What can you do as a free member?

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and unlock all our premium features and tools to enhance your gaming experience.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save articles to your watchlist and get notified when they're updated with new information.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save your favorite games for quick access later, synced across all your devices.

Site Interface

Guest
Free Member
Article Watchlist
Game Bookmarks
Cross-device Sync
Light/Dark Theme Toggle
User Profiles
Direct Feedback

Game Tools

Guest
Free Member
Interactive Map Access
Interactive Map Pins
Interactive Map Comments
Interactive Map Pins Cross-Device
Check List
Deck Builder Cross-Device
Message Board Cross-Device
Build Planner
Stat Calculator
Diagnostic Tool
Weapon/Armor Wishlist

Want more information?Learn more

Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2)

Trial of The Sekhemas Guide

Add to Watchlist

Path of Exile 2 - Trial of The Sekhemas

The Trial of the Sekhemas is one of the Ascension Trials in Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2). Learn how to find the Trial of the Sekhemas, a list of boons, how to defeat all bosses, and see a list of tips and tricks, how Honour works, and if there is co-op play in the Trial of the Sekhemas!

All Trial of the Sekhemas Challenges

There are five different Trials you can encounter in the Trials of Sekhemas:

Trials Difficulty
Escape Trial Easiest
Ritual Trial Easy
Chalice Trial Intermediate
Gauntlet Trial Hard
Hourglass Trial Hardest

Escape Trial

POE 2 - Escape Trial

Escape Trial Objectives
・Disable all Death Crystals.
・Rush to each crystal to disable them.
・Disabling one adds more time to the countdown.
・Each crystal points you toward the next one.
・Any Crystals still active once the timer expires will damage you.

Avoid all enemies and dodge roll to move past them. Movement skills will be incredibly useful for this Trial as these can help you move around quicker. You can explore freely after disabling all crystals.

Ritual Trial

POE 2 - Ritual Trial

Ritual Trial Objectives
・Defeat all Ritual Casters next to each Portal to disable them.
・Disable all Portals to advance to the next trial.

Focus on the casters and defeat them ASAP to get rid of the summoned enemies. Going fast and focusing firepower on them makes this trial a cakewalk.

Chalice Trial

POE 2 - Chalice Trial

Chalice Trial Objectives
・When interacting with the giant chalice, take note of the direction it points you toward.
・Go in those directions to find the rare monsters you need to kill.
・Defeat all rare monsters.
・Head back to the Chalice when they're all defeated.

Play defensively and evasively to keep your Honour intact. Kill the mobs first to make dealing with the Rare monsters much easier.

Gauntlet Trial

POE 2 - Gauntlet Trial

Gauntlet Trial Objectives
・Levers open locked doors.
・Find and use all levers in the level.
・Once unlocked, find the door that leads to the exit.

The most important thing to remember is: Don't rush and take your time. Take note of locked doors and remember their locations for when you unlock them with the levers.

When confronted with traps, observe their timing before attempting them. You can dodge roll through traps to avoid damage.

Hourglass Trial

POE 2 - Hourglass Trial

Hourglass Trial Objectives
・Activate the giant hourglass.
・Enemies will begin to spawn nonstop.
・Survive until time runs out.

Play defensively. Backpedal and dodge as to avoid unnecessary damage. Defeat mobs as they spawn so you don't get overwhelmed.

Note that killing rare monsters will reduce the timer, so attempt this only if you can successfully fight them without losing too much Honour.

The Trial of the Sekhemas Tips and Tricks

Trial of the Sekhemas Tips and Tricks








Use Relics that Increase Honour

Path of Exile 2 - Use Honour Resistance Relics

Let’s start with the most important stat for surviving the Trial: Honour Resistance. Capping it at 75% cuts Honour damage down to just 25%, effectively making your Honour pool four times larger. It’s by far the biggest boost to survivability — much more impactful than stacking Maximum Honour.

You can build Honour Resistance by equipping Relics with Resistance to Honour. Increasing your Maximum Honour, Maximum Life, or Energy Shield can also help, though they’re secondary. These Relics can drop from enemies or chests in lower difficulty Trials, or be picked up from the Trade Channel.

