You've spent forty hours grinding maps. Your gear looks decent, your resistances are capped, and you finally feel like a god in Path of Exile’s endgame. Then you enter the Trial of the Sekhema. Within six seconds, you're looking at a "Resurrect in Town" button because a spear-wielding hallucination just deleted your health bar. It’s frustrating. It's honestly one of the most polarizing encounters Grinding Gear Games has ever dropped into the Legion mechanic.
Most players treat the Domain of Timeless Conflict like a loot pinata. You reset the center, you kill the bosses, you get the jewels. Easy, right? Not really. The Trial of the Sekhema—specifically the encounter with Hyrri Ngamaku—is a different beast entirely. If you aren't prepared for the cold penetration and the sheer speed of the Maraketh legion, you’re basically just donating your Timeless Emblems to the void.
What Actually Happens in the Trial of the Sekhema
The Maraketh are the hardest faction in the Legion roster. Period. While the Karui just stand there and take a beating, the Sekhema’s forces move with a level of aggression that catches even veteran players off guard. You're dealing with Kurgal, the Black Spirit, and Hyrri. Hyrri is the one people usually complain about. She has this channeled rain of arrows that doesn't just hurt; it slows you down to a crawl. In a game where "movement is life," being slowed is a death sentence.
The mechanic itself is straightforward on paper. You use Timeless Maraketh Emblems—often combined with others like Templar or Eternal Empire emblems—to open a portal to the Domain of Timeless Conflict. Once inside, you have a timer. You kill mobs to fill a progress bar, and when the bar hits the threshold, the bosses spawn. The Sekhema is the pinnacle of this challenge.
Why do people struggle?
Usually, it's a lack of physical-to-elemental damage conversion on their defense. The Maraketh deal massive physical hits that can stun-lock you. If you aren't running Brine King or some form of stun immunity, you’re toasted. I’ve seen players with 6,000 HP get dropped because they took a single glancing blow from a Maraketh archer. It’s brutal.
The Real Cost of the Emblems
Let's talk about the economy for a second. In most leagues, the Timeless Maraketh Emblem is the most expensive one. It’s rare. You have to farm Maraketh splinters, which drop far less frequently than the Karui or Vaal versions. Because of this, the stakes are higher. If you mess up a Trial of the Sekhema, you aren't just losing time; you're losing several Divine Orbs' worth of investment.
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There's this misconception that you need a "Headhunter" or an "Inspired Learning" jewel to even attempt this. That’s not true. It helps—obviously, stealing monster modifiers makes you a literal giant—but a well-tuned "Cyclone" or "Tornado Shot" build can clear the Sekhema without those multi-mirror items. You just need to be smart about your positioning. Don't stand in the middle of the arena. That’s where the most projectiles overlap. Hug the edges, clear in a circular motion, and only dive into the center when you’re resetting the bosses.
Breaking Down Hyrri’s Mechanics
Hyrri Ngamaku is the Sekhema of the Maraketh. She represents the "Trial" more than any other unit. Her AI is programmed to kite you. Unlike the General of the Karui, who wants to trade blows, Hyrri will jump away and pelt you from off-screen.
- The Ice Shot: This isn't your standard ranger ability. It has massive area-of-effect coverage. If you don't have high Evasion or a way to Block projectiles, you'll find your life pool yo-yoing.
- The Vortex: She leaves behind chilled ground. In the chaos of 500 mobs on screen, it's hard to see. You'll wonder why your character is moving like they’re underwater.
- The Multi-Stage Spawn: In the 5-way legion battle, she gains more life and more damage for every reset. By the fifth or sixth time you summon her, she’s basically a mini-Sirus.
I’ve found that high "Chaos Resistance" is often overlooked here too. While the Maraketh are known for cold and physical, some of their supporting units deal sneaky wither and chaos damage. If you’re sitting at -60% Chaos Res, you’re going to have a bad time.
Does the Loot Justify the Stress?
The short answer: Yes. The long answer: Only if you can hit the 4-bar or 5-bar reward threshold.
