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Trial of the Sekhemas
The Trial of the Sekhemas is one of three Ascension Trials, first accessible in Act 2. It is a randomized gauntlet of rooms filled with monsters and traps that must be traversed before the player runs out of Honour. It is based on the Forbidden Sanctum from Path of Exile 1.
Overview
To gain access, the player must first defeat Balbala, the Traitor and obtain 
Balbala's Barya. This coin can be placed within the Relic Altar to begin the trial. Doing so will grant access to the entire first floor of the Trial. Higher level 
Djinn Baryas obtained later in the game provide access to additional floors and improved rewards, and are also tradeable. Each floor contains 8 rooms, with the 8th room being a boss. There are 4 floors in total.
The player can preview the layout and room connections of the current floor, as well as a limited number of columns of rooms ahead, including their layout, objectives, rewards, and afflictions.
Damage taken during the Trial of the Sekhemas will also damage your Honour, which cannot be recovered by normal means. Running out of Honour will fail the trial.
The exile may be supported or impeded by Boons and Afflictions, special buffs and debuffs that persist throughout the trial. Sacred Water may be traded with Balbala for boons and relics.
All of your progress, including Honour, Sacred Water, Boons, Afflictions, etc. are carried over between floors. A full Trial contains 4 floors, each containing 8 rooms. The 8th room of each floor always contains a Boss. Crashing during a Trial room will reset the room's progress, as long as the player did not fail the room due to honour loss. However, any changes to your honour during the room's progress will be retained. Sacred Water and rewards are locked in upon successful completion of a room. It is possible to return back into a completed room from the reward room to kill any remaining enemies or open chests.
Each Trial run is independent between characters on the same account.
Relic Altar
- The Relic Altar is unlocked automatically when Balbala's Barya is brought into the starting area.
- Each character has its own Relic Altar and uses separate Relics. However, the Relic Locker is shared between all of your characters in the same league.
- Relics placed in the Relic Altar are locked in for the entire Trial run as soon as they are confirmed and cannot be added or removed in the middle of a run. The current run must be completed, failed, or forfeited to add or remove Relics.
- The Relic Altar contains 18 inventory spaces, but 12 are initially locked and can be obtained by defeating specific floor bosses or opening specific types of key caches.
- Unlocking the Ritual Altar for the first time will reward the player with a magic rarity
Urn Relic.
-
Empty Relic Altar before putting in a coin
-
The Relic Altar in its initial state
-
Fully unlocked Relic Altar
Unlocking
Locked inventory spaces for the Relic Altar can be unlocked by completing various floors in the Trial.
| Row | Column | Unlocking Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Complete the Test of Cunning |
| 1 | 2 | Complete the Test of Strength |
| 1 | 3 | Complete the Test of Strength |
| 1 | 4 | Complete the Test of Will |
| 2 | 1 | Complete the Test of Will |
| 2 | 5 | Complete the Test of Cunning |
| 3 | 1 | Complete the Test of Cunning |
| 3 | 5 | Complete the Test of Time |
| 4 | 2 | Complete the Test of Time |
| 4 | 3 | Complete the Test of Strength |
| 4 | 4 | Complete the Test of Will |
| 4 | 5 | Complete the Test of Time |
Mechanics
Honour
- Honour is an additional stat player characters have while participating in the Trial.
- The default maximum Honour is based on the sum of the player's default maximum life and energy shield upon starting the trial. If a character possesses the Mind over Matter keystone, maximum mana will be added to this total as well. Honour is maintained between rooms, and the player is ejected from the Trial if it hits 0, resetting all floors and rooms. Being ejected does not count as a death, nor does it remove experience.
- Honour is lost from hits from monsters or traps in the Trial. Closer proximity to monsters reduces the Honour lost on hit, up to 35% less in close range.
- Minions and non-party allies do not cause Honour to be lost if hit.
- A varying percentage of Honour can be restored in Fountain rooms.
