Your Ascendancy is the single biggest power spike your character gets — and in Runes of Aldur (patch 0.5.0, live since May 29, 2026) it matters more than ever, because GGG added two brand-new Ascendancy classes (Martial Artist and Spirit Walker) to chase. But there's a catch every new exile hits: you don't level into your Ascendancy. You have to earn all 8 points by clearing trials — and the main one, the Trial of the Sekhemas, is the most complained-about piece of content in the game right now. The top threads on r/PathOfExile2 this week are exiles bouncing off it, arguing over how many floors the 3rd point actually needs, and asking whether they should just pay someone to do it.
This guide clears all of that up. You'll get: exactly how the 8 Ascendancy points are awarded, both trials side by side, the Trial of the Sekhemas explained floor by floor (Honour, relics, bosses), the Trial of Chaos as an alternative, the mistakes that waste your keys, and a straight answer on when it's worth skipping the grind. Every number here is verified against the official Path of Exile 2 wiki — not a stale tracker.
Ascendancy points in PoE2: the 30-second version
To fully ascend your character you need 8 Ascendancy points, awarded 2 at a time across 4 difficulty tiers. There are currently two trials that grant them, and you can use either one — or mix them:
- Trial of the Sekhemas — a survival gauntlet built around an Honour resource. Based on PoE1's Forbidden Sanctum. First reachable in Act 2.
- Trial of Chaos — a wave-based "Ultimatum" arena where you accept escalating afflictions. First reachable in Act 3.
You complete the first two tiers during the campaign for free (the story hands you the keys), then use tradeable, droppable keys for the higher tiers in the endgame. You can get all 8 points from a single trial type if you prefer one — they're fully interchangeable.
The two trials at a glance
| Trial of the Sekhemas | Trial of Chaos | |
|---|---|---|
| Core mechanic | Honour (a survival bar — hit 0 and the run ends) | Accept escalating afflictions each round |
| Structure | Up to 4 floors × 8 rooms (32 rooms) | Rounds (waves) in a fixed arena |
| Key item | Djinn Barya (or campaign Balbala's Barya) | Inscribed Ultimatum (or campaign Chimeral Ultimatum) |
| First available | Act 2 | Act 3 |
| Skill it rewards | Defensive play, route planning, relics | Raw clear speed + survivability under stacking debuffs |
| Failure feels | Slow death by chip damage / one bad room | One overwhelming wave or a bad affliction combo |
Neither is objectively "easier" — they punish different weaknesses. Squishy, glass-cannon builds usually find the Trial of Chaos less brutal (you fight, you don't babysit a bar); tanky, sustain-y builds tend to prefer the Sekhemas (Honour rewards not getting hit).
How the 8 points are awarded (the part everyone argues about)
This is the table to bookmark. Reddit is full of conflicting claims ("you need 7 floors for the 3rd point!" — you don't). Here's what each tier actually requires, per the official wiki:
| Tier | Points (running total) | Trial of the Sekhemas | Trial of Chaos | Key area level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +2 (2) | 1 floor | 4 rounds | ~22+ |
| 2 | +2 (4) | 2 floors | 7 rounds | ~45+ |
| 3 | +2 (6) | 3 floors | 10 rounds | ~60+ |
| 4 | +2 (8) | 4 floors | Defeat the Trialmaster | ~75+ |
A few things that trip people up:
- The number you see argued as "7 vs 10" is the Trial of Chaos round count, not Sekhemas floors. For your 3rd pair of points (total 6) it's 3 Sekhemas floors OR 10 Chaos rounds. The "7" is the 2nd tier of Chaos.
- Your key's item/area level decides how many floors a Sekhemas run has and whether it awards points at all. A low-level Djinn Barya simply won't offer floors 3–4. Mouse over the key — it tells you the area level, the number of trials (floors), and whether it grants Ascendancy points.
- You can knock out multiple tiers in one run if the conditions are met, and you can repeat the same trial for all 8 points.
Once you complete a qualifying trial you unlock the Altar of Ascendancy, where you pick your Ascendancy class (the first time) and spend the points.
Trial of the Sekhemas, explained
A full Sekhemas run is 4 floors of 8 rooms each — 32 rooms if you go all the way. You insert a Djinn Barya key (or, in the campaign, Balbala's Barya, earned by killing Balbala, the Traitor in Act 2's Traitor's Passage) into the Relic Altar at the trial entrance in Act 2.
Honour is the whole game
Your health bar barely matters here. Honour does. Honour is a second survival resource that drains when you take damage, hit traps, or eat boss mechanics — and when Honour hits 0, your run ends instantly, no matter how much life you have left. This is why builds that faceroll the campaign suddenly die in the Sekhemas: they have no answer to chip damage.
The single most important stat for this trial is Honour Resistance, which reduces how much Honour you lose per hit. You stack it through relics (below) and by simply not standing in bad things.
