Bugged BalBala's quest

I have the Ascent to Power quest, I have beaten Balbala multiple times, and cannot get the item to complete this quest which enables me to access the Trial in Act 2 Cruel. I have talked with Zarka and done all the things needed but the game seems bugged. I've looked at online guides and completed all the steps but it seems the Item/quest is bugged for me so i cannot access the Trial of the Sek Act 2 Cruel.

This has been a common misunderstanding for Act 5 (Act 2 Cruel).


Despite the same quest appearing in Act 5, you cannot obtain any item for your third ascendancy trial in Act 5. Balbala is not supposed to drop a quest item in Cruel. GGG noted that the quest is misleading in their "Known Issues" post, but haven't changed it to clarify.

Balbala or any random mob may drop a Djinn Barya in Traitor's Passage or elsewhere in the act, but the item level will be insufficient to use this Barya for anything beyond your second ascendancy trial. If you did not complete both trials available in Acts 2-3, then it may still be of use.

You will start dropping Djinn Baryas of item level 60+ in Act 6 and maps. These could be used for your third trial.

You do not need to talk to Zarka in Act 5 to access the Trial of the Sekhemas. You can travel there at any time once you unlock it in Act 2. However, you do require a Barya of sufficient level to qualify for earning additional points toward your ascendancy.

Look at the table in Ascendancy class for getting more ascendancy points.