Feedback: Why new Trials feel conceptually worse than the old Lab

I have been mulling over this for a while, because I actually loved the Labyrinth in PoE1 and have been really bummed over it being gone. Then I was wondering why I hate the Trials in PoE2 so much. Let's compare the two core concepts:

Labyrinth:
You go in, roam around, search for a path to the three progressively harder boss fights and can spend more time doing miscellaneous stuff while doing so. These include: Getting the kind of loot you would get from beating the boss, more rewards for beating the boss and things which make the whole trial easier. You can spend as much time exploring as you want and the only requirement is you don't die

The new trials:
You go in, complete the minigame, then choose how the next boss fight becomes more miserable. In Sanctum, you are encouraged to avoid exploration and fighting more enemies because it could cost you honor, which makes the boss even harder. In Ultimatum, you only have a choice of damnations which awful modifiers which make the boss harder. In both, you only get the loot you worked for at the end, IF you beat the boss.

Conclusion:
In the old Labyrinth, you had less pressure and could get loot and ways to make the boss EASIER by exploring.
In the new Trials, you have less freedom, less loot in between which makes dying feel even more miserable and you only get choices in how to make the boss harder.

To boil it down to a single point: It feels better to be rewarded for progressing rather than getting punished, and that is the exact philosophy switch between Labyrinth and the new Trials which makes them so much less fun.

There's nothing to be happy about coming out of a failed Ultimatum or a failed Sanctum. You gained nothing (maybe something in Sanctum if you were lucky, but you probably avoided all the rare mobs you didn't absolutely have to kill). A failed run is a total failure. Time was wasted, nothing gained.

I think you're spot on.

That and when I failed Lab it was because I chose to do something dumb/was rushing. Ultimatum trial is bugridden, janky, and all around rippy entirely based off RNG. Sanctum doesn't feel buggy, but it still has that "unfair" feeling that the RNG entirely owns your run. If you get a rare that has some intense AoE, your honor is toast.

new ultimatum is a absolut joke. it is purely luck based and has nothing to do with skill. even the boss encounter is ridiculous difficult. should have spent the 30 bucks on whisky instead on this trainwreck....
spending so much time on uber content in poe1 and now getting destroyed in act 3 ultimatums nc

Sanctum is the worst thing to ever happen to POE

Devs said "Hey lets make it mandatory for players to do Sanctum by gating their most powerful passives behind it"

I cant grasp who allowed this to happen or why

Another point I forgot was how Labyrinth let you make things easier by going at it slowly and methodically, or you could just take it without lube and rush through. You had a choice in how difficult you make it vs how much time you spend on it.

You no longer have that choice in the new Trials. You just have to take the increasing difficulty without having a way to alleviate it by spending more time doing something else that helps you with the boss or the run in general.

Dying due to honor is absolute awful gameplay. Didn't realize this was a thing as I never played poe1 when sanctum was a thing. Negates certain builds

Yeah, after making a second character while having better gear and an inkling what I am doing, the trials are both still the two most anti-fun parts of the entire campaign. Chaos even more so than Sekhemas.

Uh... lets be honest op

In the old labyrinth you have NO pressure. You just run through it autopilot izaro, laugh and you get rewarded.

RNG a gem if youre lucky. There is no other "good loot"

Where as in new sekhemas you get exalts, alchs, relics, and can other stuff.

So you def get more consistent loot from sekhemas versus lab there is no real debate there.

Chaos could use some work though.


You have whatever 3rd one they are working on, on the way as well.

There's zero reason you need to do a full 10 room ultimatum 3 times (if you are lucky) to get a try at the real boss. And don't say "just trade".