PoE 2 Currency Farming: Ritual or Trial of Chaos

Currency farming in Path of Exile 2 changes as your character moves deeper into the endgame. Early on, almost any activity that provides useful gear and crafting materials can help you progress. Later, the real question is whether the time you spend on an encounter is worth the rewards you receive.

In the Forbidden Rites league, patch 0.5.5 gave players another reason to reconsider their farming routes. Ritual remains useful for finding valuable rewards, while the reworked Trial of Chaos offers a more focused way to collect Currency and Soul Cores.

So, should you keep running Rituals or move to Trial of Chaos Room 20 and beyond? The answer comes down to your build, the rewards you are targeting, and how consistently you can complete each activity.

What Changed in Trial of Chaos in Patch 0.5.5?

The Trial of Chaos received several important changes in patch 0.5.5. Endgame runs can now extend to 30 rooms, with difficulty and rewards increasing as you progress. More importantly, the reward structure no longer includes random corrupted items as a completion reward. PoE 2 Currency and Soul Cores are now the main reward categories.

Each room also has its own reward chest. Previously, a failed run could put the entire attempt at risk. The new structure lets players secure rewards as they progress, making deeper runs less punishing than before.

You can also leave the Trial between rooms and return later to continue from the same point. This makes it easier to fit farming into shorter play sessions without abandoning your progress.

Another important change involves Inscribed Ultimatums. After completing a 10-trial run, players can continue twice without supplying another Inscribed Ultimatum, provided they successfully complete the additional challenges. Each successful continuation awards a different Trialmaster Fragment, while the existing modifiers and reward quality carry over.

These changes give endgame players more reasons to push further into the Trial. However, higher rooms also bring greater difficulty, so a deeper run is not automatically more profitable for every character.

Is Ritual Still Worth Farming?

Ritual has not become useless in Forbidden Rites. Its value comes from the reward selection rather than a guaranteed amount of raw currency.

During a Ritual encounter, you defeat monsters around an Altar and activate the encounter to fight them again. Killing the revived monsters generates Tribute, which you can spend on the rewards offered at the end. Some rewards can be deferred, allowing you to work toward an item that costs more Tribute than you currently have available.

This system makes Ritual particularly appealing when the reward selection contains something valuable for your build or something you can sell to other players.

Sacred Blooms provide another reason to pay attention to Ritual. In Forbidden Rites, using a Sacred Bloom adds the Viridian Wildwood to a cluster of Atlas maps. Collecting Wisps in the Wildwood strengthens monsters in the associated map and makes them more rewarding, creating another option for players who want to improve their mapping returns.

The downside is that Ritual rewards vary from encounter to encounter. If you spend too much time completing low-value encounters or repeatedly defer rewards that do not justify the cost, your overall farming efficiency can suffer.

For this reason, Ritual works best when you have a clear idea of what you want from it. Valuable Omens, useful equipment, and attractive reward selections can make an encounter worth completing. An ordinary Ritual with little to offer may not deserve the same amount of attention.

Trial of Chaos vs. Ritual: Which Is Better for Currency?

The two activities serve different purposes, so choosing between them requires more than comparing their potential rewards.

Trial of Chaos is worth prioritizing when your build can clear higher rooms efficiently. Its reward structure focuses on Currency and Soul Cores, and the room-by-room chests provide a clearer sense of progression. Players who can handle the increasing difficulty have a reason to push deeper rather than stop after a few rooms.

Ritual is more flexible when you are already running maps or looking for specific rewards. It can also be a better choice when your character struggles with the Trial's modifiers or takes too long to complete its encounters.

Here is how I would approach the decision:

• Trial of Chaos Room 20+: A strong option for established endgame characters that can survive and clear rooms consistently.
• Ritual with valuable rewards: Worth prioritizing when the reward window contains something useful or in demand.
• Ordinary Ritual encounters: Best treated as part of a mapping strategy when their rewards justify the additional time.
• Sacred Bloom and Wildwood farming: An alternative for players who prefer improving map rewards and handling stronger monsters.
• Other Atlas activities: Useful alternatives when they fit your build better or offer items and materials you specifically need.

There is no confirmed universal currency-per-hour figure that makes one activity the winner for every player. Your results depend on encounter completion time, entry costs, deaths, reward values, and the time required to sell what you find.

Which Farming Strategy Fits Your Character?

Well-Geared Endgame Builds

If you can comfortably handle Trial of Chaos Room 20+, make it one of your main farming options. Learn which modifiers cause the most trouble for your build and avoid taking unnecessary risks for rewards you may not be able to secure.

Continue deeper when your damage and defenses are strong enough to handle the added difficulty. If a particular room consistently slows you down or leads to failed attempts, a less demanding farming route may deliver better results over a longer session.

Characters Still Improving Their Gear

If your character is still working on resistances, damage, or survivability, there is little reason to force high-room Trials. Continue running maps and use Ritual when its rewards help you progress.

You can return to Trial of Chaos as your equipment improves. A character that clears rooms quickly and survives difficult modifiers will generally have more opportunities to benefit from the deeper progression system.

Players Who Want a Balanced Approach

You do not have to choose one activity permanently. Run Trial of Chaos when you are confident in your build, then switch to mapping when you want to target specific rewards or improve your equipment.

Keep track of what you actually earn over several sessions. Include valuable items, Currency, Soul Cores, entry costs, failed attempts, and time spent trading. This gives you a more useful comparison than judging a strategy by one lucky drop.

Final Verdict: Should You Stop Running Ritual?

For players with established endgame builds, Trial of Chaos Room 20+ deserves serious consideration in PoE 2 Forbidden Rites. The patch 0.5.5 changes made the activity more flexible and gave it a focused reward structure, while progression up to Room 30 offers an additional challenge for stronger characters.

Ritual still has a place in a good farming routine, especially when you find valuable rewards or use Sacred Blooms to improve your mapping strategy. It simply does not need to be the main focus of every session.

If your character can clear higher Trial rooms comfortably, test the activity against your usual Ritual route and compare the results. If it cannot, keep improving your gear instead of chasing room numbers.

The best farming strategy is the one that consistently turns your time into useful rewards. In the current league, knowing when to push Trial of Chaos and when to return to mapping can make a bigger difference than blindly following a popular farming method.

The U4GM Team