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 starting and completing this quest, including navigating the Trials of the Sekhemas.
How to Start Ascent to Power
After unlocking the Ardura Caravan in Act 2, explore the first two location nodes. Before the third node ("Traitor's Passage"), speak with Zarka. She'll direct you to Balbala, a trapped Djinn, to gain power.
Balbala's location is randomized within Traitor's Passage, usually near the end. Find the Ancient Seal Door leading to her prison. Defuse three seals to initiate the encounter.
How to Defeat Balbala the Traitor
Balbala resists Fire Damage and inflicts Physical, Chaos, and Fire damage, along with Poison and Ignition. Exploit her Cold Damage vulnerability.
Balbala's Attacks and Counters:
- Slash Attack: A basic attack; easily blocked or dodged.
- Throwing Attack: Ranged version of the slash attack; dodge or block. Each dagger inflicts Poison.
- Whirling Dash Attack: A fast lunge with an AoE explosion after 1.5 seconds. Cannot be blocked, but dodgeable. Voice cue: "Face Me!" or "Na'kai!"
- Teleport Dagger Attack: Teleports and throws daggers creating an AoE. Only dodgeable. Voice cue: "Atul!"
- Summon Shadow Clone: Throws a Barya (coin), creating a yellow AoE. Step over it to prevent clone summoning. Failure results in a teleport slam attack.
- Teleport Slam: After summoning, Balbala teleports and slams, creating a fiery AoE. Voice cue: "Tithe!"
- Summon Poison Mist/Vanish: Vanishes, summoning poisonous mist. Voice cues: "Visions of Jarah!" or "Mists of Sulamith!" Find and attack her to cancel the channeling. She'll then yell "Sands of Wrath!" or "Darakatha!" before a slam attack.
- Explosive Blade Rain: Throws explosive daggers in a counter-clockwise conical pattern. Dodge accordingly.
- Blade Storm: If the Shadow Clone isn't eliminated quickly, Balbala summons a destructive blade storm. Prioritize clone elimination.
Defeating Balbala yields Balbala's Barya. Give it to Zarka to unlock the Trials of the Sekhemas.
How to Complete the Trials of the Sekhemas
Travel to the Trials of the Sekhemas node from the Ardura Caravan (note: initially, you'll need to command the caravan to move). Unlock the Waypoint and approach the altar where Balbala will explain the trial.
The Trials are procedurally generated dungeons with various challenges: timed challenges, traps, and elite enemies. Before entering, use a Relic for a boon.
Key Mechanics:
- Honor: A resource bar depleted by damage. Reaching 0 fails the trial.
- Sacred Water: Earned by killing enemies; used for boons, keys, and Honor recovery.
- Keys: Obtained with remaining Sacred Water to open chests.
Energy Shield drain doesn't affect Honor, giving Energy Shield builds an advantage.
Each Trial section offers a boon and a curse. Examples of Trials include:
- Chalice Trial: Defeat two bosses along a blood path.
- Escape Trial (timed): Defuse Death Crystals before time runs out.
- Gauntlet Trial: Avoid traps and activate levers.
- Hourglass Trial (timed): Survive enemy waves until time runs out.
- Ritual Trial: Kill summoners and their summoned beasts to deactivate portals.
- Boss Trial: Tiered bosses: Rattlecage (Tier 1), Terracota Sentinels (Tier 2), Ashar (Tier 3), Zarokh (Tier 4).
Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker, is a challenging final boss. Prioritize Fire Resistance and utilize stuns.
Completing Ascent to Power
Defeating Rattlecage unlocks the final altar where you choose your first Ascendancy. The choice is permanent.
Cruel Difficulty: To gain additional Ascendancy points in Cruel difficulty, complete the following (due to a current bug):
- Talk to Zarka.
- Defeat Balbala in Cruel (ensure the Barya shows "Number of Trials 2").
- Return to Normal difficulty and enter the Trials using the two-trial Barya.
- Complete two Trials consecutively, defeating a boss in each.
- This grants 2 additional Ascendancy Points.
Remember, reaching 0 Honor fails the Trial. 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).
