It is a Support Gem.
Support
Buff, Persistent
Tier: 2
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Str
Supports Persistent Buff Skills, causing you to gain increased Life recovery from Flasks while the Skill is active.
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 Herbalism Support Gem in Path of Exile 2 provides a unique boost to players who use Persistent Buff Skills. Specifically designed to enhance life flask recovery, this gem is an excellent choice for builds that rely on sustainability and survival in prolonged fights. Whether you’re facing off against tough bosses or enduring waves of enemies, the Herbalism Support Gem ensures that your life flasks are even more effective during crucial moments.
In this article, we will explore the mechanics of the Herbalism Support Gem, how it synergizes with different playstyles, and its role in enhancing life recovery during combat.
The Herbalism Support Gem is designed to work with Persistent Buff Skills that are continuously active during combat. These skills can include buffs that enhance your damage, defense, movement, or other combat-related stats.
Here’s how the gem works:
40% Increased Life Flask Recovery:
The Herbalism gem increases the life flask recovery by 40% while a supported skill is active. This means that while the Persistent Buff is active, your life flasks will restore more health each time you use them, greatly enhancing your survivability in long battles. Whether you’re facing waves of enemies in mapping or tanking a tough boss, this increased recovery ensures that you’re not as reliant on high-cost healing methods.
Support for Persistent Buff Skills:
The gem can only support Persistent Buff Skills, which are buffs that remain active as long as their conditions are met. This includes skills like Arctic Armour, Zealotry, Heralds, and other skills that provide ongoing effects. The gem is ideal for builds that use these kinds of skills, as the 40% increased recovery will be consistently active as long as the skill is in effect.
Cost and Reservation Multiplier:
The Herbalism Support Gem has a 120% cost multiplier, which means it will increase the mana or energy cost of the skill it supports. This increase is relatively moderate compared to other gems, but it should still be considered when planning your build. Additionally, the gem has a 120% reservation multiplier, which affects how much of your available mana or energy will be reserved by the Persistent Buff Skill. While this cost may require you to adjust your resources or make use of mana efficiency nodes, it’s well worth the trade-off for the benefits it provides.
The Herbalism Support Gem is most effective when combined with skills that provide long-lasting buffs. Here are a few examples of how Herbalism can enhance your build:
Defensive Buffs (e.g., Arctic Armour, Molten Shell):
Skills that provide defensive buffs, like Arctic Armour or Molten Shell, are ideal for Herbalism. These buffs are typically active for an extended period, allowing the increased flask recovery to apply throughout long fights. The 40% increased recovery will help you maintain high survivability by allowing you to heal faster and more effectively while the defensive buffs are active.
Elemental Heralds (e.g., Herald of Ice, Herald of Thunder):
Herald skills, such as Herald of Ice or Herald of Thunder, provide a persistent buff to your elemental damage and are frequently used in damage-dealing builds. By supporting these skills with Herbalism, you can sustain yourself longer in fights, as the flask recovery will ensure you remain healthy even as you deal significant damage to your enemies.
Aura Builds (e.g., Zealotry, Purity of Elements):
Auras like Zealotry or Purity of Elements are another great synergy for Herbalism. These auras provide passive buffs that enhance your damage or resistances and can be sustained for long periods. With Herbalism, the increased life flask recovery will help you maintain your health in high-stakes fights, especially in boss battles or high-tier mapping, where surviving longer fights becomes crucial.
Damage Buffs (e.g., Anger, Hatred):
Skills that provide damage bonuses, such as Anger or Hatred, are also well-suited for Herbalism. As these buffs increase your offensive capabilities, the Herbalism gem ensures that you also have the means to sustain yourself by improving your life flask recovery. This is especially useful when your offensive strategy leaves you exposed to incoming damage.
The Herbalism Support Gem offers a range of benefits for builds focused on persistence and sustainability:
Increased Life Flask Recovery:
The 40% increased life flask recovery while the supported skill is active provides a substantial boost to your health regeneration. This makes it easier to stay alive during tough encounters, especially in endgame content or boss fights where healing is vital.
Boost to Survival:
Herbalism is especially useful for builds that focus on longer battles or require consistent healing, such as tankier builds or summoner builds. The gem ensures that you will always have access to faster life recovery, giving you an advantage in fights where health regeneration is key.
Synergy with Buff-Based Builds:
Herbalism is designed specifically for builds that rely on persistent buffs. If your build already uses skills like Heralds, Auras, or Defensive Buffs, this gem will enhance their impact by providing consistent life recovery. This synergy makes it a valuable tool for survivability.
Efficient Healing in Prolonged Fights:
Since the gem works while the supported skill is active, you can heal consistently throughout longer fights. Whether you’re in endgame boss encounters or taking on large groups of enemies in high-tier maps, the increased flask recovery ensures you can maintain full health during combat.
While Herbalism is a powerful gem, it’s not without its drawbacks:
Cost and Reservation Multipliers:
The 120% cost and reservation multipliers increase the mana or energy requirements for using the Persistent Buff Skill. This can put a strain on mana efficiency in some builds, requiring adjustments to your mana pool or the use of additional mana regeneration resources.
Not for Non-Buff Builds:
If your build does not focus on persistent buff skills, the Herbalism gem will not provide any benefits. It is most effective when paired with skills that create long-lasting buffs, making it less useful for builds that do not rely on them.
The Herbalism Support Gem is a must-have for builds that focus on persistent buffs, especially those that rely on life flask recovery to sustain health during prolonged battles. With its 40% increased recovery while the supported skill is active, it significantly enhances your ability to heal during tough fights. Whether you’re using defensive buffs, damage boosters, or elemental auras, this gem provides essential sustainability, allowing you to stay healthy while focusing on your offensive strategies.
However, players should be mindful of the mana cost and reservation multiplier, as they can strain your resources. For builds that make use of persistent buffs, Herbalism is an invaluable tool for increasing survivability and overall performance in both boss encounters and high-tier maps.