The Forbidden Sanctum

"Forbidden Sanctum" redirects here. For the expansion, see The Forbidden Sanctum (expansion). For the league, see Sanctum league.

The Forbidden Sanctum is an area found in the Sanctum league. Players must explore a randomized dungeon, collecting Aureus coins and trying to reach the end before their Resolve runs out.

A Sanctum run contains 4 floors, each containing 8 rooms. The 8th room of each floor always contains a Boss. Players can choose to engage in a room every time they encounter the portal to the Sanctum in an area or map, or defer up to 8 rooms (1 floor) to be run consecutively at a later time. Crashing during a Sanctum room will reset progress for that room and will resume the same area on your next map. Aureus and rewards are only locked in upon successful completion of a room. Each Sanctum run is independent between characters on the same account.

Mechanics

Resolve

• Resolve is an additional stat player characters have while exploring the Sanctum, somewhat similar to Ruin from Ultimatum league.
• The default maximum Resolve is 300. Resolve is maintained between rooms, and the player is ejected from the Sanctum if it hits 0, resetting all floors and rooms. Being ejected does not count as a death, nor does it remove experience.
• Resolve is lost from hits from monsters or traps in the Sanctum. Closer proximity to monsters may reduce the Resolve lost.
• Regular defences such as evasion rating, damage reduction, and avoidance do not affect the loss of Resolve.
• Minions and non-party allies do not cause Resolve to be lost if hit.
• A fixed amount of Resolve can be restored in Fountain rooms.

Aureus

• Aureus is a type of non-tradeable currency similar to Azurite which can be found in the Sanctum. Aureus is collected automatically when the player is near it.
• Aureus can be traded to the merchant for various Boons or Templar Relics.
• Aureus is maintained between rooms and floors, and is lost when the Sanctum run ends.

Inspiration

• Inspiration acts as a buffer over your maximum Resolve, somewhat similar to Energy Shield in comparison to life.

Boon

• Boons grant various benefits to your Sanctum run and can help recover or mitigate damage to your Resolve, increase your Aureus and rewards, debuff monsters, grant Inspiration, or provide other helpful buffs.

Affliction

• Afflictions grant various downsides to your Sanctum run and can reduce or prevent Resolve recovery, spawn additional traps, buff monsters, affect your Aureus generation, or hide rooms or rewards on the Sanctum Map.

Room Types

Afflicted rooms are indicated by a purple border, and improve the room's mechanics but causes the character to gain an Affliction.

Reward Room

When players are offered rewards, they have three options:

• Recieve (a small quantity of) <item1> now
• Recieve (a moderate quantity of) <item2> at end of the Floor
• Recieve (a large quantity of) <item3> on completing the Sanctum

The quantity and types of items improve based on how long you defer the reward, at the cost of risking the reward entirely if the player loses all Resolve during the run.

Afflicted Reward Room

• Contains improved rewards, but causes an Affliction.

Fountain

• Fountain rooms contain an interactable Fountain which grants Recover 25% of Maximum Resolve.

Afflicted Fountain

• Afflicted Fountain rooms contain an interactable Afflicted Fountain which grants Recover #% of Maximum Resolve, but also inflicts a random Affliction on you.

Treasure Room

• Contains chests of Aureus

Merchant

• Merchant rooms contain the NPC Sister Divina who sells you Boons in exchange for Aureus. The "Chipped Dice" Boon is required to reroll the Merchant's Shop options.

Accursed Pact

• Accursed Pacts are unlocked after progressing through the Sanctum.
• Accursed Pact rooms allow you to accept one of three random Accursed Pacts which grants both an upside and downside.

Accursed Pact outcomes

Upside	Icon	Downside
Gain a specific Boon	Yellow nail	Lose 25% Maximum Resolve
Gain a random Major Boon	Yellow spiky nail	Lose 50% Maximum Resolve
Gain 2 random Minor Boons	Two yellow nails	Lose 50% Maximum Resolve
Gain a random Minor Boon	Yellow/Purple twisted arrows	Gain a random Minor Affliction
Remove a specific Affliction	Purple twisted arrow+Purple nail	Gain a random Minor Affliction
Gain 200 Inspiration	Blue pentagram ⛦	Lose 200 Resolve

Boss Room

• Always the 8th room of any floor.
• Contains one of several Sanctum boss encounters

Bosses

Sanctum Bosses

Boss name	Boss room name	Based on:
???	?	High Lithomancer (Primordial Blocks MapPrimordial Blocks MapMap Level: 69 Map Tier: 2 Guild Character: âWho is the true criminal, the one behind bars, or the one who tortures him?Travel to this Map by using it in a personal Map Device. Maps can only be used once.)
???	?	Kadaris, Crimson Mayor (Crimson Township MapCrimson Township MapMap Level: 68 Map Tier: 1 Guild Character: %Rain will wash away the stains, but the madness and memories will never fade.Travel to this Map by using it in a personal Map Device. Maps can only be used once.)
Unnamed Twin Statue Boss	?
Xenathar, the Dark Reaper	Candlelit Chapel	Vorana, Last to Fall (Expedition)
???	?	Candlemass (POE2)

Boss drops:

• Eternal DamnationEternal Damnation
  Agate AmuletRequires Level 52+(16-24) to Strength and Intelligence+(40-70) to maximum Mana
  +(-13-13)% to Chaos Resistance
  -5% to all maximum Resistances
  Gain additional Elemental Damage Reduction equal to half your Chaos ResistanceThe price of immortality is isolation.

Relic Altar

• Each character has its own Relic Altar and uses separate Relics. However, the Relic Locker is shared between all of your characters in the same league.
• Relics placed in the Relic Altar are locked in for the Sanctum run and cannot be removed in the middle of a run. The current run must be completed, failed, or forfeited to remove Relics.

Templar Relic

• Templar Relics can be found in the Sanctum and provide buffs to various mechanics related to the Sanctum.
• They can be stored in a special separate stash, which can also be placed as a hideout decoration.
• To equip a Relic, they must be placed in the Relic Altar on a 5x4 grid with some slots blocked off. Additional grid slots can be unlocked as you progress, up to a total of 18 slots.
• Relics are unmodifiable and account-bound.

Item
Candlestick RelicCandlestick RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Censer RelicCenser RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Coffer RelicCoffer RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Papyrus RelicPapyrus RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Processional RelicProcessional RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Tome RelicTome RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run
Urn RelicUrn RelicUnmodifiablePlace this item on the Relic Altar at the start of each Sanctum run

Sanctified Relic

• Sanctified Relics are special Relics that provide more general modifiers to the character, and have effect even outside of the Sanctum. They are marked with an orange glow behind the item's art.
• Sanctified Relics are equipped separately from the Templar Relics in the Relic Altar, and is limited to 1.
• Sanctified Relics are unmodifiable and account-bound.
• Rarely, you may find a corrupted Sanctified Relic which can have special implicit modifiers, such as the Lethe Shade Keystone.

Party mechanics

• The Sanctum's choices are made by the map's instance owner.
• All party members share the Resolve bar.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.20.0	Introduced to the game.