Path of Exile 2 Martial & Weapon Skills Glossary
Martial skills are the attacks, warcries, ammunition skills and buffs that you build around a weapon: a mace totem, a crossbow clip, a bow volley, a shield or a rage buff. Several famous names from the first Path of Exile never became Path of Exile 2 gems, and two weapon types on this list exist in the game data but cannot be used yet. This page sorts them out: what each skill does in PoE 2 today, what it needs, and which names belong to PoE 1 only.
Numbers below match Path of Exile 2 patch 0.5.5 (Forbidden Rites, released 4 September 2026) and its hotfixes, part of the 0.5 "Return of the Ancients" cycle. Gem values are level 1 to level 20 ranges. The game is still in early access; version 1.0, with the new Duelist class and swords, is scheduled for 11 December 2026.
| Term | In PoE 2 (patch 0.5.5)? | Weapon or gem type |
|---|---|---|
| Ancestral Warrior Totem | Yes, meta gem | Maces |
| Armour Piercing Rounds | Yes | Crossbow ammunition |
| Axe | In game data, not yet released | Strength and Dexterity |
| Barrage | Yes | Bow or spear, Dexterity |
| Berserk | Yes, Spirit gem | Strength, Rage |
| Cyclone | No; a sword version is expected with 1.0 | Melee channel |
| Emergency Reload | Yes | Crossbow, cooldown |
| Flail | In game data, not yet released | Strength and Intelligence |
| Fragmentation Rounds | Yes | Crossbow ammunition |
| Infernal Cry | Yes | Warcry, Strength |
| Molten Shell | No, PoE 1 skill | Guard spell |
| Shield Crush | No, PoE 1 skill | Shield attack |
| Shockchain Arrow | Yes | Bow, lightning |
| Spectral Throw | No, PoE 1 skill | Thrown weapon |
| Steel Skin | No, PoE 1 skill (Steelskin) | Guard spell |
Melee, totems and warcries
Ancestral Warrior Totem
Ancestral Warrior Totem is a meta gem for mace builds, not a support gem. You socket a mace skill into it, spend 3 Endurance Charges to raise a totem, and the totem conjures spirit warriors that each use your socketed skill once and then disappear. It cannot use channelling skills or skills with cooldowns.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Gem tier | 13 |
| Weapon | One-hand or two-hand mace, Strength |
| Totem duration | 8 seconds |
| Warrior spawn rate | One every 150% of the socketed attack's time |
| Limit | 10 totems active at once |
| Totem resistances | Up to +75% elemental and +35% chaos by gem level 20 |
| Quality | Up to +2 seconds duration and 50% increased totem Life |
Since patch 0.3.0 the totem uses the mace in the weapon set it is assigned to rather than its own flat damage. The 10-totem cap came with 0.3.1, the 25% less totem attack speed penalty was removed in 0.4.0, and 0.5.0 replaced a hidden 0.6 second delay between uses with a delay of 50% of the attack time.
Infernal Cry
Infernal Cry is a Strength warcry with an 8 second cooldown and a 0.8 second use time. It empowers your next melee attacks and destabilises enemies so that they explode on death. If you do not want to wait for the cooldown, you can spend an Endurance Charge to bypass it.
- Empowerment: one attack per 10 enemy Power in range, counted up to 50 Power, so at most 5 attacks.
- Extra damage: empowered attacks gain 30 to 49% of their damage as extra fire damage at gem levels 1 to 20.
- Area: the warcry radius is 4 metres (quality adds up to 3 metres), and enemies stay destabilised for 8 seconds.
- Combust: a destabilised corpse explodes in a 1.6 metre radius and deals 10% more fire damage per point of the corpse's Power.
Patch 0.3.0 reworked it from "one attack plus one per Endurance Charge" into the Power-based version above, and since then an Endurance Charge only skips the cooldown. Infernal Cry applies no slow or "Ash" debuff of its own; its value is the extra fire damage and the corpse explosions. Gem tier is 3, so it is available early. See our Corrupting Cry Warbringer build guide for a build that leans on warcries.
Berserk
Berserk is a Spirit gem (tier 14) that reserves 30 Spirit and works only with Rage. While it is active you gain 40 to 59% increased Rage effect at gem levels 1 to 20, but you lose 0.1% of your maximum Life per second for every point of Rage you hold whenever you are not losing Rage. Quality adds up to 10% more Rage effect and up to +8 maximum Rage.
That drawback is the point to understand: Berserk does not grant attack speed, movement speed or damage reduction on its own. It makes Rage stronger and turns idle Rage into a life drain, so it fits builds that keep attacking and spend Rage constantly. Patch 0.3.0 changed the scaling to 53 to 59% at levels 14 to 20 and removed a life-leech effect.
