An arc of lightning stretches from the caster to a targeted enemy and Chains on to other nearby enemies.
Deals 14 to 81 Lightning Damage
Base Chaining range is 3.5 metres
Chains 2 Times
15% chance to Shock Enemies
50% more Damage for each remaining Chain
Skills can be managed in the Skills Panel.
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Arc is a Skill Gem in Path of Exile 2 that allows players to harness the raw power of lightning to deal devastating area-of-effect (AoE) damage. It’s a Chaining spell that targets an initial enemy and chains to nearby enemies, making it a powerful tool for clearing crowds of foes with shocking efficiency. Arc is ideal for Sorceress builds that focus on lightning damage, critical strikes, and chaining mechanics.
Key Details of Arc
Gem Type: Skill Gem
Skill Type: Spell, Chaining, Lightning
Tier: 5 (Sorceress)
Level Requirement: Level 27, 64 Intelligence
Mana Cost: 35 Mana
Cast Time: 0.90 seconds
Critical Strike Chance: 9%
Base Lightning Damage: 14 to 81 Lightning Damage
Chaining Range: 3.5 metres
Chains: 2 Times
Chance to Shock: 15%
Core Mechanics of Arc
The Arc skill creates a bolt of lightning that chains to nearby enemies, allowing it to hit multiple targets with each use. This skill is perfect for players who enjoy multi-target combat, as it can quickly spread damage across large groups of enemies.
Key Features:
Chaining Mechanic:
When you cast Arc, it hits a primary target and then chains to up to two additional enemies within a 3.5-metre radius of the original target. This allows the damage to spread and hit multiple foes at once, making Arc excellent for clearing packs of enemies quickly.
Damage Scaling:
The skill deals 14 to 81 Lightning Damage initially, but its effectiveness scales with the number of remaining chains. Each additional chain hits for 50% more damage, making it even more powerful as it spreads to additional targets.
Shock Chance:
Arc has a 15% chance to shock enemies, which significantly amplifies the damage dealt to them. This shock effect enhances Arc’s effectiveness, especially in conjunction with other lightning-based skills or effects that benefit from shocked enemies.
Critical Strikes:
With a 9% critical strike chance, Arc has the potential to deal high critical damage if your build focuses on critical hits. This can dramatically boost the overall damage output of the skill, particularly when combined with critical strike chance and damage multipliers.
Chaining Range:
The base chaining range is 3.5 metres, meaning the lightning can jump to nearby enemies in this range. This is crucial for hitting multiple targets, and the range can be extended with passive skill tree nodes or gear, enhancing the effectiveness of the chaining mechanic.
How to Maximize Arc
Optimize for Lightning Damage:
Arc scales with Lightning Damage, so it’s essential to invest in Lightning damage bonuses on your passive skill tree, gear, and other support gems. Increasing your Lightning Damage will significantly boost the skill’s damage output, especially in larger packs of enemies.
Enhance Chaining Effects:
To make Arc even more effective at clearing crowds, consider using gear or passives that enhance the number of chains. The more times Arc chains, the higher the damage becomes. Look for modifiers that increase the number of chains or extend the chaining range.
Increase Critical Strike Chance:
If you want to maximize your damage output, focus on critical strike chance and critical strike multiplier. Arc has a relatively low critical chance, but by boosting it with the right gear, passive nodes, and support gems, you can significantly increase the frequency and damage of critical hits.
Shock Synergy:
Since Arc has a 15% chance to shock, it can synergize well with other skills that enhance the shock effect, such as Increased Shock Duration or Shock and Ailment Effect. Shocked enemies take increased damage, so stacking shock modifiers will improve the effectiveness of Arc significantly.
Enhance AoE with Support Gems:
Arc has a great AoE potential, and you can further enhance it with support gems like Increased AoE, Area Damage, and Lightning Penetration. These gems boost the skill’s ability to hit large groups of enemies and deal more damage in a wider radius.
How to Use Arc Effectively
Positioning and Targeting:
Since Arc chains to nearby enemies, positioning yourself where groups of enemies are clustered together will maximize the number of targets hit by the lightning. It’s also important to place Arc where enemies are within the chaining range, as the skill’s effectiveness diminishes if the enemies are too far apart.
Use in Crowd Control:
Arc excels in crowd control situations. Use it when swarmed by large packs of enemies or in tight corridors where the lightning can jump between clustered foes. This makes Arc an excellent skill for clearing large swarms of enemies or dealing with dense monster packs in dungeons and boss encounters.
Combine with Other Lightning Skills:
Arc can be combined with other lightning-based skills such as Conductivity, which increases lightning damage taken by enemies, or Lightning Tendrils, for additional single-target damage. Combining these skills can create a powerful lightning-focused build that takes advantage of both AoE and single-target damage.
Consider Mana Management:
Arc has a 35 Mana cost per cast, and while it doesn’t cost a lot of mana, you’ll need to manage your mana regeneration or mana flask to ensure you can cast it continuously in large battles.
Pros and Cons of Arc
Pros:
High AoE damage makes it excellent for clearing groups of enemies quickly.
Chaining mechanic allows the damage to spread to multiple targets, enhancing its effectiveness.
Shock chance amplifies damage dealt to enemies, especially when combined with other shock modifiers.
Scales well with Lightning Damage, critical strikes, and mana regeneration.
Perfect for Sorceress builds focused on lightning damage and AoE clearing.
Cons:
Limited range of 3.5 metres may not hit enemies that are spread too far apart.
Relatively low critical strike chance, which requires significant investment in critical strike modifiers to maximize effectiveness.
Mana cost of 35 Mana may limit spamming in larger encounters without proper mana management.
Conclusion
Arc is a versatile and powerful Lightning skill in Path of Exile 2 that provides excellent AoE damage through its chaining mechanic. Whether you are building a Sorceress character focused on Lightning Damage or looking for a high-damage AoE skill for clearing large packs of enemies, Arc offers a fast-paced and rewarding playstyle. Its ability to chain to multiple enemies and shock them makes it an excellent choice for both crowd control and damage output.
Maximize the effectiveness of Arc by enhancing its damage, shock chance, and mana management, while also focusing on critical strikes and AoE scaling. With the right gear and support gems, Arc becomes an extremely powerful tool that can decimate enemies and bosses alike, making it a standout skill in any Lightning-based build.