Trial of Chaos in Path of Exile 2: Complete Guide

Trial of Chaos Farming Guide

This Trial of Chaos Farming Guide covers the basics of farming Trial of Chaos, its rewards, and how to challenge the pinnacle boss, The Trialmaster. During the campaign and early stages of the endgame, you mainly run the Trial of Chaos to unlock extra Ascendancy Skill Tree points. However, it can also be a great source of extra currency, especially in the endgame.

Find Inscribed Ultimatums by killing monsters. Use these to gain access to the Trial of Chaos and complete the challenges presented by The Trialmaster to earn the rewards.

Before every round of challenges, choose one out of the three negative modifiers, which will last until the end of the entire Trial run. Choose carefully, as each modifier increases the difficulty, and ensure your build can handle it. If you make it to the end of the run, pick up the rewards gathered throughout the Trial, but beware: if you fail any challenges along the way, all the loot gathered is lost. After each round, you can decide whether to continue the Trial or leave with the rewards you've gathered so far.

The exclusive rewards from the Trial of Chaos are Soul Cores. These can be socketed into your items instead of Runes to provide powerful additional modifiers.

How to Run Trial of Chaos

"Use Inscribed Ultimatum to enter the Trial of Chaos."

Starting from Act 3, every monster in the game has a chance to drop an Inscribed Ultimatum, which is used to access the Trial of Chaos. In higher-level areas, you can find more challenging Inscribed Ultimatums, which grant access to more rounds of challenges within the Trial of Chaos.

• Area level 39 to 59 – 4 Rounds
• Area level 60 to 74 – 7 Rounds
• Area level 75+ – 10 Rounds

Trial of Chaos always presents the challenges in the same set order:

1. Round 1 – Defeat all the Monsters.
2. Round 2 – Survive until the Timer Expires.
3. Round 3 – Escort the Statue or Collect all the Soul Cores.
4. Round 4 – Defeat the Boss.
5. Round 5 – Defeat all the Monsters or Survive until the Timer Expires.
6. Round 6 – Sacrifice Monsters to the Altar by slaying them in the Blood Circles or Collect all the Soul Cores.
7. Round 7 – Defeat the Boss.
8. Round 8 – Defeat all the Monsters or Survive until the Timer Expires.
9. Round 9 – Sacrifice Monsters to the Altar by slaying them in the Blood Circles or Escort the Statue.
10. Round 10 – Defeat the Boss.

Rounds 4, 7, and 10 always contain one of the three bosses and always reward you with one of the Soul Cores. The Round 10 Boss always drops one of the Fates required to challenge the pinnacle encounter The Trialmaster. For this reason, it is recommended to always farm the 10-round version to earn the biggest profits.

Modifiers for Trial of Chaos

"Choose 1 of the 3 modifiers before each Round of the Trial of Chaos."

Before each round of challenges in the Trial of Chaos, you must choose 1 out of the 3 negative modifiers that will affect the entire run. If all three modifiers are too risky and you've obtained valuable loot during previous rounds, consider stopping the run to keep the rewards. Here is a list of all possible modifiers:

Stormcaller Runes

• Rank 1: Runes will appear that will call deadly Lightning storms if you remain in them.
• Rank 2: Large runes will appear that will call deadly Lightning storms if you remain in them.
• Rank 3: Many large runes will appear that will call deadly Lightning storms if you remain in them.
  With 75% Lightning Resistance, even rank 3 damage is very manageable.

Vaal Omnitect

• Rank 1: An ancient Vaal machination will deploy attacks against nearby intruders.
• Rank 2: An ancient Vaal machination will deploy an array of attacks against nearby intruders.
• Rank 3: An ancient Vaal machination will deploy a powerful array of attacks against nearby intruders.
  Always appears in the middle of the arena, making boss encounters especially dangerous.

