Path of Exile 2 Support Gems Glossary
A support gem sits in a socket under a skill gem and changes how that skill works: more projectiles, extra repeats, a different cost. Many of the support names people look up today were famous in the first Path of Exile, and only some of them made it into Path of Exile 2. For each name below, this page says whether the gem exists in PoE 2, what it does there, and what PoE 2 players socket instead.
Numbers 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 that started on 29 May 2026. The game is still in early access: version 1.0 is scheduled for 11 December 2026, and gem values may change with it.
| Term | In PoE 2 (patch 0.5.5)? | Closest PoE 2 option |
|---|---|---|
| Arrogance Support | No, PoE 1 | Lifetap |
| Awakened Fire Penetration | No, PoE 1 | Fire Penetration II |
| Awakened Fork | No, PoE 1 | Fork |
| Awakened Increased Critical Damage | No gem of this name in either game | Supercritical |
| Awakened Minion Damage | No, PoE 1 | Minion Mastery |
| Awakened Multistrike | No, PoE 1 | Rapid Attacks, Barrage |
| Empower | No, PoE 1 | Minion Mastery (minions only) |
| Fortify | No, PoE 1 | Armour, Block, shield skills |
| Guardian's Blessing | No, PoE 1 | Varashta's Blessing (different effect) |
| Impale | Yes | Impale |
| Mark on Hit | No, PoE 1 | Mark for Death, Charged Mark |
| Spell Echo | Yes | Spell Echo, Zarokh's Refrain |
| Trinity | Yes, but as a Spirit gem, not a support | Trinity |
How support gems work in PoE 2
The support system was rebuilt for the sequel, which is why so many PoE 1 names do not carry over.
- Sockets live on the skill, not on gear. You place supports into a skill's support sockets in the Skills Panel. A skill gem starts with 2 support sockets; a Lesser Jeweller's Orb raises it to 3, a Greater Jeweller's Orb to 4 and a Perfect Jeweller's Orb to 5.
- One per category. You cannot socket two supports of the same category in one skill, so Fire Penetration I and Fire Penetration II compete for the same role.
- Tiers and families. Supports come from Uncut Support Gems, which can drop anywhere and are engraved into a support of your choice. Each support has a tier that decides how early you can make it. Many PoE 1 gems became numbered families instead of single gems with levels: Fire Penetration I and II, Rapid Attacks I to III, Inexorable Critical I.
- Lineage supports. These are stronger, build-defining supports that drop in maps or from specific bosses. You can socket only one copy of a given Lineage support across all your skills at once.
- No Awakened gems. The PoE 1 endgame upgrade line of Awakened gems does not exist in PoE 2. Numbered tiers and Lineage supports fill that role.
Gems that exist in PoE 2
Impale Support
Impale Support is in PoE 2. It supports Attacks: they Impale enemies on Hit, but the supported skill can no longer Extract Impale itself. It is a tier 4 support with a 120% cost multiplier, needs 5 Dexterity and carries the Attack and Physical tags.
How Impale works in PoE 2: a later Hit can Extract the Impale debuff, and the Impale's Magnitude is then added to the physical damage of that Hit before mitigation. Impale became a general mechanic in patch 0.2.0, when the old Bonestorm shrapnel effect was turned into a system that physical attacks can use.
- The gem only pays off if a different skill extracts the stacks, for example a heavy finisher used after a fast applier.
- Typical carriers are physical spear and bow attacks that hit quickly.
- Monsters use Impale too, the Faridun Impaler and the Iron Count among them. Since patch 0.2.0g an Impale on a player lasts 4 seconds; before that it never expired.
Spell Echo Support
Spell Echo Support makes a Cascadable spell you cast yourself Echo once more. The echo repeats the spell at a new spot, so it is stronger against groups than against a single boss. Supported skills get 30% less Cast Speed, and the Echoes have 40% increased Area of Effect. It is a tier 2 support with a 150% cost multiplier, needs 5 Intelligence and carries the Spell and AoE tags.
| Patch | Change |
|---|---|
| 0.2.0 | Spell Echo can no longer support triggered skills |
| 0.3.0c | Orb of Storms and Solar Orb still could not be supported (a known bug) |
| 0.4.0b | Summon Spectre, Tame Beast and Disciple of Varashta's Ruzhan fixed to accept it |
The Lineage version, Zarokh's Refrain, makes a Cascadable spell Echo three times (raised from two in patch 0.4.0) but gives it a 5 second cooldown, and it cannot go on a skill that already has a cooldown. It requires level 65, costs 130% and drops from Zahmir, the Blade Sovereign and Zarokh, the Temporal. Both gems share the Spell Echo category, so you choose one.
