It is a Support Gem.
Support
Tier: 2
Requires: Level 1
Supports any skill, causing Armour Break it inflicts to be stronger.
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 Increased Armour Break Support Gem in Path of Exile 2 is a powerful support gem designed to enhance your ability to penetrate enemy defences. By increasing the effectiveness of Armour Break, this gem helps you to bypass armour-based resistance, dealing more damage to enemies who are heavily protected by armour. It’s particularly useful for builds that rely on physical damage and need to overcome tough enemy defences.
The Increased Armour Break gem modifies the Armour Break mechanic, which is a critical tool for physical damage-focused builds. Armour is a defensive stat that reduces incoming physical damage, and breaking or bypassing armour is often necessary to deal significant damage to tougher enemies.
With the Increased Armour Break gem, you will increase the amount of Armour that your skill breaks by a significant amount—specifically, 80% more Armour. This enhancement makes it easier to deal damage to heavily armoured enemies by weakening their defences, allowing your attacks to hit harder.
Here are the main advantages of using the Increased Armour Break Support Gem:
Increased Armour Penetration:
The 80% more Armour break provided by this gem helps you to shatter even the toughest enemies’ armour. Whether you’re fighting bosses, elite enemies, or other highly armoured creatures, this gem will give you a much better chance of penetrating their defences and dealing maximum damage.
Enhanced Damage Output:
Armour serves as one of the primary forms of damage mitigation against physical damage. By increasing the amount of Armour you break, you’ll be able to deal significantly more physical damage to enemies with high armour, leading to a substantial boost in overall damage output for your character.
Synergy with Physical Damage Builds:
This gem is particularly effective in physical damage builds, such as melee, bow, or attack-based builds. If you are relying on attack skills that break armour, this gem will allow your character to deal more damage against enemies who would otherwise reduce a large portion of your damage through armour.
Versatility Across Different Skills:
The gem is not restricted to any specific skill type. It can support any skill that breaks armour, making it a versatile addition to various builds that rely on Armour Break as part of their playstyle. Whether your build is focused on melee, projectiles, or even spells with armour-breaking mechanics, this gem will enhance your ability to penetrate enemy defences.
Choose a Skill with Armour Break:
To use this gem, you need a skill that already has the ability to break enemy armour. This could be an attack skill like Sunder, Heavy Strike, or any melee skill that interacts with enemy armour. It can also apply to certain projectile skills or spells that break armour as part of their effect.
Slot the Gem:
Once you’ve chosen your skill, simply place the Increased Armour Break Support Gem into a Support Gem socket linked to that skill in your Skill menu. The gem will apply its effects, increasing the Armour Break of the skill by 80%.
Consider Your Build’s Synergy:
While this gem is highly effective for physical damage builds that rely on breaking armour, it works best in combination with other physical damage-boosting skills or Armour Penetration mechanics. It’s a great option for builds that deal damage over time or have high single-target DPS, especially if you’re facing tough enemies with high armour values.
Balance with Other Damage Enhancers:
Since the gem increases the effectiveness of Armour Break, it’s important to consider the balance between Armour Penetration and damage output. You may want to pair this gem with other penetration or damage enhancement modifiers (such as Physical Damage Over Time or Critical Strike Chance) to maximize its effectiveness.
The Increased Armour Break gem works especially well in physical damage builds that are designed to tackle enemies with substantial armour. Here are some builds and skills that can benefit the most from this gem:
Melee Attack Builds:
Melee skills such as Heavy Strike, Sunder, and Earthquake that already have Armour Break built in will greatly benefit from this gem. By increasing the amount of Armour Break, these skills will hit harder and more effectively against armoured foes.
Bow Builds:
Bow builds with skills like Puncture or Explosive Arrow, which interact with armour to deal more damage over time or in an AoE, will also see an increase in their damage output against armoured enemies.
Damage Over Time Builds:
Physical Damage over Time builds that use skills like Bleed, Poison, or Ignite (when combined with Fire Damage and Physical Damage) can also use this gem to improve the effectiveness of their physical damage against high-armour enemies, increasing their overall DPS.
Crit Builds:
Critical Strike-focused builds that rely on Armour Break to increase damage will find that the Increased Armour Break gem pushes their critical damage higher. Since breaking more armour means more damage dealt, this synergy makes Critical Strike builds even more potent.
Totem and Minion Builds:
Totem builds and minion builds that apply armour-breaking effects can also benefit from this gem, making your minions or totems more effective in dealing with armoured enemies.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
The Increased Armour Break Support Gem is a highly effective gem for builds that rely on physical damage and need to penetrate tough enemy defences. By increasing the Armour Break provided by your skills by 80%, this gem makes it much easier to deal significant damage to heavily armoured enemies, especially bosses and elite mobs.
Its versatility across different types of Armour-breaking skills makes it a solid choice for melee, ranged, and damage-over-time builds. While the gem is specialized for builds that target Armour, it is a powerful tool for anyone who faces high-armour opponents.
For players who want to maximize their physical damage against armoured enemies, Increased Armour Break is a must-have addition to their arsenal in Path of Exile 2.