- Gaining additional Maximum Honour will also cause the character to gain current Honour of the same amount. Losing Maximum Honour will not further affect the current Honour.
- Honour Resistance reduces the amount of Honour lost by the listed percentage.
Sacred Water
- Sacred Water is a type of non-tradeable currency can be found in the Trial from chests or killed enemies. It appears as light blue droplets of water emitting a blue energy. Sacred Water is collected automatically when the player is near it.
- Sacred Water can be traded to the merchant for a small amount of Honour recovery, various Boons, or relics.
- Sacred Water is maintained between rooms and floors, and is reset when the Trial run ends.
Leftover Sacred Water can be converted into Keys at the Keth Forge in the cache reward room after a floor boss.
Keys
Completing a room may reward the player with a 
Bronze Key, 
Silver Key, or 
Gold Key. Bronze and Silver Keys can be infrequently obtained from defeating monsters or opening chests and other loot containers in Trial areas.
Keys can also be obtained by converting Sacred Water in the Keth Forge in the cache reward room after a floor boss.
These can be used to open their respective caches at the end of the trial for various items and rewards.
Boon
- Major boons are grouped in a symbol with a very thick and bright yellow-bordered boon symbol, while all minor boons are grouped in a plain yellow-bordered boon symbol. Boons are shown when hovering the according symbol.
- Boons grant various benefits to your Trial run and can help recover or mitigate damage to your Honour, increase your Sacred Water and rewards, debuff monsters, or provide other helpful buffs.
| Boon Type | Image | Boon Name | Description | Merchant cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Boon | Ahkeli's Guard | You cannot be Damaged for 1 second after taking Damage from an Enemy Hit | ||
| Major Boon | All-Seeing Eye | The Trial Map is fully revealed | 300 | |
| Major Boon | Crystal Shard | The next Affliction you gain is converted into a random Minor Boon | ||
| Major Boon | Dekhara's Necklace | You cannot receive any more Minor Afflictions | ||
| Major Boon | Earned Honour | Restore # of your Honour on room completion | 600 | |
| Major Boon | Garukhan's Favour | Ignore the first Damage taken from an Enemy Hit in each Room (note: this stacks between rooms) | ||
| Major Boon | Holy Water | Gain a random Minor Boon when you venerate a Maraketh Shrine | ||
| Major Boon | Imperial Seal | Traps are Disabled | ||
| Major Boon | Orbala's Leathers | Upon reaching 0 Honour, revive once with 50% less Honour | ||
| Major Boon | Raincaller | Sacred Water found is doubled | ||
| Major Boon | Reparations | Gain 2 Sacred Water when you take Damage from an Enemy Hit | ||
| Major Boon | Sekhema's Cloak | Upon reaching 0 Life, revive once with Full Honour | ||
| Minor Boon | Adrenaline Vial | Restore 30% of your Honour on entering a Boss Room | 220-320 | |
| Minor Boon | Assassin's Blade | The next 10 non-Boss Monsters you Hit are killed instantly | 220-420 | |
| Minor Boon | Balbala's Gift | Your next purchase from the Merchant has no cost | 280 | |
| Minor Boon | Black Pearl | Traps deal 50% less damage | 280 | |
| Minor Boon | Diverted River | Sacred Water found on this floor is doubled | 280-360 | |
| Minor Boon | Enchanted Urn | 30% increased Effect of your Non-Unique Relics | 220 | |
| Minor Boon | Flooding Rivers | 50% more Sacred Water found | 220-420 | |
| Minor Boon | Fountain of Youth | Restore 40 of your Honour when you venerate a Maraketh Shrine | 280-420 | |
| Minor Boon | Fright Mask | Monsters deal 20% less damage | 220 | |
| Minor Boon | Glowing Orb | The next time you go below 20% of Maximum Life, restore all Life, Energy Shield and 50% of Honour | 160 | |
| Minor Boon | Hare Foot | 40% increased Movement Speed | 320 | |
| Minor Boon | Honoured Challenger | 50% increased Honour restored | 220-320 | |
| Minor Boon | Lustrous Lacquer | You have 50% more Defences | ||
| Minor Boon | Lustrous Pearl | Traps are slower | 280-360 | |
| Minor Boon | Mirror of Fortune | The next Key you pick up is duplicated | 360 | |
| Minor Boon | Moment's Peace | You cannot be Damaged until you complete the next room | 280-320 | |
| Minor Boon | Orbala Statuette | You have 25% more Maximum Life | 280-360 | |
| Minor Boon | Ornate Dagger | You and your minions deal 50% more Damage | 220-360 | |
| Minor Boon | Sanguine Vial | Monsters have 30% less Maximum Life | 280 | |
| Minor Boon | Silver Chalice | The next Minor Boon you gain is converted into a random Major Boon | ||
| Minor Boon | Silver Tongue | 50% reduced Merchant prices | 280-320 | |
| Minor Boon | Scrying Crystal | You can see an additional room ahead on the Trial Map | 280-420 | |
| Minor Boon | Upward Path | Your Sacred Water found is increased by 10% on room completion (removed when you purchase something from the Merchant) | ? | |
| Minor Boon | Viscous Ichor | Monsters have 15% reduced Action Speed | 220-320 |
Affliction
- Major afflictions are grouped in a symbol with a very thick and bright purple-bordered boon symbol, while all minor afflictions are grouped in a plain purple-bordered affliction symbol. Afflictions are shown when hovering according symbol.
- Afflictions grant various downsides to your Trial run and can reduce or prevent Honour recovery, spawn additional traps, buff monsters, affect your Sacred Water generation, or hide rooms or rewards on the Trial Map.
| Affliction Type | Icon | Affliction Name | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Affliction | Death Toll | Take 850 Physical Damage after completing 8 rooms | |
| Minor Affliction | Blunt Sword | You and your Minions deal 40% less Damage | |
| Minor Affliction | Chains of Binding | Monsters inflict Binding Chains on hit | |
| Minor Affliction | Dishonoured Tattoo | 100% increased Damage Taken while on Low Life | |
| Minor Affliction | Fiendish Wings | Monsters' Action Speed cannot be slowed below base
Monsters have 25% increased Attack, Cast, and Movement speed | |
| Minor Affliction | Hungry Fangs | Monsters remove 3% of your Life, Mana, and Energy Shield on Hit | |
| Minor Affliction | Low Rivers | 50% less Sacred Water found | |
| Minor Affliction | Sharpened Arrowhead | You have no Armour | |
| Minor Affliction | Spiked Exit | Take 25 Physical Damage upon Room Completion | |
| Minor Affliction | Spiked Shell | Monsters have 50% increased Maximum Life | |
| Minor Affliction | Suspected Sympathiser | 50% reduced Honour restored | |
| Minor Affliction | Trade Tariff | 50% increased Merchant prices | |
| Minor Affliction | Tradition's Demand | The Merchant only offers one choice | |
| Minor Affliction | Weakened Flesh | 25% less Maximum Honour | |
| Minor Affliction | Winter Drought | Lose all Sacred Water on floor completion |
Pledges
Players may sometimes be able to take on a Pledge to Kochai the Inscrutable at a Shrine, allowing the player to pick one of three Pledges which provide significant upsides and downsides.
| Icon | Upside | Downside |
|---|---|---|
 |
Gain a specific Minor Boon | Lose 25% Maximum Honour |
 |
Gain a random Major Boon | Lose 50% Maximum Honour |
 |
Gain 2 random Minor Boons | Lose 50% Maximum Honour |
 |
Gain a specific Minor Boon | Gain a specific Minor Affliction |
 |
Lose a specific Minor Boon | Lose a specific Minor Affliction |
 |
Gain a specific Minor Boon | Gain a random Minor Affliction |
 |
Lose a specific Minor Affliction | Gain a random Minor Affliction |
 |
Gain a random Minor Boon | Gain a random Minor Affliction |
 |
Lose a random Minor Affliction | Lose a random Minor Boon |
 |
Gain 3 random Minor Boons | Gain a specific Major Affliction |
 |
Lose 3 random Minor Afflictions | Gain a random Major Affliction |
 |
Gain a random Major Boon | Lose 3 random Minor Boons |
Traps
- Spike Trap: Several large spikes will shoot out of the ground periodically, indicated by rumbling and dust.
