Path of Exile 2: Trial of Sekhemas Guide

Path of Exile 2 may have launched in early access, but it still has a ton of end-game content. One of the main end-game missions in PoE 2 is Trial of Sekhemas, which unlocks in Act 2. These trials are also connected to ascendancy in Path of Exile 2, making it highly important for players. However, Trial of Sekhemas is not that simple to complete, and players are reportedly struggling with it. So, here is a complete guide on how to complete the Trial of Sekhemas in Path of Exile 2.

Path of Exile 2: Trail of Sekhemas Overview

Trial of Sekhemas is an endgame mode, which rewards ascendancy points on completion. In this game mode, you have to progress through multiple rooms with different completion requirements and defeat the main boss at the end. To unlock this game mode, you will have to defeat Balbala the Traitor, located in the Traitor’s Passage of Act 2. This is an optional boss, so you can skip over it unless you pay attention while exploring the Traitor’s Passage.

The main difficulty here is the Honor system, which is the total value of the character’s Health and Energy Shield. But unlike your Health and energy shield, the Honor doesn’t regenerate normally in Trial of Sekhemas.

Whenever you take damage in this game mode, you lose Honor based on the damage taken by your character. When the Honor reaches Zero, the character automatically loses and is kicked out of the trials, even if they are still alive.

The Trial of Sekhemas in PoE 2 has five distinct room types, each having a different completion requirement. For example, in the Hourglass room, you must survive for the given time to complete the challenge. Here are all the room types in the Trial of Sekhemas listed in order of difficulty:

• Escape: Activate all the crystals in the given time (Easiest)
• Hourglass: Survive until the timer expires
• Ritual: Destroy all the summoning portals
• Chalice: Defeat the elite enemies required to fill the Chalice
• Gauntlet: Exit the room by finishing puzzles to open doors (Hardest)

As you progress through the rooms, you will also earn different items to help you progress through the challenge, with the possibility of a debuff. The progression rewards include shrines for restoring honor, more sacred water (currency), keys to open chests, purchasable boons, and runes.

Using the Trial Map, you can look ahead and find the rewards or afflictions (aka debuffs) in the next room to chart your way to the end.

How to Complete Trial of Sekhemas in PoE 2

Now that you understand the basics of the end-game mode, let’s talk about how you can complete it without losing all your Honor.

• Increase your Health or Energy Shield: The first thing you need to do is have a large pool of health and energy shields. This will increase your Honor, making the trials a lot easier to get through, especially at higher difficulties.
• Pick the easier rooms to progress: The difficulty of Trial of Sekhemas mainly comes down to the room you pick to progress through. Some challenges are easier to complete than others. I would suggest picking the Escape and Hourglass rooms whenever possible, and skipping the Gauntlet if you have the option.
• Use Ranged Skills: The Trail of Sekhemas punishes melee characters heavily as the damage taken reduces the Honor. The best way to go through this game mode is either using a ranged class or using ranged skills. Even melee characters like Warrior and Monk have ranged skills that you should focus on using in this mode.

• Don’t Skip Merchants: Whenever you come across a merchant room, it’s always best to enter it as you can earn boons or buy runes. The runes you buy will be a permanent reward so even if you lose later on, you will at least have benefitted some way.
• Avoid movement afflictions: One of the worst afflictions in PoE 2’s Trial of Sekhemas is a movement debuff that you must always avoid if possible. Movement speed is highly important in this game mode, as it helps avoid damage.

So, that’s everything you need to know about completing the Trial of Sekhemas in Path of Exile 2. I think the Honor mechanic in this mode needs a complete rework before the final release of the game. Also, I will recommend you play the Trial of Chaos game mode instead if you are looking for Ascendancy points, as Trial of Sekhemas requires very specific builds to succeed.

If you have any questions about the Trails of Ascendancy, ask us in the comments and we will try to help you out.