Path of Exile 2: Aftershock, Explained

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 20, 2024 9 Views 5 Min Read
Path of Exile 2: Aftershock, Explained



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There are plenty of ways to deal damage in Path of Exile 2. Its Skill Tree is more of a Skill Forest, and if you’ve found yourself in the Warrior’s side of the woods, you’ll likely have heard about the Aftershock effect a few times.




Aftershocks are one of the options that players can take while leveling a Warrior in Path of Exile 2, and it can be very satisfying to use if done right. Here’s what you need to know about how Aftershock works, including the things you can use to trigger it.

Zicoatl boss in PoE 2

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What Are Aftershock Effects?

Aftershock triggered by Sunder in PoE 2

Aftershock is an effect exclusively tied to skills with the Slam tag (with some exceptions), and it basically causes abilities to hit twice. Slams refer to any ability that involves hitting the ground with a weapon to cause AoE damage, such as Rolling Slam and Sunder under the Mace skill tree, and Vaulting Leap under Quarterstaff. When an Aftershock procs, the ground where the original Slam attack quakes after a short delay, damaging any enemy standing on it. This is an excellent way of scaling your damage in Cruel difficulty and beyond.


The damage dealt by an Aftershock is the same as the attack that caused it, unless otherwise specified by whatever Support Gem or passive skill caused the Aftershock to occur in the first place. In the case of the Sunder skill, Aftershocks cause an extra wave of jagged spikes to burst forward, essentially making the skill cast twice (or more).

What Causes Aftershock Effects?

The Aftershock support gem in PoE 2

Players can trigger Aftershocks by unlocking certain passive skills or using specific Support Gems in PoE 2. Some skills also have guaranteed Aftershock procs. Notable Aftershock triggers include:


Aftershock Skills and Passives

Skill

Effect

Impact Shockwave (Tier 1 Support Gem)

Melee Strike skills cause Aftershocks after Heavy Stunning an enemy.

Aftershock (Tier 2 Support Gem)

Supported Slam skills have a 25% chance to cause Aftershocks.

Tremors (Tier 3 Support Gem)

Supported Slam skills deal 35% reduced damage but can trigger multiple Aftershocks.

Earthbreaker (Titan Ascendancy Passive)

Slams you use yourself have a 20% chance to cause Aftershocks.

Split The Earth (Mace Passive)

Slam and Strike skills with Maces have a 10% chance to cause Aftershocks.

Mace Aftershock Chance (Mace Passive)

All Slam skills with Maces have a 10% chance to cause Aftershocks.

Seismic Cry (Mace Skill)

Let out a War Cry. If it hits a Heavy Stunned enemy, your next Slam attack is guaranteed to trigger an Aftershock.

Supercharged Slam (Mace Skill)

Charge up for a heavy slam. Guarantees up to four Aftershocks when fully charged.

Effects that increase or give you a chance to trigger Aftershocks do work together, but they don’t necessarily stack on top of each other. For example, using the Aftershock Support Gem with the Titan’s Earthbreaker passive will give all relevant skills a 45% chance to trigger Aftershocks as per the in-game skill tooltips window. However, this does not account for the Split The Earth and Mace Aftershock Chance passives, which seem to roll separately from the established 45% trigger chance.


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