How to Complete Trial of Chaos

Trial of Chaos in Path of Exile 2 is a high-stakes gauntlet where you tackle up to ten escalating rooms while stacking self-chosen Tribulation modifiers. Each round asks you to complete an objective, then tempts you with another modifier that makes the rest of the run tougher in exchange for richer rewards. It’s a test of judgement as much as power: pick the penalties your build can absorb, decide when to push, and know when to cash out. Conquer a full run and you’ll walk away with valuable loot and progress toward Ascendancy - all without ever touching a trap gauntlet.

This guide gives you a clean, practical path to mastering the system: how to access trials and read the room rotation, which modifiers to prioritize (or avoid) for different archetypes, and how to turn risk into profit. You’ll get concise breakdowns of the mid-trial bosses - Uxmal, Chetza, and Bahlak - plus a step-by-step plan for defeating the Trialmaster, securing his unique rewards, and leveraging fragments and Soul Cores to power up your character. If you want fast, repeatable success, start here.

How Trial of Chaos Works

Your first encounter with the Trial of Chaos comes in Act 3 of the campaign. After defeating Xyclucian, the Chimera, in the Chimeral Wetlands, the boss will drop a quest item called the Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum. This item is your ticket to the Trial of Chaos. Nearby in the Wetlands, you’ll find the Temple of Chaos – a area with an Offering Altar. Simply interact with the altar and slot in the Inscribed Ultimatum to begin the trial. (The quest Ultimatum isn’t consumed on failure, so you can retry until you succeed.)

Each Trial of Chaos consists of a series of encounters. A full trial can have up to 10 rooms, with increasingly difficult content and special boss fights at set intervals. Early trials in the story are shorter – for example, the Act 3 quest trial is 4 rooms long and culminates in one boss. Later on, you can find or trade for higher-tier Inscribed Ultimatums that offer 7-room and 10-room Trials of Chaos.

The twist that defines the Trial of Chaos is that after each encounter, you must choose one of three special modifiers that will apply to every remaining room in the trial. Some make enemies stronger (for example, giving monsters increased damage, speed, or extra abilities), others weaken your character (reducing your defenses or life recovery), and many introduce dangerous environmental hazards in subsequent rooms. Every modifier you pick also adds an extra reward to the final chest, previewed upfront. If you fail the trial, you forfeit all accumulated rewards – so success means walking a fine line between greed and survival.

Especially in longer trials, the difficulty can scale wildly depending on which mods you’ve stacked. A “clean” 10-room trial with mild modifiers might be very manageable, whereas a run where you’ve accidentally combined several brutal effects can become nearly impossible to survive. The key to how the Trial of Chaos works is learning to choose modifiers wisely and leveraging your build’s strengths. Fortunately, you are never forced to take a specific penalty – you always get a choice of three, and you can often steer towards “easier” ones that your character can handle.

Before choosing a modifier, you’ll see a quick preview of the reward you just added to the loot pool. Then you proceed into the next room and face its challenge with all the modifiers you’ve accrued so far. This loop repeats until you finish the final encounter. Survive the gauntlet, and you’ll claim everything in the chest.

Room Type & Modifiers

When it comes to modifiers, you'll need to demonstrate knowledge of your build's strengths and weaknesses to choose the best options available. For example, if you know you have excellent mob clearing speed but lack single-target damage, you should try to avoid the Enraged Bosses modifier. Alternatively, if you're playing a build that uses the Chaos Inoculation keystone, the Chaotic Monsters modifier will simply have no effect on you. There are no strict rules to follow when choosing modifiers; just try to make the choice that will have the least negative impact on your build.

Furthermore, some modifiers can even be turned to your advantage, especially in the endgame. If you are farming a high-level Trial of Chaos, the Lethal Rare Monsters modifier can, albeit slightly, increase your chances of receiving a valuable reward. Or, if you are playing a well-geared character and use the Rakiata's Flow Lineage Support Gem in your build, the "Resistant Monsters" modifier will significantly increase your damage.

You can find a complete list of all modifiers by expanding the spoiler section below:

There's a strong connection between modifiers and the types of encounters you'll face. The catch, however, is that the rooms are random, so you can't perfectly tailor your modifier choices for the upcoming fight. But there's a pattern: the game selects the encounter type based on the current round. This allows you to make an educated guess about what's coming next.

Below is a breakdown of all possible encounters and the rounds where they can show up:

Rewards

As mentioned earlier, when you choose a modifier, you will be presented with a reward that gets added to the final reward chest. This chest can be opened after completing the final trial required by the Inscribed Ultimatum you used to start the Trial of Chaos.

However, if you come across a particularly rare reward that you absolutely want to secure, you can interrupt the run and claim all the rewards you have earned so far. To do this, during modifier selection, click the "Preview Rewards" button, and then click the "Take Reward" button in the window that opens.

