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PoE2 Ascendancy Guide: Trials, 8 Points and How to Change It
Everything you need on Path of Exile 2 ascendancies as of patch 0.5: how to unlock one through the Trials, where all 8 points come from, and how to change ascendancy without starting a new character.
Contents
- How to unlock your ascendancy
- All 8 ascendancy points, as of patch 0.5
- How to change or respec your ascendancy in PoE2
- Every ascendancy by class (patch 0.5)
- Plan your points before you spend them
- What 1.0 adds to ascendancies
- Frequently asked questions
- Can you change ascendancy in PoE2?
- How many ascendancy points are there in PoE2?
- How do you get the third and fourth ascendancy points?
- Can you switch to another class's ascendancy?
- Does changing ascendancy cost anything?
- What are PoE2's ascendancy trials?
- Sources
An ascendancy is your Path of Exile 2 class's specialisation: a small, separate passive tree layered on top of your main one, unlocked by completing a Trial of Ascendancy. If you're wondering how to change ascendancy in PoE2, the short answer is yes: you can switch to another ascendancy of the same class by refunding your points for gold and running a trial again, with no new character needed. This guide covers unlocking your ascendancy, earning all 8 ascendancy points, the steps to change ascendancy, every ascendancy by class as of patch 0.5, and what the 1.0 release adds.
How to unlock your ascendancy
You choose your ascendancy the first time you complete a Trial of Ascendancy, and that first completion also grants 2 ascendancy points. As of patch 0.5, two trials are available in the campaign:
- Trial of the Sekhemas (Act 2): opened with Balbala's Barya, obtained after the Balbala fight in the Traitor's Passage.
- Trial of Chaos (Act 3): opened with the Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum, obtained after the Chimera (Xyclucian) fight in the Chimeral Wetlands.
Either trial can unlock your ascendancy and give your first 2 points, and Maxroll's trial guide notes that you also choose which trial gives your later points, so you can mix the Trial of the Sekhemas and the Trial of Chaos as you go.
Once you've picked an ascendancy, you spend your points on its own mini passive tree. You can review what every ascendancy in the game offers on our ascendancy class index before you make your choice.
All 8 ascendancy points, as of patch 0.5
There are 8 ascendancy points total, earned in four pairs of 2. As of patch 0.5, the route through the campaign and into the endgame looks like this:
| Points | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Trial of the Sekhemas, Act 2 | Opened with Balbala's Barya after the Balbala fight; also unlocks your ascendancy choice. |
| 3–4 | Trial of Chaos, Act 3 | Opened with the Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum after the Chimera (Xyclucian) fight. |
| 5–6 | Endgame Trial of the Sekhemas or Trial of Chaos | Needs a higher-level Djinn Barya or Inscribed Ultimatum than the campaign version. We don't list exact item levels or round counts, because the Trial of Chaos was reworked in 0.5.5 and guides differ. |
| 7–8 | Endgame Trial of the Sekhemas or Trial of Chaos | A further, harder run of either trial; again, don't rely on a fixed item level or room count, since sources disagree post-rework. |
The key point is that either trial can carry you all the way to 8/8 points on its own, or you can mix the two as item drops allow.
How to change or respec your ascendancy in PoE2
If you've committed to an ascendancy and want to try another one in the same class, you can: changing ascendancy is built into the game, so there's no need to reroll your character. Here are the steps, based on GamesRadar's respec guide and Game8's respec and ascendancy-change guide:
- Refund all your currently spent ascendancy points for gold.
- Run an Ascendancy Trial again — either the Trial of the Sekhemas or the Trial of Chaos.
- In the reward room, talk to Balbala (Trial of the Sekhemas) or the Trialmaster (Trial of Chaos).
- Choose the "Change Ascendancy" dialogue option, pick the new ascendancy from the list, and confirm.
- Spend your ascendancy points again on the new tree.
