Path of Exile 2 Curses & Marks Glossary
Curses and marks are the two kinds of debuff gem in Path of Exile 2. A curse is a spell you drop on an area; after a short delay every enemy inside is weakened. A mark is a debuff on a single target that waits for a trigger, such as a critical hit or a freeze, and then pays you back with a buff. This page explains six names that players mix up: four are real debuff gems or supports, one is a support gem that rewards broken armour, and one is a passive skill that is not a curse at all.
Numbers match Path of Exile 2 patch 0.5.5 (Forbidden Rites, released 4 September 2026) and its hotfixes, in the 0.5 content cycle "Return of the Ancients". Version 1.0 is scheduled for 11 December 2026. Gem ranges are level 1 to level 20 values.
| Term | What it is | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental Weakness | Curse, tier 7 | Intelligence |
| Enfeeble | Curse, tier 3 | Intelligence |
| Exploit Weakness | Support gem, tier 2 | 5 Strength |
| Freezing Mark | Mark, tier 7 | Dexterity and Intelligence |
| Low Tolerance | Passive skill (notable) | Passive tree or anoint |
| Sniper's Mark | Mark, tier 7 | Dexterity |
How curses and marks differ
Every curse gem in PoE 2 uses the same frame: a 0.7 second cast, a ground marker, and the curse lands after a 1.5 second delay on all enemies inside a radius of 1.5 to 3.1 metres. It lasts 6 to 7.4 seconds. Quality on a curse gem gives up to 10% increased curse magnitude. A mark has a limit of 1 marked target, lasts up to 8 seconds, and is consumed when it triggers. Since patch 0.2.0, modifiers to "curse effect" are written as "curse magnitude" and add together with other modifiers to the debuff.
By default you can keep only one of your curses on an enemy at a time; casting a second curse replaces the first. Extra curse slots come from a few sources, each granting "You can apply an additional Curse":
| Source | Type |
|---|---|
| Whispers of Doom | Keystone passive |
| Incessant Cacophony | Lich ascendancy node |
| Doedre's Damning | Unique Lazuli Ring, no level requirement |
Curses
Elemental Weakness
Elemental Weakness lowers the fire, cold and lightning resistances of every cursed enemy by 40% to 59%, depending on gem level. It is a tier 7 spell with a mana cost of 41 to 178.
The big fact most guides skip: it is a merged gem. Before patch 0.3.0 the game had three separate curses, Flammability, Conductivity and Hypothermia, one per element. Patch 0.3.0 combined them into Elemental Weakness, and old copies were converted. Two other changes matter for current play. Patch 0.4.0 slowed how fast the curse radius grows past gem level 20 (0.1 metres every 3 levels instead of every level). Patch 0.5.4b removed the "Unaffected by Elemental Weakness" effect from the Dominus' Providence passive, which was not working, and replaced it with 30% reduced effect of curses on you.
Use it for elemental builds that fight bosses with high resistances. A single-element curse for chaos is Despair (-35% to -49% chaos resistance) and the physical one is Vulnerability.
Enfeeble
Enfeeble makes cursed enemies deal 20% to 29% less damage. It is a tier 3 spell, so it unlocks early. Radius grows from 1.5 to 3.1 metres and the duration from about 6 to 7.4 seconds.
It is a purely defensive curse in PoE 2. Older advice that Enfeeble lowers enemy accuracy or critical chance describes the curse from the first Path of Exile. Before patch 0.3.0 unique enemies such as bosses were only reduced by 10% to 16%; since 0.3.0 the same value applies to every target, so it now works fully on bosses. Quality can lower the mana cost by up to 50%. Put it on packs that hit hard, or on a boss during a phase you cannot dodge.
Curses also feed other skills. Hexblast, a tier 11 chaos spell, detonates curses in a 2.8 metre radius for chaos damage, but only those that have run at least half their duration, and removes them (up to 10 explosions per cast since patch 0.4.0). The Bane skill from PoE 1 is explained in the spells glossary.
