Ascendancy Trials Feedback: Understanding Player Concerns

This part of Path of Exile 2 harms the gaming experience because it imposes excessive difficulty without providing enough tools for players to progress in a balanced way, making some sanctums overly frustrating and discouraging. If nothing changes, it might be what eventually drives me to quit the game.
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I've said it on another thread, but I'll say it again here for good measure:

Gating player progression behind required trials that are fundamentally different from the core game is genuinely bad game design. No other ARPG gates play progression this way - especially not class-defining progression like ascension.

Imagine if WoW required you to complete a mythic +10 dungeon to unlock your class defining talents, or if FFXIV gated your job stone behind completing a savage raid. Imagine if Destiny gated your ability to use a super behind completing a master raid. Imagine if Diablo 2 gated your ability to unlock your build defining abilities behind completing an Uber boss.

Players would absolutely riot, and many - rightfully so - would quit the game entirely.

Basic player progression like ascension should absolutely not be gated behind completing obtuse content that is strikingly different from the core play of the base game.

So I agree with everything OP has said, and really hope GGG rethinks their approach with this.
+1 for sure. Very bad and frustrating design (honour). I think i'm done with the game for some time. Waiting for this game design is fixed. It's been a week for me trying to get third ascendancy.

Trials of Sekhema shouldn't mandatory for ascendancy. I don't know what devs were thinking but I've never seen a PoE player liked sanctum in PoE1. Probably one of the most hated contents and GGG made it mandatory for PoE2...

Temple of Chaos is also in the same boat. Not challenging, just frustrating.
Last edited by defleksiyon#4653 on Dec 22, 2024, 2:47:31 AM
Said it in another thread before I noticed this one but.. what the OP said.

Done until this is fixed. While I have hopes it will get changed I'd never suggest this game to anyone with the current design around ascension and end game. This feels like a massive blind spot whereas you guys usually make good decision.
Bum after experiencing several especially frustrating trials that required 5 restarts due to brutal combinations of afflictions, room layouts, and rare monster density.

I'm now more convinced than ever that this level of randomness can't be what GGG intended for such a crucial game system. The variance is extreme, ranging from:

- First rooms with deadly trap combinations and multiple rare monsters
- Initial choices offering nothing but build-destroying downsides

To the complete opposite:

- A single rare mob in the entire trial
- 8/10 rooms with not a single downside

This level of inconsistency feels completely inappropriate for something as fundamental as accessing your Ascendancy.
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I also hated the Labs in PoE1. That is one of the reason why I just stick to one character per league because by just thinking of going through the Labs again drains my motivation.

These Ascendancy Trials in PoE2 are the worst for reasons like others already describe. If these trials do not change to launch, I'll probably avoid rerolling more characters again just to avoid going through them. And I'll probably be more picky with my builds that don't require the 4th Ascendancy since I'll not be able to get them in SFF before I get bored & get tired of the league.
"A game IS supposed to waste your time but it's not supposed to make you FEEL like you're wasting your time:
It's supposed to make you WANT to waste your time."
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3rd ascendency is worst gaming experience I have encountered acros multiple games of different kind over the last 10years. That is so beyond frustrating as my build cant handle last scorpion boss at all. I get there comfortably with 3K honor, but cant get it below 50% on multiple tries. Im leaving acendency or POE2. Cant decide right now as I would like to still see pinacle bosses, but this is sure as hell. Yep Im Warior and have Molten blast build. I will not change build completely for one boss. It feels unfair and wery frustrating. Who ever designed this system for such a key system (ascendency) was very very wrong (trying to be polite). It can be in game for somthing (farming some special curency or geting something or other), but not for Ascendency. That drive many players out of the game
100% Agree! Then bring the Labyrinth back but the current system scares away players.

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