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Discover everything you need to know about the Top 11 Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 including how to use them and their stats.
Path of Exile 2 has received an initial release on December 6, 2024. The full-release schedule is still TBA, but we get 6 out of the 12 planned Classes in the Early Access. Grinding Gear Games has already decided which ones we see in the Early Access. Skills come from Skill Gems. Unlike many games, where skills are tied to your character’s class, in Path of Exile 2, your abilities come from these gems. Whether you want to be a fire-wielding sorcerer, a summoner commanding an undead army, or a fast-striking melee fighter, your Skill Gems define your character. In this guide, we’ll discuss the best Skill Gems to use in Path of Exile 2.
What are Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2?
Skill Gems offer flexibility, allowing you to create a unique playstyle. You can combine Active and Support Gems to create powerful synergies. Skill Gems offers a more streamlined and customizable system for the character’s abilities and works differently compared to the original game. Skill Gems represent individual skills, like fireball, melee attacks, or summoning minions. When you equip them into your Skill Gem slots, you gain access to these abilities.
- Red- Strength-focused support gems.
- Green- Dexterity-focused support gems.
- Blue- Intellect-focused support gems.
In Path of Exile 2, you can obtain Skill Gems from Uncut Gems. They shape these gems into any desired skill. Skill Gems fall into two primary categories. Active Skill Gems allow you to use skills directly in combat. They include various abilities such as attacks, spells, curses, mines, and totems. Each skill gem has specific tags indicating which modifiers can enhance its proficiency.
Passive Skill Gems provide permanent or situational supportive buffs when slotted with Active Gems. Auras offer persistent benefits at the cost of reserving a portion of the player’s mana pool. They are a notable example from the original Path of Exile. However, Path of Exile 2 introduces Spirit Gems. This is a new variant that uses a resource called Spirit to maintain buffs instead of Mana. Your character can equip up to 9 Skill Gems by default. Some classes and ascendancies, like Gemling Legionnaire, can unlock extra Skill Gems slots, potentially increasing your total.
How to get Skill Gems in POE 2?
Skill Gems are obtained by utilizing Uncut Gems. Right-clicking an Uncut Gem opens the Gemcutting menu. Here, pick the desired skill gem based on their weapon of choice. Uncut Gems come in different types. These are Active, Passive, and Spirit. They correspond to the skill variants into which you can shape them.
- Uncut Active Gems- Shaping an Uncut Active Gem into an Active Skill Gem will result in a skill gem of the same level as the Uncut Gem.
- Uncut Passive Gems- Unlike in the original game, Path of Exile 2 allows you to equip only one of each Passive Skill Gem in their entire build. This fosters strategic choices and variety in endgame skill usage.
- Uncut Spirit Gems- You can use Uncut Spirit Gems to shape Spirit Skill Gems. Spirit Skill Gems introduces a new mechanic involving the Spirit resource for maintaining persistent buffs.
Path of Exile 2 offers hundreds of Skill Gems, ensuring that you can create a diverse array of builds. During Early Access, you will have access to a specific number of Active Skill Gems for different weapon types, such as Quarterstaves, Maces, Bows, and Crossbows, as well as Occult and Elemental skills for Witches and Sorceresses.
How to Use Skill Gems
Skill Gems are equipped in the skill menu to get access to new abilities in the game. These skills use Mana and are spammable in combat. All these new skills offer pre-determined cast speed and attack speed, becoming slower than your basic attack. You can slot support gems with matching tags to boost the effects of your attack gems and make them more effective.
- Open the Skill Gems menu (press ‘G’ on PC or navigate through the character menu on consoles) to equip a skill gem.
- You can then drag your chosen Skill Gem into the desired socket.
- This adds the skill to your active abilities.
As mentioned earlier, Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 has its own support sockets, you can fill the sockets with Support Gems to enhance the skill’s properties. The Skill Gem system is designed to give you a freedom system. You can mix and match active skills, support gems, Auras, and other abilities to create a build that feels unique to yours.
Top 11 Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2
Here are all the top 11 Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 and each one grants unique buffs to players in combat.
- Lightning Arrow- a bow attack skill that fires an arrow that causes enemies to be struck with a Chain Lightning
- Explosive Shot- Load your Crossbow with flaming bolts that explode on impact. The explosion will detonate any grenades in its area of effect.
- Rain of Arrows- A ranged attack skill that fires a number of arrows in the air.
- Supercharge Slam- Release to slam the ground, dealing AoE around the impact.
- Bone Shatter- Prime Enemies for stun and cause a huge shock wave to deal huge damage in an area.
- Volcanic Fissure- Slam the ground to create a winding fissure, dealing damage while it travels.
- Cast on Shock– Shock enemies and trigger socketed spells after reaching maximum energy.
- Incinerate- A flood of fire to ignite enemies and the flame gets stronger the longer you channel.
- Raging Spirits- A resource for summoning minions and enabling buffs along with auras to make it essential for Mana or Life.
- Earthquake- Smashes the ground to deal damage in an area and slow enemies with Jagged Ground
- Rolling Slam- Stun enemies by slamming them and then perform a second slam for more damage output.
1) Lightning Arrow
Fires a charged arrow at the target. On hitting an enemy or wall, the arrow will fire chain lightning beams at nearby enemies. Lightning Arrow is the core of the build. The skill chains to two nearby enemies as well making it a great allrounder, dealing some AoE damage while also melting down single target elites and bosses at a reasonable rate. Add Martial Tempo to enhance the capability of Lightning Arrow to deal additional damage.
Martial Attacks you to attack faster with a 25% high rate. The other Support Gem that works with Lightning Arrow is Primal Armament as it allows you to deal more weapon elemental damage. Lightning Arrow is the best Skill Gem to use because it strikes an enemy and emits a chain lightning effect.
Effects
- Cannot chain
- Converts 40% of physical damage to lightning damage
- Fires beams at up to 2 additional enemies near the target
Bea, the targeting radius is 2-4 meters
2) Explosive Shot
Loads your crossbow with flaming bolts that explode in impact. The explosion will cause any grenades in its area of effect to also explode. To enhance Explosive Shot’s effectiveness, consider pairing it with Scattershot, Fire Infusion, Ignition, and Magnified Effect. Scattershot enhances the number of projectiles, enhancing area coverage. Maximize area damage and clear speed by combining Explosive Shot with support gems like Scattershot and Fire Infusion. Consider Explosive Shot into your arsenal can significantly boost your ability to control crowds and deal substantial area damage.
Effects
- 1 Bolt loaded per clip
- 30% less reload speed
3) Rain of Arrows
Fire arrows into the air, causing them to rain from above. Consumes your frenzy charges to fire more arrows. Rain of Arrows is the star of the show, with each arrow potentially inflicting deadly poison stacks. It unleashes a volley of arrows into the air, which then strikes a target, dealing AoE damage. Consider pairing it with Support Gems like Concentrated Effect and Splinter to maximize the potential of Rain of Arrows. Include Rain of Arrows into your arsenal can significantly increase your ability to crowd control, dealing substantial area damage.
Effects
- Fires 30 projectiles
- Fires (18425) projectiles
Fires (30-39) projectiles
4) Supercharged Slam
Channel to charge up a heavy swing, drawing earth from the ground to enlarge your mace. Release to Slam the ground, dealing damage in an area around the impact, followed by Aftershocks dealing damage in a large area. This melee attack allows you to build up energy before releasing a powerful slam to deal AoE damage. This unique skill’s damage scales with the duration of the channel to control the intensity of the attack.
Include Supercharge Slam to provide substantial area damage and crowd control, especially when synergized with Support Gems. The longer the channel, the higher the damage output. However, this skill is nerfed with a recent patch due to its overpowered capability.
Effect
- Impact radius is 1.6 metres
- 100% more Damage with Hits for each stage
- Maximum 3 Stages
- Channelling ends 1 second after reaching maximum Stages
Releases 1 Aftershock per Stage
5) Bone Shatter
Attacks enemies with a melee Strike. The Strike will cause a Heavy Stun on enemies that are Primed for Stun. Upon causing a Heavy Stun it will also create a Shockwave, dealing a large amount of damage in an area. It delivers a forceful strike, inflicting damage on both enemies and the user. Stunning an enemy with Bone Shatter triggers a damaging pulse, boosting its AoE capabilities. Combine the Bone Shatter with Support Gems like Impact Shockwave and Devastate. As Bone Shatter levels up, it gains increased attack damage and effectiveness of added damage.
Effect
- +2 to Melee Strike Range
- Does not cause Stun buildup
Shockwave
- +2 to Melee Strike Range
- While Dual Wielding, both weapons hit with 30% less damage cannot cause Stun buildup
6) Volcanic Fissure
Slam the ground, creating a winding fissure that deals damage as it travels and remains for a duration. Using a different Slam on a fissure will cause an Aftershock, which spreads to all connected fissures. This is a melee slam attack that creates a fissure traveling toward a target, dealing damage along its path. It erupts upon reaching the target, releasing molten projectiles. Volcanic Fissure is effective for both single-target damage and area clearing because it can seek out closer foes and erupt multiple times. Add Support Gems like Fire Infusion and Fire Penetration to deal additional fire damage and bypass the enemy’s fire resistance.
Effects
- Converts 60% of Physical Damage to Fire Damage
- While Dual Wielding, both weapons hit with 30% less damage
- Fissure duration is 12 seconds
Additional Effects From Quality
- Fissure duration is 0(0-4) seconds
7) Cast on Shock
While active, gains energy when you shock enemies and trigger socketed spells on reaching maximum energy. It automates the casting of linked spells when you inflict the Shock ailment on enemies. This enables dynamic and reactive gameplay, allowing for complex skill interactions. Combine this skill with Support Gems like Comet to deal additional damage. Summons a massive ice mass from the sky, dealing substantial cold damage to the target. It also causes a backward leap, enabling more mobility aspects to the skill. This skill is effective in clearing a large cluster of enemies
- Gains 20 energy when you shock an enemy with a hit from a skill, once per skill use
8) Incinerate
Conjures a torrent of flames from your hand, Igniting enemies in front of you. The flames grow stronger the longer you Channel for, and at maximum strength also apply stacking Fire Exposure and creating Ignited Ground. It unleashes a continuous stream of flames, rapidly applying the Ignite ailment to enemies within its path by channeling fire spells. It does not deal direct hit damage; instead, it inflicts damage solely through Ignites. Hold the skill button to sustain the torrent of fire, allowing for continuous Igniting of the enemies. Consider pairing it with the Support Gems that enhance the elemental damage or boost both the damage over time and the duration of Ignites.
