Last updated: 5 July 2026

How to Unlock Your Path of Exile 2 Ascendancy (All 8 Points)

Every powerful build in Path of Exile 2 runs through Ascendancy — the subclass system that grants up to 8 bonus passive points on a dedicated skill tree. Those points come from completing Trials of Ascendancy: the Trial of the Sekhemas in Act 2 and the Trial of Chaos in Act 3. Here is exactly what each trial demands, how to prepare, and how to earn every last point.

01What Is Ascendancy and Why It Matters

When you create a character, you choose one of the base classes. Ascendancy lets you specialise further by picking a subclass tied to your class. Each subclass has its own small passive tree loaded with powerful keystones and stats that do not exist on the main tree.

Ascendancy points are earned in pairs — 2 per trial completion — for a total of 8 points across four completions. You do not unlock your subclass choice until you clear your very first trial, so reaching the Trial of the Sekhemas early in Act 2 is one of the highest-priority milestones in the campaign.

• First 2 points: Trial of the Sekhemas (Act 2) — also unlocks your Ascendancy subclass
• Points 3–4: Trial of Chaos (Act 3)
• Points 5–6: a higher-level Trial of the Sekhemas in the endgame
• Points 7–8: a high-level Sekhemas run, or a high-level Trial of Chaos with all three Fate fragments

02Trial of the Sekhemas: How to Enter

The Trial of the Sekhemas is first encountered in Act 2. During the quest you explore the Traitor's Passage and fight Balbala the Traitor, a djinn boss. Defeating Balbala rewards a Djinn Barya — a one-use key item that opens the trial entrance.

Take the Barya to the trial entrance, place it in the altar, and the run begins. In the endgame you farm higher-level Djinn Baryas to unlock additional relic slots and earn the final ascendancy points. Baryas are consumed on entry whether you succeed or fail, so treat each as a meaningful resource.

• The campaign Barya comes directly from Balbala; endgame Baryas drop from specific bosses and endgame nodes
• An endgame Barya's item level determines how many relic slots are available
• Unique Relics socketed into the altar grid are consumed on entry; non-unique Relics are kept regardless of outcome

03The Honour System: A Second Health Bar

The defining mechanic of the Sekhemas is Honour — a secondary health bar that exists alongside your normal Life and Energy Shield. Honour is derived from your combined Life and Energy Shield total but is completely separate. If your Honour reaches zero, the entire trial is immediately failed, even if your character is still alive.

Honour damage is taken whenever enemies hit you. It cannot be restored by flasks, regeneration, or leech. The only ways to recover it are through Boons (passive upgrades chosen at room shrines), specific Relic bonuses, and special shrine rewards.

This makes the Sekhemas a careful resource-management exercise. High Life and Energy Shield raise your Honour ceiling, Honour Resistance reduces how much you take per hit, and boons that restore Honour can carry a struggling run. Tanky builds find this trial far more forgiving than glass cannons.

• Prioritise Honour Resistance relics before entering — they reduce every hit on your Honour bar
• Choose boons that restore Honour or reduce incoming Honour damage whenever offered
• Clear rooms quickly to reduce total hits taken — standing in damage is the fastest way to fail
• Telegraphed boss slams are disproportionately dangerous; dodge them above all else

04Trial of Chaos: Escalating Waves and the Trialmaster

The Trial of Chaos becomes available in Act 3 after you defeat Xyclucian the Chimera in the Chimeral Wetlands. That boss drops your first Inscribed Ultimatum — the entry token. In the endgame, Ultimatums drop from various sources and their item level determines how many chambers you can traverse.

The trial is wave-based and escalating. At the start of each chamber the Trialmaster offers three negative modifiers called Afflictions — you must pick one, and it persists for the rest of the run. Each chamber stacks another on top, so the challenge compounds quickly.

1. Enter the domain using an Inscribed Ultimatum (campaign entrance is in the Chimeral Wetlands).
2. At each chamber, read the three offered modifiers and choose the one that least punishes your build.
3. Survive the waves; all enemies must be defeated before the gate opens.
4. Repeat until you reach the final chamber or the Trialmaster appears.
5. For the highest ascendancy points via Trial of Chaos, collect the three Fate fragments from trial bosses and present all three.

Unlike the Sekhemas, dying does not automatically fail the run — but losing all portal charges ends it. Builds with strong burst damage thrive here because the wave timer rewards fast clears.

05Endgame Ascendancy: Points 5 Through 8

Once you hit the Atlas endgame, two more pairs of ascendancy points wait. The requirements scale up — higher-level Baryas, tougher trial modifiers, and (for the Trialmaster route) gathering specific boss-dropped Fate fragments.

For points 5–6, farm higher-level Djinn Baryas and complete the Trial of the Sekhemas at that tier. Your relic loadout becomes critical here — slots unlocked by clearing trial bosses let you stack Honour Resistance, boss damage, and movement-speed relics to smooth out the run.

For points 7–8, the two options are a higher-level Sekhemas run or a high-level Trial of Chaos in which you bring all three Fate fragments. The fragments drop from sub-bosses in endgame Trial of Chaos runs, so expect several farming sessions before you gather the set.

• Build up your relic collection before attempting high-level Sekhemas — a well-slotted altar is the biggest single factor in success
• If a Sekhemas run keeps failing on Honour, switch to the Trial of Chaos route for points 7–8 — the Fate-fragment path is often easier for damage builds
• Each failed Barya is lost; do not attempt high-level Sekhemas while under-geared

06Quick Preparation Checklist Before Each Trial

Both trials punish unpreparedness sharply. A few minutes of prep saves wasted entry tokens and frustrating failures:

1. Check your resistances — being capped at 75% elemental is baseline; chaos resistance matters in higher-level runs.
2. Sekhemas only: equip your best Relics before activating the Barya; Honour Resistance relics slot in first.
3. Know your Ascendancy options — read the subclass trees for your class before your first run so you can commit a direction immediately.
4. Bring appropriate flasks — the trial does not provide vendor access between rooms.
5. Trial of Chaos only: know which modifiers are worst for your build so the chamber choice is fast and confident.
6. Clear the campaign quests in the right zone first — no Barya from Balbala means no Sekhemas, and no Ultimatum from Xyclucian means no Trial of Chaos.