Supports that suit it are the persistent buff supports such as Vitality, Herbalism, Cannibalism and Precision, which add recovery or accuracy while Berserk is active. The gem comes from Uncut Spirit Gems of tier 14 or higher.
Axe
Axes are a planned PoE 2 weapon type that players cannot use yet. In patch 0.5.5 the playable martial weapons include maces, quarterstaves, bows, crossbows, spears and talismans, but not axes. Axe bases are already in the game data, one-handed and two-handed, with Strength and Dexterity requirements and the description that axe attacks "commonly involve throwing your axe and/or inflicting Bleeding".
| Data point | Value in the game files |
|---|---|
| First one-hand base | Dull Hatchet, 4 to 10 physical, 5% crit, 1.5 attacks per second |
| First two-hand base | Splitting Greataxe, 8 to 20 physical, 1.2 attacks per second, range 1.5 |
| Default attack | Axe Slash, 0 Mana, 100% to 312% of base attack damage |
| Example implicit | Hook Axe grants 1 Rage on Hit |
Grinding Gear Games has not dated the axe release. The weapon confirmed for version 1.0 on 11 December 2026 is the sword, which arrives with the Duelist. Until axes are out, PoE 2 Strength melee builds use maces, and Strength and Dexterity hybrids use spears or crossbows. For current weapon uniques and bases, see our PoE 2 items category.
Flail
Flails, like axes, are in the PoE 2 game data but have not been released for players as of patch 0.5.5. The data defines them as one-handed melee weapons that need Strength and Intelligence and cannot be dual wielded, so they are not the Strength and Dexterity bleed weapon some PoE 1-era descriptions suggest. Their default skill is Flail Strike (0 Mana, 100% to 312% of base attack damage), and the weapon text says flail attacks "reward careful placement and long wind-up times".
| Base | Level | Damage | Crit | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splintered Flail | 1 | 6 to 9 physical | 10% | 1.45 |
| Iron Flail | 16 | 14 to 23 physical | 10% | 1.45 |
| Twin Flail | 20 | 8 to 18 physical | 10% | 1.4 |
| Tearing Flail | 52 | 27 to 56 physical | 12.5% | 1.4 |
| Abyssal Flail | 65 | 36 to 66 physical | 10% | 1.45 |
Twin Flail bifurcates critical hits, and Stone Flail (level 33, 23 to 38 physical) is unblockable. Weapon range is 1.3 on every base. These are data values for an unreleased weapon, so expect changes when flails go live.
Crossbow and bow skills
Armour Piercing Rounds
Armour Piercing Rounds is a tier 1 crossbow ammunition skill. You load a clip, then your crossbow's attack fires the bolts at 425% of base attack speed. Each hit Breaks enemy armour. The description does not say "ignore armour": it strips the target's Armour until it is gone.
- Clip size: 12 bolts at gem level 1, up to 21 at level 20.
- Break per hit: from 1 armour at level 1 up to 845 at level 20.
- Requirements: Strength and Dexterity, and a crossbow. You can load and shoot while moving.
- Quality: up to 20% increased Armour Break and up to 20% more attack speed. Patch 0.3.0 cut the Break bonus from 30%.
Each full clip is followed by a reload, which is why it pairs with Emergency Reload and reload-speed supports.
Fragmentation Rounds
Fragmentation Rounds is the cold-themed crossbow ammunition skill. It fires piercing bolts that fragment in flight, 10 fragments per shot, and bolts pierce 2 to 4 targets across gem levels 1 to 20. The area-damage part is not a flat explosion: it only triggers on a Frozen enemy. The bolt Consumes the Freeze and causes an explosion of ice shards (2 metre radius, physical damage converted fully to cold), and the fragments can merge. Bolts that hit an Ice Crystal make it explode.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Gem tier | 1 |
| Clip | +1 bolt per clip |
| Fragments | 10 per shot (quality adds 0 to 2 since 0.5.0) |
| Bonus | 50% more damage with explosions from Unique enemies |
| Clip quality | Up to 100% more reload speed |
Patch 0.4.0 raised base projectile speed by 50% and added more piercing at higher gem levels. In 0.5.0 quality changed from physical damage to extra fragments. Pair it with a way to freeze enemies.
Emergency Reload
Emergency Reload is a tier 11 crossbow skill with a 45 second cooldown. It instantly reloads all of your crossbow ammunition clips and empowers every clip, so the bolts deal 12 to 31% more damage for 6 seconds or until the empowered bolts are used up. The empowered bolts equal the maximum size of each clip.
