Cold Penetration Support: What Does It Mean?

The Cold Penetration Support gem in Path of Exile 2 is a valuable support gem for players focusing on cold damage builds. This gem enhances the effectiveness of cold spells and attacks by allowing them to bypass a portion of the enemy's cold resistance.

Mechanics

The primary function of the Cold Penetration Support gem is to reduce the cold resistance of enemies hit by your supported skills. This is particularly useful in Path of Exile 2 where enemies often have varying levels of elemental resistance, making it challenging to deal significant damage with elemental skills alone.

• Resistance Reduction: The gem provides a percentage reduction to the cold resistance of enemies, effectively increasing the damage output of cold-based skills.
• Scaling: As you level up the Cold Penetration Support gem, the percentage of resistance reduced increases, thereby enhancing your cold damage further.
• Interaction with Other Skills: It synergizes well with other cold damage and elemental penetration mechanisms within the game.

Usage and Strategies

Integrating the Cold Penetration Support gem into your build can significantly boost your damage output against high-resistance enemies. Here are some strategic considerations:

1. Pair with High Damage Skills: Use Cold Penetration Support with high-damage cold skills to maximize the effectiveness of the penetration effect.
2. Boss Fights: This gem is particularly beneficial in boss encounters where enemies typically boast higher resistances.
3. Combining with Other Supports: Consider combining it with other support gems like Added Cold Damage Support or Hypothermia Support to further amplify damage.

Optimal Builds

Cold Penetration Support is often used in builds centered around cold damage spells. Here are some common build archetypes:

• Frostbolt Builds: Utilizing fast-casting and projectile speed to deliver cold damage efficiently.
• Vortex and Cold Snap: Combining area of effect skills with cold penetration for crowd control and sustained damage.
• Ice Nova Builds: Leveraging the Cold Penetration Support to maximize burst damage potential of Ice Nova.

For further optimization, players should consider the synergy between their chosen skills, passive skill tree allocations, and other equipment modifiers that enhance cold damage.