The list of rewards includes Corrupted Rare and Unique Items, Currency, and exclusive Soul Cores that can only be obtained in the Trial of Chaos, some of which are especially valuable. Rewards are distributed according to specific rules: namely, for the first three rooms, you receive one Corrupted Rare or Unique Item for each completed room. Each boss grants a random Soul Core, and rooms 5, 6, 8, and 9 will always award some type of currency. In addition, when completing a level 75+ Inscribed Ultimatum, the boss killed in the 10th round will drop one of three Fate fragments, which we will discuss later.

Bosses in Trial of Chaos

When you complete a level 75+ Inscribed Ultimatum, the boss in the final room will drop one of three Fates. The specific Fate that drops depends on which boss is in the room, and the bosses are assigned to these rooms randomly. You will need these fragments to access the final boss of the Trial of Chaos - the Trialmaster. At zone level 80, these bosses have a health pool of approximately 1.2 million.

Uxmal, the Beastlord

Uxmal, the Beastlord, is a versatile elemental powerhouse whose primary mechanic is tied to the multi-tiered arena itself. The entire encounter is a dynamic test of a player's ability to adapt, as Uxmal's environmental attacks change depending on which of the three levels you are fighting on. Mastering this fight means mastering the ground beneath your feet and understanding how each unique hazard will influence your strategy.

Abilities:

• Flying Fire Breath, Ice Breath, Lightning Balls: This is Uxmal's defining mechanic. His elemental breath attacks are determined by your location: the top level is engulfed in Fire, the middle in Ice, and the bottom in Lightning. You must constantly be aware of your environment. Fighting on the bottom floor makes every other hit more lethal due to Shock, while the middle floor's Chill will slow you down, making you vulnerable. The top floor's Ignite creates a constant pressure on your life pool.
• Poison Barrage: Functioning similarly to his flamethrower, Uxmal will emit a wide volley of poison projectiles in a sweeping motion. The counter-strategy is identical: this is a telegraphed attack that is highly punishable. Move to his flank or his rear as he begins the attack to completely avoid the barrage and exploit the opening for a counterattack.
• Flamethrower: He unleashes a sweeping arc of fire, panning his head from side to side. While you can simply back away to outrange the attack, the optimal strategy is to close the distance and dash behind him. This not only keeps you safe but also opens up a significant window to deal damage while he is locked in the animation.
• Fireball: Uxmal will launch a single, slow-moving fireball in your direction. This is a low-threat, standard projectile. Its slow travel speed makes it easy to sidestep and it should be treated as a filler move that allows you to reposition or prepare for his more dangerous abilities.
• Giant Homing Orb: The boss summons a large, menacing orb that looms directly above you. This attack tests your patience. The orb will pause for a moment to lock its position before crashing down. Do not dodge prematurely. Wait for it to stop tracking you, and then immediately use a movement skill to vacate the impact zone.

Chetza, the Feathered Plague

The fight with Chetza is a battle of chaos-tinged attrition. The arena becomes progressively cluttered with hazardous ground effects, while debuffs slow you down and pin you in place. This is a kiting encounter where your priority must be survival and pathing first, damage second. You must always be ready to reposition before her ground patterns fully form, as getting caught in overlapping hazards is a quick death.

Abilities:

• Bird-Corpse Rain: Similar to Bahlak's attack, Chetza flips into the air and unleashes a volley of crescent projectiles. The strategy remains the same: do not block. Pre-roll through the volley or dodge at an angle. As with Bahlak, staying on her flank minimizes the number of projectiles you must evade.
• Spiral Spike: This is Chetza's most lethal ability. Getting clipped by a single spike massively reduces your movement speed, making you a sitting duck for other ground effects. It's crucial to save a movement skill specifically for this. If you are hit, your only priority is to break the line of sight and create distance immediately to avoid the deadly follow-up patterns.
• Plagueling Add: During the fight, a durable minion will spawn. Its purpose is to split your attention and body-block you. If ignored, it will become a significant problem. You can either weave in a few hits to keep it in check throughout the fight or focus it down completely during Chetza's downtime, such as when she is channeling a longer ability.

Bahlak, the Sky Seer

Bahlak, the Sky Seer, is a master of aerial and elemental combat, presenting a dynamic challenge that tests a player's spatial awareness and reaction time. This encounter is defined by constant movement, forcing you to navigate a battlefield cluttered with lightning hazards while evading powerful, unblockable dive attacks. Victory demands a proactive approach, focusing on identifying attack cues and positioning yourself in the small pockets of safety his patterns create.