List of Relics

Avoid the Worst Afflictions

First priority: avoid all Afflictions whenever possible. Every affliction you pick up increases the odds that a future one will be run-ending — like Reduced Movement Speed, No Energy Shield, or big boosts to enemy Attack, Cast, or Movement Speed.

During the trial, you can see two rooms ahead, including their Afflictions — which are basically debuffs that affect your character. Plan your route carefully and skip any rooms with dangerous afflictions that could seriously hurt your build. The worst ones are those that block vision into upcoming rooms or stack movement speed penalties and enemy buffs.

Choose Rooms that Open Up to More Rooms

Path of Exile 2 - Plan Your Route Trial of Sekhemas
Pick paths that lead to more options down the line. The more rooms you have access to, the easier it is to dodge bad Afflictions. Planning your route ahead helps you avoid getting funneled into a single room with a nasty debuff you can’t skip.

Choose Rooms Suitable for Your Build

Navigate the Trials

Try to go for rooms where you have the advantage in depending on your build:

  • If your build is bulky and can tank quite a bit, go for the Hourglass Trial.
  • If you have a lot of movement in your build, you can easily clear the Escape Trial.
  • The Chalice Trial can be good for builds that deal single-target damage.

The Escape Trial is one of the easiest trials out of all the challenges since you'll mainly be running and avoiding enemies. The Ritual Trial is also an easy one, as you only need to kill the casters, which aren't too difficult.

List of All Builds

Boost Your Defenses and Resistances

Path of Exile 2 - Get some Fire Resistance
Your Resistances and Defenses directly affects how much damage your recieve and will affect how much honour is deducted from you. Make sure to increases your defenses for better honour sustain.

We recommend boosting Physical resistance for all rooms, Fire resistance for the Rattlecage boss fight, Fire and Ice resistance for the Terracota Sentinels, and Chaos resistance for Ashar.

Unlock More Relic Space by Finishing Earlier Trials

When aiming harder Trials, you can opt to stop at the previous ones to unlock Relic slots first. This will allow you to slot in one or two more powerful relics, make the succeeding runs a lot easier.
List of Relics

Save Sacred Water for the Merchant

Trade Sacred Water with the Djinn

Sacred Water is one of the best rewards to collect. Save it for the guaranteed Merchant after each boss encounter, where you can buy top-tier Boons or stock up on heals to stay in the game longer.

How to Get and Use Sacred Water

Aim for Rooms that Replenish Honour

Honour is crucial to get through the trial so if the room doesn't have a nasty debuff, it wouldn't hurt to replenish your Honour, especially if you're very low.

Grind and Overlevel

A simple but more time-consuming way to get good at the Trial of Sekhemas would be to grind and overlevel yourself so you can survive long enough to finish the Trials.
Leveling Guide: How to Get XP Fast

All Trial of the Sekhemas Bosses

These are all of the bosses you will encounter during the Trial of the Sekhemas, and how to beat them:

  1. Floor 1 - Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker
  2. Floor 2 - Terracota Sentinels
  3. Floor 3 - Ashar, the Sand Mother
  4. Floor 4 - Zarokh, the Temporal

Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker

Boss Overview
Path of Exile 2 - Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker Act 2 BossRattlecage, the Earthbreaker Rewards: Floor 1 completion of the Trial of the Sekhemas
Damage Types: Physical, Fire
Resistances: Physical, Fire, Lightning
Weakness: Cold

Rattlecage has a fairly simple and fair moveset that you can react to easily. However, on the last 10% of it's health, the amount of falling stalactites and the magma geysers ramp up. Visually focus on avoiding these hazards while listening carefully to Balbala's warnings to dodge Rattlecage's attacks.

Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker Boss Guide

Terracota Sentinels

Boss Overview
Path of Exile 2 - Terracota Sentinels Act 2 BossTerracota Sentinels Rewards: Floor 2 completion of the Trial of the Sekhemas; 2nd set of Ascendancy Points
Damage Types: Physical, Cold, Fire
Resistances: Physical, Fire (Hadi), Cold (Rafiq)
Weakness: Cold (Hadi), Fire (Rafiq)

Defeating one of the Terracotta Sentinels triggers arena hazards based on the defeated sentinel's element. It’s recommended to defeat Hadi first because defeating Rafiq causes chilling projectiles to fire from the arena's edges and leaves Chilling Ground at the center. The Chilled effect significantly slows you down, making you much more vulnerable to Hadi's follow-up attacks.

Terracota Sentinels Boss Guide

Ashar, the Sand Mother

Boss Overview
Path of Exile 2 - Ashar, the Sand Mother Act 2 BossAshar, the Sand Mother Rewards: Floor 3 completion of the Trial of the Sekhemas; 3rd set of Ascendancy Points
Damage Types: Physical, Chaos
Resistances: Physical, Fire, Lightning
Weakness: Cold

The pressure plates scattered across the middle of Ashar's boss arena trigger traps that summon swarms of Adorned Beetles or fire poison dart volleys across the arena. These traps deal significant Life and Honour damage, adding unnecessary complications to the fight. Be mindful of your positioning and avoid stepping on the plates whenever possible.

Ashar, the Sand Mother Boss Guide

Zarokh, the Temporal

Boss Overview
Path of Exile 2 - Zarokh, the Temporal Atlas BossZarokh, the Temporal Rewards: Trial of Sekhemas completion;4th set of Ascendancy Points
Damage Types: Physical
Resistances: Fire, Cold, Lightning
Weakness: None

At below 60% Life, Zarokh will start the time stop phase and summon a set of hourglass in the arena. You'll contstantly have your action speed reduced while having to collect all hourglasses before the time runs out. Failing this phase will result to your character dying and failing the run.

