Best Support Gems in Path of Exile 2

It is the Support Gem that makes the Skill in Path of Exile 2, and there is quite a huge variety to choose from. The sheer volume available may be intimidating (and for good reason), but there are some Support Gems that you should absolutely not ignore.

Strongest Support Gems in Path of Exile 2

Support Gems are the backbone of your Skills, and the best ones can turn a good build into an amazing one. Here are the most potent; the ones that ultimately define or unleash a Skill’s potential.

Controlled Destruction

With Controlled Destruction equipped on any Spell, it gains 30% increased damage at the cost of causing it to be unable to hit critically. If you’re building raw damage, this Support Gem is one of the most powerful thanks to its multiplicative nature. It is best used on Spells with high base damage, but it will still be very strong on any of your main spell-based Skills. Just remember that it’s only for Spells. Attacks cannot make use of this one.

Martial Tempo

Any build that uses a Martial Skill/weapon (a Skill/weapon swung or used physically) can make use of Martial Tempo. This powerful Support Gem provides any Skill that it is attached to with a free 25% Attack Speed, which is huge in terms of stats. This means that your slowest Skills can become quite fast when it’s equipped. Attack Speed is a major DPS factor, so this Support Gem is a must-have staple in many builds.

Unleash

Unleash can be a game-changing Support Gem for any spell it is linked to thanks to its incredibly potent effect. Without getting into the mud of things, it effectively lets you cast a spell twice with a single cast, with the second spell suffering a large 50% damage decrease. Even so, Unleash is a flat DPS increase as the mana cost for said spell does not change despite it being cast a second time, effectively for free. That all said, Unleash should be on one of main DPS spells, as the damage increase is especially immense in burst-based scenarios.

Considered Casting

If Controlled Destruction wasn’t enough Damage for your Spell, then consider Considered Casting instead. Considered Casting provides your Spell a monstrous 40% Damage Boost at the significant cost of 15% Cast Speed. The penalty here is huge and is something you should try to account for before using this Support Gem. If you can find a way to dampen the negative though, then this gem is absolutely insane for your damage.

Inevitable Critical

There are numerous factors that critically hitting a target can trigger, but without enough Critical Hit Chance, you won’t be seeing them activate. Enter Inevitable Critical, a Support Gem that grants you 25% Base Critical Strike Chance per second for the Skill it is equipped to, up to a max of 100% Crit. This effectively means that every four seconds, your Skill is guaranteed to land a Crit, which can be incredibly useful on a main DPS ability. Alternatively, you can also use this Support Gem on a Skill that you don’t use unless the Critical Strike is stacked to 100%.

Impetus

If your build relies heavily on Energy generation for Meta Skills like Cast on Ignite or Cast on Shock, Impetus is a highly useful Support Gem to consider. Impetus can only be equipped on Meta Skills, as it provides an unconditional 40% increase to its Energy gain.

Primal Armament

Your DPS (Damage per Second) is very important to increase, especially when playing the endgame, and Primal Armament is one of the best in class Support Gems to use for this purpose. When equipped on an Attack-based Skill, it provides an unconditional 25% Damage boost at all times, no strings attached. There are also no negatives associated with Primal Armament, making it one of the most impactful Support Gems for any of your main damage Skills.

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is a potent Support Gem that allows you to recover 4% of your Maximum Life every time you score a kill. This is fantastic for sustain-based playstyles that rely on scoring kills, which is something you’ll need to be doing a lot of to survive the endgame. It can only be slotted into Buff-based Skills and has a Spirit Cost associated with using it, so you may have to plan a bit in advance. However, if you can, Cannibalism is an incredible Support Gem to use.

Deadly Poison

For any build making use of Poison-based damage, Deadly Poison is an irreplaceable Support Gem to slot. Equipping it to a Skill dramatically boosts the potency of the Poison in inflicts (75% Magitude) at the cost of 25% less damage with direct hits. This negative is painful, but if your goal is to dish out damage using Poison DoT (Damage over Time), then Deadly Poison is a defining aspect of your build. Make use of it.

Searing Flame

At the cost of 25% of the Supported Skill’s damage, Searing Flame compensates with a massive Ignite Magnitude increase of 75%, making this Support Gem a go-to for Ignite-based builds. Magnitude increases for Ailments are not exactly the easiest to come by, so to have such a large increase on a Support Gem makes this one, one you should not ignore.

Elemental Focus

Elemental Focus is another Support Gem that does nothing but increase the damage of the Skill you slot it into. It boosts damage by a sizable 25% and can be stacked with other similar Support Gems like Primal Armament for even greater effect. The only notable downside to using Elemental Focus is that it prevents the Skill it is attached to from inflicting Ailments, which can be problematic if that’s your goal.

Mastery Supports

Every single damage type in Path of Exile 2 has a Support Gem dedicated to improving the overall level of the Skill it is attached to by one. If you’re unaware, level boosts on Skills provide more benefit than most other mechanics in the game (including other Support Gems), making these Gems extremely important to slot on the Skills most integral to your build/gameplay style. There are no downsides associated with using them, so make sure to do so.

Immolate

Immolate is one of the absolute most potent damage Support Gems in the game. It provides the slotted Skill with 30% Extra Fire Damage against Ignite enemies, which is ridiculous for a Support Gem. That ‘Extra’ part is especially important because it means that the damage this Gem provides comes after all other damage calculations are completed as a stand-alone modifier to your other damage. In simple terms: it boosts your damage much more than other Support Gems are capable of. ‘Extra’ damage, in general, is incredibly hard to come by, so for this gem to provide it so easily is insane. If you want to see a significant damage boost, make use of Immolate.

Elemental Exposure Supports

All the elemental forces in Path of Exile 2 have access to an Exposure Support gem that inflicts a debuff on an enemy struck by the skill it is attached to. The debuff reduces the resistance of said type by a considerable amount, allowing you to deal more damage with that elemental against that target. This is highly valuable for stripping the high elemental Resistances common on endgame enemies, letting you deal with them much more easily. What’s more, Exposure debuffs stack with Curse debuffs, allowing you to further strip Resistances with ease.

Bloodlust

If you’re making use of the Bleed Ailment, then you should consider using Bloodlust Support Gem on your main damaging Skill. Bloodlust provides the Skill it is attached to with a significant 30% Damage boost, at the cost of the ability being unable to inflict the Bleed status. More damage is always a good thing, so use this one if Bleed is your thing.

Vitality

Self-sustainability is more important in Path of Exile 2 when compared to its predecessor thanks to the incredibly punishing endgame. After all, you can’t dish out damage when your health pool is at zero. There are many ways to improve your survivability, and vitality is a near-free easy way to do so. It lets you regenerate one percent of your Maximum Health per second. While this will obviously not save you from high amounts of burst damage, it is fantastic for keeping yourself healthy over extended periods. The only real limitation to it is its high Spirit Cost, which can make it difficult to slot in if you’re unprepared to do so.

Arcane Tempo

Arcane Tempo functions identically to Martial Tempo in functionality, only it’s for Spells instead of Weapon-based Skills. It provides the slotted Spell with 25% increased Cast Speed, making it a considerable DPS increase to use overall Support Gems for your main damage ability. Like Martial Tempo, it comes with no downsides to speak of, making it one of the best Support Gems you can use to boost your overall DPS.

Mobility

Mobility is a strong option as a Support Gem because it allows you to more safely position yourself in combat, without suffering most of the negatives associated with attacking from range in the first place. While the entire movement penalty is not negated with this Support Gem, most of it is, and it is very noticeable against Path of Exile 2’s most difficult content.