Stalking Shade

• Rank 1: An invulnerable shade stalks you, inflicting Ruin with its melee hits. Fail the trials after reaching 7 Ruin.
• Rank 2: An invulnerable shade stalks you, gaining speed and inflicting Ruin with both melee and projectile hits. Fail the trials after reaching 7 Ruin.
• Rank 3: An invulnerable shade stalks you, gaining further speed and inflicting Ruin with powerful melee and projectile hits. Fail the trials after reaching 7 Ruin.
  Rank 1 is easy to manage, but rank 2 and 3 can end your run quickly because of the ranged projectiles. Ruin stacks persist throughout the entire run!

Burning Turrets

• Rank 1: Challenge area contains turrets that periodically fire Fire Projectiles ahead.
• Rank 2: Challenge area contains turrets that periodically fire barrages of Fire Projectiles ahead.
  With 75% Fire Resistance, damage from the turrets is very manageable.

Shocking Turrets

• Challenge area contains turrets that periodically fire Lightning Projectiles ahead.
• Challenge area contains turrets that periodically fire a wave of Lightning Projectiles ahead.
  With 75% Lightning Resistance, damage from the turrets is very manageable.

Pyramid Beams

• Rank 1: Pyramid objects appear, projecting four rotating lasers that inflict Corrupted Blood on hit.
• Rank 2: Pyramid objects appear, projecting four fast rotating lasers that inflict Corrupted Blood on hit.
  Dodge roll through the lasers to avoid them.

Impending Doom

• Rank 1: Rings of Doom appear on the ground, growing over time and exploding for physical damage once they reach a maximum area.
• Rank 2: Rings and circles of Doom appear on the ground, growing over time and exploding for physical damage once they reach a maximum area.
  Deals massive physical damage, avoid at all costs if you have low physical damage mitigation.

Heart Tethers

• Rank 1: Bloody hearts appear that apply tethers, slowing you. Breaking the tether will stun you.
• Rank 2: Bloody hearts appear that apply tethers, slowing you. Breaking the tether will stun you and make you vulnerable to damage for a duration.
  Getting stunned can be annoying but is generally not very dangerous. However, becoming vulnerable from Heart Tethers Rank 2 can often result in death, so avoid upgrading it.

Reduced Recovery

• Rank 1: 40% reduced Life, Mana, and Energy Shield recovery rate.
• Rank 2: 75% reduced Life, Mana, and Energy Shield recovery rate.
  Good recovery is a key part of every build's defense. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid this modifier.

Petrification Statues

• Rank 1: Challenge area contains statues that petrify you if you stand within their gaze for a duration.
• Rank 2: Challenge area contains statues that petrify you for a long duration if you stand within their gaze for a short time.
  Do not face the statues to avoid getting petrified. This can be difficult when multiple statues are facing you from different directions. Getting petrified while surrounded by monsters usually leads to certain death, so avoid this modifier.

Damaged Defenses

• Rank 1: 40% less defenses.
• Rank 2: 75% less defenses.
  This modifier reduces your Energy Shield, Armor, and Evasion. For characters that build Energy Shield, this modifier is devastating, especially at Rank 2. For characters that build Armor and Evasion, it is less punishing if they have high Life.

Reduced Resistances

• Rank 1: -15% to Elemental Resistances and -10% to Maximum Elemental Resistances.
• Rank 2: -30% to Elemental Resistances and -20% to Maximum Elemental Resistances.
  This modifier significantly increases your elemental damage taken. If your character has 75% elemental resistances, reducing that number by 30% more than doubles the damage taken! Rank 1 is manageable with high Life or Energy Shield, but Rank 2 is often best avoided.

Blood Globules

• Rank 1: Globules of blood manifest nearby, tracking you. When above you, they will fall, dealing physical damage.
• Rank 2: Globules of blood manifest nearby, tracking you. When above you, they will fall, dealing physical damage and creating damaging blood ground.
  These Blood Globules are easy to avoid by dodging just before they fall. Even if you get hit, they do not deal deadly amounts of damage, making this modifier relatively easy.

Deadly Monsters

• Rank 1: Monsters have 300% increased Critical Hit Chance.
• Rank 2: Monsters always deal Critical Hits.
  Ensure you can survive big hits or have critical damage mitigation before taking this modifier.

