Path of Exile 2: Ascent to Power Guide

Path of Exile 2: Mastering the Ascent to Power Quest – A Comprehensive Guide

Path of Exile 2's intricate Ascendancy system significantly impacts gameplay. Unlocking your first Ascendancy requires completing the Ascent to Power quest in Act 2. This guide details how to initiate and conquer this challenging quest, including the Trials of the Sekhemas.

Initiating the Ascent to Power Quest

Once you unlock the Ardura Caravan in Act 2, explore the available location nodes. Before reaching "Traitor's Passage," speak with Zarka. She'll direct you to Balbala, a trapped Djinn, to gain power.

Balbala's location is randomized due to PoE2's procedural generation, but she's usually found near the end of Traitor's Passage. Locate the Ancient Seal Door leading to Balbala's prison. Defuse three seals to trigger the boss fight.

Defeating Balbala the Traitor

Balbala resists fire damage and inflicts physical, chaos, and fire damage, alongside poison and ignition. Exploit her cold damage vulnerability for an advantage.

Here's a breakdown of Balbala's attacks and counter-strategies:

• Slash Attack: A basic attack; easily blocked or dodged.
• Throwing Attack: Ranged attack; dodge or block. Each dagger causes poison buildup.
• Whirling Dash Attack: A fast lunge with explosive AoE; dodge only. Preceded by "Face Me!" or "Na'kai!".
• Teleport Dagger Attack: Teleports and throws daggers creating AoE; dodge only. Preceded by "Atul!".
• Summon Shadow Clone: Throws a Barya, creating a yellow AoE. Step over it to prevent clone summoning. A teleport slam follows if you step on it.
• Teleport Slam: After clone summoning, a fiery AoE follows; dodge. Preceded by "Tithe!".
• Summon Poison Mist/Vanish: Vanishes ("Visions of Jarah!" or "Mists of Sulamith!") summoning poison mist. Quickly find and attack her to interrupt. She'll then yell "Sands of Wrath!" or "Darakatha!" before an AoE slam.
• Explosive Blade Rain: Throws explosive daggers in a counter-clockwise pattern; dodge accordingly.
• Blade Storm: If the shadow clone isn't eliminated quickly, Balbala summons a damaging blade storm. Prioritize clone elimination.

Defeating Balbala yields Balbala's Barya, which you must give to Zarka. She'll then reveal the Trials of the Sekhemas.

Completing the Trials of the Sekhemas

From the Ardura Caravan, navigate to the Trials of the Sekhemas node. The first time, you'll need to command the caravan's movement.

Balbala will explain the trial's mechanics. Each procedurally generated room presents unique challenges: timed challenges, traps, or elite enemies. Before entering, use a Relic to receive a boon.

The trial introduces "Honor" and "Sacred Water."

• Killing enemies drops Sacred Water, used to buy boons, keys, and recover Honor.
• Taking damage reduces Honor.
• Reaching 0 Honor results in failure.
• Remaining Honor is exchanged for Sacred Water at the end.
• Sacred Water buys keys to open chests.
• Honor is preserved between trials (useful in Cruel difficulty).

Energy Shield drain doesn't affect Honor. Energy Shield builds are advantageous.

Each trial section offers boons and curses. Trial types include:

• Chalice Trial: Defeat two bosses.
• Escape Trial (timed): Defuse death crystals before time runs out.
• Gauntlet Trial: Avoid traps and find levers.
• Hourglass Trial (timed): Survive enemy waves until time runs out.
• Ritual Trial: Find and kill summoners and their beasts.
• Boss Trial: Rattlecage (Tier 1), Terracota Sentinels (Tier 2), Ashar (Tier 3), Zarokh (Tier 4).

Balancing boons and curses is crucial for Honor preservation. Rattlecage is particularly challenging; prioritize fire resistance.

Completing Ascent to Power

Defeating Rattlecage grants access to the final altar where you choose your first Ascendancy. This choice is permanent.

For Cruel difficulty, a workaround exists due to a bug:

1. Talk to Zarka.
2. Defeat Balbala in Cruel, obtaining a Barya indicating "Number of Trials 2".
3. Return to Normal difficulty and enter the Trials.
4. Use the "Two Trials" Barya to access Cruel difficulty trials.
5. Complete two runs, defeating a boss in each, for 2 additional Ascendancy points.

This is a workaround; the intended method may be patched in the future. Remember, reaching 0 Honor means failure. Only the first Normal and Cruel runs grant Ascendancy points. You'll also need to complete the Trial of Chaos in Act 3 (Normal and Cruel) for the remaining 4 Ascendancy points.