In PoE 2 patch 0.4, the 10‑round Trial of Chaos farm remains one of the most reliable ways to gather currency. It consistently rewards players with Soul Cores (used for Divines) and Fates (for the Trialmaster or 4th Ascendancy), and it’s fully compatible with any endgame build capable of clearing tier‑15 maps. For those looking to maximize efficiency, these strategies not only streamline farming but also help you accumulate valuable POE 2 Orbs along the way.
1. Use the right Inscribed Ultimatum (mandatory)
You must use level 75+ Inscribed Ultimatum to get 10 rounds and full rewards.
Buy level 75+ (or 80/80) from trade for ~1 Exalted Orb; it’s cheaper and more consistent than farming them randomly.
For serious farming: buy 10–30 in a row and run them back‑to‑back to minimize downtime.
Lower‑level Ultimatums (e.g., 72) exist but are inferior for 10‑round farming; they’re better for early leveling, not currency optimization.
2. Build requirement: “any tier‑15 build” is enough
You don’t need a specialized build:
- If you can clear tier‑15 maps, you can do Trial of Chaos.
- There is no need for extreme speed; consistency and survival matter more.
- Cap elemental resistances (especially fire, cold, lightning) to survive turrets and runes.
- Have solid life/ES and recovery to handle Reduced Recovery mod.
Any build that can:
- Kill bosses in ~10–30 seconds, and
- Survive a few big hits
is fine.
3. Modifier selection: the core of the strategy
Each round, you pick 1 of 3 negative mods. These stack for the entire 10‑round run. Your single biggest decision is which mod to pick.
Never (or almost never) pick
These are run‑killers or death traps:
Escalating Damage Taken
Damage increases 1%/sec up to 50%.
Almost impossible to survive long fights, especially with other mods stacked.
Never pick unless you’re extremely tanky and about to finish a boss round.
Reduced Recovery (40–75% less life/ES/mana recovery)
Makes flask ticks and passive recovery weak; deadly with other pressure.
Avoid unless you have huge recovery overhead and no other option.
Enraged Bosses
Bosses hit harder and are tougher; worst on boss rounds (4, 7, 10).
Petrification Statues (Rank 2+)
Short gaze petrifies you; deadly if surrounded or with other pressure.
Stalking Shade (Rank 2–3)
Invulnerable, fast, hits hard with melee + projectiles; stacks Ruin quickly.
Impending Doom (Rank 2)
Huge physical damage rings; very punishing if you misclick or get surrounded.
Vaal Omnitect (Rank 2–3)
Extra attacks in arena; especially bad in boss rooms.
Drought (no flask/charm charges from kills)
Very bad if you rely on flasks for life/mana; can be survivable with well usage but generally avoid.
If you’re forced to pick among these, quit the trial and keep your loot rather than risk losing everything.
Prefer these (safe or manageable)
When available, pick these:
Stormcaller Runes (Rank 1–2)
Manageable with 75% lightning res; just avoid standing on runes.
Burning Turrets / Shocking Turrets
Manageable with 75% fire / lightning res; just avoid turrets and their AoEs.
Blood Globules (Rank 1–2)
Easy to dodge; not usually lethal.
Lessened Reach
50% less AoE/projectile speed; annoying but not dangerous.
Unstoppable Monsters
Fine unless your build is stun/slow dependent.
Resistant Monsters
Only bad if you can’t reduce enemy res; physical builds mitigate this.
Chaotic / Toxic Monsters
Fine if you have decent chaos res or CI/high life.
General rule:
Each round, choose the safest of the three. If all three are dangerous, quit early rather than lose all loot.
4. Round structure: always aim to complete all 10
The 10‑round structure is fixed:
- Round 1: Kill all monsters in the arena (monument in center).
- Round 2: Survive for 1.5 minutes around a monument.
- Round 3: Random objective:
- Escort statue, or Collect and socket Soul Cores in Stone Altars, or Sacrifice kills to blood circles.
- Round 4: Boss 1 → drops Soul Core
- Round 5: Kill all monsters or survive 1.5 minutes
- Round 6: Random objective (same three types)
- Round 7: Boss 2 → drops Soul Core
- Round 8: Kill all monsters or survive 1.5 minutes
- Round 9: Random objective
- Round 10: Boss 3 → drops Soul Core + Fate fragment
Key points:
- You get 3 Soul Cores per 10‑round run (from rounds 4, 7, 10).
- You get 4 currency items total: 3 Soul Cores + 1 random currency from the other 7 rounds.
- Round 10 boss always drops one of:
- Cowardly Fate (Uxmal)
- Deadly Fate (Bahlak)
- Victorious Fate (Chetza).
If you fail any round, you lose all loot from that run.
Because of this, completion rate > speed.
5. Profit strategy: Soul Cores & Fates
Soul Cores (main stable profit)
You get 3 Soul Cores per 10‑round run.
Use 20 Soul Cores to buy 1 Divine Orb via the in‑game currency exchange, a very reliable Divine source.
Some Soul Cores (e.g., Azcapa, Zalatl) are rare and valuable; consider:
Quitting early if you get a rare Soul Core and the next mods are dangerous, to lock in the profit.
Selling them directly if their value is high.
Fates & the Trialmaster (RNG, not recommended for most)
Each 10th‑round boss drops one of:
- Cowardly Fate (Uxmal)
- Deadly Fate (Bahlak)
- Victorious Fate (Chetza)
To challenge The Trialmaster, you need 3 different Fates.
Trialmaster drops:
Unique items: Glimpse of Chaos, Zerphi’s Genesis, Mahuxotl’s Machination, Hateforge, The Adorned
Occasionally Corrupted Inscribed Ultimatum.
Recommendation from experienced farmers:
For most players, don’t fight the Trialmaster. It’s too RNG; you’ll often lose money overall. Sell the Fates instead and repeat 10‑round trials.
Some groups farm 10 rounds, split the Exalted income, and only sometimes fight Trialmaster; they still find selling Fates the safer, more consistent profit.