When to Skip Trial of the Sekhemas: Why It Might Not Be Wort

[Matthew]

Trial of the Sekhemas demands heavy Honour Resistance relics, overleveling, and precise mechanics mastery, making it inefficient for casual players or unoptimized builds compared to Trial of Chaos' simpler tribulations. Skip it entirely for your first 4 Ascendancy points—complete Act 2 Floor 1 via Balbala's free Barya retries for points 1-2, then Act 3 Trial of Chaos (Chimeral Ultimatum key) for 3-4 without Honour spikes or relic grinds. Beyond that, weigh loot/time vs frustration: 250+ runs average ~12div after ID/crafting, but partial exits trade Barya for 40ex reliably without full clears.​

When Gear/Relics Fall Short

Under lvl 60-75 or lacking 75% Honour res relics (1-5ex trade cost), expect 80% wipe rates from Gauntlet traps or Escape fails—Sekhemas punishes DPS-focused leveling gear with one-shot Honour bursts. Skip for Jin Barriers or Breach farms yielding similar jewels/relics faster; return post-Act 6 with 5k+ life/ES and movespeed boots.​

Loot Not Cutting It

Hype of "huge endgame rewards" ignores RNG: Zarokh uniques are 90% junk, chests demand scarce gold keys for tradables like Time-Lost jewels (1-7div), but vendor trash dominates—poorer than Expedition/Breach for currency. Casual solo players average 2/3 div per 4-floor run; skip if not Honour-stacked, as partial clears match full rewards via merchants without boss RNG.​

Time or Playstyle Mismatch

Each run takes 20-40min with map scouting/Affliction dodges; frustrating for ARPG fans preferring hack-n-slash over roguelike planning—Sanctum-style rants highlight poor dodge design for some. Skip during patches nerfing Honour sustain or if party bugs (shared Honour wipes) kill fun; Chaos scales easier for social play.​

Progression Locked Elsewhere

Act 2-3 mains rush Chaos for quick points; Sekhemas endgame-only for 5-8th nodes post-maps. Skip if league mechanics (e.g., Breach divines) outpace jewels, or trade carries for points/loot without personal grind.​​