- Flamethrower Trap: A four-way flamethrower spins around in a circle. Some ruined walls may provide paths to avoid them. Inflicts a fire damage over time effect on health and honour.
- Poison gas pressure plate: A pressure plate that releases poison gas when the player steps on it. Deals high chaos damage if stood on.
- Poison gas pressure plate that activates a colored lock: Similar to the above, except these will be connected to a colored lock and release gas after a short delay.
- Poison dart pressure plate: A pressure plate that causes poison darts to be fired.
- Fixed fireball turret: Slow-moving fireballs are shot out of the wall in a sequential pattern, with a short reload.
- Rotating fireball turret: Slow-moving fireballs are shot out sequentially while the turret rotates, with a short reload.
- Fire mine: Indicated by an orange circle on the ground. When stepped on it activates after a very quick delay, dealing high fire damage.
- Quicksand: Standing on it builds the quicksand debuff, slowing the player's action and movement speed. Deals no damage.
- Time mine: Standing on it inflicts the temporal rift debuff, teleporting the player back to the mine's location, then exploding after a short delay. Sometimes next to other traps.
- Fixed portal turret: Fires slow moving projectiles through portal in a straight line. Inflicts shock.
Tips for dealing with traps
- Most traps can be dodge-rolled through, with immunity for the entire animation.
Trial objectives
Each room contains one of the following trial objectives:
- Chalice Trial - Defeat the Rare Monsters: The player must defeat all of the rare monsters in the room to fill the blood chalice. Clearing 50% of the rare monsters will cause an indicator to appear, pointing towards remaining rare monsters.
- Escape Trial - Disable the Crystals: The player must disable all of the Death Crystals in the room. Any Crystals still active when the timer expires will deal damage. Clicking a Crystal adds time to the timer and indicates the direction of the next Crystal.
- Ritual Trial - Defeat the Ritual Casters: Defeat the Ritual Casters to close the portals spawning endless monsters.
- Gauntlet Trial - Find the Exit: Find the exit, avoiding traps and monsters. Players will need to pull coloured levers to unlock paths.
- Hourglass Trial - Survive: Survive until the timer expires. Killing rare monsters reduces the timer.
Room Reward Types
Note: All room types other than boss rooms can become Afflicted. Afflicted rooms are indicated by a purple border and cause the character to gain an Affliction on entry.
Sacred Water Fountain
Contains a fountain containing Sacred Water; comes in 2 types: Regular or Large.
Shrine
- Honour Tabina: Players can spend 5 Sacred Water to recover 25% of your Honour before increases.
- Honour Balbala: Players can spend 5 Sacred Water to recover 20% of Honour before increases and gain a random Boon.
- Honour Ahkeli: Spend 5 Sacred Water to Restore ~25% of your Honour before increases, gain a random Minor Affliction.
- Honour Galai: Bestows the fickle Blessings of the Wind - Spend 5 Sacred Water to Restore #% of your Honour before increases, gain a random Boon, and cleanse a random Affliction.
Pledge
Pledge to Kochai: Players can spend 5 Sacred Water to select one of three random Pledges.
Merchant
Merchant rooms contain the NPC Balbala, the Released who sells you Boons or relics or restores your Honour in exchange for Sacred Water. Boons cost have individual prices, while relics cost 300, 400, or 500 Sacred Water based on their size.