Zarokh, the Temporal Boss Guide

All Trial of the Sekhemas Boons and Afflictions

List of All Boons and Afflictions

Search
Boons Class Description
Adrenaline Vial BoonAdrenaline Vial Minor Boon Restore X of your Honour on entering a Boss Room
AssassinAssassin's Blade Minor Boon The next 10 non-Boss monsters you Hit are killed instantly
BalbalaBalbala's Gift Minor Boon Your next purchase from the merchant has no cost
Black Pearl BoonBlack Pearl Minor Boon Traps deal 50% reduced damage
Black Smoke AfflictionBlack Smoke Minor Affliction You can see one fewer room ahead on the Trial Map
Blunt Sword Minor Affliction You and your Minions deal 40% less Damage
Chains of Binding Minor Affliction Monsters inflict Binding Chains on Hit
Dark Pit Minor Affliction Traps deal 100% increased damage
Death Toll Major Affliction Take X Physical Damage after completing 8 Rooms
Deceptive Mirror Minor Affliction You are not always taken to the room you select
Dishonoured Tattoo AfflictionDishonoured Tattoo Minor Affliction 100% increased damage taken while on Low Life
Diverted River BoonDiverted River Minor Boon Sacred Water found on this floor is doubled
Earned Honour Major Boon Restore 40 of your Honour on room completion
Enchanted Urn BoonEnchanted Urn Minor Boon 30% increased Effect of your Non-Unique Relics
Fiendish Wings AfflictionFiendish Wings Minor Affliction Monsters' Action Speed cannot be slowed below base and have 25% increased Attack, Cast, and Movement Speed
Flooding Rivers BoonFlooding Rivers Minor Boon 50% more Sacred Water found
Forgotten Traditions Minor Affliction 50% reduced Effect of your Non-Unique Relics
Fountain of Youth BoonFountain of Youth Minor Boon Restore X of your Honour when you venerate a Maraketh Shrine
Fright Mask BoonFright Mask Minor Boon Monsters deal 20% less damage
Garukhan's Favour Major Boon Ignore the first Damage taken from an enemy Hit in each room
Gate Toll Minor Affliction Lose 30 Sacred Water on room completion
Glowing Orb Minor Boon The next time you go below 30% Maximum Life, restore all Life, Energy Shield, and 50% of Honour
Golden Smoke Minor Affliction Rewards are unknown on the Trial Map
Haemorrhage AfflictionHaemorrhage Minor Affliction You cannot restore Honour (removed after killing the next Boss)
Hare Foot Minor Boon 40% increased Movement Speed
Honed Claws Minor Affliction Monsters deal 30% more damage
Honoured Challenger BoonHonoured Challenger Minor Boon 50% increased Honour restored
Hungry Fangs Minor Affliction Monsters remove 5% of your Life, Mana, and Energy Shield on Hit
Iron Manacles Minor Affliction You have no Evasion
Leaking Waterskin Minor Affliction Lose 20 Sacred Water when you take damage from an Enemy Hit
Low Rivers Minor Affliction 50% less Sacred Water found
Lustrous Lacquer Minor Boon You have 50% more Defences
Lustrous Pearl BoonLustrous Pearl Minor Boon Traps are slower
Mirror of Fortune BoonMirror of Fortune Minor Boon The next Key you pick up is duplicated
MomentMoment's Peace Minor Boon You cannot be damaged until you complete the next room
Orbala Statuette BoonOrbala Statuette Minor Boon You have 25% more maximum Honour
Ornate Dagger BoonOrnate Dagger Minor Boon You and your minions deal 50% more damage
Purple Smoke Minor Affliction Afflictions are unknown on the Trial Map
Rapid Quicksand Minor Affliction Traps are faster
Red Smoke Minor Affliction Room types are unknown on the Trial Map
Sanguine Vial BoonSanguine Vial Minor Boon Monsters have 30% less Maximum Life
Scrying Crystal BoonScrying Crystal Minor Boon You can see an additional room ahead on the Trial Map
Season of Famine AfflictionSeason of Famine Minor Affliction The Merchant offers 50% fewer choices
Sharpened Arrowhead AfflictionSharpened Arrowhead Minor Affliction You have no Armour
Shattered Shield Minor Affliction You have no Energy Shield
Silver Chalice BoonSilver Chalice Minor Boon The next Minor Boon you gain is converted into a random Major Boon
Silver Tongue BoonSilver Tongue Minor Boon 50% reduced Merchant prices
Spiked Exit Minor Affliction Take X of Physical Damage on room completion
Spiked Shell Minor Affliction Monsters have 50% increased maximum life
Suspected Sympathiser Minor Affliction 50% reduced Honour restored
Tattered Blindfold Minor Affliction 90% reduced Light Radius and Minimap is hidden
Trade Tariff Minor Affliction 50% increased Merchant prices
Tradition's Demand Minor Affliction The Merchant only offers one choice
Untouchable AfflictionUntouchable Minor Affliction You are cursed with Enfeeble
Upward Path BoonUpward Path Minor Boon Your Sacred Water found is increased by 10% on room completion
Viscous Ichor BoonViscous Ichor Minor Boon Monsters have 15% reduced Action Speed
Weakened Flesh Minor Affliction 25% less Maximum Honour
Winter Drought Minor Affliction Lose all Sacred Water on floor completion
Worn Sandals Minor Affliction 25% reduced Movement Speed

These are the list of Boons and Afflictions in the Trial of Sekhemas. Boons can be bought from the merchant using Sacred Water, while Afflictions are obtained as an added challenge by entering a certain room.

Pledge to Kochai for Boons

Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) Pledge to Kochai

Boons can also be obtained by pledging to Kochai, an optional reward if chosen from the Trial Map. Pledges may afflict you with a random debuff in exchange for the boon of your selection.

