Path Of Exile 2: Ascent To Power Walkthrough

Mastering Path of Exile 2's Ascension: A Comprehensive Guide to Ascent to Power

Path of Exile 2's intricate class system heavily relies on the Ascension system. 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.

Starting Ascent to Power

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 within the procedurally generated "Traitor's Passage" varies, but she's generally found near the end. Locate the Ancient Seal Door leading to her prison. Defuse three seals to initiate the encounter.

Conquering Balbala the Traitor

Balbala resists Fire Damage and inflicts Physical, Chaos, and Fire damage, along with Poison and Ignition. Exploit her weakness to Cold Damage for optimal results.

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 inflicts Poison.
• 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 (coin) creating a yellow AoE. Step over it to prevent clone summoning. Followed by a teleport and slam attack if you step on the AoE.
• Teleport Slam: After clone summoning, teleports and yells "Tithe!" creating a fiery AoE; dodge.
• Summon Poison Mist/Vanish: Vanishes, yelling "Visions of Jarah!" or "Mists of Sulamith!" A poisonous mist appears. Find and attack her to cancel the channeling. She'll yell "Sands of Wrath!" or "Darakatha!" upon discovery, performing an AoE slam.
• Explosive Blade Rain: Throws explosive daggers in a counter-clockwise conical pattern. Dodge accordingly.
• Blade Storm: If the Shadow Clone isn't quickly eliminated, Balbala summons a destructive blade storm. Prioritize clone elimination.

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

Completing the Trials of the Sekhemas

Travel from the Ardura Caravan to the Trials of the Sekhemas node. Initially, you'll need to command the caravan to move to the Sekhemas map. Unlock the Waypoint and approach the altar where Balbala provides instructions.

The Trials are procedurally generated dungeons with various challenges per room: timed challenges, traps, and elite enemies. Before entering, use a Relic for a boon.

The Trials introduce "Honor" and "Sacred Water":

• Killing enemies yields Sacred Water, used to buy boons, keys, and recover Honor.
• Taking damage reduces Honor.
• Reaching 0 Honor results in failure.
• Remaining Honor is traded for Sacred Water at the end.
• Sacred Water buys keys for chests.

Energy Shield drain doesn't affect Honor, giving Energy Shield builds an advantage.

Each Trial section offers a boon and a curse. 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 summoned beasts.
• Boss Trial: Rattlecage (Tier 1), Terracota Sentinels (Tier 2), Ashar (Tier 3), Zarokh (Tier 4).

Successfully navigating the Trials requires balancing boons, curses, and preserving Honor. Rattlecage, a challenging boss, is best countered with Fire Resistance.

Finishing Ascent to Power

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

Cruel Difficulty: To obtain additional Ascendancy points in Cruel difficulty (currently bugged), follow these steps:

1. Talk to Zarka.
2. Defeat Balbala in Cruel difficulty (ensure the coin shows "Number of Trials 2").
3. Return to Act 2 Normal Difficulty and enter the Trials.
4. Use the "Two Trials" coin to access Cruel difficulty Trials.
5. Complete two Trial runs, defeating a boss in each.
6. Gain 2 additional Ascendancy Points.

Remember, reaching 0 Honor means failure. The first Normal and Cruel difficulty runs grant 2 Ascendancy Points each. You'll also need to complete the Trial of Chaos in Act 3 (Normal and Cruel) for the remaining 4 points (total 8).