Summary
- Path of Exile 2 is a slower game compared to its predecessor, focusing on player skills, combos and dodging.
- Path of Exile 2 introduces Sehkemas' Trial, a roguelike experience with resources like Honor.
- Trial of the Sehkemas offers more agency and fairer gameplay despite being more challenging.
As a game that was released during one of the busiest times of the year, especially for an Early Access title, Path of Exile 2 has enjoyed much success so far. Path of Exile 2 is an independent continuation of Path of Exileand while both games are action RPGs, they take that approach quite differently despite sharing a lot of DNA. because PoE is a fast-paced game that's been around for a decade, creating items and abilities that have infiltrated the power meta, Path of Exile 2 is a slower game that rewards players' ability to use their resources, combos, and dodge rolls to survive. This translates perfectly into his new Ascendancy system.
In Path of Exileplayers have access to three difficulties for the campaign and then Maps in the end game. In each difficulty setting, they can gain their Ascendancy class and more passive Ascension points to spend on it, which is done by tackling the Lord's Labyrinth – a trap-filled maze where the objective is to get to the end and defeat Izaro. Path of Exile 2 uses a similar concept to Trial of the Sehkemas, which turns the original Labyrinth on its head, making it a roguelike experience.
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Sehkemas' trial in Path of Exile 2 explained
As in its predecessor, dying in time Path of Exile 2Sehkemas' process means players have to start from scratch and not unlock PoE 2Ascending classes or additional nodes of it. However, the Sehkemas Process has several resources to micro-manage to complete the challenge, the most important of which is Honor. Unlike Sacred Water or the various keys (Bronze Keys, Silver Keys, and Gold Keys), Honor can determine whether players can finish their race or not, even if they never die. This is because running out of Honor means your run is over, so you have to be very careful.
Like Life or Energy Shield, players lose honor when hit by enemies, traps, or other effects, including damage over time. When Honor reaches 0, players must start the Trial of the Sehkemas all over again.
While it may seem like a mechanic meant to punish players, there are more ways to micro-manage Honor besides making sure you don't get hit by attacks and traps. This is because Trial of the Sehkemas has multiple paths and rooms for players to choose from, all of which can shape a given race in multiple ways. Some rooms grant holy water or keys, and others allow players to restore their honor by playing Path of Exile 2difficulty and ways to manage it.
However, each race is different due to different modifiers, with afflictions usually being the most problematic. These are permanent modifiers that either make players weaker or monsters stronger, effectively making each race more difficult when present. Still, the idea of Sehkemas' Trial offering a roguelike approach to what is regularly an ARPG is great and proves that Path of Exile 2Its gameplay evolves over its predecessor.
Why Path of Exile 2 Trial of the Sehkemas is a win-win add-on
The reason why Trial of the Sehkemas feels like an improved version of Lord's Labyrinth, despite being technically more difficult, is that players have much more agency over the various encounters and bonuses (or Tribulations) . If a race goes bad due to honor reduction, players can search for rooms that restore it; conversely, if a run goes particularly well, challenging rooms with keys or Sacred Water as rewards will improve the loot Path of Exile 2 players reach the end. While arguably more difficult, Trial of the Sehkemas can feel fairer compared to Labyrinth, which is nothing to scoff at when losing a run means you have to start over.