Herald of Ice: What Does It Mean in Path of Exile 2?
The Herald of Ice is a popular skill gem in Path of Exile 2 that enhances cold damage capabilities for characters. It is particularly favored by players who want to amplify their cold damage output while also benefiting from its unique on-kill effect.
Skill Mechanics
Herald of Ice is an aura skill that reserves a portion of the player's mana. When activated, it grants additional cold damage to attacks and spells. One of its most attractive features is the ability to cause enemies to shatter upon being frozen and killed, resulting in a powerful area-of-effect explosion that deals cold damage.
- Mana Reservation: Herald of Ice reserves a percentage of the player's mana pool, making mana management important.
- Cold Damage Boost: It provides a flat increase to cold damage, enhancing both attacks and spells.
- Shatter Effect: When enemies are frozen and subsequently killed, they shatter, dealing cold damage in an area around them. This feature is particularly useful for clearing groups of enemies.
Strategic Use
To maximize the benefits of Herald of Ice, players often combine it with other skills and supports that enhance cold damage or increase the chance of freezing enemies. Here are some strategies:
- Synergy with Cold Skills: Pairing Herald of Ice with skills like Frostbolt or Ice Nova can significantly increase the effectiveness of your build by boosting overall cold damage output.
- Support Gems: Using support gems such as Increased Area of Effect or Hypothermia can enhance the shatter explosion's radius and damage, respectively.
- Equipment and Passives: Selecting gear and passive tree nodes that increase cold damage, critical strike chance, or freeze duration can further capitalize on the shatter mechanic.
Further Considerations
While Herald of Ice is a powerful tool for any cold-based build, it requires careful management of mana due to its reservation cost. Players should consider:
- Mana Management: Ensure you have enough unreserved mana for other skills by investing in mana regeneration or efficiency nodes on the passive tree.
- Balancing Damage Types: If using multiple heralds, be mindful of balancing your elemental damage types to maintain effective damage output against a variety of enemies.
For more information on optimizing Herald of Ice in your build, you can explore community guides and resources on Path of Exile's official forums.