After your first Trial of Ascendancy in Path of Exile 2, your character’s power curve changes permanently. You unlock your subclass, gain your first Ascendancy points, and also open up a long-term progression track involving higher-difficulty trials and extra rewards.

Immediate rewards and changes

Clearing your first trial (usually Trial of the Sekhemas in Act 2 or Trial of Chaos in Act 3) unlocks your Ascendancy class and grants 2 Ascendancy passive points to spend in its special tree. This tree sits alongside your main passive tree and gives powerful notables that often define your build’s identity, such as major damage engines, defensive layers, or new mechanics. From this moment, you play as that subclass permanently unless you later respec, so it is a big milestone in the campaign.

New objectives and future trials

After the first clear, the game adds new goals to your log: earning the remaining Ascendancy points via tougher versions of the Sekhemas or Chaos trials. Higher-level keys start dropping in later areas, letting you revisit those trials at increased difficulty to claim points 3–8 over multiple completions. You can mix and match which trial types you use for later points, so your first clear is effectively the start of a longer ladder rather than a one-off event.

Gameplay and build implications

Once the first trial is done, leveling and gearing feel noticeably smoother because your subclass nodes usually supercharge your main skill and shore up weaknesses. This often lets you safely push into harder content earlier than you could pre-ascend, and it may also nudge you to adjust your passive tree or gear to better align with your chosen Ascendancy’s strengths. From here on, a major part of your medium-term progression plan is timing when to attempt the next trial tiers so you can finish all 8 points without stalling your mapping or story progress.