The gold cost for changing is shown directly in that menu, and it scales with how many points you had spent before refunding — we won't quote a figure here since it depends on your own progress. Guides disagree on exactly which trial run qualifies: some guides, mostly older ones, say you need to redo a trial that grants as many points as you already have, while other 0.5-era guides and players report that even a quick, low-level run of either trial is enough to unlock the "Change Ascendancy" option. The safest approach is to do a fast, low-level trial run first and simply check whether that option appears before using a higher-level Djinn Barya or Inscribed Ultimatum.
Note that this only lets you switch between the ascendancies belonging to your own class — there's no way to take an ascendancy from a different class. Refunding individual ascendancy passives without a full ascendancy change also costs gold, paid at the passive-refund NPC (the Hooded One in the campaign).
Every ascendancy by class (patch 0.5)
As of patch 0.5, Path of Exile 2's game data lists 8 classes and 23 ascendancies. Each ascendancy below links to its own page, where every notable passive from the game data is listed.
The Abyssal Lich appears under the Witch in the game data with no notable passives listed there; we mention it as it's recorded, without any claim about how it's unlocked. For the full picture with character art and flavour text, see our ascendancy class index and the character class index.
Plan your points before you spend them
Because changing ascendancy costs gold and requires another trial run, it's worth planning ahead rather than finding out later that you picked the wrong notables. Our passive tree planner includes an ascendancy picker and an "Ascendancy x/8" point counter, so you can lay out a full 8-point path for your ascendancy, compare notables, and decide on your target before you ever open a Barya or an Inscribed Ultimatum.
What 1.0 adds to ascendancies
Path of Exile 2 reaches full release on December 11, 2026, on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, free to play, bringing two new classes: the Duelist and the Shadow. Each has two announced ascendancies.
- Shadow: the Assassin and the Infiltrator, both confirmed by GGG. In the ExileCon 2026 developer Q&A, GGG said the Infiltrator can place totems that detonate every trap in range (Output Lag).
- Duelist: GGG's Steam announcement lists the Knight and the Master-at-Arms. GGG's press release calls the second one "Master of Arms" and says it arrives at a later date, so it may not be playable on day one. The Knight recruits a Squire, a companion you equip with weapons and armour, and uses War Banners.
GGG hasn't published the passive trees of the four new ascendancies yet, and where the Trials of Ascendancy sit in the full six-act 1.0 campaign hasn't been announced either. Separately, GGG confirmed in the same Q&A that the Trial of the Ancestors, a long-announced third trial, misses the 1.0 launch with no firm timeframe given.
For the rest of what's changing, see our 1.0 launch hub and our dedicated post on the Duelist and Shadow ascendancies. We'll update this guide once GGG publishes the 1.0 patch notes, expected about a week before launch.
Frequently asked questions
Can you change ascendancy in PoE2?
Yes, as of patch 0.5 you can change to a different ascendancy belonging to the same class. You refund your ascendancy points for gold, run an Ascendancy Trial again, and choose "Change Ascendancy" at the reward NPC (Balbala or the Trialmaster).
How many ascendancy points are there in PoE2?
There are 8 ascendancy points total, earned in four pairs of 2 across the Trial of the Sekhemas and the Trial of Chaos.
How do you get the third and fourth ascendancy points?
Points 3 and 4 come from the Trial of Chaos in Act 3, opened with the Chimeral Inscribed Ultimatum obtained after defeating the Chimera (Xyclucian) in the Chimeral Wetlands.
Can you switch to another class's ascendancy?
No. Changing ascendancy only lets you pick a different ascendancy within your own class; you can't take an ascendancy from another class.
Does changing ascendancy cost anything?
Yes, it costs gold, shown in the "Change Ascendancy" menu, and the cost grows with how many ascendancy points you had spent before refunding. No exact figures are given here since routes and costs can shift between patches.
What are PoE2's ascendancy trials?
As of patch 0.5 there are two active Trials of Ascendancy: the Trial of the Sekhemas (Act 2) and the Trial of Chaos (Act 3). A third trial, tied to the Trial of the Ancestors, has been announced but GGG confirmed it misses the 1.0 launch.