Since patch 0.3.0 it reloads all clips, not only the most recent one, and it requires both Strength and Dexterity. Quality gives up to 10% increased cooldown recovery and up to 10% more empowered damage. Common supports are Cooldown Recovery, Prolonged Duration and Efficiency. It is a burst button, not a way to refill ammunition during a fight.
Barrage
Barrage in PoE 2 is a Dexterity skill that works with bows and spears. It does not shoot a stream of arrows by itself. It readies a volley that Empowers your next Repeatable bow or projectile spear attack so that it Repeats.
- Repeats: +2 repeats, plus 1 more for every Frenzy Charge consumed.
- Penalty: repeats deal 50% less damage.
- Timing: gem tier 5, cast time 0.7 seconds, 2 second base cooldown; part of the empowered skill's attack time is added to the cooldown, up to 30 seconds. The buff lasts at most 5 seconds.
- Quality: repeats deal up to 5% more damage and there is up to a 20% chance not to remove charges.
The unique bow Lioneye's Glare adds its own repeats: since patch 0.4.0, Barrageable attacks with it repeat 2 more times if no enemies are in your Presence.
Shockchain Arrow
Shockchain Arrow is a tier 11 Dexterity bow skill that fires a lightning-charged arrow. It homes on enemies with lightning ailments, releases a shockwave on hit and chains on. The arrow cannot Shock, and it consumes Shock from the enemies it hits, though not Electrocution.
- Chains: 3 additional chains after first hitting a Shocked or Electrocuted enemy; a shockwave on each hit (2.5 metre radius).
- Damage: 80% of physical damage converted to lightning (patch 0.4.0).
- Lightning Rod: after the last chain the arrow lodges in the ground for 20 seconds; at most 10 arrows can be active.
- Range: chains reach up to 8 metres (doubled in patch 0.2.0), and an arrow disappears after being chained to 8 times.
- Fix: patch 0.5.4b allowed Lightning Arrow to chain to Shockchain Arrow's rods.
It is a payoff skill rather than a plain chaining skill: patch 0.4.0 reworked it so that it consumes Shock instead of spreading it, so it works best after another skill applies Shock. Relevant build: Lightning Arrow Deadeye.
PoE 1 skills that are not PoE 2 gems
The five skills below are Path of Exile 1 gems. None of them can be socketed in PoE 2 patch 0.5.5. Some of the names exist in the PoE 2 game files as monster skills or unused data, but that does not make them obtainable. Each section explains the PoE 1 skill and points to the nearest PoE 2 option.
Cyclone
Cyclone is a PoE 1 melee channelling skill: you spin and move toward a target location while attacking everything around you, and you cannot be knocked back while channelling. In PoE 1 it runs at 300% of base attack speed with 20 to 30% less movement speed, needs character level 28 and almost any melee weapon, and is a quest reward from "Sever the Right Hand" in Act 3.
In PoE 2 patch 0.5.5 there is no Cyclone gem. That is expected to change with 1.0: the Duelist reveal on 25 August 2026 showed a channelled spinning sword attack, and the PoE 2 game data already holds a sword Cyclone (dual swords or a two-hand sword, 40% less movement speed while channelling) whose effect changes in the Duelist's Blood and Sand stances. Final numbers will come with the 1.0 patch notes. Until then, the nearest spinning melee skill is Whirling Slash for spears.
Molten Shell
Molten Shell is a PoE 1 Guard spell for Strength characters, a quest reward from "Intruders in Black" in Act 2. It adds Armour (+115 to +858 at gem levels 1 to 20) and takes 75% of hit damage from a buff pool equal to 10% of your Armour (up to 5000), then reflects the absorbed damage as fire when it ends. Duration is 3 seconds, the cooldown is 4 seconds, and it shares that cooldown with other Guard skills.
PoE 2 has no Molten Shell gem. Strength characters in PoE 2 get similar protection from Armour on gear, from Block with a raised shield and from Shield Wall, which puts a wall of earth between you and melee enemies.
Shield Crush
Shield Crush is a PoE 1 Strength attack that needs a shield: it swipes the shield and deals area damage in three waves in front of you, scaling with the Armour or Evasion on the shield. There is no PoE 2 Shield Crush gem. The PoE 2 shield skills are different gems: Shield Charge (tier 3, a channelled charge that needs an armoured shield and blocks all blockable hits while it lasts) and Shield Wall (tier 7, rams the shield into the ground to raise a wall of earth).
Spectral Throw
Spectral Throw is a PoE 1 attack that throws a spectral copy of your melee weapon; it flies out, returns, and hits enemies on the way. In PoE 1 it is available from the very start (it is a Scion reward on the Twilight Strand and a reward from "Enemy at the Gate" in Act 1) and works with almost every melee weapon.