Positive Negative
Gain a specific Minor Boon Gain a specific Minor Affliction
Gain a specific Minor Boon Gain a random Minor Affliction
Gain a random Minor Boon Gain a random Minor Affliction
Gain 2 random Minor Boons Lose 50% Maximum Honour
Gain a random Major Boon Lose 50% Maximum Honour
Gain a specific Minor Boon Lose 25% Maximum Honour
Gain 3 random Minor Boons Gain a specific Major Affliction
Lose a specific Minor Affliction Gain a random Minor Affliction
Lose a specific Minor Boon Lose a specific Minor Affliction
Lose 3 random Minor Afflictions Gain a random Major Affliction

Trial of the Sekhemas Walkthrough

Jump to a Section!
Ascent to Power Endgame

Ascent to Power Guide

Ascent to Power Guide
1 Start the Trial
Start the Trial
Begin by placing Balbala's Barya on the Relic Altar, activating the Trial of the Sekhemas. This marks your entry into a series of challenges.
2 Overcome Each Challenge
Overcome Each Challenge
There are five different challenge types you can face throughout the Trial:

・Escape Trial
・Ritual Trial
・Chalice Trial
・Gauntlet Trial
・Hourglass Trial

Be mindful of your Honour—each hit reduces it, and running out means you’ll need a new coin to restart. Stay agile to conquer the obstacles.
All Trial of Sekhemas Challenges ▲
3 Navigate the Trials
Navigate the Trial
After completing each room, interact with the Trial Map and you’ll be shown a map of the remaining floor. You can choose which Trial to proceed to next.

Some rooms may require you to adapt to new conditions, while others could impose persistent debuffs that make the entire trial more difficult. Plan your route carefully to balance risk and reward.
4 Rewards and Boons
Seek Out Rewards and Boons
Successfully clearing a room grants you rewards like keys to unlock treasure chests and other valuable items to aid your journey. As you progress, you’ll also earn powerful boons, such as Sekhema’s Cloak, which revives you upon death, giving you a second chance to continue the trial.

You may also discover sacred water, an invaluable resource to the Djinn. Trading it with Babala can grant you various benefits, including recovering Honour, receiving extra boons, and cleansing harmful afflictions.
5
Defeat Rattlecage
At the end, you will face Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker. Learn its attacks so you can dodge them easily. Follow our full boss guide below for more tips!

Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker Boss Guide
6
Claim Your Ascendancy
After defeating Rattlecage, you’ll reach the final stage—Ascendancy. Similar to the Ascendancy system of the previous game, this stage allows you to choose an Ascendancy Class, unlocking powerful new abilities and enhancing your character in unique ways.

Each class offers different benefits, so choose wisely to complement your playstyle and strategies.

Ascent to Power Quest Walkthrough

Endgame Guide

The Trial of Sekhemas Endgame
1
Add Relics to Modify Trials
Adding Relics in the Relic Altar alongside the coins to access the trial modifies the rooms, making the rooms easier and increases rewards.

Furthermore, it is highly recommended to increase your Honour resistance and your max life and energy shield, which results in increases to Honour points. Doing so will make you receive less Honour damage, making the trials much easier.
List of Relics
2 Access Next Floor Past the Locked Chests
Players can access the entrance to the next floor past the locked chests at the end of a floor. Doing so will take you to the next floor with a new set of Trials and a new boss at the end.
3
Defeat the Bosses of Each Floor
At the end of every floor, you will face a boss. Here are all the bosses you will find in the Trial of the Sekhemas:

・Floor 1 - Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker
・Floor 2 - Terracota Sentinels
・Floor 3 - Ashar, the Sand Mother
・Floor 4 - Zarokh, the Temporal
▲ All Trial of Sekhemas Bosses ▲
4 Defeat the Pinnacle Boss
The trial consists of four floors in total, where the Pinnacle Boss is encountered at the end of the last floor. Defeat the Pinnacle Boss to complete the trial and get a unique relic to be used in the next run.

These unique relics adds difficulty to your next run, but rewards you with unique and powerful items if you finish it.

Trial of the Sekhemas Location

These are the steps you need to follow in order to reach the Trial of the Sekhemas:

  1. Reach The Trail of Corruption Quest
  2. Defeat Balbala
  3. Use Desert Map to Reach Trial of the Sekhemas

Reach The Trail of Corruption Quest

While progressing through the main quest of Act 2, you will come across the area called Traitor's Passage during The Trail of Corruption quest. While in this area, look for the Ancient Seal. Open the door, interact with the three Runic Seals inside, then prepare for a boss fight.

