Discharge in Path of Exile 2: What Does It Mean?

Discharge is a classic spell from the original Path of Exile that spends all your Endurance, Frenzy and Power Charges at once to deal elemental damage around you. Path of Exile 2 does not have a Discharge skill gem. Its closest match is the Elemental Discharge support gem, which works differently: it consumes elemental ailments instead of charges.

How Discharge Works in Path of Exile 1

Discharge is a fire, cold and lightning nova spell. When you cast it, every charge you have is removed and turned into damage:

• Power Charges add lightning damage.
• Endurance Charges add fire damage.
• Frenzy Charges add cold damage.

The area grows with each charge removed (15% more area per charge since patch 3.23.0), from a 3 metre base radius. Bonuses from the charges you spend still apply to that cast. For example, Power Charges still raise the cast's critical strike chance. The skill has a cooldown, which patch 3.29.0 cut from 2 seconds to 1 second while also raising base damage per charge by 15%. It deals 60% less damage with ailments, so it is a hit-based skill.

Charges in Brief

Endurance, Frenzy and Power Charges are temporary stacks that characters build through skills, passives and items, and each type gives its own bonuses while you hold it. Discharge turns that stockpile into one burst. That makes charge generation the real engine of the skill: a character with higher maximum charges and fast ways to regain them can cast it more often and with more damage per cast.

Discharge Variants

• Quality. Since 3.23.0, gem quality gives a chance to deal damage without removing your charges. Before that, this was the effect of Divergent Discharge, an alternate-quality version that has since been removed.
• Discharge of Misery. A transfigured version added in 3.23.0. Its tooltip has no cooldown and no ailment damage penalty, and since 3.26.0 it gains 20% more area per charge removed.

Elemental Discharge in Path of Exile 2

In PoE2, Elemental Discharge is a support gem for spells that hit enemies. A supported spell can no longer freeze, shock or ignite by itself. Instead, when it hits an enemy that already has Freeze, Shock or Ignite, it consumes those ailments to trigger an Elemental Discharge explosion with a 1 second cooldown and a 2 metre radius. The damage is based on your Intelligence, and it only deals the element types matching the ailments consumed. It cannot support minion skills. You get this tier 3 support by engraving an Uncut Support Gem.

Tips

• PoE1: Build charge generation first. Discharge is only as strong as the number of charges you bring into each cast.
• PoE1: Scale area of effect and elemental damage. Increasing your maximum charges raises both damage and area.
• PoE1: Because the gem deals 60% less damage with ailments, invest in hit damage and critical strikes rather than ignite or other damaging ailments.
• PoE2: Pair Elemental Discharge with a different skill that applies the ailments, since the supported spell cannot apply them itself.
• PoE2: Intelligence-heavy characters such as the Sorceress or Witch get the most out of its damage.
• Check which game a guide is written for before following it. Old PoE1 Discharge guides do not apply to PoE2.

FAQ

Is Discharge in Path of Exile 2?

Not as a skill gem. PoE2 has the Elemental Discharge support, which consumes elemental ailments rather than charges.

Which charge gives which element in PoE1?

Power Charges give lightning, Endurance Charges give fire and Frenzy Charges give cold.

Does Discharge have a cooldown?

The standard PoE1 gem does, cut to 1 second in 3.29.0. Discharge of Misery has none. Full numbers are on the Path of Exile community wiki.