The Trial of Chaos

The Trials of Chaos is one of three Ascension Trials, first accessible in Act 3. It is a gauntlet of rooms filled with monsters and traps of increasing difficulty that must be completed without dying. It is based on Ultimatum from Path of Exile 1.

Mechanics

Each Trial of Chaos run has 10 trials or rounds. After starting the trial or completing a room, the player can progress to the entrance to the next room containing an altar. The altar displays a reward and three modifiers to choose from.

The player is then offered two choices: end the trial and receive the accumulated rewards, or aim for more rewards and start the next round by selecting a new modifier to add.

There are four possible objectives:

Defeat all the Monsters: Kill all enemies to progress.
Survive until the timer expires: Survive until the Corruption Dais is filled.
Escort the Statue: Stand near the statue to move it forward to the goal. It will spawn monsters as it moves.

The final trial of each run is always one of three random bosses, listed below.

If the player's character dies or fails any of the trial objectives, the trial run is failed and all rewards are forfeited.

Rewards

The Trial of Chaos offers cumulative rewards. Upon completing or manually ending a trial, each round's rewards can be obtained at the trial altar. Failing an Ultimatum encounter forfeits all accumulated rewards and ends the trial.

Rewards include corrupted rare items, corrupted unique items, currency, Vaal Orbs. and soul cores.

Additionally, Inscribed Ultimatums can have affixes which allow the player to sacrifice items to double them upon completing the trial.

Bosses

The Trialmaster

The Trialmaster also has his own set of exclusive drops and can be challenged by bringing three fates to unlock the door to the Trialmaster's Tower after successfully completing a Trial of Chaos.

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List of Trial modifiers


Modifier	Image	Effect
Blood Globules		Globules of blood manifest nearby, tracking you. When above you they will fall dealing physical damage
Chaotic Monsters		Monsters deal 30% of Damage Added as Chaos Damage
Impending Doom		Rings of Chaos appear on the ground which grow over time, detonating when they reach maximum area
Pyramid Beams	File:Pyramid Beams Ultimatum.png	Pyramid objects appear, projecting four rotating lasers that inflict Corrupted Blood on Hit
Reduced Recovery		50% Reduced Life, Mana, and Energy Shield Recovery Rate
Shielding Monsters		Monsters gain 100% of Maximum Life as extra Maximum Energy Shield
Shocking Turrets		Challenge area contains turrets that will periodically fire Lightning projectiles ahead
Time Paradox		Buffs expire three times faster and Debuffs expire three times slower
Unstoppable Monsters		Monsters cannot be Slowed or Stunned
Volatile Fiends		Monsters release deadly Volatiles on death. Rare monsters leave larger ones

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List of wagers

Inscribed Ultimatums can roll modifiers that allow players to sacrifice the following quantities of currency to receive double back upon successfully completing the Trial.

Partying

When facing a Trial of Chaos with other players, each player will be offered their own individual set of rewards. When an individual player fails the trial, they will lose their rewards but the trial will continue with the remaining players.

In between waves, the players will vote on which modifier to add to the next wave. The one with the most votes gets added. In case of ties, a mod is randomly chosen between them.

Version history

Version	Changes
0.1.0d	Generally improved balance across the board with Ultimatum monsters, bosses and modifiers. Mostly targeting outliers that were too difficult and bringing them in line. The monster density of Ultimatum encounters has been made more consistent. Stormcaller Runes, Blood Globules, Heart Tethers and Impending Doom rings no longer spawn while a player is on a lift or near the altars in the Vaal Soul Core room. Fixed a bug where Player Minions could get stuck at the top of the lift in the Trial of Chaos.
0.1.0	Introduced to the game.

References