Patch 0.2.0 Needs to Revitalize a Key Path of Exile 2 Feature

Path of Exile 2’s endgame is a treasure trove of opportunities for players to amass currency and items. With activities like Waystone farming, Atlas juicing with Tablets for superior Maps, and collecting Breach Fragments and Simulacrum Splinters for the Twisted Realm or Simulacrum runs, the game offers a rich variety of content. However, a few aspects stand out, needing some serious reworking.

For successful farming in Path of Exile 2, players often need to tweak builds, navigate the Atlas Passive Tree Skills, or optimize Waystones by considering their Affixes. Some even use Distilled Emotions for an extra edge. This process can be fully tailored to suit individual goals, as stronger builds or significant currency investments in the endgame can yield exponentially better results. But, this doesn’t quite apply to everything—particularly the Trials of Sekhemas and Trials of Chaos. Trials of Chaos is quite popular for its consistent rewards, but Trials of Sekhemas fall behind.

Let’s delve into the crux of the Trials of Sekhemas. This mode functions as a roguelike, with its unique layout and trap systems, yet complicates things with an Honour mechanic. In this setup, players can actually fail a run by maintaining 0 Honour, regardless of their Life status. With damage reducing Honour, it often feels cumbersome at every level. What exacerbates the situation are the numerous Afflictions present in this trial. These can utterly stifle progress or even eliminate the possibility of some builds succeeding. Afflictions that nullify Armor, Evasion, or Energy Shield—deemed Minor—are particularly problematic. A more balanced approach would see these reducing defenses by 25% or 33% with potential stacking, making random Affliction rooms a risky avoidance rather than the dodged bullet they currently are.

Looking to the Trials of Chaos offers a beacon of change for the struggling Sekhemas trial. In Chaos, the player is presented with a choice between three negative modifiers, meaning even the worst are manageable. It’s a fair system and could serve as an inspiration for Sekhemas by adopting a stack-based system for its Afflictions and Boons, perhaps even eliminating Major and Minor categorizations entirely.

Implementing such a system would transform the Trials of Sekhemas into a consistent challenge rather than a gamble, giving players greater control and less dependency on luck. If Grinding Gear Games opts for these changes, it could certainly redefine the appeal of this mode, enhancing its viability for those seeking a structured yet still challenging experience in Path of Exile 2. But only time will tell if these adjustments will be made.