Trinity
Trinity is not a support gem in PoE 2. It is a Spirit buff gem (tier 14, reserves 100 Spirit, gem level 1 to 20, character level requirement up to 90). While it is active, your elemental Hits build Fire, Cold and Lightning Affinity based on the element you deal most. You gain 1% to 6% more elemental damage (by gem level) per 30 Affinity of any type. Each elemental Hit gives 5 to 13 Affinity of your highest element and removes 3 Affinity of the others.
In PoE 1, Trinity Support was a support for skills that hit: it built Resonance of the other elements, up to 50 per element, and rewarded you for holding all three. In PoE 2 you socket Trinity in the Spirit section like any persistent buff, and the support version no longer exists. Gem quality adds up to 15% increased Skill Speed while your total Affinity is over 250, and converts up to 20% of physical damage to a random element. Supports that suit it include Precision, Vitality and the elemental Mastery gems.
PoE 1 gems with a PoE 2 substitute
Awakened Fire Penetration Support
Awakened Fire Penetration is a PoE 1 Awakened gem: it levels up to 5, requires character level 72 to 80, makes Hits penetrate 35% to 39% Fire Resistance and at higher levels has up to a 10% chance to inflict Fire Exposure (minus 10% Fire Resistance for 4 seconds). PoE 2 has no Awakened gems.
The PoE 2 replacement is a two-step family:
| Gem | Tier | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Penetration I | 2 | Supported skills penetrate 30% Fire Resistance |
| Fire Penetration II | 5 | Hits ignore enemy Fire Resistance entirely |
Both cost 120% and need 5 Strength. Fire Penetration II is common in builds around Fireball, Living Bomb, Flameblast and Detonating Arrow. Because both gems share one category, you upgrade from I to II rather than stacking them.
Awakened Fork Support
In PoE 1, Awakened Fork lets projectiles fork one additional time (twice in total) and gives 10% to 14% more projectile damage. PoE 2 has only the plain Fork Support: projectiles fork, but deal 30% less damage after forking. It is a tier 3 gem with a 110% cost multiplier and needs 5 Dexterity. Bow skills such as Lightning Arrow are its usual home.
Forking also comes from items. Since patch 0.5.0 the Stag Idol (limit 1) grants a 15% chance for projectiles to fork when socketed in a helmet, and its Bonded helmet modifier gives a 30% chance for an additional projectile when forking.
Awakened Increased Critical Damage Support
There has never been an "Awakened Increased Critical Damage" gem. The PoE 1 gem is Increased Critical Damage Support, which never received an Awakened version, and the name is usually a mix-up. In PoE 2 the critical supports are built on the Critical Damage Bonus stat:
| PoE 2 gem | Tier | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Supercritical | 3 | 100% increased Critical Damage Bonus, 20% less Critical Hit chance |
| Pinpoint Critical | 2 | 60% more Critical Hit chance, 30% less Critical Damage Bonus |
| Inexorable Critical I | 3 | 10% increased Critical Hit chance per second, up to 100%, reset when the skill crits |
Supercritical is the closest match to what the name suggests. Inexorable Critical I was called Inevitable Critical before patch 0.4.0.
Awakened Minion Damage Support
Awakened Minion Damage is a PoE 1 gem: 40% to 44% more minion damage, 25% less minion Life, and up to +1 to the level of supported minion gems. PoE 2 uses Minion Mastery instead, a tier 5 support that gives +1 to the level of supported minion skills and needs 5 Intelligence. It does not support skills that have no levels. Raging Spirits, Skeletal Frost Mage, Skeletal Cleric and Soul Offering are typical targets. For other minion supports see the minion skills glossary.
Awakened Multistrike Support
Awakened Multistrike is a PoE 1 gem: melee attacks repeat three more times, each repeat hitting a random enemy, with 45% to 47% more melee attack speed and 20% less attack damage. The three repeats deal 22%, 44% and 66% more damage. It cannot support Vaal, channelling, travel or triggered skills.
PoE 2 has no multistrike support. Rapid Attacks I (tier 1, 15% increased attack speed, 5 Dexterity) is the plain speed option. Repeats in PoE 2 come from skills instead: Barrage makes your next bow or spear attack repeat two extra times, plus one per Frenzy Charge spent. See the martial skills glossary.
Other PoE 1 supports
Arrogance Support
Arrogance Support is a PoE 1 aura support: supported skills reserve Life instead of Mana and gain 10% to 19% increased aura effect, which let PoE 1 builds run extra auras off their life pool. PoE 2 reserves Spirit, not Mana or Life, for auras and persistent buffs, so the support has no job.
