Path of Exile 2 takes ascension attempts to the next level

Summary

  • Path of Exile 2 is a slower game compared to its predecessor, focusing on player skill, combos and evasion.
  • Path of Exile 2 introduces Trial of the Sehkemas, a rogue-like experience with resources like Honor.
  • The Trial of the Sehkemas offers more bureaucracy and fairer gameplay, despite being more challenging.



As a game that launched at one of the busiest times of the year, especially for an early access title, Path of Exile 2 has had many successes so far. Path of Exile 2 is a standalone sequel to The path of exileand while both games are action RPGs, they take this approach quite differently despite sharing a lot of DNA. While PoE is a fast-paced game that has been around for a decade, crafting items and skills that have power crept into the meta, Path of Exile 2 is a slower game that rewards players' ability to use their resources, combos and dodge rolls to survive. This translates perfectly into its new Ascendancy system.

IN The path of exileplayers have access to three difficulties for the campaign, and then Maps in the endgame. In each difficulty, they can gain their Ascendancy class and more passive Ascendancy points to spend on it, which is done by tackling the Lord's Labyrinth – a trap-set maze where the goal is to get to the end and defeat Izaro. Path of Exile 2 uses a similar concept with its Trial of the Sehkemas, turning the original Maze on its head by making it a villainous experience.


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Path of Exile 2's Trial of the Sehkemas Explained

Much like in its predecessor, to die under Path of Exile 2's Trial of the Sehkemas means players must start from scratch and not unlock PoE 2s Ascendancy classes or extra nodes. However, the Sehkemas trial has more resources to micromanage to meet the challenge, with the most important of them being Honor. Unlike Sacred Water or the various Keys (Bronze Keys, Silver Keys, and Gold Keys), Honor can determine whether players can finish their run or not, even if they never die. This is because running out of Honor means the run is over, so you have to be extra careful.

Much like Life or Energy Shield, players lose Honor when hit by enemies, traps, or other effects, including damage over time. When Honor reaches 0, players must restart Sehkema's Trial.


While it may seem like a mechanic meant to punish players, there are various ways to micromanage Honor without making sure not to get hit by attacks and traps. This is because Trial of the Sehkemas has multiple paths and rooms for players to choose from, all of which can shape a given run in multiple ways. Some rooms provide holy water or keys, and others allow players to restore their honor by saving Path of Exile 2difficulties and ways to deal with it.

But every run is different due to the different modifiers, with Afflictions usually being the most problematic. These are permanent modifiers that either make players weaker or monsters stronger, effectively making every run potentially more difficult when present. Still, the idea that Sehkema's trial offers a villainous approach to what is regularly an ARPG is a good one, and it proves that Path of Exile 2s gameplay evolves past its predecessor.


Why Path of Exile 2's Trial of the Sehkemas is a win-win expansion

The Player With Multiple Rage Stacks

The reason Trial of the Sehkemas feels like an improved version of Lord's Labyrinth despite being technically more difficult is that players have much more agency when it comes to the various encounters and bonuses (or afflictions). If a run doesn't go well due to reduced Honor, players can look for rooms that restore it; vice versa, if a run goes particularly well, challenging rooms with keys or holy water as rewards will improve loot Path of Exile 2 players get at the end. While the trial of Sehkemas is arguably more difficult, it can feel fairer compared to the maze, which is nothing to scoff at when it's necessary to drop a run.

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