When certain conditions are met Buff Gems will provide specific buffs or spell effects in Path of Exile 2. A few of these Buff Gems are also considered Metagems in PoE 2, as they have a trigger effect and are used to activate the socketed gems that they are linked to.
Buff Gems and Metagems are a core part of min-maxing and with the right set up they can be powerful enough to help your build melt through most content in the end game.
However, the RPG does not do a good job of explaining most of the combat mechanics. So if you are confused but want to make the most of the system, then the guide below will help you out.
What are Buff Gems and Meta Gems in Path of Exile 2?
Buff Gems special type of item that grant Persistent Buffs or Temporary Buffs to your character, nearby allies, and/or even minions in Path of Exile 2. They remain active as long as you have Spirit or you are actively turning it off. The ones that have trigger effects are called Metagems and they are the exact opposite of Support Gems.
Instead of granting passive effects to buff your skills, Metagems are ar itself a big support gem that you will get to socket skills into. All Metagems have a condition that is built into them, and you will not be able to activate the skill tied to it if you don’t meet them.
One common condition you will find is to ignite enemies or to land critical hits. When you start meeting these conditions, your Metagems will gather Energy and once it has accumulated enough it will trigger every single skill that it supports.
What are Persistent Buffs?
Persistent Buffs are also called Auras and are skills that look to increase your damage, defense, or provide other useful effects. Auras will reserve Spirit and if you link them to Support Gems, they will help improve your overall Spirit capacity.
Auras are therefore incredibly powerful buffs in Path of Exile 2 and you must learn to play around them.
Note: Uncut Skill Gems can be used to engrave Persistent Buff Skill Gems.
What are Temporary buffs?
Temporary buffs provide powerful short-term effects. They require activation and often have a cooldown that you will need to play around. It’s best to mix it with Persistent Buffs, and have a build that compliments both types of effects.
All Buff Gem and Metagem tiers in PoE 2
Buff Gems and Metagems come in three tiers:
- Tier 1: Starts at Gem Level 4 and you can engrave this for characters level 10 and above.
- Tier 2: Starts at Gem Level 8 and you can engrave this for characters level 26 and above.
- Tier 3: Starts at Gem Level 14 and you can engrave this for characters level 58 and above.
Each Gem will have a requirement that you will need to meet in order to equip it. The requirement will also go up as the Gem level goes up, so the ones that we have listed below are based on the lowest Gem level for every tier.
Moreover, any Gem can be engraved on any character as long as they meet the requirement. However, we will be categorizing them into classes for our list as they are best used by them.
All Sorceress Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Sorceress Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and 25 Int.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Raging Spirits | While active, your Fire Spells will also summon Raging Spirits, which are short-lived flaming skulls that rush at nearby enemies and rapidly Attack them. Enemies will not directly engage these Minions, and can pass through them. |
| Arctic Armour | Conjures an icy barrier that gains stages over time. While the barrier has stages, Melee Attacks that hit you will remove a stage to cause a burst of ice that deals Cold Spell damage to the attacker. |
| Mana Remnants | Conjures surging lightning that causes Shocked Enemies you or your Minions kill to leave behind a Mana Remnant. Picking up a Mana Remnant grants you Mana, and can overcharge your Mana up to double its normal maximum. |
Tier 2 Sorceress Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26 and 61 Int.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cast on Ignite | While active, gains Energy when you Ignite enemies and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy. |
| Cast on Freeze | While active, gains Energy when you Freeze enemies and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy |
| Cast on Shock | While active, gain energy when you shock enemies and trigger socketed spells on reaching maximum energy. |
Tier 3 Sorceress Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 55 and 133 Int.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Blink | Replace your dodge roll with a short-cooldown Spell that allows you to tunnel through space, instantly reappearing a medium distance away. |
| Archmage | While active, causes your Spells to cost additional mono and deal extra Lightning damage, both based on your maximum Mana. |
| Elemental Conflux | Tap into a current of raw and unpredictable Elemental power, causing you to deal greatly more damage of a randomly chosen Element. The Element affected changes frequently, though the same Element can be affected multiple times in succession. |
All Witch Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Witch Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and 25 Int.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Grim Feast | Feeds on corpses to bolster your Energy Shield. While active, enemies and Minions that die in your Presence will drop Grim Remnants. Picking up a Grim Remnant grants you Energy Shield, and can Overflow your Energy Shield up to double its normal maximum. |
| Withering Presence | While active, periodically Withers enemies in your Presence |
Tier 2 Witch Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26 and other variable requirements.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Barrier Invocation | 34 DEX, 34 INT | While active, this Invocation gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged by Hits. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy. |
| Cast on Minion Death | 61 INT | While active, gains Energy when one of your Minions dies, and triggers socketed Spells upon reaching maximum Energy. Cannot socket Spells which create Minions. |
| Blasphemy | 61 INT | Combines all socketed Curse skills into a vile Aura, applying their effects to all nearby enemies. |
Tier 3 Witch Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 14 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 53 and INT 133.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cast on Critical | Gains Energy when you Critically Hit with a skill, and triggers socketed spells when max Energy is reached. |
| Sacrifice | While active, your Undead Reviving Minions can be used to cast skills that otherwise require corpses. Your Minions take longer to revive. |
All Warrior Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Warrior Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and 25 STR.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Herald of Ash | While active, enemies killed with sufficient overkill damage will cause an explosion, Igniting nearby enemies and dealing damage based on the amount of original overkill damage dealt. |
| Magma Barrier | When your use Raise Shield, the Shield is infused with magma temporarily. Blocking during this time will also spray Magma at your attackers and grant you Endurance Charge. Has an internal cooldown before the effect can trigger again. |
