The Trial of the Sekhemas feedback

The Trial of the Sekhemas is a thrilling and intense challenge that embodies Path of Exile 2’s core philosophy of rewarding skill, preparation, and perseverance. Earning Ascendancy points through its four stages feels incredibly satisfying when achieved solo or with a cooperative group of similarly skilled players. However, the prevalent practice of paid carries—where players pay others to complete the trial for them—undermines the trial’s purpose, diminishes the sense of accomplishment, and erodes the game’s challenging spirit. This feedback proposes solutions to preserve the trial’s integrity while maintaining player freedom and the game’s social economy.

The Issue: Paid Carries in Trial of the Sekhemas
The Trial of the Sekhemas is meant to be a personal test of a player’s ability to strategize, optimize their build, and execute mechanics under pressure. The Honour system, which acts as a pseudo-health bar that depletes with damage taken, adds a layer of tension that punishes mistakes and rewards careful play. Completing all four stages to earn 8 Ascendancy points is a significant milestone that should reflect individual or cooperative mastery.

However, the ability to hire stronger players to carry others through the trial bypasses this challenge entirely. Players can pay for carries via in-game currency (e.g., through trading systems) or external platforms, allowing them to unlock Ascendancy points without engaging with the trial’s mechanics. This practice has several negative impacts:

Undermines Core Challenge: The trial’s difficulty is a key part of its appeal. Paying for a carry trivializes the experience, reducing it to a transaction rather than a test of skill. This diminishes the game’s core loop of overcoming obstacles through effort and learning.
Reduces Fun and Satisfaction: The sense of accomplishment from defeating tough bosses like Rattlecage the Earthbreaker or surviving gauntlet rooms is lost when someone else does the work. Players who opt for carries miss out on the joy of personal growth and mastery, which is central to Path of Exile’s identity.
Creates an Uneven Playing Field: Players who can afford carries gain Ascendancy points faster, giving them a power advantage over those who tackle the trial legitimately. This can feel unfair, especially in a game where progression is tied to skill and time investment.
Encourages Exploitative Practices: The carry economy can lead to scams, toxic interactions, or reliance on third-party services, which detracts from the game’s community spirit and risks player safety (e.g., account sharing or real-money transactions).
Community Sentiment: Posts on platforms like X and forums reflect frustration with the trial’s difficulty being bypassed. For example, some players have expressed that the Honour system feels punishing, but others argue that overcoming it is what makes the trial rewarding. Carries negate this debate entirely, as they remove the need to engage with the system at all.
Proposed Solutions
To address the issue of paid carries while preserving the Trial of the Sekhemas’ challenge and respecting player choice, I suggest the following changes. These aim to incentivize personal engagement, reduce the appeal of carries, and maintain the game’s cooperative and economic systems.

1. Solo-Only or Matchmade Co-Op Modes for First Completion
Proposal: Introduce a “Solo Ascendancy” or “Matchmade Co-Op” mode for the first completion of each stage of the Trial of the Sekhemas. In Solo mode, players must complete the trial alone to earn their first 2 Ascendancy points per stage. In Matchmade Co-Op, players are paired with others of similar level and progression, ensuring cooperative play without overpowered carries.
Impact: This ensures players engage with the trial’s mechanics at least once per stage, preserving the challenge and sense of accomplishment. It also encourages learning and build optimization, as players can’t rely on stronger allies to trivialize content.
Flexibility: After completing a stage solo or via matchmaking, players can replay it in open groups (allowing carries) for loot farming or helping friends, maintaining the social and economic aspects of the game.
Implementation: Lock the first completion of each stage to Solo or Matchmade Co-Op modes, requiring Balbala’s Barya or Djinn Barya coins as usual. Track completion per character to prevent bypassing via account-wide unlocks.

