PoE 2 feel like a soulslike.

Ascension Trials are how you unlock your initial Ascendancy classes and earn more ive points. Every class will have three to choose from, each incorporating its own play style. However, since the game is planned to be in early access for at least six months, the six available classes, some great classes for solo players, do not all have their complete Ascendancies. Regardless, those available have shown off how they can be powerful new boosts.

How To Start The Trial of the Sekhemas

Boss For Progress

You must first beat the boss Balbala the Traitor in Traitors to unlock the trial. This is not an overly difficult boss, as most of her telegraphed attacks are quick moving but give plenty of time to avoid them. The hardest part of this battle is when she goes invisible and starts flooding the arena with poison gas. The only way to stop this gas is to find her, so quickly circle the room or spam large abilities in open spaces.

When defeated, she will drop the item Balbala's Barya. Taking this to the Trials of Sekhemas node and placing it in the alter will awaken the now friendly NPC Balbala. She will then guide you through the trial and on the path to unlocking your Ascendancy.

How To Complete The Trial of the Sekhemas

A Rewarding Challenge

The Trials of Sekhemas can be tricky at first but become easier with more understanding. The first thing to know is the Honour system. When the trials begin, you will get a set amount of Honour that will be depleted each time you are hit. Outright dying or losing all Honour will end the trial and force a restart. Honour can only be replenished at the end of certain rooms by trading in the trial currency Sacred Water, rewarded for room completion, and killing specific enemies.

At the start, you can choose a set number of relics that will give you boosts for the trial run.

Once the trials begin, you must fight through at least six rooms to reach the final boss. Each room will be one of a set trial and reward something different. The rewards can be keys to open chests, Sacred Water, boon buffs, or structures to restore Honour. After completing a room, you can see what rooms you can go to next and what they offer. Each room will also inflict a debuff on you that carries through the trial. The rooms you will face will be selected from this list:

This all leads to the boss room, which, for the first trial, will be Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker. This boss is not overly complicated but can be unforgiving, given you have two resources to protect. Three of Rattlecage's attacks are variants of slams, with one long-range one that summons mini volcanos that will persist for a bit as the one to avoid. His biggest attack is an explosive burst that will happen three times, getting larger each time. All of this happens while rocks fall from the ceiling after Rattlecage falls below 33% health.

How To Get More Ascendancy Skill Points

A Limited Look At Power

As of now, it seems like you can only get eight Ascendancy points. This can be done in a couple of ways. The first is doing the Trial of the Sekhemas on all four of its Ascension tiers. The key to these higher tiers will drop from levels 45+, 60+, and 75+ areas, respectively.

The second option is from the Trial of Chaos, which is available in Act 3. However, the keys to attempting these trials, outside the first one dropped by the Chimera boss, are all harder to get as they drop in 60+/75+ areas only. These trials can also be intermixed for points, but each tier will only reward points once.

Overall, these trials are a challenging and rewarding method to earn rewards and upgrade Ascendancies. These Ascendancies are worth having for class builds, like the best Witch build in PoE 2. The trials can be a bit unforgiving sometimes, but the challenge makes the result enjoyable. Regardless, this is how to beat the Trial of the Sekhemas and earn character Ascensions in Path of Exile 2.