It is a Support Gem.
Support
Critical
Tier: 3
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Int
Supports any skill that Hits enemies, causing it to deal more damage with Critical Hits but less with Critical Hits chance.
Place into a Skill’s Support Gem socket in the Skills menu to apply its effects to that Skill. You cannot have multiple copies of the same Support Gem socketed at the same time.
The Critical Damage Support Gem is a Tier 3 gem designed for critical strike-based builds that want to amplify their Critical Damage at the expense of Critical Hit Chance. This gem increases the Critical Damage Bonus of supported skills, allowing for much higher damage on successful Critical Hits, but in return, it reduces the chance to land those hits. It’s an ideal choice for builds that focus on boosting critical damage while sacrificing some consistency in terms of landing critical strikes.
The Critical Damage Support Gem modifies skills that Hit enemies, increasing their Critical Damage output, but with a significant trade-off. Supported skills will now deal 100% more damage when they score Critical Hits, making it an excellent choice for critical strike-focused builds aiming for high burst damage. However, the gem also reduces the Critical Hit Chance of the supported skill by 20%, meaning that the frequency of Critical Hits will be lower, but when they do occur, the damage will be significantly higher.
This creates a high-risk, high-reward dynamic for players. While the gem guarantees an increased Critical Damage Bonus, it comes at the cost of Critical Hit Chance, which can be a major consideration for builds that rely on landing frequent critical strikes.
Increased Critical Damage:
The standout feature of the Critical Damage gem is the 100% increase to Critical Damage. This is a massive damage boost for any skill that already has a reasonable Critical Hit Chance, allowing for devastating burst damage on Critical Hits.
Reduced Critical Hit Chance:
To balance out the Critical Damage boost, the gem reduces the Critical Hit Chance of supported skills by 20%. This forces players to consider their Critical Hit Chance carefully and balance it with the damage amplification offered by the gem.
Synergy with High-Crit Damage Builds:
Critical Damage works particularly well in high-Crit Damage builds where the Critical Damage Bonus is the primary source of damage. For builds that already have high Critical Hit Chance, the reduced Critical Hit Chance from the gem may not be as detrimental, allowing players to focus on making their Critical Hits much stronger.
High-Crit Damage Builds:
The Critical Damage gem is perfect for builds that focus on maximizing critical damage rather than the frequency of critical hits. Classes like the Assassin or Occultist, which already have high Critical Chance or Critical Multiplier, benefit greatly from the damage boost provided by this gem.
Burst-Damage Builds:
If your build revolves around dealing large amounts of damage in a short amount of time (such as crit-heavy Boss Slayer builds), Critical Damage offers the ideal trade-off: sacrificing the Critical Hit Chance for explosive burst damage when a critical strike lands.
Spell-Based Crit Builds:
Spells that already have high base critical hit chance—such as Fireball, Essence Drain, or Arc—benefit from Critical Damage because their base critical chance can often afford the 20% penalty. The result is a massive spike in damage when these spells land Critical Hits.
Crit-based Attack Builds:
Attack-based builds, such as those utilizing Bow or Dual Wielding skills, can also take advantage of this gem. If the Critical Hit Chance is already sufficiently high due to other sources (gear, passive tree), the 100% increased Critical Damage can be devastating, especially in endgame content.
Balancing Critical Hit Chance: Since this gem reduces Critical Hit Chance, it’s important to compensate for this loss by stacking Critical Hit Chance elsewhere. Consider passive tree nodes, gear, and other support gems that increase Critical Hit Chance to make sure that you still land enough Critical Hits to justify the damage boost.
Critical Multiplier Scaling: For critical strike builds that already have high Critical Multiplier (such as Assassins), this gem can dramatically increase damage output, particularly for spellcasters or attack-based builds that need a significant damage burst for bosses or high-health enemies.
Skill Selection: This gem is best used with skills that naturally have a high Critical Hit Chance, where the 20% penalty will have the least impact. Skills with a low or moderate critical hit chance may suffer too much from this reduction, making the gem less effective for those builds.
Investing in Critical Damage Scaling: Since the gem increases Critical Damage, you can increase the effect even further by stacking increased Critical Damage or Critical Multiplier on gear and through passive tree nodes. This will make your Critical Hits even more powerful.
Increase Critical Hit Chance: Since Critical Damage reduces your Critical Hit Chance, consider using Critical Hit Chance modifiers on your gear, such as rings, amulets, or helmets, to make sure that you still land enough critical hits to benefit from the gem’s damage boost.
Stack Critical Damage: Since the gem provides 100% increased Critical Damage, stack more Critical Damage on your gear and passive tree to further amplify the damage of your Critical Hits.
Use for High-Crit Chance Builds: For builds that already have high Critical Hit Chance (e.g., Crit-based Elementalist or Assassin), this gem can be a game-changer in terms of damage potential. You may not need to worry much about the 20% penalty.
The Critical Damage Support Gem is an excellent choice for players who want to maximize their Critical Damage at the expense of Critical Hit Chance. By offering a 100% increase in Critical Damage, this gem allows for devastating Critical Hits in burst-damage builds, particularly when paired with skills that already have a high Critical Hit Chance. While the 20% penalty to Critical Hit Chance is a significant drawback, it can be mitigated with proper gear and passive tree investment, making this gem an excellent choice for high-damage critical builds looking for explosive performance in both boss fights and high-health targets.