Floor Bosses
| Boss Name | Boss Room | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker | Collapsing Cavern | Four-legged golem that uses fiery slam attacks. |
| Hadi of the Flaming River Rafiq of the Frozen Spring |
Ceremonial Chamber | Two large melee sentinels that use fire and ice melee attacks. |
| Ashar, The Sand Mother | ??? | A large scorpion that burrows and inflicts poison attacks. |
| Zarokh, the Temporal | Outside of Time | A floating chronomancer with several gimmicks related to action speed and time. Cannot pause the game against this boss. |
Rewards
Ascendancy
Completing a floor in the Trial at certain level thresholds will allow players to unlock their Ascendancy class and ascendancy passive skill points. The room also contains a Keth Forge to convert leftover Sacred Water into keys, and Balbala appears as a merchant to sell Relics.
The first ascendancy and the first set of points (2) can be obtained with the quest item Balbala's Barya. To obtain subsequent ascendency points with this ascendancy method you must complete more floors on the Trial of the Sekhemas with a random drop key. The number of floor available is determined by the area level of the Djinn Baryas used.
| Area level | Available trial |
|---|---|
| < 45 | 1 |
| 45 - 59 | 2 |
| 60 - 74 | 3 |
| > 74 | 4 |
Key caches
After defeating each floor boss, players can enter a vault with several reward caches. These vary from Bronze, Silver, and Gold, and can be opened by spending one of the respective keys. These are the following types of caches:
- Warrior's Cache: Contains melee weapons
- Mage's Cache: Contains caster weapons and foci
- Ranger's Cache: Contains bows and crossbows
- Helmet Cache: Contains helmets
- Body Armour Cache: Contains body armours
- Gloves Cache: Contains gloves
- Boots Cache: Contains boots
- Shield Cache: Contains shields
- Jewellery Cache: Contains rings and amulets
- Belt Cache: Contains belts
- Royal Cache: Contains regular jewels
- Time-lost Cache: Contains time-lost jewels
- Arcanist's Cache: Contains basic currency
- Hoarder's Cache: Contains random items
- Relic Cache: Contains relics
- Small Relic Cache: Contains small relics
- Medium Relic Cache: Contains medium relics
- Mysterious Cache: Contains a random selection of gold and items including relics
- Cartographer's Cache: Contains waystones
- Gold Spectrum Cache: Contains a random Grand Spectrum unique jewel
Bronze Caches typically drop three items, Silver Caches drop multiple items, and Gold Caches drop even more items.
"Prime" Caches found after defeating Ashar, The Sand Mother or Zarokh, the Temporal on floor 3 or 4 and drop higher tier items.
Time-Lost Jewels
Time-Lost Jewels are jewel base types that can be found in randomly throughout the trial from monsters or chests. These jewels roll modifiers that affect passive nodes within its radius.
Relics
Relics are a type of item that is exclusive to the Trial of the Sekhemas. They can be placed in the Relic Altar to provide buffs various beneficial stats that can make the run easier or more rewarding.
- Relics can be found within the Trial of the Sekhemas from monsters or purchased for Sacred Water.
- They can be stored in a special separate stash called the Relic Locker, which can also be placed as a hideout decoration.
- To equip a relic, they must be placed in the Relic Altar on a 5x4 grid with two of the corner slots blocked off. Additional grid slots can be unlocked as you progress, up to a total of 18 slots.
- Relics are craftable. Magic relics can have up to two modifiers. They cannot become rare.
- The pool of modifiers relics can roll depends on the total number of inventory slots it takes up, ranging from 2/3/4 or small/medium/large respectively.
Party mechanics
- The Trial of the Sekhema's choices are made by the area's instance owner.
- All party members share Honour.
- If a party member joins midway through the trial, their relics apply to calculate their maximum honour, and then the flat amount of honour damage lost by the instance owner is applied to them. This can lead to instant death for the joining party member if, for example, the instance owner has 6000/7000 honour, and the newly joining party member has 1000 max honour.
Videos
Version history
| Version | Changes |
|---|---|
| 0.1.0e |
|
| 0.1.0 |
|
