It is a Support Gem.
Support
Attack, Melee, Strike
Tier: 1
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Dex
Supports Strikes that perform a Final Strike at the end of a combination of attacks, allowing you to use the Final Strike twice in succession.
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 Extended Combo Support Gem in Path of Exile 2 adds an exciting layer of complexity and power to melee strike-based builds. This support gem enhances the combo attack system, allowing for two consecutive Final Strikes at the end of a combo chain, dramatically increasing the damage potential and utility of your strikes.
In this article, we’ll explore the mechanics of the Extended Combo Support Gem, ideal build synergies, and how to maximize its effectiveness in your Path of Exile 2 character.
The Extended Combo Support Gem works by modifying the Final Strike mechanics of combo attacks. Here’s how it operates:
Final Strike Performance:
Combo-based attacks in Path of Exile 2 are typically a chain of successive strikes, with a Final Strike marking the culmination of the combo. With the Extended Combo Support Gem, this Final Strike is performed twice in quick succession at the end of the combo sequence.
Double Final Strike:
The key benefit of this gem is that it allows for two Final Strikes at the end of your combo, effectively doubling the damage potential of the concluding attack in your combo chain. This feature is particularly beneficial for high-damage strikes, enabling your character to deal a massive burst of damage when the combo finishes.
Combo Attack Builds:
The Extended Combo Support Gem works exclusively with melee strike-based skills that utilize a combo system. These builds often involve chaining multiple attacks together, culminating in a devastating Final Strike. By adding the Extended Combo gem, you can double the power of this Final Strike, amplifying your offensive capabilities.
Strike Combo Builds:
The Extended Combo gem is tailor-made for melee strike combo builds that focus on performing multiple strikes in quick succession. Skills such as Cleave, Cyclone, Reckoning, or any skill that performs a combo of strikes would benefit significantly from the Double Final Strike mechanic. These builds typically aim to chain together a series of quick hits, culminating in a devastating and powerful finishing blow.
Critical Strike Melee Builds:
Combining Extended Combo with critical strike-based builds can lead to incredible results. If your build is designed to stack critical damage or status effects on your strikes, being able to hit an enemy with two consecutive Final Strikes allows you to trigger critical hits twice for a massive burst of damage. This synergy is particularly useful when you want to capitalize on crit-based multipliers.
High-Damage Melee Builds:
Builds focused on raw damage output, particularly those that maximize Final Strike damage, will gain the most from the Extended Combo gem. By stacking up damage modifiers and combo bonuses, you can significantly enhance the damage spikes provided by the two Final Strikes at the end of your combo chain.
Boss-Killer Builds:
In boss fights, where you need to deliver a high burst of damage at the end of a combo or chain of attacks, Extended Combo is an invaluable tool. You can use it to unleash two devastating Final Strikes back-to-back, dealing a massive amount of damage to the boss in just a few seconds. When combined with armor penetration or elemental damage, it can melt even the toughest bosses.
Double the Damage:
The standout feature of the Extended Combo gem is the ability to perform two Final Strikes at the end of a combo sequence. This gives you the opportunity to deal significant additional damage in a short period of time, perfect for high-damage melee attacks that require a strong finishing blow.
Synergy with Combo-Based Skills:
Builds that focus on combo strikes will find Extended Combo to be a natural fit. Since this gem modifies the Final Strike, which typically deals the most damage, its effect doubles the power of that finishing move. This can lead to massive damage output if your combo attacks are built around high burst damage.
Increased Versatility:
Many melee builds that use combos rely on chain attacks and multi-hit skills. With Extended Combo, your attacks will become even more versatile, allowing you to finish off enemies quickly with the double Final Strike. This can be useful in both single-target boss fights and crowd control situations, as you can use your combo attacks to mow down multiple enemies or focus your damage on a single target.
High Burst Potential:
The ability to hit two Final Strikes makes Extended Combo ideal for builds that focus on high burst damage. Whether you’re using a high critical hit chance or elemental damage modifiers, the two Final Strikes can trigger these effects twice in quick succession, leading to a devastating and high-damage output in just one combo chain.
Requires Combo Setup:
Since Extended Combo works exclusively with combo-based skills, it’s not useful in builds that rely on single-hit or non-combo attacks. If your build doesn’t revolve around chaining attacks together to perform a Final Strike, then this support gem won’t have much impact on your damage output.
May Overcomplicate Timing:
While performing two Final Strikes in quick succession is powerful, it may overcomplicate the timing for players who aren’t used to combo setups. If you are new to combo-based attacks, it may take some practice to get the timing and flow of your strikes down perfectly to take advantage of the Extended Combo gem.
Not Ideal for Non-Melee Builds:
As a gem designed for melee strike-based skills, Extended Combo doesn’t work well with ranged or spell-based builds. If you’re running a ranged or spellcaster build, this support gem is not applicable, limiting its use to melee combat only.
Maximize the Final Strike Damage:
Since the Extended Combo gem doubles the effectiveness of your Final Strike, focus on increasing the damage of that final hit. Use items, passives, and support gems that enhance melee strike damage or Final Strike damage to make the most of the double damage potential.
Practice Combo Timing:
Master the timing of your combos to ensure you’re getting the most out of Extended Combo. Practice executing the sequence of attacks to make sure you’re chaining strikes quickly enough to trigger the double Final Strike without missing a beat.
Synergize with Buffs and Debuffs:
Combine Extended Combo with buffs and debuffs that increase your damage output, such as Flasks that boost physical damage, Vulnerability curses, or power charges. This will allow you to maximize the damage you deal with your two Final Strikes.
The Extended Combo Support Gem is an excellent addition to melee strike-based builds in Path of Exile 2. It significantly boosts the damage potential of combo systems by allowing your Final Strike to be performed twice in succession, resulting in a devastating burst of damage at the end of your combo chain. If you’re building a melee attacker focused on combo chains and finishing moves, this gem is a must-have for maximizing your damage output. However, it requires careful planning and combo mastery to fully unlock its potential.