It is a Support Gem.
Support
Attack
Tier: 1
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Dex
Supports Attacks, causing them to Attack faster.
Skills can be managed in the Skills Panel.
In Path of Exile 2, the Faster Attacks Support Gem is an essential gem for players who want to increase their attack speed and enhance their overall damage output. As one of the most commonly used support gems, Faster Attacks boosts the speed at which your character performs attacks, allowing you to deal more damage in less time. Whether you’re a melee or ranged character, this gem is a staple for any build that relies on frequent attacks to deal damage.
In this article, we’ll dive into the mechanics of the Faster Attacks Support Gem, its ideal uses, and how it fits into a variety of builds in Path of Exile 2.
The Faster Attacks Support Gem is designed to improve the speed of attacks used by your character. When socketed into a compatible skill, it grants the supported skill 25% more attack speed, which means your character will perform attacks faster than normal. This results in more frequent hits and increased damage output, especially for attack-based builds that rely on quick melee or ranged attacks.
Increased Attack Speed:
The primary effect of the Faster Attacks gem is to increase your attack speed by 25%. This translates to faster animations for attacks, meaning your character can land more hits in the same amount of time. For melee builds, this can lead to faster clear speeds and quicker engagements. For ranged builds, this can significantly increase damage output while maintaining distance from enemies.
More Hits, More Damage:
Attack speed directly influences the number of hits your character can land. With Faster Attacks, you’re able to land more hits per second, which not only boosts overall damage output but also synergizes well with attack speed scaling on other gear, passive skill tree nodes, or unique items.
Works with All Types of Attacks:
Whether you are using melee, ranged, or spell-based attack skills, Faster Attacks increases your speed of hitting enemies. Melee characters benefit by landing more strikes in quick succession, while ranged characters see improvements to their ability to fire arrows, throw projectiles, or use other ranged attacks. The increased attack speed is beneficial across a wide range of build types, including both single-target and area-of-effect skills.
The Faster Attacks Support Gem is perfect for builds that focus on fast, multi-hit attacks. Below are some of the most common build types that benefit from this gem:
Melee Attack Builds:
Faster Attacks is a go-to gem for any melee attack build, especially those that rely on skills like Cyclone, Whirlwind, Dual Strike, Lancing, or Fast Strike. These skills are designed to hit multiple enemies in quick succession, and increasing your attack speed allows for even faster clear speeds and more frequent damage output.
Bow Builds:
For ranged attack builds like Bow or Crossbow builds, Faster Attacks boosts your ability to fire arrows or bolts much faster. This is particularly useful for High DPS builds that rely on projectile-based attacks, as increasing attack speed can lead to burst damage on enemies, especially when paired with high critical hit chance or damage scaling from other passive nodes.
Crit-based Builds:
Since critical strikes are heavily dependent on attack speed (landing more hits = more chances to crit), any crit-based attack build will benefit from the Faster Attacks gem. By increasing the speed of your attacks, you significantly raise your chances to land critical strikes in a short period, which is essential for builds that depend on high burst damage.
Multi-Hit Melee Builds:
Any build that focuses on multi-hit melee skills, such as Sweep or Multi-strike, benefits greatly from Faster Attacks. Since these builds focus on hitting multiple enemies, the faster you can execute those hits, the faster you can clear groups of enemies and deal sustained damage.
Attack Speed Scaling Builds:
Certain builds are designed to scale heavily with attack speed. These builds typically aim to increase the frequency of attacks, either to apply debuffs, stack buffs like Poison, or simply for damage maximization. The Faster Attacks gem fits perfectly into these kinds of builds, further boosting the attack speed to unprecedented levels.
Higher DPS (Damage per Second):
By allowing your character to attack faster, Faster Attacks directly increases your damage per second (DPS), especially for builds that are heavily dependent on attack-based skills. More attacks per second means more damage is being dealt to enemies, increasing your overall damage output.
Improved Combat Fluidity:
Faster attacks make your character feel more fluid in combat, as you can quickly respond to enemy actions or attack multiple enemies in rapid succession. This is especially useful in high-intensity combat situations where quick attacks are necessary for survival.
Synergy with Crits and Bleeds:
The Faster Attacks gem works well in synergy with crit-based builds (increasing chances for crits) and bleed or poison builds (increasing the rate of debuff application). With more attacks landing in less time, you can apply your damage over time effects and critical hits more frequently.
Ideal for Scaling with Additional Attack Speed:
If you already have other sources of attack speed (e.g., passive skill tree nodes, items, or buffs), Faster Attacks will provide even more benefit, stacking well with attack speed multipliers and enabling faster, more efficient combat.
High Mana or Energy Costs:
Increasing your attack speed can lead to higher mana consumption or energy costs for skills, especially for attack-based skills that use large amounts of mana. Keep this in mind when incorporating Faster Attacks into your build, and ensure you have enough mana regeneration to sustain your attacks.
Increased Animation Speed:
Faster attacks can make the attack animation appear quicker, but this can sometimes interfere with timing mechanics in some encounters. For example, if you need to time your attacks carefully with enemy telegraphed movements or boss mechanics, Faster Attacks may require you to adjust your playstyle slightly to accommodate the increased speed.
Not Effective for All Build Types:
Faster Attacks is only useful for attack-based builds, and will not benefit spellcasters or builds that focus on summons or totems. Therefore, it’s not a universal support gem and should only be used in builds where attacks play a central role in the gameplay.
Combine with Attack Speed Scaling:
For maximum efficiency, pair Faster Attacks with gear or passives that already scale attack speed. This will allow you to maximize the number of attacks per second and deal significant damage in short bursts.
Use with Multi-Hit Skills:
Pair Faster Attacks with skills that hit multiple times or have multiple stages, such as Cyclone or Dual Strike. This ensures that the increased attack speed leads to more hits on enemies, increasing your overall damage output and effect duration.
Maximize Critical Strike Chance:
For crit builds, use Faster Attacks to increase your crit chances by landing more attacks per second. This synergizes perfectly with critical hit nodes, items, and other buffs that increase critical strike damage.
The Faster Attacks Support Gem is an essential gem for any attack-based build in Path of Exile 2. By granting 25% more attack speed, it allows players to land more hits per second, resulting in higher DPS and more fluid combat. Whether you’re running a melee, bow, or crit-based build, Faster Attacks is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your overall damage output and speed in combat.