Path Of Exile 2: How To Complete The Trial Of Sekhemas

Despite Path of Exile 2 featuring dozens of challenging bosses and plenty of tough levels to navigate through, the Trial of Sekhemas is arguably the most difficult part of the game. The trial's completion is a requirement to unlock your class Ascendancy and it's also a terrific way to level up, earn loot, and master the intricacies of your class.
Of course, Path of Exile 2 isn't going to make it easy to complete the trial. In fact, the Trial of Sekhemas is nearly impossible to defeat unless you are overleveled, in a party, or understand everything about its mechanics and how to beat it. In the guide below, we'll get you ready for the Trial of Sekhemas so you can unlock your Ascendancy quicker and knock off another goal on your way to the endgame.

Unlocking the Trial of Sekhemas

First and foremost, you have to reach the part of Path of Exile 2 that gives you the chance to complete the Trial of Sekhemas. This part of the game is completely optional but highly recommended since unlocking your Ascendancy is a huge boon to have for Cruel difficulty and the endgame.
You won't be able to access the Trial of Sekhemas until Act 2 in Path of Exile 2. It's available on Normal difficulty, so you don't have to beat the campaign, and becomes available after you defeat Balbala, the Traitor in the Traitor's Passage region near the Halani Gates. After Balbala is defeated, you can fast travel back to the Ardura Caravan and visit the Trial of Sekhemas from there. It's located at the top of the Desert Map. Once you fast-travel there, make your way to the front of the trial and speak to Balbala, the Advisor, to get started.

What level should you be in the Trial of Sekhemas?

The first question many players ask about the Trial of Sekhemas is what's the right level to make a strong attempt at a successful run. Technically, the trial's location on the map says there are only level 22 enemies present in the area. However, you don't want to be level 22 and attempt the Trial of Sekhemas, especially if you're a solo player.
While it's true the enemies are level 22, you have to factor in the fact that the trial is a one-life dungeon. This means if you die, you have to start all over from square one, regardless of where you were in the trial. There's also the infamous Honor system to contend with, which we'll talk more about below.
Unless you're in a party with at least one other person, trying to complete the Trial of Sekhemas at levels 22, 23, or even up to 27 or 28 is extremely difficult. You want high Life and Energy Shield stats as well as much stronger gear to get through the entire trial. Many players have gone on record to say you should complete the entirety of Act 2's story in Path of Exile 2 before attempting the trial.
I found that to be the best route as well, as I was not even close to completing the trial when I first unlocked it. However, when I came back at level 30, I had almost no issues with killing the enemies and the final boss.
So, our recommendation is to wait until you're level 29 or 30 to try the Trial of Sekhemas. To be safe, you can wait until you complete Act 2, which might mean you're around level 32. Of course, if you consider yourself a true master of Path of Exile 2, trying the trial at the intended level 22 is always an option.

Honor in the Trial of Sekhemas

Before you enter the Trial of Sekhemas, there are some mechanics you should know about that will greatly affect your time there. The first mechanic is the Honor system, which is already infamous within the Path of Exile 2 community.
Honor is a secondary HP bar that's only active in the Trial of Sekhemas. As soon as you enter the trial, your Honor bar will appear on the screen and display your max Honor. Max Honor is determined by the sum of your current Life and Energy Shield stats. Honor gets reduced the more hits you take from enemies and traps. If your Honor is reduced to zero, your run in the trial ends and you have to start all the way back at the beginning. You'll also have to start over if you die in the normal way by having no HP left.
Honor is an extremely tricky mechanic to get the hang of in Path of Exile 2. There are only a few ways of replenishing it after you lose some, so you want to try and avoid taking damage as much as possible. However, the closer you are to an enemy when you take damage, the less Honor you lose. The best way to replenish Honor is by interacting with a fountain at the end of a trial, but the fountain isn't always there.
You can also equip Relics, which can be applied to your character before a trial room, to reduce Honor damage. Finally, you're able to purchase boons from Balbala that may increase your max Honor. Suffice it to say, though, Honor is the main mechanic you have to worry about during the trial. You'll often have to prioritize it over your regular HP bar and you have to get through five rooms without having your Honor reduced to zero to pass the trial.

How the Trial of Sekhemas works

Now that we've covered how to get to the trial and the Honor system, let's go over how the trial is laid out. First, you have to accept the reward from Balbala and insert it into the Relic altar. Then, take the Relic you received from Balbala and place it in the middle of the altar to earn the bonus from the Relic. You'll be able to add more Relics as the trial progresses.
After the reward and Relic are placed, press "Enter" and walk through the main gate. Your first room in the Trial of Sekhemas will feature a random challenge but you'll be able to pick the next rooms you go through. There are four main trial rooms you will encounter during the trial, which are:
Hourglass Trial - Survive a wave of mobs until the timer expires.
Escape Trial - Reach crystals scattered around a large, weaving room before the timer expires. Every time you reach a new crystal, your timer is reset. You can't interact with a crystal while enemies are still around you.
Gauntlet Trial - Fight through dozens of enemies to reach a lever(s) on the other side of the room. If there is more than one lever, you have to activate them all before the door to the next room opens.
Ritual Trial - Defeat all Ritual enemies that are actively casting a spell. These enemies are surrounded by smaller mobs, making it extremely difficult to solely focus on the Ritual casters.
Regardless of what your first room is, get past it to make it to the next room where you get access to the Trial Map. This is a large display that showcases what room you can enter next (as seen in the screenshot above). Hover over the icons with a purple outline to view what kind of trial each room has. Each room features a different trial with some kind of difficulty curve and varying rewards. For example, a room might have better rewards, but it could completely remove your Energy Shield, making it much tougher to complete.
Keep progressing through the different rooms on the Trial Map until you reach the final boss of the Trial of Sekhemas. It's up to you how difficult you want your trial run to be up to that point, as you can pick easier rooms with lesser rewards or go the opposite route.

How to beat Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker

The final boss in the Trial of Sekhemas is Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker. This is a hulking fire boss that mainly relies on melee attacks until you take away 50% of its HP. At that point, lava starts to rain down from above and seemingly goes in random locations. There's no way to see where the lava is going to land beforehand, so you have to make quick maneuvers to avoid the lava as soon as it appears on your screen. If you do end up getting hit by it, you take massive damage.
It's also important to remember that your Honor bar is still in play during this boss fight. If you take too much Honor damage, you'll have to completely restart the Trial of Sekhemas from room one.
As such, the best strategy with Rattlecage is to wait out its melee attacks. The boss is extremely slow when attacking, so you should be able to avoid most of them if you play at range or dodge at the right times up close.
The only other factor to consider in the fight is small volcanoes that shoot lava at you. While the lava might not hit you, you don't want to step on it on the ground, as you'll take damage there as well. This can severely limit the amount of dodging you can do in a given area, so try to not get trapped by lava on the ground.
After you defeat Rattlecage, you'll be able to access the Altar of Ascendancies. It's here where you'll choose your Ascension class and fully unlock your character's potential in Path of Exile 2.

We have many more guides to aid you on your journey in our Path of Exile 2 guides hub.

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