Defeat Balbala

Path of Exile 2 - Balbala
After removing the Runic Seals, you’ll need to face off against Balbala the Traitor, a fiery Djinn with a temper to match. Defeat Balbala to receive the item, Balbala's Barya.

Doing so will activate the quest Ascent to Power, which requires you to return to the Caravan and talk to Zarka.

Balbala, The Traitor Boss Guide

Use Desert Map to Reach Trial of the Sekhemas

Trial of the Sekhemas
After talking to Zarka, you can now reach the Trial of the Sekhemas by interacting with the Desert Map and traveling directly to the Trial.

Retrieve Balbala's Barya if You Perish

If you die in the Trial of the Sekhemas during the Ascent to Power quest, you can speak to Balbala to receive another Balbala's Barya, which will allow you to redo the trial until you succeed.

How to Get More Djinn's Barya

You can use Djinn's Barya to access the Trial of the Sekhemas again to obtain more Ascendancy Skill Points. You can obtain a Djinn's Barya by defeating the Watchful Twins. You can also farm more Djinn's Barya by defeating monsters in Campaign areas or through trading.

How to Get Ascendancy Skill Points

Trial of the Sekhemas Rewards

  1. Ascendancy Points
  2. Equipment
  3. Unique Relics
  4. Jewels

Ascendancy Points

Ascendancy
The main benefit of completing the Trial of the Sekhemas is to obtain Ascendancy Skill Points for character Ascension. These Ascendancy points are used to further improve your character, giving them powerful specialization skills.
List of Classes and Ascendancies

Magic and Rare Equipment a

You can obtain various Magic and Rare equipment from the trials. If you have keys, you can open chests at the end that contain various powerful weapons and armor.

List of Unique Equipment

Unique Relics

Unique relics are dropped by the final boss of the trial, which can modify your next run in the trial that increases the risk as well as the rewards.

List of Relics

Magic, Rare and Grand Spectrum Jewels

Path of Exile 2 - Trial of Sekhemas Jewels
The Trial of the Sekhemas is also a reliable way to farm Magic and Rare Jewels. You can earn nearly a dozen jewels per run once you clear all four floors, with Jewels found in Royal Caches.

Look out for Time-Lost Jewels, which are exclusive to this trial and dropped from Time-lost Caches — these are rare but worth seeking out in every treasure chest room. Grand Spectrum Jewels are another rare reward, obtainable only from opening Spectrum Caches in the Trial.

List of Jewels

Can You Play Co-Op in the Trial of Sekhemas?

Yes, You Can Play Co-Op

Yes, you can tackle the Trial of the Sekhemas in co-op — but be warned, it’s a shared-pain kind of experience. While each player has their own Honour maximum, the Honor bar itself is shared for damage. So if one of you eats a chaos spear to the face, everyone’s Honour takes a hit.

Relics placed in the altar are also shared, meaning any Honour Resistance bonuses (or other benefits) from relics will apply to the whole group.

What is Honour?

Stat That Represents Survival in the Trial

Honour is a stat used in the Trial of the Sekhemas — basically a pseudo health bar that tracks your survival. It’s based on your Life, Energy Shield, and Mana (if you have Mind Over Matter). If it hits zero, you’re kicked out of the trial and have to start over, but you don’t lose XP. Honour carries between rooms and goes up if you level during the trial.

Part of the damage you take comes off your Honour instead of Life, so defence stats like Armour, Evasion, and Resistances help reduce or avoid Honour loss. In co-op, Honour is shared — if one player takes damage, everyone’s Honour goes down. Some rooms restore it, and Honour Resistance helps reduce how much you lose.

Path of Exile 2 Related Guides

Path of Exile 2 - Trials Partial

All Ascension Trials

All Ascension Trials

All Ascension Trials
Trial of the Sekhemas The Trial of Chaos

Author

    All rights reserved

    Guide Index