PoE 2 Herald of Ice – Path of Exile 2

PoE 2 Herald of Ice

It is a Spirit Gem.

Buff
AoE, Attack, Herald, Persistent
Tier: 4
Level: 5
Reservation: 30 Spirit
Attack Damage: 100%
Requires: Level 16, 17 Str, 17 Int
Requires: Any Martial Weapon

While active, Shattering an enemy will cause an Attack Hit will cause an icy explosion that deals Attack damage to surrounding enemies.

Skills can be managed in the Skills Panel.


Herald of Ice is a powerful Spirit Gem in Path of Exile 2 designed to amplify your attack-based damage by triggering explosive AoE ice effects. This Herald skill provides an effective way to clear large packs of enemies and boost your attack damage with icy explosions that spread through enemies when an enemy is shattered.

By activating Herald of Ice, your attacks gain the ability to cause shattering explosions upon killing enemies, dealing attack damage to nearby foes. This mechanic can create a chain reaction, especially in high-density areas, ensuring that even enemies on the periphery are hit by explosive cold damage.


Key Details of Herald of Ice

  • Gem Type: Spirit Gem
  • Skill Type: Buff, AoE, Attack, Herald, Persistent
  • Tier: 4
  • Level: 5
  • Requires: Level 16, 17 Strength, 17 Intelligence
  • Weapon Requirement: Any Martial Weapon
  • Reservation: 30 Spirit
  • Attack Damage: 100%
  • Effect: Shattering an enemy causes an icy explosion, dealing attack damage to surrounding enemies.

How Does Herald of Ice Work?

  1. Shattering Effect:

    • The core mechanic of Herald of Ice is its ability to shatter enemies with cold damage. When you attack and kill an enemy, it causes the enemy to shatter, creating an explosive ice effect. This effect will damage nearby enemies within the explosion’s radius, spreading cold damage across multiple targets.
  2. Attack Damage:

    • The attack damage dealt by these icy explosions is 100% of your attack damage, meaning that the damage output from the explosion is directly tied to your attack damage. This synergizes well with high physical and elemental attack-based builds, such as those using martial weapons or cold-based attack skills.
  3. AoE Explosion:

    • When an enemy is shattered, it triggers an AoE explosion that impacts all nearby enemies. This effect ensures that groups of enemies are consistently hit by cold damage as long as you are continuously attacking and killing foes. The explosion radius increases in effectiveness when you are surrounded by enemies, creating a chain reaction of frost explosions.
  4. Persistent Buff:

    • Once activated, Herald of Ice is a persistent buff that remains active as long as the Spirit reservation is sustained. The skill continuously enhances your attacks with the shattering effect, ensuring that each successful kill has a chance to deal significant cold damage to enemies near the one you’ve just slain.

Requirements and Scaling

  • Level Requirements: To equip and use Herald of Ice, you must be Level 16.
  • Attribute Requirements: You will need 17 Strength and 17 Intelligence to use this gem, which is relatively low and can be easily met by most builds.
  • Weapon Requirement: Herald of Ice can be used with any martial weapon, making it versatile and accessible for a wide range of character builds that focus on weapon-based attacks.
  • Spirit Reservation: The gem requires 30 Spirit to be active, which is a moderate amount and should be considered when managing your Spirit pool for other abilities.

Managing Herald of Ice

  • Active Buff: Once you activate Herald of Ice, it remains on for a persistent duration, applying the shatter explosions to your attacks. You will need to maintain 30 Spirit to keep the buff active, so careful Spirit management is essential, especially for builds that use multiple Spirit-based abilities.

  • Explosion Chain Reaction: As you kill enemies, the shattering explosions will trigger a chain reaction of AoE cold damage. This allows Herald of Ice to shine in areas with high enemy density, where each kill can help wipe out additional enemies in your vicinity.

  • Scaling Attack Damage: Since the damage dealt by the shattering explosions is based on 100% of your attack damage, scaling your attack damage through gear, passive skills, and support gems will directly increase the effectiveness of Herald of Ice. The skill becomes especially potent in builds that focus on high attack speed or cold damage scaling.


The Pros and Cons of Herald of Ice

Pros:

  • AoE Cold Damage: The shatter explosions deal cold damage to surrounding enemies, allowing for effective crowd control and area clearing.
  • Synergy with Attack Builds: Since the explosion damage is tied directly to attack damage, the gem works incredibly well with physical or elemental attack-based builds.
  • Scalable Damage: The 100% attack damage scaling ensures that the explosion effect becomes more powerful as your attack damage increases, making it suitable for high-damage builds.
  • Persistent Buff: Once activated, Herald of Ice remains active, continuously triggering the shatter effect and dealing damage over time without requiring constant recasting.

Cons:

  • Spirit Reservation: Herald of Ice uses 30 Spirit, which may limit its use if you rely on multiple Spirit-intensive skills.
  • Requires Martial Weapons: The gem requires a martial weapon to function, which excludes it from caster or spell-based builds, limiting its versatility in certain playstyles.
  • Dependent on Attack Speed: The effectiveness of Herald of Ice increases with attack speed, meaning slower attack builds may not trigger the shattering explosions as often.

Conclusion

Herald of Ice is a fantastic choice for players focused on attack-based builds, particularly those that want to deal cold damage and AoE damage. The shattering explosions that occur upon killing enemies are highly effective for crowd control and area clearing, ensuring that even enemies at the periphery of your combat zone are hit by powerful cold damage.

With its 100% attack damage scaling and persistent buff, Herald of Ice shines in high-density combat scenarios where rapid enemy deaths trigger explosive cold damage. It works exceptionally well for martial weapon users who rely on high attack speed to maximize the number of explosions.

If you are looking to enhance your attack-based cold builds, Herald of Ice is a must-have gem to increase both your damage output and area control.

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