Discover everything you need to know about Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 and how to upgrade them including Support Gems and all Skill Gems.
Path of Exile 2 has received an initial release on August 14, 2025. 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.
What are Skill Gems in POE2?
Skill Gems offer flexibility, allowing you to create a unique playstyle. you may 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.
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 do Skill Gems work in POE2?
Skill Gems are the cornerstone of Path of Exile 2’s combat system. They allow you to slot various offensive and defensive abilities into their kits. The Skills you prioritize can modify the builds. These factors underscore the importance of selecting the right Gems to maximize efficiency and effectiveness in battle. Gems are socketed into your character. Sockets on items utilized for Runes in the game. You will find Skill Gems progressing through the game. Skills Gems have sockets for support Gems, starting with 2 sockets. You can also upgrade Skill Gems by utilizing currency through the number or color of sockets.
How to Equip Skill Gems
You can equip skill gems by following these steps.
Craft a character build of your preference by effectively managing your Skill Gems. Skill Gems don’t just drop in their final form. Instead, you’ll find items called Uncut Gems as you play the game. There are black states, and you may engrave them into Skill Gems of your choice. One thing to note is that the level of the Uncut Gem determines the level of the Skill Gem you create. Higher-level Uncut Gems create more powerful Skill Gems.
How to get Skill Gems in POE2?
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 may shape them.
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 level up Skill Gems in POE2?
Use Uncut Gems to level your Skills in Path of Exile 2. Uncut Gem has a level and you can most probably get Level 7 Uncut Gem at the initial stages of the game. Uncut Gems are obtained as reward drops from defeating foes. Bosses can drop these Gems of the high-tier category. Completing several quests can offer Uncut Skill Gems as rewards. A level 5 Uncut Skill Gem allows you to create a Skill Gem for a Level 5 Skill. It allows you to unlock new abilities corresponding to your character’s progression. Use an Uncut Skill Gem of a higher level than the current Skill to increase an existing Skill, upgrading the Skill to match the Uncut Gem’s level. Here are some best strategies for efficient Skill Gem Leveling.
You can effectively develop and strengthen your character’s abilities or even make your build stronger by obtaining Uncut Skill Gems. This system rewards exploration and grinding for higher-level Gems, and it puts control over Skill progression in your hands.
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 to make them more effective.
You can use skill gems by following these steps.
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, and Auras. And other abilities to create a build that feels unique to yours.
Support Gems in Path of Exile 2
The Support Skills are just as crucial as your active Skills. Support Gems are items that you socket into your Skills that enhance the abilities of your active Skill Gems. The real magic happens when you combine various support Skill Gems to specialize your Skills to your liking. The Gem colors red, green, and blue correspond to different types of attributes. And each gem has its own requirement in terms of attributes. A fireball spell can deal more damage when linked with a support gem to increase the burning damage. Support Gems lets you tune your Skills, enabling you to create highly specialized builds.
As you increase your attributes you unlock the ability to have more Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence Support Gems. Equipped at once. Support Gems work by modifying the behavior of an active Skill. For example, a gem like multiple projectiles provides the Skill with two additional projectiles. While a gem like Faster Projectiles will increase the speed at which your projectiles travel. It’s not about using one support gem. Path of Exile takes it to the next level with up to five sockets. The more sockets you add to a Skill the more complex and powerful your Skill can become.
Combined Gems allow you to stack multiple support Gems on a single active Skill gem, amplifying the effects dramatically. Choose your combination wisely though because you can only have one of each support gem equipped to your character at a time. While you can only have one of each support gem equipped on your character. There are 100 support Skills to choose from in the game. Skill Gems can only enhance the skills that they’re compatible with.
All Types of Skill Gems in POE2
Here are all the types of Skill Gems in POE2.
Red Gems focus on Physical power, melee combat, and durability. The Gem color is linked with totems, a type of minion that can taunt closer foes. Falling Thunder, Glacial Cascade, and Molten Strike are some Red Gems Skills in Path of Exile 2.
Green Gems focuses on Agility, speed, ranged attacks, and evasion. Tornado Shot, Poisonburst Arrow, and Flicker Strike are some Green Gems Skills that you can utilize in the game.
Blue Gems focuses on Spells, elemental magic, and utility effects. Eye of Winter, Lightning Conduit, and Frost Shield are some Blue Gems Skills in Path of Exile 2. Along with these types of Gems, some Skills require two or more attributes, combining elements of Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence.
Auras Gems & Meta Gems
Auras are particularly useful because they offer passive bonuses, like increased damage or resistance, to you and your allies. For example, an Aura can reserve 30% of your spirit but grant a significant boost to your fire damage. Meta Gems allow you to automate linked abilities based on specific conditions. A Meta Gem can trigger a defensive Skill automatically when you take a critical hit. Managing your spirit pool effectively is crucial. Because you’ll need to balance your active Skills with your reserved abilities to stay effective in combat.
All Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2
Here are all the Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2 that you can obtain while progressing through the game.
FAQs About Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2
Question 1: How do Skill Gems work in Path of Exile 2 compared to the first game?
You can turn Skill Gems 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.
Question 2: 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.
Question 3: 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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