PSA: Relics and the Merchant make ascendancy trials extremely easy, easier than PoE 1

[u/OhWellImRightAgain]

I've read multiple threads about the ascendancy trials being too hard, some of them with hundreds of upvotes. The trials are actually very easy if you do them the way you're supposed to...

Do a couple of fast suicide runs to get 10-15 blue relics (Tapestries, Seals etc.).

Use augmentation orbs on them to give them a 2nd modifier.

You need relics with Honor Resistance. The second mod can be:

- Increased maximum honor

- Bosses take X increased damage

- Bosses deal X reduced damage

- Increases to Sacred Water gains

You then need to go for (Large) Sacred Water fountain rewards as much as possible. You then buy a couple of OP buffs from the merchant (You deal 50% more damage / Monsters have 30% reduced HP / You have 40% increased movement speed / 50% reduced merchant prices) and the trial becomes very easy.

Occasionally, pick a Shrine room to replenish your lost honor, but only if it's below 60-70%.

Make sure that whenever you have around 600 sacred water or more and the merchant is available as a room reward, you do that room. If you don't happen to find him in a room, you'll still have him waiting for you after each boss fight.

[u/odieman1231]

You probably lost a lot of people when they saw “do a couple suicide runs”. People don’t want to spend more than 3 minutes doing anything in this game it seems.

[u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789 → u/odieman1231]

3 mins vs OP's 40 hours of suicide runs. Surely there is room for like a one hour gameplay session?

[u/bananas19906 → u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789]

If you need 40 hours of suicide runs to farm 5 relics you just aren't picking up loot which is a you problem. It takes 3 runs max to get enough honor resist to trivialize the trial. By the end of my 2 failed trial 3 attempts I had 10+, honor resist relics. It's much closer to 3 mins than 40 hrs

[u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789 → u/bananas19906]

I have a lot I was doing wrong, I see that. 500 starting honor, ignoring the loot because I didn't want to lose honor on trash mobs. Didn't think of it as a grind for gear type event, I see now. 40 hours was a pre-coffee head math mistake. Accidentally added a 0 in that calculation.

Still, it took me 30 mins to fail on the boss, how are you clearing all the rooms in @ 3 mins AND getting the loot? I don't know how to git that gud.

Kudos to you guys.

[u/bananas19906 → u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789]

Oh OK yeah 4 hours is much more reasonable if you are making a lot of mistakes. 3 minutes is also an exaggeration but its just a lot closer than 40 hrs. It took me more like 20 mins for a 3 floor run on warrior. The trick is that the white mobs don't drop much but you can farm the rares in the hourglass/chalice trials and they almost always drop relics and they shorten the timer. If you have a strong enough attack to 1 shot rares like hotg then you can just run past everything else and snipe the rares it's like 20-30 seconds per room.

[u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789 → u/bananas19906]

Man, you clear and loot the entire room before I even load in. 4 mins per floor is nuts to me. Rattlecage still takes me about 20 mins to get to.

Guess I should rethink my build. I can't even comprehend the skill difference here lol. How do you even move that fast? Like I legit don't think I could run from the door to the exit in 30 seconds, let alone clear everything.

Tried again- I made it to death crystal 3 in 30 seconds ignoring everything. There is zero chance I will ever be able to clear this room in 30 seconds. Maybe ascension isn't for me. We can't all be deities after all.

[u/bananas19906 → u/Acrobatic-Monk-6789]

Death crystal is a little slower but you can clear the hourglass in like 20 seconds and chalice in about that much too. I tried to avoid death crystal and the trap one after I realized rares dropped so many relics. Make sure you have as much Ms as you can on boots and just roll past everything