The nearest PoE 2 gem is Lifetap, which turns a skill's Mana cost into a Life cost. It is tier 2, needs 5 Strength and cannot support skills that reserve Spirit, so it works on active skills, not on auras. Players socket it in skills such as Infernal Cry, Barrage, Sniper's Mark and Emergency Reload.
Empower Support
Empower is a PoE 1 Exceptional support that raises the level of the supported skill gem: +1 at gem level 2 and +2 at gem level 3, with a 130% cost multiplier. PoE 2 has no direct equivalent. The only +1 level support in PoE 2 is Minion Mastery, and it works on minion skills only. Higher skill levels in PoE 2 come from gear modifiers instead.
The word Empower still exists in PoE 2 as a skill keyword: warcries such as Infernal Cry Empower your next melee attacks, and Barrage Empowers a Repeatable bow or projectile spear attack.
Fortify Support
Fortify Support is a PoE 1 melee support: melee Hits Fortify, and each point of Fortification makes you take 1% less damage from Hits, up to 20, for 6 seconds. It also adds 10% to 19% more melee damage and more damage with ailments from melee Hits. PoE 2 has no Fortify support and no player Fortification mechanic. Melee characters in PoE 2 defend with Armour, Block and shield skills such as Shield Wall and Shield Charge, which blocks all blockable hits while you charge.
Guardian's Blessing Support
Guardian's Blessing is a PoE 1 minion-and-aura support. It must support both a skill that creates damageable minions and a permanent aura. The aura then has no reservation and counts as a Blessing, but it only applies while you have minions from the supported skill, and those minions lose a share of their Life every second. You can have only one aura from Blessing skills on you. PoE 2 has no gem by this name.
The similar-sounding PoE 2 gem is the Lineage support Varashta's Blessing (level 65, 120% cost, 5 Intelligence): supported skills deal 10% more damage for each different Command Skill you used in the last 15 seconds. It cannot modify the skills of minions, so it boosts your own damage in a command-based minion build rather than your minions. Like Zarokh's Refrain, it drops from Zahmir, the Blade Sovereign and Zarokh, the Temporal.
Mark on Hit Support
Mark on Hit is a PoE 1 trigger support (4 second cooldown, 200% cost multiplier): it triggers the supported mark when you Hit a Rare or Unique enemy with an Attack, but the mark has 21% to 30% reduced effect. PoE 2 has no Mark on Hit gem. Its mark supports change what a mark does instead:
- Mark for Death (tier 2, Strength since patch 0.4.0): Hits against a marked target Break Armour equal to 10% of the physical damage dealt.
- Charged Mark (tier 5): activating the mark triggers Shocked Ground at the target for 6 seconds.
The marks themselves are listed in the curses and marks glossary.
Tips
- Check a gem name in the in-game Skills Panel before you buy anything. Older build posts often use PoE 1 names.
- Plan Jeweller's Orbs for your main skill first: its fourth and fifth support sockets usually matter more than extra sockets on utility skills.
- Lineage supports such as Zarokh's Refrain and Varashta's Blessing take the place of the base gem in their category, and you can only run one copy of each.
- Two supports of the same category cannot share a skill, so Fire Penetration I and II, or Spell Echo and Zarokh's Refrain, compete.
Related terms
- Curses and marks glossary
- Minion skills glossary
- Spells and elemental skills glossary
- Martial skills glossary
- Currency and crafting glossary
Guides and services
Onlyfarms lists Lineage support gems, uncut gem packs and other PoE 2 gems. For the crafting side, read the PoE 2 crafting guide.
FAQ
Are Awakened support gems in Path of Exile 2?
No. Awakened gems are a Path of Exile 1 feature. PoE 2 replaced them with numbered support families, such as Fire Penetration I and II, and with Lineage supports.
Is Spell Echo in PoE 2?
Yes. Spell Echo Support gives a Cascadable spell one extra Echo for 30% less cast speed, with 40% increased area on the echoes. The Lineage version, Zarokh's Refrain, echoes three times on a 5 second cooldown.
Is Trinity a support gem in PoE 2?
No. In PoE 2 it is a Spirit gem that reserves 100 Spirit and adds more elemental damage as you build Affinity. The support version exists only in PoE 1.
Is there an Empower or Fortify support in PoE 2?
No. Neither gem exists in PoE 2 patch 0.5.5. Empower survives only as a skill keyword, and PoE 2 has no Fortification mechanic for players.
How many support gems can one skill have in PoE 2?
A skill gem starts with 2 support sockets. Jeweller's Orbs raise that to 3, 4 or 5 (Lesser, Greater and Perfect).
