How to unlock Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2

GamesRPGPath of Exile 2How to unlock Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Balbala

Jump to:How to unlock AscendancyTrial of the Sekhemas explainedHow Ascendancy works

UnlockingAscendancyinPath of Exile 2is an important step in advancing your class and picking a specialism you want your character focused towards. These advanced classes grant a mini skill tree that’s separate from your regular passive one, providing powerful abilities and buffs that make a big difference when facing down bosses and monster hordes.

It’s a pretty well hidden mechanic, though, and you’ll have to find and defeat an entirely optional boss during act two to start theAscent to Powerquest that puts you on the right path. Even then, you still have to complete the Trial of the Sekhemas activity. So, I’ll explain how to unlock the quest, plus how both the activity and Ascendancy works.

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How to unlock Ascendancy

You can find the Balbala boss in the Traitor’s Passage(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Traitor’s Passage

You’ll first need tounlock the Trial of the Sekhemas activity in act two to access Ascendancy. This is part of the Ascent to Power quest and is well hidden. During the act two storyline, you find yourself in an area called theTraitor’s Passageand while there you need tofind anddefeat the Balbala the Traitor. Just keep exploring the area until you discover her boss room door covered in paper talismans—if you find the exit out into The Halani Gates you’ve gone too far.

Balbala is quite a tricky foe, moving a lot and summoning smaller phantoms who chase you. The main move to watch out for is when she disappears and starts to summon poison gas from the hole in the centre of the room which slowly spreads. Search around the edge of the room to find her and she’ll stop.

Speak to Zarka once you’ve defeated Balbala and then travel to the Trial of the Sekhemas in the north(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Zarka

Trial of the Sekhemas explained

Slot your Barya into the altar to start the trial and choose relics to buff you(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Trial of the Sekhemas

The Trial of the Sekhemas is basically your standard roguelike game mode. Here’s what you need to know:

To start a trial you’ll slot Balbala’s Barya into the altar and then insert relics to give you buffs. You can get more relics during the activity from chests and enemies. Completing each named test expands the altar’s relic capacity.
The activity consists of selecting a series of trials with a variety of rewards. These can grant you buffs, keys, sacred Water, or honour, but they’ll also inflict debuffs as you go. Once you’ve completed enough trials you’ll reach the final boss.

Each run consists of smaller trials you must complete to reach the boss(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Trial map

Sacred water is converted into extra keys at the very end, though you’ll also use a little to purchase buffs at the end of each room. Sacred water also drops from enemies you defeat.
Keys are used to open loot caches after the boss. The caches you can open correspond to each key’s rarity—bronze, silver, or gold—and you can also find keys in chests.

If you fail the trial, speak to Balbala next to the altar and request another Barya using the dialogue option on the right side. When you complete the Test of Strength you can use the Altar of Ascendancy in the room after the boss to choose your Ascendancy.

How does Ascendancy work?

Image1of3You’ll find the Altar of Ascendancy in the treasure room after the boss(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)You can choose between two different Ascendancies based on your class(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)Your Ascendancy creates a separate mini skill tree in the centre of your passive board(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Image1of3

You’ll find the Altar of Ascendancy in the treasure room after the boss(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)You can choose between two different Ascendancies based on your class(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)Your Ascendancy creates a separate mini skill tree in the centre of your passive board(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

You’ll find the Altar of Ascendancy in the treasure room after the boss(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Treasure room

You can choose between two different Ascendancies based on your class(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Witch Hunter

Your Ascendancy creates a separate mini skill tree in the centre of your passive board(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

PoE 2 Ascendancy - Passive skill tree

You canpick between two Ascendancies when you complete the Trial of Strength, and upon choosing one, it’ll appear at the very centre of your passive skill tree. You’ll get two passive Ascendancy skill points that you can spend here—these are different from regular passive skill points, and to get more you have to earn them through further Trials of the Sekhemas.

You can, however, still respec them with The Hooded One, though it will cost you significantly more than a regular passive skill node. To earn further Baryas you can use in the Trial of Sekhemas, you’ll have to progress the story into act three and continue to level up. While in act two you can find further Djinn Baryas, but it’s worth noting that these will activate the same Test of Strength again, and won’t award additional Ascendancy points, though they will still reward you with loot.

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How to unlock Ascendancy#

Trial of the Sekhemas explained#

How does Ascendancy work?#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

How to unlock Ascendancy

Trial of the Sekhemas explained

How does Ascendancy work?

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals