Complete Path of Exile 2 Buff Gems (Metagems) guide

Buff gems are key items in Path of Exile 2 that will allow you to get the most out of your build.

In Path of Exile 2, your class, gear, and Ascendancy are all parts of character building. Buff gems are a special type of items that provide Temporary and Persistent Buffs in all situations, making them vital for in-game progression. These gems are different when it comes to all the available classes, and hence, you need to understand how they work.

How Buff gems work in Path of Exile 2

Buff gems are special items that provide Temporary and Persistent buffs to you, your teammates, and your minions in certain cases. Some of these gems have special trigger effects, which are known as Meta gems. These effects have certain conditions that you’ll need to perform in order to trigger the effect, and they will work as long as you have spirit.

What are Persistent and Temporary Buffs in Path of Exile 2

Also known as Auras, Persistent Buffs provide long-term boosts to one/some of your in-game stats. When linked with Support Gems, they will also buff your Spirit capacity. Temporary Buffs, on the other hand, provide immediate but powerful boosts.

Every Buff gem has three tiers.

• Tier 1: Begins at Gem Level 4 and can be engraved for characters level 10 or above.
• Tier 2: Starts at Gem Level 8 and can be engraved for characters level 26 or higher.
• Tier 3: Starts at Gem Level 14 and can be engraved for characters level 58 or higher.

Let’s now take a look at all the available gems for every class.

All Witch Buff Gems in Pat of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirement	Effect
Grim Feast	1	25 INT	While active, gains Energy when one of your Minions dies, and triggers socketed Spells upon reaching maximum Energy. Cannot socket Spells that create Minions.
Withering Presence	1	25 INT	While active, periodically Withers enemies in your Presence
Barrier Invocation	2	34 DEX, 34 INT	While active, this Invocation gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged by Hits. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.
Blasphemy	2	61 INT	Combines all socketed Curse skills into a vile Aura, applying their effects to all nearby enemies.
Cast on Minion Death	2	61 INT	While active, gains Energy when one of your Minions dies, and triggers socketed Spells upon reaching maximum Energy. Cannot socket Spells which create Minions.
Cast on Critical	3	133 INT	Gains Energy when you Critically Hit with a skill, and triggers socketed spells when max Energy is reached.
Sacrifice	3	133 INT	While active, your Undead Reviving Minions can be used to cast skills that otherwise require corpses. Your Minions take longer to revive.

All Sorceress Buff Gems in Pat of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirement	Effect
Arctic Armour	1	25 INT	Conjures an icy barrier that gains stages over time. While the barrier has stages, Melee Attacks that hit you will remove a stage to cause a burst of ice that deals Cold Spell damage to the attacker.
Mana Remnants	1	25 INT	Conjures surging lightning that causes Shocked Enemies you or your Minions kill to leave behind a Mana Remnant. Picking up a Mana Remnant grants you Mana, and can overcharge your Mana up to double its normal maximum.
Raging Spirits	1	25 INT	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.
Cast on Ignite	2	61 INT	Tap into a current of raw and unpredictable Elemental power, causing you to deal greatly more damage than a randomly chosen Element. The Element affected changes frequently, though the same Element can be affected multiple times in succession.
Cast on Freeze	2	61 INT	While active, gain Energy when you Freeze enemies and trigger socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy
Cast on Shock	2	61 INT	While active, gain energy when you shock enemies and trigger socketed spells on reaching maximum energy.
Archmage	3	133 INT	While active, causes your Spells to cost additional mono and deal extra Lightning damage, both based on your maximum Mana.
Blink	3	133 INT	Replace your dodge roll with a short-cooldown Spell that allows you to tunnel through space, instantly reappearing a medium distance away.
Elemental Conflux	3	133 INT	Tap into a current of raw and unpredictable Elemental power, causing you to deal greatly amplified damage of a randomly chosen Element. The Element affected changes frequently, though the same Element can be affected multiple times in succession.

All Mercenary Buff Gems in Pat of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirement	Effect
Herald of Ash	1	25 STR	While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deals Attack damage to all surrounding enemies.
Herald of Thunder	1	25 DEX	While active, consuming Freeze, Shock, Ignite, or Fully broken armor on an enemy reloads your Crossbow. This can only occur once every few seconds.
War Banner	1	15 STR, 15 DEX	Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a War Banner, granting you and nearby allies Attack Damage and Accuracy. Only one Banner can be active at a time.
Defiance Banner	2	34 STR, 34 DEX	Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a Defiance Banner, granting you and nearby allies Armour, Evasion, and movement speed. Only one Banner can be active at a time.
Overwhelming Presence	2	61 STR	While active, enemies in your Presence are easier to Stun and inflict Elemental Ailments upon.
Shard Scavenger	2	34 STR, 34 DEX	While active, consuming Freeze, Shock, Ignite, or Fully broken armour on an enemy reloads your Crossbow. This can only occur once every few seconds.
Attrition	3	73 STR, 73 DEX	While active, causes you to deal more hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you’ve been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you’ve been fighting them for long enough.
Dread Banner	3	73 STR, 73 DEX	Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a Dread Banner, granting you and nearby allies Flask charges over time, as well as Stun Threshold and Elemental Ailment Threshold. Only one Banner can be active at a time.

All Warrior Buff Gems in Pat of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirements	Effect
Herald of Ash	1	25 STR	When you use Raise Shield, the Shield is infused with magma temporarily. Blocking during this time will also spray Magma at your attackers and grant you Endurance Charge. Has an internal cooldown before the effect can trigger again.
Magma Barrier	1	25 STR	When your use Raise Shield, the Shield is infused with magma temporarily. Blocking during this time will also spray Magma at your attackers and grant you Endurance Charge. Has an internal cooldown before the effect can trigger again.
Scavenged Plating	1	25 STR	Fully Armor-breaking an enemy will grant you a stack of Scavenged Plating, which increases your Armor and Thorns per stack. (Thorns is an effect that passively deals damage to enemies who melee attack you.)
Overwhelming Presence	2	61 STR	While active, enemies in your Presence are easier to Stun and inflict Elemental Ailments upon.
Time of Need	2	61 STR	Invokes divine blessings, periodically healing you and removing Curses and Elemental Ailments from you.
Bersek	3	133 STR	While active, enemies in your Presence are easier to Stun and inflict Elemental Ailments upon.
Dread Banner	3	73 STR, 73 DEX	Berserk

All Ranger Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirements	Effect
Herald of Thunder	1	25 DEX	While active, grants you a Frenzy Charge when you Freeze, Electrocute, or Pin an enemy. This can only occur once every few seconds.
Plague Bearer	1	25 DEX	Stores all Poison Damage you deal. Using the Plague Nova skill unleashes the stored Poison.
Wind Dancer	1	25 DEX	Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you.
Combat Frenzy	2	61 DEX	While active, grants you a Frenzy Charge when you Freeze, Electrocute or Pin an enemy. This can only occur once every few seconds.
Herald of Plague	2	61 DEX	While active, killing a Poisoned enemy spreads its Poison to other nearby enemies, and has a chance to also Hinder them.
Attrition	3	73 STR, 73 DEX	While active, causes you to deal more hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you’ve been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you’ve been fighting them for long enough
Alchemist’s Boon	3	133 DEX	While active, grants you Flask charges passively and causes Life and Mana recovery from your Flasks to also apply to Allies in your Presence.

All Monk Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2

Buff	Tier	Requirements	Effect
Ghost Dance	1	15 DEX, 15 INT	Periodically gain Ghost Shrouds. If you are Hit while you have a Ghost Shroud, it is immediately consumed to recover Energy Shield based on your Evasion
Herald of Ice	1	15 DEX, 15 INT	When you Shatter frozen enemies with an attack hit, it will cause an icy explosion that deals Cold damage based on your attack damage.
Herald of Thunder	1	25 DEX	While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deal Attack damage to all surrounding enemies.
Barrier Invocation	2	34 DEX, 34 INT	While active, this Invocation gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged by Hits. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.
Elemental Invocation	2	34 DEX, 34 INT	While active, this Invocation gains Energy when you Freeze, Shock or Ignite an enemy. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.
Lingering Illusion	2	34 DEX, 34 INT	While active, gain Energy when you dodge roll and trigger socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy.
Cast on Dodge	3	73 DEX, 73 INT	While active, gain Energy when you dodge roll and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy.
Charge Infusion	3	73 DEX, 73 INT	While active, you gain powerful Buffs based on your active Charges. However, maintaining the Buff Consumes Charges every few seconds.
Reaper’s Invocation	3	73 DEX, 73 INT	While active, this Invocation gains Energy when you kill an enemy with a Melee Attack. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.

There are plans for Path of Exile 2 to have up to 12 classes. Once more are added to the game during early access, we will update this piece to include all the available information.

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