Path of Exile 2 offers players a massive range of content to explore, particularly in the endgame. While farming Waystones, clearing high-level maps, or tackling the Simulacrum provide great rewards and currency, not all activities in the game are created equal. Some require more adjustments than others, and one such activity that stands out is the Trial of the Sekhemas. This content, while intriguing in concept, leaves a lot to be desired and could benefit from some significant changes.
The Current Issues with Trial of the Sekhemas
Trial of the Sekhemas is a unique roguelike activity, but it’s hindered by a few key mechanics that limit its potential. For one, it introduces Honour, a resource that governs your Life, Mana, and Energy Shield. Normally, losing Life results in death, but in the Trial of Sekhemas, a character can survive the entire run, only to lose when Honour reaches zero. Since Honour depletes with any damage, it creates a frustrating experience for players. The constant drain of Honour can feel like an uncontrollable mechanic that detracts from the player's agency in managing their character.
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Furthermore, the Affliction system in the Trial of the Sekhemas is problematic. Afflictions are negative debuffs that alter the way the player interacts with the environment. Some Afflictions render certain builds virtually unplayable, especially for those focusing on Armour, Evasion, or Energy Shield. Instead of providing varied challenges, the randomness of the Afflictions often punishes specific builds without offering much in return. These Minor Afflictions should ideally reduce the corresponding defense types by a smaller percentage (around 25-33%) rather than completely negating them, which makes some runs near impossible to finish.
How Trial of Chaos Sets a Better Example
Comparing the Trial of Sekhemas to Trial of Chaos, another endgame activity, reveals how the latter has managed to refine certain systems that could improve the Sekhemas Trial. The Trial of Chaos uses a more player-friendly approach with stackable modifiers. While negative modifiers exist, they are not as devastating as the ones found in the Sekhemas Trial. Players can select between three different negative modifiers and still manage to work around them, making it less reliant on pure RNG and more about strategic choices.
Trial of Chaos also avoids the honour mechanic and replaces it with a more standard resource system, giving players more room to control their own fate during the run. By enabling a more predictable challenge, players can focus on their build and gameplay rather than worrying about being "randomly" punished by Afflictions.
Suggested Changes for Trial of the Sekhemas
If the Trial of Sekhemas were to adopt a similar system to the Trial of Chaos, it could see significant improvement. Implementing stackable Afflictions instead of random debuffs could allow players to better adapt to the difficulty curve. The changes would introduce more strategic depth to the challenge, making the activity more engaging. Additionally, rather than allowing Afflictions to totally remove defensive layers, they should be designed to gradually reduce their effectiveness, giving players a fighting chance to overcome the challenges.
Moreover, Honour should either be reworked or removed entirely. Instead of randomly draining, players should be able to manage their resources with greater agency, enabling more diverse builds and playstyles to thrive in this content.
Conclusion: Potential for Growth
Ultimately, Trial of the Sekhemas has potential as an engaging, roguelike endgame activity in Path of Exile 2, but it needs rebalancing to meet the expectations set by other endgame systems like the Trial of Chaos. With strategic changes to how Afflictions and Honour work, the Trial could become more consistent and enjoyable, offering players a fair challenge without compromising their build viability.
Until such changes are implemented, fans will have to adapt and wait for updates from Grinding Gear Games. In the meantime, players looking for a smoother experience can always explore other activities like Simulacrum farming or Waystone farming, or simply use resources wisely to keep improving their buy poe 2 currency.
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