2. Honour System Scaling for Group Play
Proposal: Adjust the Honour system in group play to scale based on the power disparity between players. If a high-level or overgeared player joins a group, the Honour pool is reduced or damage to Honour is increased, making carries less efficient. Alternatively, apply a debuff to the carry’s damage output or Honour contribution when grouped with significantly weaker players.
Impact: This discourages carries by making them riskier and less reliable, as the group’s Honour could deplete faster if the carry takes hits or fails to protect weaker players. It incentivizes balanced group play where all members contribute.
Example: If a level 60 player joins a level 22 player in the trial, the Honour pool is reduced by 20% or Honour damage taken is increased by 30%. This reflects the imbalance and encourages players to tackle the trial at their own level.
Co-Op Consideration: In co-op, Honour is shared across the party, so this change would affect all players equally, maintaining fairness.

3. Reward Incentives for Solo or Legitimate Completions
Proposal: Offer exclusive or enhanced rewards for completing the Trial of the Sekhemas solo or in Matchmade Co-Op for the first time per stage. Examples include unique relics, higher-quality loot (e.g., guaranteed Rare items), or bonus Sacred Water. Carried players would still earn Ascendancy points but miss out on these bonuses.
Impact: This incentivizes players to attempt the trial themselves by making solo or legitimate completions more rewarding. It preserves the carry economy for those who choose it but gives a clear advantage to those who embrace the challenge.
Example: Solo completion of a stage grants a “Sekhema’s Pride” relic that boosts Honour Resistance by 10% in future runs, unavailable to carried players. Or, solo players receive a Gold Key instead of a Bronze Key for chest rewards.

4. Anti-Carry Mechanisms for Trial Access
Proposal: Introduce a level or power cap for group members entering the Trial of the Sekhemas together. For example, only players within 5-10 levels of the trial’s recommended level (e.g., level 22 for the first stage) can join the same instance. Alternatively, require all group members to contribute to room objectives (e.g., activating levers or killing casters) to progress.
Impact: This prevents high-level players from steamrolling the trial for low-level clients, forcing groups to be closer in power level. Requiring contributions ensures all players engage with mechanics, reducing the feasibility of passive carries.
Implementation: Check player levels or gear scores at the Relic Altar before starting the trial. If a player exceeds the cap, they’re barred from joining unless they use a lower-level character.

5. Community Education and Feedback Channels
Proposal: Enhance in-game tutorials or loading screen tips to emphasize the rewarding nature of overcoming the Trial of the Sekhemas through skill and effort. Create official feedback threads on the Path of Exile forums to gather player opinions on the carry system and potential changes.
Impact: Educating players about the trial’s design and its role in character progression may discourage reliance on carries. Collecting feedback ensures GGG can refine solutions based on community sentiment, as seen in existing forum discussions about the trial’s difficulty and Honour system.
Example: Add a tip: “The Trial of the Sekhemas tests your mastery—conquering it solo unlocks your true potential!” or “Experiment with relics and resistances to preserve Honour and triumph.”
Balancing Player Freedom and Game Integrity
While eliminating paid carries entirely might seem ideal, Path of Exile 2 thrives on player freedom, including the ability to trade, cooperate, and engage in a player-driven economy. Completely banning carries could alienate players who enjoy helping others or earning currency through services like those offered by SkyCoach. Instead, the proposed solutions focus on making carries less appealing for the trial’s first completions while preserving their role in endgame farming or casual play. By incentivizing solo or balanced co-op play, GGG can maintain the trial’s challenge without disrupting the game’s social ecosystem.

Additional Notes on Trial of the Sekhemas
The Trial of the Sekhemas itself is well-designed, with varied room types (Escape, Gauntlet, Ritual, Chalice, Hourglass) and strategic choices via the Trial Map. However, the Honour system can feel overly punishing for melee builds, as noted in community feedback. Recent patches have reduced Honour damage for close-range attacks by 35%, which helps, but further tweaks could complement the anti-carry measures. For example, increasing Honour Resistance for melee-focused relics or rooms could make the trial more accessible without needing carries. Additionally, bug reports about trial failures (e.g., random deaths or lack of checkpoints) should be addressed to ensure a fair experience for all players.

