Path Of Exile 2: Ascent To Power Walkthrough

Path of Exile 2: Mastering the Ascent to Power Quest – A Comprehensive Guide

Path of Exile 2's Ascendancy system significantly impacts character builds. Unlocking your first Ascendancy requires completing the Ascent to Power quest in Act 2. This guide details how to start, complete, and optimize this challenging quest.

Starting the Ascent to Power Quest

Once you unlock the Ardura Caravan in Act 2, explore the available location nodes. Before visiting "Traitor's Passage," speak with Zarka. She'll direct you to Balbala, a trapped Djinn, to gain power.

Balbala's location is randomized due to PoE2's procedural generation, but she's generally found near the end of Traitor's Passage. Locate the Ancient Seal Door leading to Balbala's prison. Deactivate three seals to initiate the boss fight.

Defeating Balbala the Traitor

Balbala resists Fire Damage and inflicts Physical, Chaos, and Fire damage, along with Poison and Ignition. Exploit her Cold Damage vulnerability for an advantage.

Here's a breakdown of Balbala's attacks and counter strategies:

• Slash Attack: A basic attack easily blocked or dodged. Save your Energy Shield for more dangerous attacks. Can inflict Burning or Poison.
• Throwing Attack: Ranged version of the slash attack; dodge or block. Each dagger causes Poison buildup.
• Whirling Dash Attack: A fast lunge with an explosive AoE after 1.5 seconds. Dodge; cannot be blocked. Preceded by the voice cue "Face Me!" or "Na'kai!".
• Teleport Dagger Attack: Balbala teleports and throws daggers creating an AoE. Dodge only. Voice cue: "Atul!".
• Summon Shadow Clone: Balbala throws a Barya (coin) summoning a clone if you step in the yellow AoE. Quickly avoid the AoE to prevent the clone's summoning and subsequent teleport slam.
• Teleport Slam: After the clone summoning, Balbala teleports and slams, creating a fiery AoE. Dodge. Voice cue: "Tithe!".
• Summon Poison Mist/Vanish: Balbala vanishes (voice cues: "Visions of Jarah!" or "Mists of Sulamith!") summoning poison mist. Quickly locate and attack her to cancel the channeling. She'll then yell "Sands of Wrath!" or "Darakatha!" before a dodging AoE slam.
• Explosive Blade Rain: Throws explosive daggers in a counterclockwise pattern. Dodge in the opposite direction.
• Blade Storm: If the Shadow Clone isn't quickly eliminated, Balbala unleashes a devastating blade storm. Prioritize eliminating the clone to prevent this.

Defeating Balbala yields Balbala's Barya, which you must give to Zarka. She'll then reveal the location of the Trials of the Sekhemas.

Completing the Trials of the Sekhemas

Travel to the Trials of the Sekhemas node from the Ardura Caravan. The first time, you'll need to command the caravan's movement. Unlock the Waypoint and interact with the altar where Balbala provides instructions.

The Trials are procedurally generated, with each room presenting unique challenges: timed challenges, traps, and elite enemies. Before entering, use a Relic to obtain a boon.

Key Mechanics:

• Honor: A resource bar decreasing with damage taken. Reaching 0 Honor results in failure.
• Sacred Water: Earned by killing enemies; used to buy boons, keys, and recover Honor.
• Keys: Earned with remaining Sacred Water; used to open chests.

Energy Shield drain doesn't reduce Honor, making Energy Shield builds advantageous. Each completed section grants a boon and a curse.

Trial Types:

• Chalice Trial: Defeat two boss monsters.
• Escape Trial (timed): Defuse Death Crystals before time runs out.
• Gauntlet Trial: Avoid traps and find levers.
• Hourglass Trial (timed): Survive enemy waves until time runs out.
• Ritual Trial: Find and kill Summoners and their summoned beasts.
• Boss Trial: Tiered boss fights (Rattlecage, Terracota Sentinels, Ashar, Zarokh).

Balancing boons and curses is crucial for preserving Honor. Rattlecage, the Earthbreaker, is a particularly challenging boss; prioritize Fire Resistance.

Completing Ascent to Power

After defeating Rattlecage, choose your first Ascendancy at the final altar. This choice is permanent.

Cruel Difficulty: To obtain two additional Ascendancy points in Act 2 Cruel Difficulty, you must:

1. Defeat Balbala (the Barya should indicate "Number of Trials 2").
2. Return to Normal difficulty and access the Trials using the Barya.
3. Complete two Trial runs consecutively, defeating a boss in each.

This is a workaround for a bug. Only the first Normal and Cruel difficulty runs grant Ascendancy points. You'll need to complete the Trial of Chaos in Act 3 (Normal and Cruel) for the remaining 4 points. Remember, reaching 0 Honor fails the Trial, but the first attempt doesn't consume the Barya. Subsequent attempts will.