Marks
Freezing Mark
Freezing Mark is a tier 7 cold mark for Dexterity and Intelligence characters. The marked enemy takes 25% to 35% more freeze buildup from hits. When the marked enemy becomes frozen, the mark activates and gives you a 10 second buff: 30% of your damage gained as extra cold damage.
- Cost 18 to 79 mana, cooldown 0.5 seconds, mark lasts 8 seconds.
- Marking another target while the buff is active removes the buff.
- A marked enemy becomes frozen when it is hit while "primed for freeze".
Patch 0.4.0 rewrote it: before that, freezing the marked target caused an explosion. Many older guides still describe the explosion version. Freezing Mark is best with cold builds that already freeze reliably; on a build that cannot freeze, the buff never starts.
Sniper's Mark
Sniper's Mark is a tier 7 Dexterity mark. The next critical hit against the marked enemy triggers it, consuming the mark to deal extra damage and give you a Frenzy Charge. The bonus is 20% to 77% increased critical damage bonus on that hit.
- Cost 18 to 79 mana, cooldown 6 seconds, mark lasts up to 8 seconds.
- Quality adds up to 15% increased critical damage bonus against the marked enemy, and the marked enemy deals up to 10% less damage.
- Only one marked target at a time.
It is not a projectile damage curse that returns life and mana, as some older guides describe it. Its cooldown went from 2 to 6 seconds in patch 0.3.0 after being lowered from 6 to 2 in 0.1.0e, so you cannot spam it as in early access. It fits bow and crossbow builds with high critical chance, because the marked hit needs to crit to cash in.
Supports and passives
Exploit Weakness
Exploit Weakness is not a curse. It is a tier 2 support gem that needs 5 Strength and has a 130% cost multiplier. The supported skill consumes the enemy's fully broken armour to deal 40% more damage, and it can no longer break armour itself. The effect was 50% more damage until patch 0.2.0 lowered it to 40%.
That makes it a payoff for armour break: you need another source of broken armour, such as a mace slam or an armour-breaking skill, then a hit with the supported skill finishes the job. A skill that already consumes broken armour cannot use it. Support gem details are in the support gems glossary.
Low Tolerance
Low Tolerance is a notable passive skill, not a curse or a status. It gives 60% increased magnitude of poison you inflict on targets that are not already poisoned. It can be added to an amulet with an anointment that uses three Liquid Emotions: Concentrated Liquid Suffering, Diluted Liquid Greed and Concentrated Liquid Isolation.
Poison in PoE 2 deals chaos damage over time, lasts 2 seconds by default and bypasses energy shield. Its base magnitude is 20% of the pre-mitigation physical and chaos damage of the hit per second. Because Low Tolerance only boosts the first application on a clean target, it suits builds that spread poison across many targets or reapply it often. It does not make you take more damage from repeated effects, as some older pages claim; the passive is purely a bonus for your poison.
Related terms
- Spells and elemental skills glossary
- Support gems glossary
- Martial and weapon skills glossary
- Classes, ascendancies and passives glossary
Guides and services
For marks in action, read the Onlyfarms Lightning Arrow Deadeye guide and the Witch guide for curses. Gems are listed in the PoE 2 gems category.
FAQ
Do curses stack in Path of Exile 2?
Only one of your curses applies to an enemy by default, and a new curse replaces the old one. To run Enfeeble and Elemental Weakness together you need an extra curse slot from Whispers of Doom, the Lich node Incessant Cacophony or a unique such as Doedre's Damning.
What happened to Flammability, Conductivity and Hypothermia?
Patch 0.3.0 merged them into Elemental Weakness. If a guide still lists the three, it predates that patch.
How many marks can I have at once?
One marked target per mark gem. Freezing Mark and Sniper's Mark each have a limit of 1 marked target.
Is Low Tolerance a debuff?
No. It is a notable passive that increases the magnitude of poison you inflict on unpoisoned targets by 60%.
