It is a Support Gem.
Support
Tier: 2
Cost Multiplier: 150%
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Int
Supports Curse skills, causing them to Curse enemies more quickly after being cast.
Skills can be managed in the Skills Panel.
The Focused Curse Support Gem is a powerful tool for players who specialize in Curse skills, allowing them to apply Curses to enemies more quickly and efficiently. Designed to enhance the speed at which Curse zones activate, this gem reduces the delay between casting a Curse skill and the moment the curse takes effect on enemies. For Curse-based builds, Focused Curse is an essential gem that significantly improves the effectiveness of Curse mechanics, making it an indispensable choice for increasing the application speed of curses.
In this article, we’ll explore the mechanics of the Focused Curse Support Gem, its synergies, and the best ways to incorporate it into your build.
Category: Support
Type: Curse
Tier: 2
Cost Multiplier: 150%
Required Level: 1
Support Requirements: +5 Intelligence
Effect:
Place into a Skill’s Support Gem socket in the Skills menu to apply its effects to that Skill.
The Focused Curse Support Gem is specifically designed to increase the speed at which Curse zones from Curse skills activate. Here’s a breakdown of its mechanics:
Reduced Curse Activation Delay:
The key feature of Focused Curse is that it reduces the delay between casting a Curse skill and the moment the Curse zone actually erupts and affects enemies. This means that enemies will be cursed faster after you cast a Curse skill, making it more efficient for curse-focused builds that rely on quickly applying Curses to large groups of enemies or bosses.
Curse Zone Eruption:
When using a Curse skill supported by Focused Curse, the Curse zone will erupt after a 30% reduced delay. This translates to faster curse application, especially useful for skills like Flammability, Frostbite, or Elemental Weakness, where the speed of curse application directly impacts your damage output and debuff application to enemies.
Increased Curse Speed:
Faster curses mean that your enemies will take more damage sooner, and you can apply multiple Curses over time more efficiently. The faster you curse enemies, the quicker you can apply additional debuffs or set up a combination of Curses on multiple enemies, which is crucial in high-level maps or boss encounters.
Cost Multiplier:
Focused Curse has a cost multiplier of 150%, which increases the mana cost of your Curse skills. The additional cost is balanced by the substantial increase in curse application speed, so you’ll need to ensure your build can handle the increased mana expenditure, especially for builds that rely heavily on Curse skills for both defense and offense.
Curse Skill Compatibility:
The gem can support any Curse skill that creates a Curse zone, such as Temporal Chains, Vulnerability, or Enfeeble. It is particularly useful for skills that have a delayed activation or a short duration, allowing them to apply their effects more quickly. This gem cannot be used with skills that do not create a Curse zone.
Here are some key advantages of using the Focused Curse Support Gem in your build:
Improved Curse Application:
By reducing the delay between casting and cursing, Focused Curse ensures that Curse zones are triggered almost immediately. This is especially important when you need to quickly debuff enemies, whether for damage mitigation, defense, or debuffing bosses. The faster you can curse enemies, the more effective your build becomes.
Increased Damage Potential:
Curses such as Flammability, Elemental Weakness, or Vulnerability significantly increase the damage your enemies take. Focused Curse maximizes the speed of this effect, increasing the overall damage output of your skills, especially in boss fights or against high-health enemies.
Synergies with Curse-based Builds:
For builds that focus on Curse skills or Hexblast, Focused Curse is a game-changing gem. It synergizes well with Curse stacking mechanics, making your curses apply more quickly and for longer durations, leading to greater overall effectiveness. This is especially useful for builds using Cursed Effect, Hex Master, or Bane.
Boss Fight Utility:
In high-tier content, such as boss fights, Focused Curse speeds up the application of critical debuffs like Temporal Chains or Vulnerability, allowing you to increase damage and slow down the boss more quickly. Curse skills are essential for endgame encounters, and Focused Curse makes them even more reliable.
While Focused Curse is a potent gem, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Increased Mana Cost:
As with many powerful support gems, Focused Curse comes with a 150% cost multiplier, meaning that it increases the mana cost of your Curse skills. This can put pressure on builds that are already mana-hungry, so it’s essential to have a way to manage mana regeneration or increase mana pool capacity.
Curse-only Application:
Focused Curse only works with Curse skills that create Curse zones. If you are using non-curse-based skills, this gem will not benefit your build. It is crucial to ensure your build revolves around Curses to fully take advantage of this gem’s effects.
Cooldown Considerations:
Some Curse skills have longer cooldowns, which means that even with the reduced delay from Focused Curse, you may still have to wait for the cooldown to complete before you can curse again. This is something to keep in mind for builds that rely on constant debuffing.
To maximize the effectiveness of Focused Curse, consider pairing it with other support gems and mechanics:
Curse Effect and Duration:
Combine Focused Curse with gems like Enhance, Empower, or Elemental Focus to improve the duration or effect of your Curses. This makes it possible to curse enemies faster and for longer durations, ensuring your debuffs remain active for the duration of the fight.
Mana Regeneration:
Since Focused Curse increases the mana cost of your Curse skills, using mana-regeneration mechanics such as Mana Leech, Innervate, or Mana Regen on your passive tree or gear can help mitigate the increased mana consumption.
Curse Stacking:
If you’re stacking multiple Curses (e.g., Vulnerability, Flammability, and Frostbite), the reduced delay will ensure that all of these curses apply more quickly to your enemies, boosting your overall effectiveness. Using Hex Master or Curse On Hit support gems in combination with Focused Curse can also help increase the efficiency of your debuff application.
Curse Totems or Traps:
Although Focused Curse can only support Curse skills that create Curse zones, you can pair it with Totems or Traps that cast curses. Using Curse Totems or Curse Traps can allow you to curse enemies from a distance while reducing the time it takes for them to be affected.
The Focused Curse Support Gem is an essential tool for any Curse-based build in Path of Exile 2, significantly reducing the delay between casting and the activation of Curse zones. By speeding up the application of Curses, it improves the effectiveness of your debuffs and enhances your damage potential, especially in boss fights and high-tier content.
While the 150% cost multiplier and mana management considerations should be taken into account, the gem’s ability to apply curses faster makes it invaluable for builds relying on Curse stacking or Hex debuffing. If you’re focused on Curse skills, Focused Curse will help you curse enemies quickly and efficiently, giving you a significant advantage in your gameplay.