose our Ascendancy Classes. If you’re still unsure about your Ascendancy choice, it’s recommended that you take a moment here to figure out what you want to choose.
After choosing Ascendancy, we’ll be given two Ascendancy Points to invest under the passive skill tree. These points aren’t awarded as often as regular skill points, so think carefully about where to allocate them.
In conclusion, these are the specific steps to complete Trial of the Sekhemas and unlock Ascendancy Classes. If you want to make the most of your class, then completing this task is definitely worth it and necessary. Hopefully, this guide will help you pass this Trial more easily. Good luck!