Conclusion
The Trial of the Sekhemas is a fantastic challenge that captures the essence of Path of Exile 2’s rewarding difficulty. However, the paid carry system undermines its purpose by allowing players to bypass the skill and effort required to earn Ascendancy points. By implementing solo or matchmade modes, scaling Honour in unbalanced groups, offering exclusive rewards for legitimate completions, and capping group power disparities, GGG can preserve the trial’s integrity while respecting player freedom. These changes would ensure that the Trial of the Sekhemas remains a fun, challenging, and rewarding experience that encourages personal growth and mastery.

Thank you for considering this feedback. I hope it helps make Path of Exile 2 an even more engaging and fair experience for all players.

no

There are a lot of problems with your take:

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The Issue: Paid Carries in Trial of the Sekhemas

issue for who? how is for example me paying someone to get 8 ascedancy points affect your gameplay where you get them by yourself? Answer: it's not affecting your gameplay at any point. If you want to do them yourself, congratulations you saved 35 exalts (last time i check) so technically you have now more currency for better gear/crafting then someone who pays for a carry.

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Reduces Fun and Satisfaction: The sense of accomplishment from defeating tough bosses like Rattlecage the Earthbreaker or surviving gauntlet rooms is lost when someone else does the work.

PRoblem with this take is that you consider that everyone at some degree enjoy doing trials. I do belive most people who pays for carry don't like doing it so there is no "fun" and "satisfaction" in doing them in the first place. Carry's existance make a posibbilty of a "skip" of frustration in doing the trail.

"

giving them a power advantage over those who tackle the trial legitimately

There is no PvP in this game so there is no "advantage" becouse their gameplay doesn't affect your gameplay.

and now for your "changes"

1. Solo-Only or Matchmade Co-Op Modes for First Completion
there is no "matchmade" system in game so the most probable outcome is solo-only so i will adress only this part.

Problem with that is as i stated earier is that not everyone like trials, so if they are forced to do them solo they will just quit or try to play without all the points in ascendacy.

2.Honour System Scaling for Group Play
giving penalty to group for lvl disparty is not gonna work because carrys will just say that you need to be at least "x" lvl for them to carry you.

3. Reward Incentives for Solo or Legitimate Completions
People just want ascendancy point so its not gonna change anything.

4. Anti-Carry Mechanisms for Trial Access
similar problem like in point 1. and 2. People would just quit or carrys would have multiple chars to do trials and would include lvl req for people to join.

5. Community Education and Feedback Channels
People who buys carry don't care for trials so texts like:

"

"The Trial of the Sekhemas tests your mastery—conquering it solo unlocks your true potential!” or “Experiment with relics and resistances to preserve Honour and triumph.”

Is pointless because "who cares".

for Conlusion i will simply state: its your opinion that not everyone have to agree with.


So as i showed that non of your proposition would do any good you may ask "so what your's proposition to resolve this problem" and what can i say... i can't give you any propositions because i dont see any problem with carry's. Some people want to do trials on their own some don't and it should be left like this.

What if I exclusively play this game with my friends? You just going to nuke play groups to the point they don't play anymore?

The problem with Sekhema is that you have no challenge at all to get to the endboss with some understanding of the mechanic but have to learn a fight after 45 minutes of boredom and there is a reasonable chance you will fail a few times in the beginning.

The problem with Ultimatum is that you have no challenge in acquiring the fragments but also have a unreasonable power spike with the Trialmaster after hours of boredom and zoomzoom. And again stakes are high that you fail.

I don't enjoy the trials at all. I ran to the endboss myself first try this season and got a friend in to finish him because I didn't wanted to waste more time since I never practiced the fight. If you want to make it a personal challenge then make it boss focused at least. Either reduce the amount of time spent to see the boss to a reasonable amount (4th floor only f.e.) or make unlimited attempts in killing it. Just make it that once you die you loose all your keys and the guaranteed unique drop from the endboss so that no one can get mad about it.

Hell no
Disliked sanctum when it was a league, dislike it now even more.
And really hated Ulti
Carry is saving grace of the game