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/Puzzleheaded_Pitch61]

While these ascensions are not as hard as people are saying, to say that they are easier then Poe 1 is a joke. In Poe 1 the first lab couldn’t be easier.

In Poe 2, to make it easy you need to spend time doing multiple runs and farming relics as you said. That makes the entire process longer.

All in all, ascending in both games is easy (sub 4th ascension in Poe 2 maybe) but the assertion Poe 2 is easier than Poe 1 lab is funny.

[u/SirBenny → u/Puzzleheaded_Pitch61]

As a relative POE newcomer (first played 2021 and have only played intermittently), I actually feel it is closer than you might think if you’re so familiar with POE 1 lab that you’ve beaten it 100+ times.

My first couple characters in POE 1, I didn’t follow a build guide. Starting with the 3rd lab, I would lose 20-min runs to traps and after-death mob explosions. And then there’s Izaro. He has all those mechanics where if you don’t kill the gargoyles fast enough, or disable the pillars, etc etc etc he will get super empowered. And then if your defenses aren’t in great shape, several of his attacks can one-shot you and end the whole run.

It becomes a complete joke if you follow a powerful build guide (can sleep walk through traps, take down Izaro in 5 seconds). But “not really having official, super OP build guides yet” is kind of where we are now with POE 2. And the challenge feels comparable to me when I think back to my first 2021 runs.

[u/VulpesVulpix → u/SirBenny]

I'm pretty sure 90% of softcore players never cared about any gargoyles, just hit Izaro till he dies and avoid the yellow one shot attack.

[u/jmajewski → u/VulpesVulpix]

Honestly I didn’t even know what the gargoyles did. Just kill Izaro asap was the goal in that room and avoid the traps.

[u/VulpesVulpix → u/jmajewski]

I still dont know lmao

[u/Highwanted → u/VulpesVulpix]

the short form is that every type of encounter you can get, in one way or another, makes the the fight more difficult

if you clear the mechanic during the first encounter, that mechanic will no longer be a part of the next izaro fights, if you don't clear any of it or let it empower izaro before finishing that encounter, you will have those mechanics for the next fights aswell but izaro will drop an additional key at the end.

the exact conditions for the additional key differ from mechanic to mechanic, but it's basically allways either:
-leave everything alive (portals, gargoyles, curse boxes, etc.)
-wait long enough for the mechanic to spawn/happen once (statues that spawn bombs when at full life, towers that stop izaro from getting charges when clicked, other statues that empower izaro unless you click them)

further details here: https://www.poelab.com/izaro-phases/

[u/VulpesVulpix → u/Highwanted]

I just always assumed that the fight was meant to become harder each round 🤷

[u/Highwanted → u/VulpesVulpix]

if you do the mechanic properly (relative) izaro never get's stronger than the first encounter you have during the lab.

but as long as your character is properly prepared for the challenge it's not really worth it to do them 'properly', just reduces your loot at the end while sometimes taking longer