Effect
- Deals (3–207) to (5–311) Fire Damage
- 25% more Damage with Hits and Ailments for each stage
- 100% increased angle per stage, up to 300%
- Final wave always Ignites
- 8 maximum Stages
- +(0.4–0.5) metres to radius per stage, up to a maximum of +(1.5–1.9) metres
- Final wave deals 500% more Damage with Hits
- Final wave deals 250% more Damage with Ignite
Additional Effects From Quality
- +(0–2) to maximum Stages
9) Raging Spirits
While active, your Fire Spells will also summon Raging Spirits, which are short-lived flaming skulls that rush at nearby enemies and rapidly Attack them. Enemies will not directly engage these Minions and can pass through them. This buff skill summons short-lived flaming skills whenever you cast fire spells.
The minions seek out and attack nearby enemies, providing additional damage output during combat. However, this skill has restrictions on where or how it can drop and can be obtained by engraving an Uncut Spirit Gem. Raging Spirit Synergizes well with Fire Infusion to add bonus fire damage and Fire Exposure to reduce enemy fire resistance.
Effects
- Minions from this skill convert 70% of Physical Damage to Fire Damage
- Limit 10 Summoned Raging Spirits
- Fire Area Spells summon a Spirit per 1.5 meters of radius
- Projectiles from Fire Spells summon a Spirit on a hit
- Maximum 5 Spirits summoned per Spell cast
Additional Effects from Quality
- Limit 0(0-1) Summoned Raging Spirits
10) Earthquake
Smashes the ground, dealing damage in an area and leaving behind Jagged Ground that slows enemies. The Jagged Ground erupts in a powerful Aftershock after a duration. Cannot create Jagged Ground on top of an existing patch, or if you already have the maximum number of active patches. It delivers area damage and creates Jagged Ground beneath enemies. After a brief duration, this Jagged Ground erupts in a powerful aftershock, dealing more damage. The skill requires a Level 3 character with 9 Strength. However, this skill is overwhelming when compared to other skills like Infernal Cry followed by Rolling Slam.
Impact
- 100% Increased Magnitude of Jagged Ground
- When Dual Wielding weapons hit with 30% less damage
- Impact Radius is 1.8M
- Jagged Ground radius is 2.2M, maximum 2 Jagged Ground Patches
- Jagged Ground duration is 4s
Aftershock
- Aftershock radius is 3.4 meters
11) Rolling Slam
Slam the ground to Stun enemies and knock them away, then continue forward and perform a devastating second Slam. Holding down the skill input allows you to change direction as you move. This is a melee attack skill that slams the ground to stun enemies and then performs another slam to deal additional damage and stun the enemies for even more time. Your characters must be of level 3 and must have Dexterity: 9 to use in combat. The first slam is useful for controlling groups of enemies to prevent enemies from getting close. This skill works well with one-handed or two-handed maces.
Effect
- 1.5 seconds to Total Attack Time
- While Dual Wielding, both weapons hit with 30% less damage
First Slam
- Attack Damage: 88%
- 50% more Stun buildup
- Impact radius is 1.4 metres
- Causes Daze buildup equal to 0-50% of Physical Damage dealt (from Quality)
Second Slam
- Attack Damage: 176%
- Impact radius is 1.8 metres
- Causes Daze buildup equal to 0-50% of Physical Damage dealt (from Quality)
Tips For Picking Up the Skill Gems
Here are all the tips that you must keep in mind while picking the skill Gems in Path of Exile 2.
- Try different combinations of skill and support gems and don’t fear complexity.
- Test the combinations like Herald of Ash with Plague Bearer for unique damage output.
- Focus on the hardest parts of the skill rather than what you’re good at.
- Choose the skill according to your build requirements.
- Balance your active and support gems to avoid running away from fights.
- Focus on Keystone Nodes.
FAQs About Top 11 Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 (POE 2)
How do skill gems work in Path of Exile 2 compared to the first game?
Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 can be turned into any skill of your choosing at the level of the gem you’ve found. Putting a Skill Gem into your character will unlock the skill. Skill Gems don’t just drop in their final form. Instead, you’ll find items called Uncut Gems as you play the game.
Can I still link skill gems in Path of Exile 2?
Linking Skill Gems through gear sockets has been replaced by a new and more streamlined built-in support system for Skill Gems. The new system removes the frustration of crafting linked and colored skills.
Are skill gems class-specific in POE2?
No, skill gems are not class-specific in Path of Exile 2. Any class can use every skill gem in the game.
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