Everybody remembers the first time they walked into the Halls of the Dead. You’ve got your silver coins, your sweaty palms, and a bench full of Karui warriors who look like they could snap a Marauder in half without blinking. It was weird. It was polarizing. But honestly, Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2 discussions are dominating the forums because that specific brand of "auto-battler meets ARPG" left a void nothing else in Wraeclast has quite filled yet.
Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has a habit of taking these massive, experimental swings. Sometimes they land, like Delve. Sometimes they’re a bit of a mess. Trial of the Ancestors (Tota) was both at the same time. People loved the tactical depth of positioning a Sunset Sage to flank a totem while they frantically defended their own. Others hated how it basically forced you into specific "cheese" builds just to survive the high-ranking matches.
The Burning Question: Is Trial of the Ancestors Coming to PoE 2?
Right now, the official word is... quiet. Very quiet. Jonathan Rogers and the team at GGG have been incredibly transparent about the core mechanics of Path of Exile 2—the WASD movement, the spirit system, the way bosses actually have telegraphed mechanics now—but they’ve been tight-lipped about specific returning leagues. We know the game is launching with a massive campaign and a revamped endgame Map system. But will we see the Karui chieftains again?
It’s complicated.
PoE 2 is built on a foundation of "meaningful combat." In the original Tota, combat often felt secondary to the mechanic. If you weren't running a zhp (zero hit point) knockback build, you were probably struggling at rank 2000. That’s a problem for a game like Path of Exile 2, which wants every swing of your mace to feel heavy and impactful. If Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2 ever becomes a reality, the entire scaling system would need a ground-up rework to match the new engine's slower, more deliberate pace.
Why Tota Actually Makes More Sense in the Sequel
Think about the new tech. Path of Exile 2 features significantly better enemy AI and pathfinding. One of the biggest gripes in the original league was how your warriors would occasionally just... stand there. Or they'd get stuck on a pebble. With the updated engine, a tactical mode like Trial of the Ancestors could actually function like a real strategy game. Imagine commanding your units with the new overhead clarity the sequel provides.
The lore fits, too. We’re going back to the roots of the world. The Karui history is deeply baked into the narrative of the sequel. Seeing Hinekora or Utula again wouldn't just be fanservice; it would be a logical extension of the world-building GGG has been doing for over a decade.
The Problem With Scaling and One-Shots
Let's be real for a second. The original league had a massive flaw: the damage scaling. At high rankings, a single basic attack from a Spear Dancer would send you back to the hideout. It didn't matter if you had 100,000 effective HP. You were dead.
In Path of Exile 2, the developers are moving away from the "one-shot meta." They want players to be able to react. If they bring back the Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2 experience, they have to fix the math. They have to make sure that winning feels like a result of your build and your tactics, not just because you found a way to glitch the AI into a corner.
Mechanics That Need to Change
If I'm being honest, the "Silver Coin" economy was a bit of a chore. Trading for coins just to play the mechanic felt like an extra step that didn't need to exist. In a perfect version of Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2, the entry barrier would be more integrated into the natural flow of the endgame.
- Warrior Diversity: We need more than just "the fast one" and "the tanky one." With the new skill gem system in PoE 2, warriors could potentially use simplified versions of player skills.
- Environmental Interaction: The arenas in the first game were flat circles. Boring. Give us high ground. Give us chokepoints that actually matter when you're using a Frost Wall or the new PoE 2 terrain-altering spells.
- Rewards: Tattoos were the best part of the original league. Period. They allowed for insane character customization. Bringing those back in the sequel would give players a reason to engage with the mechanic even if they aren't fans of the auto-battler style.
What the Community is Actually Saying
If you spend five minutes on the Path of Exile subreddit, you'll see the divide. Half the players want Tota back as a core mechanic immediately. They miss the break from the "clear maps as fast as possible" loop. The other half still has PTSD from being off-screened by a Goliath of Night.
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The reality is that Path of Exile 2 is a fresh start. GGG is being very careful about "bloat." They don't want the sequel to feel like a cluttered mess of twenty different league mechanics on day one. This suggests that even if Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2 is in the cards, it might be a year or two after the initial launch. It's the kind of "evergreen" content that works better once the core game has stabilized.
Actionable Steps for the Current Meta
While we wait for more news on Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2, there are things you can do to prepare for the sequel's launch and satisfy that itch for tactical gameplay.
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- Focus on Crowd Control builds: If you loved the tactical side of Tota, look into the new Mercenary class in PoE 2. The utility of different ammo types (cold, explosive, armor-piercing) mimics the "unit counter" feel of the Ancestor trials.
- Study the Karui Lore: If you're a lore nerd, go back and read the dialogue from the Trial of the Ancestors NPCs in the original game. Much of the world-building regarding the "Spirit Realm" is expected to play a role in the sequel's narrative.
- Keep an eye on the "Leagues" announcements: GGG typically announces the first major league for PoE 2 a few weeks before the early access or full launch. If Tota is returning, that’s where the confirmation will live.
- Master the WASD movement: The biggest shift in PoE 2 is movement. In an environment like the Halls of the Dead, being able to strafe while attacking will completely change how you defend your totems. Practice this in other ARPGs that support it to get your muscle memory ready.
The Trial of the Ancestors PoE 2 dream isn't dead. It’s just waiting for the right moment to be reincarnated in a way that actually fits the new, grittier vision of Wraeclast. Whether it returns as a seasonal league or a permanent endgame alternative, the demand is clearly there. We just need GGG to pull the trigger.