Support
Projectile
Cost Multiplier: 110%
Requires: Level 1
Supports Projectile Attacks, causing Strength to increase their Projectile damage.
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.
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The Iron Grip Support Gem is a powerful Strength-based support gem in Path of Exile 2 that enhances Projectile Attacks by scaling their damage based on the Strength of the character. If you’re playing a build that relies on Projectile Attacks and have a high Strength stat, this gem can significantly boost your damage output, making it a great choice for Strength-based projectile attack builds.
Gem Details
Category: Support
Type: Projectile, Damage
Cost Multiplier: 110%
Required Level: 1
Support Requirements: +5 Strength
Effect:
Supported Projectile Attacks gain damage scaling based on Strength.
The more Strength you have, the higher the damage your Projectile Attacks will deal.
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.
How Iron Grip Works
Iron Grip supports Projectile Attacks, meaning it works with skills that launch projectiles to deal damage, like Bow Attacks, Throwing Weapons, and Spells that involve projectile mechanics. The core feature of Iron Grip is that it converts a portion of your Strength into Projectile Damage, enhancing the overall damage of your projectile-based attacks.
Here’s how the gem works in detail:
Strength Scaling for Projectile Damage:
Iron Grip increases the damage of Projectile Attacks by scaling with your Strength. The more Strength your character has, the more damage you will deal with your projectile attacks.
For each point of Strength you have, the effectiveness of Iron Grip increases, making it particularly effective in Strength-focused builds such as Champion, Gladiator, or Raider (if they focus on Strength for additional health and physical damage).
Cost Multiplier:
The cost multiplier for Iron Grip is 110%, which is fairly typical for Support Gems. This means there’s a small increase in the mana cost when using this gem, but the damage boost it provides makes it a worthy investment for Strength-heavy projectile builds.
Works Well with Projectile Skills:
Iron Grip can be used with a wide variety of Projectile Skills, from basic Bow Attacks to more complex projectile-based abilities. Some examples of skills that pair well with Iron Grip are:
Arctic Arrow
Burning Arrow
Elemental Hit (when used with projectiles)
Vaal Spark
Fireball (for builds focusing on physical strength and projectiles)
Any projectile attack that scales with physical damage or can benefit from additional scaling based on Strength will benefit from this gem.
Advantages of Iron Grip
Strength-Based Scaling:
The damage scaling based on Strength is one of the main advantages of this gem. It benefits strength-based builds, and can help you maximize your Strength stat for both defense and offense.
For physical damage builds, Iron Grip makes your projectile attacks hit much harder, allowing you to convert a typically defensive stat into an offensive one.
Synergy with Strength Builds:
Builds that already focus on Strength will find Iron Grip to be an excellent fit. Strength-focused builds tend to stack lots of physical damage, life, and armor. The added Projectile Damage ensures that your attacks are far more potent, especially when combined with the raw power of your Strength-based skills.
Champion, Gladiator, and Pathfinder builds often have high Strength and can make excellent use of this gem to deal massive damage from projectiles.
Versatility:
Iron Grip isn’t limited to any particular projectile attack type. Whether you’re using a Bow, Wand, or Throwing Weapons, the gem will increase the damage of all projectile attacks that you use. This makes it versatile for a range of Strength-based builds.
Powerful for Physical Damage Builds:
If you’re running a Physical Damage-based build (with the majority of your damage being from Strength scaling), Iron Grip helps increase the damage output of your Projectile Attacks without requiring additional gear or stats. It’s an excellent way to amplify the effectiveness of projectile-based physical damage.
Disadvantages and Considerations
Only for Strength Builds:
The main drawback of Iron Grip is that it scales only with Strength. If your build focuses on Dexterity or Intelligence, this gem won’t be as effective. You’ll need to prioritize Strength in your build to maximize its potential.
Limited to Projectile Attacks:
While the gem provides a huge boost to Projectile Attacks, it doesn’t apply to melee attacks, spell attacks, or other types of damage. This means that if your build doesn’t primarily rely on projectiles, it might not be worth the investment.
Cost of Mana:
As with many support gems, the mana cost multiplier of Iron Grip is 110%, which may increase the mana cost of your abilities. Depending on your build, you may need to balance the increased mana cost with your mana regeneration or mana leech to avoid running out of mana too quickly.
Ideal Skills and Builds for Iron Grip
Bow Builds:
Iron Grip is particularly strong for bow builds, especially for those that scale their damage using Strength. Skills like Arctic Arrow, Burning Arrow, and Mirage Archer will benefit from the scaling damage Iron Grip offers.
If you are using a physical damage bow build, this gem can provide an enormous boost to the power of your projectile attacks.
Throwing Weapon Builds:
Builds that use throwing weapons (such as throwing axes or throwing knives) will also benefit from Iron Grip. The gem will allow them to scale their damage based on Strength, making them a highly effective option for Strength-focused characters.
For example, if you’re using Steel Throw, Iron Grip will significantly increase the damage of your thrown projectiles.
Physical Damage Builds:
Physical Damage builds with projectile-based skills like Elemental Hit or Poison-based Bow builds can make great use of Iron Grip to convert their Strength stat into more damage from projectile attacks.
Builds that use Vaal Spark or Fireball and focus on Strength stacking can also benefit from this gem.
Champion and Gladiator Builds:
If you’re running a Champion or Gladiator build with a high Strength stat, Iron Grip can provide substantial damage scaling for your Projectile Attacks. These builds often scale well with physical damage and benefit from increased damage output when combined with Iron Grip.
Conclusion
The Iron Grip Support Gem is an essential gem for any Strength-based projectile attack build in Path of Exile 2. It enhances Projectile Attacks by scaling their damage with Strength, allowing you to significantly boost your damage output for Strength-focused builds. If your build relies on projectile skills and you have high Strength, Iron Grip will increase your damage potential and enhance your ability to deal with powerful enemies. However, it’s not a gem for every build; it’s best suited for Strength-based builds that want to make their projectile attacks even more deadly.