Student of Decay: What Does It Mean in Path of Exile 2?
The Student of Decay is a passive skill node in Path of Exile 2 that enhances a player's ability to deal damage over time, a critical aspect of many poison and chaos-based builds.
Understanding Damage Over Time Mechanics
Damage over time (DoT) refers to a type of damage that is applied to an enemy continuously over a period of time. This contrasts with direct damage, which is applied instantaneously. In Path of Exile 2, DoT is an essential mechanic for certain character builds, particularly those focusing on poison, chaos damage, and bleeding.
- Poison: Inflicts chaos damage over time, stacking with each application.
- Bleeding: Causes physical damage over time, with increased damage if the target is moving.
- Ignite: Deals fire damage over time, typically resulting from critical hits with fire damage.
Role of Student of Decay
The Student of Decay passive skill node enhances your character's effectiveness with damage over time effects, making it a valuable node for builds that rely heavily on poison or chaos damage. By investing in this node, players can increase the potency and duration of their DoT effects, allowing them to deal significant amounts of sustained damage over time.
This passive node is particularly useful for characters using skills such as Contagion or Essence Drain, which are designed around spreading chaos damage over a wide area.
Strategies for Maximizing Effectiveness
To maximize the effectiveness of the Student of Decay node, players should consider the following strategies:
- Stacking Poison: Use skills and items that apply poison to maximize the damage output from multiple poison stacks.
- Chaos Damage Focus: Equip items and passives that boost chaos damage to enhance your DoT effects.
- Duration Increase: Invest in other passive nodes or equipment that extend the duration of DoT effects, allowing for prolonged damage application.
By effectively utilizing the Student of Decay node, players can create powerful builds that excel in dealing sustained damage over time, making it an integral part of many advanced gameplay strategies in Path of Exile 2.