You’re deep in the Trial of the Sekhemas. Your Honor is flagging, your build is creaking under the weight of three nasty afflictions, and you’re staring at the map wondering if this run is about to brick. Then you see it: a room promising the Fickle Blessing of the Wind.
It sounds poetic, sure. But in the brutal logic of Path of Exile 2, "fickle" usually means someone is about to get hurt.
Thankfully, in this specific case, the wind is actually on your side. Mostly. If you've spent any time grinding for your Ascendancy points, you know that the Maraketh Trials are a balancing act of risk and reward. Understanding how these Shrines work isn't just about fluff—it's the difference between unlocking your next power spike and waking up back in the Encampment with nothing to show for it.
What is the Fickle Blessing of the Wind anyway?
Basically, it's a special room reward within the Trial of the Sekhemas. When you select a room with this label, you’ll find a Maraketh Shrine at the end of the gauntlet or encounter. It’s not just a fancy name for a regular buff; it’s a targeted "reset" button for your run’s RNG.
When you interact with the shrine (which usually requires a small offering of 5 Sacred Water), it triggers three distinct effects:
- Restores Honor: It gives you a much-needed chunk of your Honor bar back.
- Cleanses an Affliction: It removes one random negative modifier you’ve picked up during the trial.
- Grants a Boon: It adds a random positive modifier to your character for the remainder of the run.
It’s powerful. It’s honestly one of the best "safety net" rooms you can find. You’re essentially trading a bit of currency (the water) to delete a mistake and gain a buff.
Why Grinding the "Fickle" Part Matters
The name isn't just flavor text. The community has been debating why GGG (Grinding Gear Games) went with "fickle" when the shrine seems so overwhelmingly positive.
There's a subtle trap here. Because the cleansing and the boon are both random, you can’t choose which affliction goes away. If you have a minor annoyance like "Enemies have 10% more life" and a run-killer like "You cannot Evade," there is a 50/50 chance the shrine leaves you with the one that’s actually hurting you.
Furthermore, some players have reported a rare "fickle" outcome where the random boon is actually a "double-edged" modifier. While most boons are pure upside—like increased movement speed or damage—the wind is unpredictable. You’ve got to be prepared for the fact that the shrine might not always target your biggest problem first.
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Strategy: When to Seek the Wind
You shouldn't just blindly click every Fickle Blessing of the Wind room you see. If your run is going perfectly—you have high Honor and zero afflictions—this room is actually a waste of a floor.
Save it.
The best time to path toward the Blessing of the Wind is when you’re midway through floor two or three and you’ve been forced into a "bad" room that gave you a nasty debuff. It’s a strategic pivot. If you see the shrine reward on the map, look at your Sacred Water count. If you have less than 5 water, that room is a dead end. You’ll clear the mobs, reach the shrine, and won't be able to "venerate" it.
Always check your resources before committing to the path.
Common Affliction Cleansing Priorities
Since the cleanse is random, the value of the shrine scales with how many "brick" afflictions you have.
- High Value: You have 1-2 afflictions that actively prevent you from finishing (e.g., "No recovery of life").
- Low Value: You have 5+ minor afflictions; the odds of the shrine hitting the "right" one are slim.
The Monk Connection
It’s no coincidence the Fickle Blessing of the Wind is tied to the Maraketh themes. In PoE2, the Monk class lives and breathes these wind-based mechanics. Skills like Wind Blast and Staggering Palm use the wind to push enemies away or create projectiles.
If you're playing a Monk, navigating these trials feels a bit more thematic, but the mechanics remain the same for every class. The Trial of the Sekhemas is the gateway to your Ascendancy, and these shrines are the tools GGG gave us to manage the "Roguelike" difficulty of the new system.
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Known Bugs and Weirdness
Check the forums and you'll see players complaining about "ghost" afflictions. There’s a known issue where if the Fickle Blessing of the Wind removes a Curse-based affliction (like Enfeeble), the visual icon might disappear while the effect stays on your character until you change floors.
It’s annoying. If you use the shrine and still feel "slow" or "weak," try to push through to the next floor transition. Usually, the game "re-checks" your status at the start of the next level and finally clears the debuff properly.
Practical Steps for Your Next Trial
Don't go into the Trial of the Sekhemas without a plan.
First, prioritize Sacred Water in the early rooms. You need a bank of at least 15-20 water to make the most of the merchant and these shrines. If you enter floor 3 with zero water, you’re basically playing on "hard mode" with no way to heal your Honor.
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Second, look at the map layout as a whole. If the Fickle Blessing of the Wind is at a dead-end, it might not be worth it. But if it sits at a junction that opens up three more room choices, it’s the most efficient pick on the board.
Finally, remember that the "fickle" nature is part of the game. Sometimes you get the perfect boon and a clean slate. Sometimes you get a useless buff and your worst affliction remains. That’s Path of Exile.
If you’re struggling with a specific boss in the trial after using the shrine, try focusing on your "Honor Resistance" through relics. It makes those restored points from the shrine last significantly longer. Keep the wind at your back, and you'll have those Ascendancy points in no time.
Next Step: Check your current Relic inventory for "Sacred Water drop rate" modifiers; having even one of these makes hitting Fickle Blessing shrines much more consistent across long runs.