The Trial of the Sekhema is the primary source for "Lethal Pride," "Brutal Restraint," and other Timeless Jewels. These jewels are some of the most powerful items in Path of Exile because they "seed" your passive tree. A single Maraketh jewel can add "5% chance to deal Double Damage" to four different nodes. That’s insane power creep. If you're lucky enough to get a well-rolled jewel, you're looking at a massive payday.
But there’s a catch. The "Timeless Jewel" market is complex. You can't just look at the item and know if it's good. You have to use community tools like the "PoE Ninja" price checker or the in-game "Timeless Jewel Calculator" to see what the seed actually does. Most people vendor jewels that are actually worth 20 Divines because they don't understand the seeding mechanic. Don't be that person.
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Common Mistakes People Make in the Domain
People play too defensively. It sounds counterintuitive, but in the Trial of the Sekhema, offense is your best defense. The faster you kill the mobs, the fewer projectiles are on the screen. If you're playing a slow, "tanky" Juggernaut that takes ten seconds to kill a pack, you're going to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Another mistake? Ignoring the "Reset" mechanic.
In the center of the arena, there’s a circle. When you stand in it, it revives all the bosses and mobs you’ve already killed. Some players wait too long to reset. They try to clear every single mob in the corners. That’s a waste of time. You should be rushing the bosses, killing them, and resetting immediately. The bosses provide the most loot progress. The white and blue mobs are just filler.
Survival Tips That Actually Work
If you're struggling, swap your Pantheon to "Soul of Lunaris." It gives you physical damage reduction for every nearby enemy, and in the Trial of the Sekhema, there are always nearby enemies. Also, make sure your flasks are automated. Using "Used when Charges are Full" or "Used when you take a Savage Hit" is a lifesaver. You won't have the mental bandwidth to manually press 1-2-3-4-5 while dodging Hyrri’s arrows.
Also, consider your "Spell Suppression." If you aren't at 100% suppression, you're basically gambling with your experience bar. The Maraketh archers deal spell damage with their elemental arrows. Capping suppression effectively halves the damage you take from those hits. It’s the single most important defensive layer for this encounter.
The Secret Strategy: Carry Services vs. Solo Play
Let’s be real. Not every build is meant for the Trial of the Sekhema. If you’re playing a "Righteous Fire" build, you’re going to be slow. You’ll survive, but you won't get much loot. This is why "5-way carries" are so popular in the PoE community.
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You pay a player—usually someone running a specialized "Kinetic Blast" or "Tornado Shot" build with a dedicated "Aurabot" support—to run the trial for you. You stand in the corner, soak up the XP, and they clear the entire screen in seconds. It’s the fastest way to hit Level 100. Is it "cheating"? No. It’s just utilizing the game’s economy. But if you want the satisfaction of beating the Sekhema yourself, you need to focus on "Projectile Speed" and "Area of Effect."
I personally prefer solo play. There's a certain rush when the timer is at ten seconds, you're on your final reset, and you finally down Hyrri for the sixth time. The screen explodes in loot, the sound filter goes crazy, and you see that unique "Timeless Maraketh Jewel" hit the floor. That’s what PoE is all about.
Actionable Steps to Conquer the Trial
If you’re planning to run your first Maraketh set today, stop and check these three things first.
First, look at your "Movement Speed." If you’re under 50% increased speed, you’re too slow. Get some better boots or use a "Quicksilver Flask" with an "Alchemist" prefix.
Second, check your "Accuracy Rating." The Maraketh have high evasion. If your "Chance to Hit" is 85%, you’re missing 15% of your damage. That’s a massive loss in a timed encounter. Use a "Precision" aura if you have to.
Third, bring a "Portal" gem linked to "Cast on Death." Just in case. It’s better to lose 10% experience than to lose the entire map because you can't get back into the arena fast enough.
To maximize your gains in the Trial of the Sekhema, prioritize your "Damage per Second" over everything else once your basic resistances are capped. Focus on killing the Sekhema and the other Generals as fast as possible, and don't get distracted by the small fry in the corners. Use a loot filter that hides anything worth less than a "Chaos Orb" so you don't spend precious seconds clicking on junk. Finally, always check the seed of any "Timeless Jewel" you find—it could be the difference between a stash tab full of garbage and a build-defining masterpiece.