PoE 2 has no Spectral Throw gem. The closest PoE 2 play pattern is a thrown spear: spear skills such as Lightning Spear and Explosive Spear let a Dexterity character throw the weapon at range and still fight in melee with the same spear.
Steel Skin
The correct name is Steelskin, and it is a PoE 1 Guard spell from the Act 1 quest "Breaking Some Eggs": a 3 second cooldown buff that lasts 1.5 seconds, takes 70% of hit damage until its pool (54 to 2209 at gem levels 1 to 20) is spent, and grants immunity to Bleeding. It does not make you immune to damage; it absorbs a fixed amount and then breaks.
PoE 2 has no Steelskin gem. For a quick defensive button in PoE 2, Strength characters rely on Block (Raise Shield) and dodge rolling, and Life flasks cover burst damage.
Where the PoE 1 names went
| PoE 1 name | Closest PoE 2 gem on the list | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Shield Crush | Shield Charge, Shield Wall | Both need an armoured shield and Strength |
| Cyclone | Whirling Slash (spears) now; sword Cyclone expected with 1.0 | Whirling Slash is a staged whirlwind, not a channel; tier 1, Dexterity |
| Spectral Throw | Thrown spear skills | Spears are thrown and caught, not copied |
| Molten Shell, Steelskin | none on the list | No PoE 2 gem is built as a timed damage-absorbing guard buff |
The mapping is by role only. PoE 2 skills are rebuilt around weapon requirements, so none of them is a renamed copy of the old gem. Whirling Slash, for example, requires a spear, kicks up a whirlwind that slows and blinds enemies and collapses with knockback when you leave the area.
Skill terms covered elsewhere
Haste is a PoE 1 aura that raises movement, attack and cast speed for you and nearby allies. In PoE 2 it is not a skill or Spirit gem, so you cannot slot it. For what the term means in play, see Haste in PoE 2.
Tips
- Check the gem list before you plan a build. If a skill name is not in the PoE 2 skill gem or Spirit gem lists, it is a PoE 1 skill.
- Ammunition skills (Armour Piercing Rounds, Fragmentation Rounds) only load the clip; the crossbow's attack fires it.
- Meta gems like Ancestral Warrior Totem need their trigger resources (Endurance Charges) planned in your passives, not just gem sockets.
- Read the requirement line first. Barrage needs a bow or spear, Armour Piercing Rounds and Emergency Reload need a crossbow, Ancestral Warrior Totem needs a mace, and Berserk needs spare Spirit.
- A gem's tier tells you how early it unlocks: Infernal Cry is tier 3, Barrage tier 5, Shockchain Arrow and Emergency Reload tier 11, Ancestral Warrior Totem tier 13, Berserk tier 14.
- Numbers change with every patch. When a number matters, check the gem page again after each new patch.
Related terms
- Haste in Path of Exile 2
- Path of Exile 2 Support Gems Glossary
- Path of Exile 2 Classes, Ascendancies & Passives Glossary
- Path of Exile 2 Spells & Elemental Skills Glossary
Guides and services
For gem upgrades and character progress see the PoE 2 gems category and leveling at Onlyfarms. Useful guides: Boneshatter Titan leveling for a mace melee start, Gas Arrow Deadeye leveling for ranged play, and the PoE 2 best classes guide.
FAQ
Is Cyclone in Path of Exile 2?
Not in patch 0.5.5. Cyclone, Molten Shell, Shield Crush, Spectral Throw and Steelskin are PoE 1 gems. A sword version of Cyclone tied to the new Duelist class is expected with version 1.0 on 11 December 2026.
Does Barrage fire a lot of arrows at once in PoE 2?
No. It empowers your next bow or spear attack to repeat 2 extra times, plus once per Frenzy Charge spent, with repeats dealing 50% less damage. It has a 2 second base cooldown that grows with the empowered skill's attack time.
What does Berserk actually do?
It reserves 30 Spirit and raises your Rage effect by 40 to 59%. The cost is that you lose 0.1% of your maximum Life per second for each point of Rage whenever you are not losing Rage.
Can you use axes and flails in PoE 2?
Not yet. Both weapon types are in the game data but have not been released in patch 0.5.5. The data defines flails as one-handed Strength and Intelligence weapons and axes as Strength and Dexterity weapons.
Which patch are these numbers from?
Patch 0.5.5 (Forbidden Rites, 4 September 2026), with notes on earlier changes. Version 1.0 is due on 11 December 2026, so figures may still change.