Chaotic Monsters

• Rank 1: Monsters gain 20% of damage added as extra Chaos damage.
• Rank 2: Monsters gain 50% of damage added as extra Chaos damage.
  Characters with Chaos Inoculation are immune to this modifier. Otherwise, ensure you have high Chaos Resistance before taking this modifier.

Toxic Monsters

• Rank 1: Monster hits always inflict Bleeding and Poison.
  Characters with Chaos Inoculation are immune to Bleeding and Poison. If not immune, make sure to have high Life recovery, and use Antidote Charm and Staunching Charm for occasional immunity.

Time Paradox

• Rank 1: Buffs expire three times faster and debuffs expire three times slower.
  If your build doesn't rely on buffs, this modifier is not very dangerous by itself, but it can become deadly in combination with others, such as increased Bleeding and Poison duration from Toxic Monsters.

Resistant Monsters

• Rank 1: Monsters have +40% to all Resistances.
  If your primary damage type is elemental or chaos, this modifier greatly reduces your damage output. Use damage penetration or enemy resistance reductions to negate this modifier. Physical damage builds ignore it completely.

Unstoppable Monsters

• Rank 1: Monsters cannot be Slowed or Stunned.
  This does not affect most builds. However, if your build relies heavily on Stunning or Slowing enemies, avoid this modifier.

Entangling Monsters

• Rank 1: Monsters inflict Grasping Vines on hit.
  Grasping Vines reduce your movement speed. This modifier is dangerous for melee builds that are more likely to take hits, but if you avoid taking damage, it is less dangerous.

Enraged Bosses

• Rank 1: Bosses deal more damage and take less damage.
  Boss encounters are already the most dangerous in Trial of Chaos, and this modifier makes them even more so. It is recommended to avoid this modifier unless your character can kill bosses very quickly.

Lethal Rare Monsters

• Rank 1: Rare monsters have 2 additional modifiers and 30% increased rarity.
  This modifier makes Rare monsters especially dangerous. If you can handle the additional difficulty, it can actually be a positive modifier since more Rare monsters means more loot!

Volatile Fiends

• Rank 1: Monsters release deadly Volatiles on death. Rare monsters leave larger ones.
  Volatiles created by monsters deal massive damage, so make sure to avoid them with your dodge roll. This can be especially difficult when many Volatiles spawn at once, so consider staggering your kills.

Escalating Damage Taken

• Rank 1: Damage taken will slowly increase by 1% per second in each encounter room, up to 50%.
  This modifier can be especially dangerous in longer encounters, especially when combined with Monster Speed or Lethal Rare Monsters.

Lessened Reach

• Rank 1: 50% less Area of Effect and Projectile Speed.
  This modifier is not very dangerous for most builds, but it can make encounters take longer.

Drought

• Rank 1: Monsters grant no Flask and Charm Charges on death.
  This is one of the most difficult modifiers if your character relies on Flasks for Mana and Life recovery. However, a well before each boss encounter recovers all your flask charges, even with this modifier active.

Monster Speed

• Rank 1: Monsters gain 20% increased Skill Speed.
  This makes monsters faster and more dangerous, especially Bosses. Only take this modifier if your character has strong defenses.

This list provides an overview of the various modifiers in the Trial of Chaos. Choose wisely, as each one significantly impacts your run's difficulty!

Modifiers and Bosses

Keep in mind that all of these modifiers affect both the regular challenges and the boss fights. This means that certain modifiers, like Vaal Omnitect and Impending Doom, can make the boss fights especially difficult because these modifiers can overlap with some of the bosses' deadly abilities.

For example, Vaal Omnitect causes additional attacks to be deployed during boss fights, increasing the challenge. Impending Doom can add dangerous physical damage explosions that compound with the boss’s abilities. On the other hand, Lethal Rare Monsters do not affect boss fights at all, as there are no Rare Monsters during those rounds.