| Scavenged Plating | Fully Armour-breaking an enemy will grant you a stack of Scavenged Plating, which increases your Armor and Thorns per stack. (Thorns is an effect that passively deals damage to enemies who melee attack you.) |
Tier 2 Warrior Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26 and 61 STR.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Overwhelming Presence | While active, enemies in your Presence are easier to Stun and inflict Elemental Ailments upon. |
| Time of Need | Invokes divine blessings, periodically healing you and removing Curses and Elemental Ailments from you. |
Tier 3 Warrior Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 53 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Berserk | 133 STR | While active, strengthens your Rage and grants you life Leech based on your Rage, but causes you to lose Life while Raging. |
| Dread Banner | 73 STR, 73 DEX | Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a Dread Banner, granting you and nearby allies Flask charges over time, as well as Stun Threshold and Elemental Ailment Threshold. Only one Banner can be active at a time. |
All Mercenary Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Mercenary Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Herald of Ash | 25 STR | While active, enemies killed with sufficient overkill damage will cause an explosion, Igniting nearby enemies and dealing damage based on the amount of original overkill damage dealt. |
| Herald of Thunder | 25 DEX | While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage, will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deals Attack damage to all surrounding enemies. |
| War Banner | 15 STR, 15 DEX | Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a War Banner, granting you and nearby allies Attack Damage and Accuracy. Only one Banner can be active at a time. |
Tier 2 Mercenary Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Overwhelming Presence | 61 STR | While active, enemies in your Presence are easier to Stun and inflict Elemental Ailments upon. |
| Shard Scavenger | 34 STR, 34 DEX | While active, consuming Freeze, Shock, Ignite, or Fully broken armour on an enemy reloads your Crossbow. This can only occur once every few seconds. |
| Defiance Banner | 34 STR, 34 DEX | Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a Defiance Banner, granting you and nearby allies Armour, Evasion, and movement speed. Only one Banner can be active at a time. |
Tier 3 Mercenary Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 18 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 53 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Attrition | 73 STR, 73 DEX | While active, causes you to deal more hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you’ve been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you’ve been fighting them for long enough. |
| Dread Banner | 73 STR, 73 DEX | Killing enemies with Attacks or standing near a unique enemy (such as bosses) generates Valour. You can consume Valour to place down a Dread Banner, granting you and nearby allies Flask charges over time, as well as Stun Threshold and Elemental Ailment Threshold. Only one Banner can be active at a time. |
All Ranger Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Ranger Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and DEX 25.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Herald of Thunder | While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage, will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deals Attack damage to all surrounding enemies. |
| Plague Bearer | Stores all Poison Damage you deal. Using the Plague Nova skill unleashes the stored Poison. |
| Wind Dancer | Grants a buff that gives you more Evasion per stage. Being hit by a Melee Attack while you have this buff consumes all stages to damage and Knock Back enemies around you. |
Tier 2 Ranger Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26 and DEX 61.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Combat Frenzy | While active, grants you a Frenzy Charge when you Freeze, Electrocute or Pin an enemy. This can only occur once every few seconds. |
| Herald of Plague | While active, killing a Poisoned enemy spreads its Poison to other nearby enemies, and has a chance to also Hinder them. |
Tier 3 Ranger Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 14 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 53 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Attrition | 73 STR, 73 DEX | While active, causes you to deal more hit damage to Rare and Unique enemies the longer you’ve been fighting them, and gain Culling Strike against them once you’ve been fighting them for long enough |
| Alchemist’s Boon | 133 DEX | While active, grants you Flask charges passively and causes Life and Mana recovery from your Flasks to also apply to Allies in your Presence. |
All Monk Persistent Buff Gems in Path of Exile 2
Tier 1 Monk Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 4 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 10 and other variables.
| Buff | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost Dance | 15 DEX, 15 INT | Periodically gain Ghost Shrouds. If you are Hit while you have a Ghost Shroud, it is immediately consumed to recover Energy Shield based on your Evasion |
| Herald of Ice | 15 DEX, 15 INT | When you Shatter frozen enemies with an attack hit, it will cause an icy explosion that deals Cold damage based on your attack damage. |
| Herald of Thunder | 25 DEX | While active, killing Shocked enemies with Attack damage, will cause subsequent Attack hits to release lightning bolts which deals Attack damage to all surrounding enemies. |
Tier 2 Monk Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 8 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 26, 34 DEX, and 34 INT.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Barrier Invocation | While active, this Invocation gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged by Hits. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy. |
| Elemental Invocation | While active, this Invocation gains Energy when you Freeze, Shock or Ignite an enemy. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy. |
| Lingering Illusion | Creates a short-lived illusion copy yourself whenever you dodge roll. The copy can distract enemies, and copies that are destroyed by an enemy will grant you a Power Charge. |
Tier 3 Monk Buff Gems
These are unlocked with level 14 or higher Uncut Spirit Gems and will need a character stat of Level 53, 73 DEX, and 73 INT.
| Buff | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cast on Dodge | While active, gains Energy when you dodge roll and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy. |
| Charge Infusion | While active, you gain powerful Buffs based on your active Charges. However, maintaining the Buff Consumes Charges every few seconds. |
| Reaper’s Invocation | While active, this Invocation gains Energy when you kill an enemy with a Melee Attack. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy. |
Note: The Gems list is based on the Early Access period of Path of Exile 2. We will keep updating the list as the developers bring in more changes.
