It is a Support Gem.
Support
Attack
Tier: 3
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Dex
Supports Attack Skills, causing them to Cull Rare and Unique Enemies on Hit.
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 Culling Strike Support Gem is a powerful Tier 3 gem designed to enhance Attack Skills by providing a unique effect that allows them to instantly Cull Rare and Unique Enemies on hit. This gem is particularly effective in endgame content where players face high-health Rare and Unique bosses or enemies. By using this gem, you gain the ability to execute these enemies at low health with your attack-based abilities, ensuring that you don’t have to wait for them to die of normal damage.
Culling Strike is an effect that allows any Attack Skill supported by this gem to deal fatal damage to Rare and Unique enemies when they reach 30% of their maximum life or lower. This feature eliminates the need to manually finish off high-health bosses or rare enemies, making it an invaluable tool for boss killing and high-tier mapping.
When you hit a Rare or Unique enemy with a supported Attack Skill, the Culling Strike effect will automatically execute them if their health is below the 30% threshold, effectively preventing you from having to rely on additional attacks or waiting for that enemy to die from damage over time effects. This guarantees a quick and clean kill, particularly in high-tier content.
Instant Execution on Low Health:
The gem triggers the Culling Strike effect when a Rare or Unique enemy’s health drops below 30%. This means that once the health of the target is sufficiently low, your attack will instantly execute the target, regardless of their remaining health. This is particularly useful for boss fights or high-health Rare mobs where the kill can be drawn out by damage over time or if you’re trying to avoid having to hit them with a series of attacks.
Only Affects Rare or Unique Enemies:
The gem only works on Rare and Unique enemies, meaning you won’t be able to execute Normal enemies with the Culling Strike effect. However, in endgame content, Rare and Unique enemies are common, so this limitation is usually not a significant drawback.
Culling Strike vs. Other Sources:
If your skill already has Culling Strike from other sources (such as the Passive Skill Tree, Ascendancy, or other gem combinations), this gem will not stack with those effects. You can only use one source of Culling Strike at a time, so the gem is ideal for builds that don’t naturally have this ability.
Boss Killer Builds:
The Culling Strike gem is perfect for boss-killer builds that deal high damage per hit. Skills like Cleave, Cyclone, Heavy Strike, and Infernal Blow can benefit greatly from Culling Strike, as it guarantees the quick execution of Rare and Unique bosses when their health drops low, reducing the time it takes to kill the boss.
Mapping Builds:
If you’re focusing on mapping and dealing with high-tier Rare and Unique enemies, this gem allows you to clear content faster. When fighting Rare mobs, especially those with tough modifiers or high health, Culling Strike will ensure the fight ends quickly and efficiently.
Critical Hit-Based Attack Builds:
Builds that rely on high-damage Critical Strikes can make good use of Culling Strike, as the damage spike in Critical Hits will likely drop enemies below 30% health, triggering the execution effect. With high Critical Damage, you can easily ensure that these enemies will be executed before they have a chance to react.
Slower Attack Speed Builds:
If you’re playing a slower attack speed build (such as two-handed weapon or bow builds), Culling Strike provides a means of ensuring you don’t need to land multiple hits to finish off enemies. This is especially useful for builds that deal high burst damage with fewer hits.
Guaranteed Execution:
The main benefit of Culling Strike is the instant kill of Rare and Unique enemies when their health is below 30%. This eliminates the need for additional hits and ensures that you can move on quickly to other enemies or bosses.
Faster Boss Kills:
If your boss-killer build relies on dealing substantial damage in a short amount of time, Culling Strike ensures that Rare or Unique bosses won’t take forever to kill. Once they’re at 30% health, the kill is instant, and you don’t need to waste more time or effort to finish them off.
Great for High-Tier Content:
The Culling Strike gem is especially valuable in high-tier maps or endgame boss fights where Rare and Unique enemies are more common, and you need to take down these enemies efficiently to keep your progress going. It’s a great tool for speedrunning bosses or cleaning up rare mobs in high-level maps.
Limited to Rare and Unique Enemies:
While Culling Strike is powerful for Rare and Unique enemies, it has no effect on Normal enemies. This means that if you’re facing normal mobs or minions, the gem provides no benefit, and you’ll have to rely on other forms of damage for those enemies.
No Stacking with Other Culling Sources:
If your skill or passive tree already provides Culling Strike, this gem won’t add any additional effect. Culling Strike doesn’t stack, so you’ll need to ensure that you can make use of the gem in the absence of other sources of Culling Strike for maximum benefit.
Focus on Boss Killing:
Culling Strike is best utilized in boss fights and against high-health Rare enemies. If you’re using it for mapping, make sure to focus on Rare and Unique mobs to get the most value out of the gem.
Combine with High Burst Damage:
To ensure enemies drop below 30% health for the Culling Strike effect to trigger, pair this gem with high-burst damage skills. This way, you’ll deal enough damage to execute these enemies without waiting for other damage sources to finish them off.
Minion Builds:
Culling Strike does not apply to Minions. However, if your minion-based build supports high-damage attacks, Rare and Unique bosses can be quickly executed through your own attacks, which is a good alternative if you want to deal with bosses efficiently.
The Culling Strike Support Gem is an essential tool for Attack-based builds that want to guarantee quick kills of Rare and Unique enemies. Whether you’re boss hunting or mapping at higher levels, this gem will help you deal with high-health enemies without the need for additional damage or time-consuming attacks. It’s a perfect choice for those who value speed and efficiency in endgame content, ensuring that bosses and rare mobs are instantly executed when they drop below 30% health. However, due to its limitation to Rare and Unique enemies, it’s most beneficial in high-tier maps or boss-oriented builds.