Abilities:

• Melee Slash Combo: When you engage him in close quarters, Bahlak will retaliate with a furious flurry of slashes. The key to managing this is effective spacing. Stay just outside his melee range to bait the attack, then step in to punish him during the brief recovery animation after the combo ends.
• Wind Slash Combo: He will often fly to the center of the arena and, upon landing, immediately project waves of wind slashes in your direction. To counter this, close the distance as he lands and get behind him. This rear position is a complete blind spot for the attack.
• Dive Bomb: Bahlak rockets vertically off-screen, targeting your last position for a high-damage unblockable slam. The moment he takes off, you must immediately use a movement skill to vacate the area. A single dodge is often not enough; continue moving until he lands to ensure you are clear of the impact zone.
• Flip: This unblockable attack begins with an acrobatic forward flip, after which he unleashes a fan of wind projectiles from his talons. The safest place is counterintuitively close to him. As he performs the flip, dash under him to position yourself at his back, completely avoiding the projectile spread.
• Creeping Lightning: The boss releases wandering electrical orbs that multiply over time, creating a persistent, moving hazard. Treat these as an environmental threat that you must constantly track. Your focus should be on weaving between them while simultaneously handling Bahlak's more direct attacks.
• Lightning Barrage: After gathering electrical energy, Bahlak discharges a concentrated salvo of lightning directly in front of him. This channeled attack has a clear visual tell, giving you ample time to perform a simple lateral dodge to sidestep the entire blast.
• Tornadoes: Bahlak initiates a powerful spinning animation, summoning a large central vortex and several smaller, chaotic twisters. This phase is about controlled navigation. Carefully identify the safe paths between the roaming tornadoes and maneuver through them until the storm subsides.

Trialmaster Pinnacle Boss Guide

To challenge the final boss, you first need to run a level 75+ Inscribed Ultimatum and successfully clear all 10 of its rooms. Alongside this, you'll need to get your hands on three fragments: Cowardly Fate, Deadly Fate, and Victorious Fate. You can either farm these yourself or simply buy them from the trade site. Once you've beaten the final room, you can socket the three fragments into the door, granting you access to The Trialmaster's Tower. In a level 80 zone, the boss has slightly more than 3 million health.

Trialmaster Abilities

The Trialmaster is the ultimate test of a player's mechanical skill, presenting a two-phase encounter that transitions from a methodical melee duel to a chaotic, ranged bullet-hell. This fight is a pure rhythm and pattern-recognition challenge where every attack has a distinct audio cue and a clear counter. Success is determined not only by your damage output, but by your ability to master the dance of his deadly abilities.

Melee Phase

• Rapid Swings: Cued by the word “Shred,” this is a four-hit combo that releases blood projectiles. The critical detail is the rhythm: the fourth strike is faster than the first three. Anticipate this change in timing for your final dodge and try to stay on his flank to minimize projectile hits.
• Sunder: He performs a heavy overhead swing that slams the ground, creating a devastating wave of spikes. The epicenter of this slam is incredibly dangerous, as multiple spikes can hit you at once. As he winds up, dash to his side or, even better, directly behind him to completely negate the threat.
• Time Stop Sunder: Announced by “Entropy!” or “Ultimatum!”, this attack freezes time as he prepares three ground slams that erupt with spikes. Your goal is to identify the first slam's location and immediately move into the safe lane between the conical spike paths to avoid the overlapping damage.
• Spear Slam: With a cry of “Be obliterated!”, he charges a massive AoE slam. The wind-up is intentionally long, designed to punish greedy players. This is a clear signal to disengage and create distance, not to squeeze in another attack.
• Lingering Spear: Shouting “Chaos aid me!”, he hurls his spear, which creates a persistent, expanding damage pulse on the ground. This marks the transition to his next phase. You can control the arena by baiting this throw near a wall, keeping the center safe for the challenges to come.

Ranged Phase

• Chaos Bolt: He yells “Embrace Chaos!” and throws red chaos projectiles that multiply and return to him after hitting a wall. The worst mistake you can make is kiting along the walls, as this makes their return path predictable and deadly. Stay in the open and use lateral dodges.
• Elemental Projectiles: With a dismissive “Farcical!”, he will launch three elemental projectiles at you. This is his standard ranged attack and requires constant side-to-side movement to weave through the different elements.
• Time Stop Projectiles: Time freezes as he teleports around the arena, launching a series of projectiles. This phase is about controlled movement, not panicked dashing. Carefully track the paths of the projectiles and be mindful of the lingering ground effects they leave behind.
• Heart Tethers: Signaled by “Be still!”, a heart spawns that tethers you if you enter its zone. Moving too far away results in a stun, followed by an explosion. You must patiently maneuver within its bounds or, if the arena is clear, quickly step out and back in to break the tether safely.

Trialmaster Rewards

In addition to one guaranteed Unique Item from the boss's specific loot table, you can also receive Corrupted Inscribed Ultimatum. These differ from regular ones by having a Prefix that allows you to sacrifice a certain amount of currency (specified in the prefix) when starting the next Trial of Chaos. If you successfully complete the trial, this amount of currency is doubled. The Prefix can feature a wide variety of currency, including up to 3 Divine Orbs, an Orb of Annulment, an Orb of Chance, etc.

In exchange for this valuable reward, the Suffix will contain a modifier that can significantly complicate your run, for example, by reducing your Defense by up to 75% or lowering your Maximum Elemental Resistances by up to 30%.

And just like with all other Pinnacle bosses, always check the rest of the items he drops, as they can be valuable crafting bases that you can either use yourself or simply sell.