Some modifiers are easy to deal with on their own, but in combination with others, they can become very deadly. For instance, Monster Speed, Enraged Bosses, and Escalating Damage Taken together can significantly increase the amount of damage you take, making the trial more dangerous. Additionally, being followed by Stalking Shade might make avoiding Petrification Statues much more difficult, further complicating the encounter.

The Trialmaster: Trial of Chaos

"The Trialmaster's Tower"

At the end of 10 rounds of the Trial of Chaos, you have the option to challenge The Trialmaster. To unlock access to The Trialmaster's Tower, you need to use 3 Fates. Each Fate drops from a different boss during the 10th round of the Trial of Chaos:

• Cowardly Fate – Drops from Uxmal, The Beastlord during the 10th round.
• Deadly Fate – Drops from Bahlak, The Sky Seer during the 10th round.
• Victorious Fate – Drops from Chetza, The Feathered Plague during the 10th round.

Defeating The Trialmaster for the first time unlocks your 4th Ascendancy Point. After that, you can continue farming him for valuable rewards. Every time The Trialmaster is defeated, he drops one of the following unique items:

• Glimpse of Chaos
• Zerphi's Genesis
• Mahuxotl's Machination
• Hateforge
• The Adorned

The Trialmaster also has a chance to drop one of the special corrupted Inscribed Ultimatums, which offer an additional challenge. These Ultimatums have random modifiers, such as Monsters Deal 100% Damage as Extra Fire, and require you to make a sacrifice. For example, sacrificing 10 Vaal Orbs will reward you with 20 Vaal Orbs on a successful run.

During the fight, The Trialmaster occasionally stops time and slams the ground, creating increasingly larger damaging areas. Be ready to dodge these areas as soon as you can move again. The main difficulty of the fight is the small arena. The Trialmaster creates many damaging areas even outside of stopping time, so the key to defeating him is good positioning and well-timed dodge rolls.

Loot from Trial of Chaos

Corrupted Items

All non-boss challenges reward you with a corrupted item. These items cannot be further modified, which means they are often completely useless.

Soul Cores

Rounds 4, 7, and 10 always offer one of the Soul Cores as a reward. These are the bulk of your profits from the Trial of Chaos.

• Soul Core of Atmohua
• Soul Core of Azcapa
• Soul Core of Cholotl
• Soul Core of Citaqualotl
• Soul Core of Jiquani
• Soul Core of Opiloti
• Soul Core of Puhuarte
• Soul Core of Quipolatl
• Soul Core of Tacati
• Soul Core of Ticaba
• Soul Core of Topotante
• Soul Core of Tzamoto
• Soul Core of Xopec
• Soul Core of Zalatl
• Soul Core of Zantipi

Soul Core of Azcapa and Soul Core of Zalatl are especially valuable, so consider abandoning the rest of the run if you obtain one of those to avoid the risk of losing them.

Fates

The boss during the 10th round always drops one of the Fates required to challenge the pinnacle encounter, The Trialmaster.

• Cowardly Fate
• Deadly Fate
• Victorious Fate

The Trialmaster

After successfully completing 10 rounds of the Trial of Chaos, you can choose to challenge The Trialmaster himself. To do so, you need to place 3 different Fates at The Trialmaster's Tower. These Fates can be very expensive, so for more consistent profits, it is recommended to avoid fighting him. However, if you're willing to take the risk and hunt for some powerful items, challenging him might be a good idea. Here is a list of all possible drops from The Trialmaster:

• Glimpse of Chaos
• Zerphi's Genesis
• Mahuxotl's Machination
• Hateforge
• The Adorned
• Corrupted Inscribed Ultimatum

Summary: Trial of Chaos

• Use Inscribed Ultimatums to start the Trial of Chaos.
• Complete 10 Rounds of challenges to earn rewards, but if you fail any of them, you lose all collected loot.
• Before each Round, choose one of the 3 negative modifiers that will affect you until the end of the run.
• Defeat the bosses in Rounds 4, 7, and 10 to obtain valuable Soul Cores.
• Obtain Fates from the 10th Round, which are used to challenge The Trialmaster at the end of the run.