Relics: your run-defining setup
At the Relic Altar you slot relics alongside your key. Relics grant powerful run-wide buffs — and the most valuable ones for clearing higher tiers give +Maximum Honour and +Honour Resistance. Min-maxing a relic set is the difference between bouncing off Floor 3 and cruising it. Relics are tradeable, so a cheap honour-res relic set bought off the market is one of the best early investments you can make if you're struggling.
Boons, Afflictions, and routing
As you clear rooms you're offered Boons (good) and saddled with Afflictions (bad) that modify the rest of the run. You also choose your path through the floor — and you can usually see what each room and the merchant offer before committing. Practical rules:
- Prioritise rooms that restore or increase Honour and avoid Affliction-stacking detours when your bar is already low.
- Buy Honour restoration from the merchant (Balbala) between floors when offered.
- Don't greed the optional fights if you're one bad room from zero. Points first, loot second.
The floor bosses
Each floor ends in a boss. Know what's coming:
| Floor | Boss |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker |
| 2 | Hadi of the Flaming River & Rafiq of the Frozen Spring (duo) |
| 3 | Ashar, the Sand Mother |
| 4 | Zarokh, the Temporal |
Zarokh on Floor 4 (your 7th–8th points) is a genuine check — a time-manipulation fight that demands you actually survive his mechanics, not just out-DPS them.
The Trial of Chaos: the alternative path
If the Sekhemas' Honour babysitting isn't for you, the Trial of Chaos grants the exact same points. You insert an Inscribed Ultimatum (campaign version: Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum, from Act 3) at the Temple of Chaos, then fight through rounds in a closed arena. After each round you accept an affliction — a stacking debuff that makes the rest of the run harder. Clear the required number of rounds for your tier (4 / 7 / 10), and for the final two points (7–8) you must defeat the Trialmaster at the end of a high-level (75+) Ultimatum.
Which should you do? Use the Sekhemas if your build is tanky and you can stack Honour res; use Chaos if you're a fast, high-damage build that would rather kill things than nurse a bar. There's no wrong answer — pick the one your character is built to survive.
Player FAQ (straight from r/PathOfExile2)
"How many floors do I need for my 3rd Ascendancy point?" Three. The 3rd pair of points (total 6) = 3 Sekhemas floors OR 10 Trial of Chaos rounds. People confuse this with the 7-round 2nd tier of Chaos — different thing.
"Can I just do the Ultimatum (Trial of Chaos) instead of running rooms?" Yes. The two trials are fully interchangeable for points. If you hate the Sekhemas, do all 8 points via Chaos (the final tier just requires beating the Trialmaster on a 75+ Ultimatum).
"My key won't let me get the higher points — why?" Your Djinn Barya / Inscribed Ultimatum area level is too low. Higher tiers need higher-level keys (roughly 45+, 60+, 75+). Buy or farm a higher-level key; mousing over it confirms whether it awards points.
"I keep dying with full life — what am I doing wrong?" That's Honour, not life. Stack Honour Resistance and Max Honour on relics, stop taking avoidable hits, and buy Honour restores between floors. Honour at 0 = run over, regardless of HP.
"Is it worth paying someone to do it?" A lot of players do — it's the most common "I did it once and never again" piece of content in PoE2. If the trial is hard-blocking your build's power spike, a carry gets you ascended in minutes instead of farming keys and relics for hours (see below).
Skip the wall — get ascended fast
If the Trial of the Sekhemas is the only thing standing between you and a working build, you don't have to grind keys and relics until it clicks. Timesaver.gg Ascendancy & boss carries get a pro player to clear your trials and hand you all the points — fast, safe, and account-secure — so you can actually play the build you came for.
And if you're still early, our PoE2 leveling boost can put you at the level and gear where these trials stop being a wall in the first place. Need the divine and exalted orbs to buy a strong relic set off the market? We've got those too, instant delivery.
- PoE2 Ascendancy & Boss Carries — skip the trial, keep the points · pro players · account-safe
- PoE2 Leveling Boost — hit the level where trials get easy
- PoE2 Currency (Divine · Exalted · Chaos) — fund your relics & gear · best rate · instant
Bottom line
The Trial of the Sekhemas isn't optional — it's the gate on your Ascendancy, and your Ascendancy is your build. Get the order right: stack Honour Resistance on relics, match the trial to your build's strengths, bring a key whose level actually awards the tier you want, and don't greed rooms when your Honour is low. Do that and all 8 points are very gettable. And if the grind isn't worth your evening, a carry turns a multi-hour wall into a five-minute fix.
Mechanics current as of the Runes of Aldur league (patch 0.5.0). Trial structure and point thresholds verified against the official Path of Exile 2 wiki; currency and relic prices shift fast — check poe.ninja for live values.
