Path of Exile: All Trial of Ascendancy Locations in the Campaign
Path of Exile is known for its depth, complexity, and rewarding progression systems. One of the core features that separates a casual experience from a masterful one is the Ascendancy system. To unlock the full potential of your character's Ascendancy class, you must complete a series of Trials of Ascendancy, which are scattered throughout the campaign and culminate in the Labyrinth. Understanding the locations and mechanics of these trials is crucial for efficient progression and gaining access to the powerful passive skills that define your build. This guide details every Labyrinth Trial in the campaign, providing a roadmap to help players navigate these challenges effectively.
What Are Trials of Ascendancy?
Trials of Ascendancy are special encounters that appear in the main campaign of Path of Exile. Each trial is tied to a particular Labyrinth, and completing these trials rewards Ascendancy points and Path of exile currency-unique points that allow players to choose advanced passive skills within their chosen Ascendancy class.
Each class has three notable Ascendancy classes. For example, the Marauder has the Juggernaut, Berserker, and Chieftain, while the Witch has the Necromancer, Elementalist, and Occultist. The trials themselves are designed to test both your understanding of the game's mechanics and your ability to adapt to varied combat scenarios.
Completing all the trials is mandatory for entering the Labyrinth, which is the final challenge in Ascendancy progression. The Labyrinth contains traps, puzzles, and bosses, culminating in a fight against a powerful Labyrinth guardian.
How Trials Work in the Campaign
Trials are scattered throughout the campaign, typically located in zones associated with the major acts: Act 2, Act 3, and Act 4. The trials appear as glowing circular stones or obelisks, often tucked away off the main path or hidden behind minor exploration challenges.
Each Trial has two main purposes:
Test the Player's Combat Skills - Enemies and mechanics are designed to challenge your build, requiring strategy, skill rotation, and sometimes even specific gear adjustments.
Unlock Labyrinth Access - Completing a trial rewards a Trial Key, which is essential for opening the Labyrinth portal once all trials are complete.
Players can complete the trials in any order, but understanding their locations and layout makes navigation easier.
Act-Specific Trial Locations
Act 2 Trials
In Act 2, players begin to see more structured Trials of Ascendancy. These are typically located in more linear zones, but often hidden behind optional side paths or in areas requiring exploration.
The Southern Forest Trial - Located in the dense forest area near Lioneye's Watch. Players must navigate through a maze of monsters, with traps that teach the importance of movement and timing.
The Quarry Trial - Found in the mining area, this trial emphasizes environmental hazards such as falling debris and mine cart traps, combining positional awareness with combat.
The Vaal Ruins Trial - Hidden within an optional side dungeon, this trial introduces mechanics like poison clouds and summoning enemy minions, foreshadowing the more complex hazards found in the Labyrinth.
Act 2 trials serve as an introduction to the Labyrinth's mechanics, offering moderate challenges designed to test both offense and defense without overwhelming new players.
Act 3 Trials
Act 3 ramps up the difficulty of Ascendancy trials, placing them in zones with more verticality and environmental hazards.
The Dried Lake Trial - Hidden behind the main path, this trial introduces waves of elite enemies with high resistance, requiring precise skill use and crowd control management.
The Ledge Trial - Found in the city outskirts, this trial emphasizes movement and skill placement. Narrow platforms and cliffs mean players must carefully position themselves to avoid falling damage and environmental hazards.
The Ossuary Trial - Located in the necropolis area, this trial is filled with undead enemies and traps that punish slow reaction times, testing your awareness and defensive playstyle.
Act 3 trials often combine multiple mechanics in a single encounter, forcing players to adapt on the fly and demonstrating the increasingly complex challenges of the Labyrinth proper.
Act 4 Trials
By Act 4, the Ascendancy trials are significantly more difficult. Players encounter not only strong enemies but also traps and environmental hazards reminiscent of those in the endgame Labyrinth.
The Ossuary Extension Trial - A continuation of the Act 3 Ossuary theme, but with additional poison traps, moving spike floors, and increased monster density.
The Ebony Barracks Trial - Located in the fortified zone, this trial introduces elite champions with elemental damage types that require resistance management and careful positioning.
The Vaal Temple Trial - Found in an optional temple zone, this trial emphasizes puzzle-solving alongside combat. Players may need to interact with environmental switches to avoid damaging themselves while defeating waves of enemies.
Completing Act 4 trials prepares players for the challenges of the full Labyrinth, with multiple hazards occurring simultaneously, demanding both strategic thinking and precise execution.
Tips for Completing Trials Efficiently
Successfully completing trials requires preparation and awareness. Here are some key strategies:
Map Awareness - Trials often hide behind optional paths. Explore thoroughly to ensure you locate all trial entrances.
Gear Optimization - While trial encounters are challenging, they are not meant to be insurmountable. Equip gear appropriate for your level, focusing on resistances and life to handle high-damage enemies. You can buy POE currency to upgrade your gear.
Skill Rotation Mastery - Understanding your abilities and how to chain them efficiently is essential. Trials often punish inefficient or repetitive skill use.
Potion Management - Health and mana flasks are critical, especially in Act 3 and 4 trials where sustained fights and environmental damage are common.
Trap Avoidance - Many trials feature environmental hazards like spikes, falling debris, and poison clouds. Stay mobile and observe patterns before moving recklessly.
By combining these strategies, players can complete all trials in one campaign playthrough, unlocking access to the Labyrinth and earning valuable Ascendancy points.
The Labyrinth and Ascendancy Rewards
Once all trials are complete, players gain access to the Labyrinth, an instanced dungeon designed to test the skills learned in the trials. The Labyrinth is divided into multiple sections filled with traps, puzzles, and mini-bosses, culminating in a final boss encounter known as the Labyrinth Guardian.
Completing the Labyrinth grants Ascendancy points, which allow players to specialize further within their chosen Ascendancy class. These points often provide powerful passives that enhance your build in meaningful ways, such as increased elemental damage, improved minion effectiveness, or enhanced survivability.
Each Labyrinth run also rewards experience and loot, and high-level players often revisit the Labyrinth in later acts or endgame maps to continue refining their characters and collecting rare items.
Conclusion
Understanding the locations and mechanics of the Trials of Ascendancy is essential for any Path of Exile player aiming to unlock the full potential of their Ascendancy class. From Act 2's introductory challenges to Act 4's complex encounters, each trial teaches essential skills that prepare players for the Labyrinth's ultimate test.
Exploring hidden paths, mastering skill rotations, and managing environmental hazards will ensure that you complete every trial efficiently, unlocking the powerful Ascendancy passives that define your build. The Trials of Ascendancy are more than just optional challenges-they are a crucial part of PoE's depth, rewarding players who embrace exploration, strategy, and mastery of the game's intricate systems.
By carefully navigating each trial and learning from its unique challenges, you can confidently enter the Labyrinth and claim your place among Path of Exile's most formidable exiles.