Summary
There are a lot ofsupport gems inPath of Exile 2, and by the time players get to the end game and start seeing tier 3 support gems, they likely already have a whole host of slotted supports they like. If players want to work outside the limited suggested gems system, then by this point they have hundreds of support gem options.
The third tier ofsupport gemsopens up 57 new options. With this level of choice, it can be difficult for players to know what the best options are to add to or replace support gems in their specific build. The following support gems are some of the best either for specific purposes or that work across multiple builds and skill types, from the third tier of support gems.
15Deep Cuts
Bigger Bleeds
With a bleed-focused set of skills, Deep Cuts is a powerful tier 3 support gem. The gems effect means that the initial damage of the hit inflicting the bleed will be 25% lower, but the magnitude of the bleed inflicted will be 75% higher.
The initial damage of a hit determines the bleed strength, but the increased magnitude more than outweighs the lowered initial damage. For builds that can aggravate bleed, this can be an especially potent way to deal damage over time.
14Supercritical
Critical Booster
Supercritical has a harsh trade-off for its large increase in critical damage. The 20% less critical hit chance means that some skills will have little chance of actually making use of the damage bonus. However, for skills that can deal with guaranteed critical hits like Snipe, the downside is negated and the damage bonus is incredibly powerful.
13Rageforged
Enraged Power
Rageforged can consume Rage to increase the damage of supported skills significantly. The support gem requires a reliable way to generate rage to be used effectively, but for setups that have Rage-generating skills and support gems, this is a powerful reusable buff. The gem can support any damaging skill triggered by the player, so it can be used with a number ofhard-hitting skill gems.
12Deadly Poison
Powerful Poison Procs
Like Deep Cuts for Bleed damage, Deadly Poison increases the magnitude of Poisons inflicted on enemies, at the cost of less damage on hit for the supported skill.
The trade-off has the same math as Deep Cuts, so the increased magnitude is worth the lowered base damage if players are focusing poison damage over time on a particular skill. This is especially potent when players are able to stack poisons through other support gems and passives.
11Chaotic Freeze
Cold Chaos
The mechanics of Chaotic Freeze aren’t necessarily obvious on the surface. The gem makes chaos damage over time inflicted by the supported skill contribute to freeze buildup when the enemy is hit by other skills that inflict freeze buildup.
This makes it especially effective in minion builds that make use of the Skeletal Frost mages, as associatedskills like Contagioncan spread chaos damage over multiple enemies and make freezing groups of foes easier.
10Mastery Gems
Skill Boosters For All Types
Currently, all the mastery gems are contained in the Intelligence support gem category, but there’s one for each type of elemental skill, as well as physical skills andminion skills. Each respective gem increases skills of a given type by one level.
So slotting Chaos mastery into a Chaos skill gives that skill an extra level, and so on. Each level of skill brings some pretty hefty bonuses inPath of Exile 2, so the respective gems are worth looking into for a player’s specific skill focus.
9Tremors
Repeating Aftershocks
The strength support gem Tremors is an effective tier 3 support gem for skills that are intended to spread damage over a wide area to damage groups of lower-health enemies. The gem works with slam moves, so skills like Leap Slam and Sunder can be modified to deal lower damage, but repeat that damage up to 3 times. Combined with a larger area of effect and other melee support gems, Tremors makes these skills effective mob clearing tools for melee-focused builds.
8Biting Frost
Freezing Cold
Biting Frost can be used to devastating effect by players who are focusing on Cold damage and freezing enemies. This support gem consumes the freeze effect on an enemy to give the supported skill a 50% damage boost. The use is self-explanatory; freeze an enemy, then use a big damage skill with this support gem to finish them off.
7Heft
Weighty Physical Hits
Skills have variable damage inPath of Exile 2. Players will quickly notice that both weapons and skill descriptions give damage ranges rather than flat damage numbers. What Heft does is increase the maximum physical damage a skill can deal, meaning the damage cap of the attack is increased rather than a flat damage buff. That doesn’t make it any less effective, and Heft is a great way to get more damage for physical builds.
6Payload
Double Grenade Chance
Mercenaries can make good use of Grenade skillsinPath of Exile 2, and Payload is one of the more effective gems for boosting their overall damage. The gem gives Grenades a 50% chance of activating twice, meaning players can spread damage or crowd control effects over a wide area depending on the skill. It reduces the cooldown recovery rate by 70% though, so there is a trade-off.
