How to Start Ascending: Trial of the Sehkemas

Your first step into POE2 Currency Ascendancy begins in Act 2 by completing the Trial of the Sehkemas. To access this trial, you need to defeat Balbala, The Traitor, who guards the Traitor’s Passage. Upon victory, Balbala drops the Barya Coin, your ticket to the Trial of the Sehkemas.

This trial is a gauntlet of seven rooms, each filled with unique trials designed to test your skill and strategy. As you progress, you will face numerous hazards and debilitating effects that can make survival difficult. One of the trial’s core mechanics is the honour meter—a resource representing your overall life during the entire trial. Taking damage reduces your honour, and if it drops to zero, you fail and must restart from the beginning. Maintaining high honour is critical, so dodging attacks and using defensive skills is vital.

After clearing all the rooms and defeating the trial’s boss, you’ll gain access to the Altar of Ascendancies. Here you select your Ascendancy subclass and earn your first two Ascendancy points, unlocking powerful nodes in your skill tree.

Advancing Further: Trial of Chaos

Once you’ve ascended your chosen class, you’ll want to unlock more Ascendancy points by completing the Trial of Chaos, which becomes available in Act 3. You access this trial after defeating Xyclucian, the Chimera in the Chimeral Wetlands and obtaining the Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum.

The Trial of Chaos resembles the Trial of the Sehkemas but introduces a twist: before entering, you must select a negative modifier that affects all rooms. These modifiers make the trial harder, increasing the challenge, but the rewards are worth it—completing it grants two poe2 trade sites additional Ascendancy points.