Support
Minion
Requires: Level 1
Support Reqirements: +5 Int
Supports damaging skills you use yourself, draining the life from one of your Minions on use in order to boost the skill’s damage. Only takes effect if you have a Minion with enough life to drain the full amount.
Supported Skills remove 100% of your maximum Life from a nearby Minion on use to deal 40% more 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 Minion Pact Support Gem introduces an intriguing synergy between your character and their minions in Path of Exile 2, transforming minion life into a resource to amplify the damage of your own skills. By sacrificing a portion of a minion’s life on skill use, this support gem enables a 40% damage boost for supported skills, adding a unique layer of strategy and utility for builds that rely on both direct damage and summoned allies.
Gem Details
Category: Support
Type: Minion
Required Level: 1
Support Requirements: +5 Intelligence
Effect:
Supported Skills remove 100% of your maximum Life from a nearby Minion on use to deal 40% more damage.
Only takes effect if you have a Minion with enough Life to drain the full amount.
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 Minion Pact Works
The Minion Pact Support Gem draws directly from the life pool of your minions when you use a supported damaging skill. Here’s how it operates:
Life Drain Mechanic:
When you use a supported skill, 100% of your maximum life is removed from a nearby minion. The minion must have enough life to withstand the drain; otherwise, the gem’s effect does not trigger.
Damage Boost:
In exchange for the life drained from the minion, the supported skill deals 40% more damage. This significant boost applies to all forms of damage dealt by the supported skill.
Minion Requirements:
For this gem to function consistently, you must have minions with ample life and an adequate resummoning strategy if they die from repeated life drain.
Advantages of Minion Pact Support
High Damage Potential:
A 40% damage increase is a substantial boost, making this gem ideal for builds that prioritize massive damage output from their own skills.
Strategic Sacrifice:
This gem allows for creative synergy between summoner mechanics and direct-damage builds, offering a way to convert excess minion life into meaningful offense.
Synergy with Disposable Minions:
Skills that summon short-lived or easily replaceable minions, such as Skeletons or Raging Spirits, work well with Minion Pact.
Flexibility:
Can be used with a variety of damaging skills, from spells to attacks, enabling diverse build opportunities.
Challenges and Considerations
Minion Life Management:
Repeatedly draining life from minions may cause them to die frequently, requiring careful resummoning or durable minion setups.
Limited by Minion Availability:
The gem only works if there is a nearby minion with enough life to drain. Without minions, the gem’s effects are nullified.
Socket Investment:
As with any support gem, Minion Pact requires valuable socket space. Consider whether the damage boost aligns with your overall build priorities.
Risk of Minion Death:
Builds relying on specific utility or tanking minions may need to carefully balance this gem’s use to avoid unintended minion deaths.
Best Builds for Minion Pact Support
Hybrid Summoner Builds:
Hybrid builds that deal their own damage while using minions for support or distraction can leverage this gem for significant skill damage boosts.
Skeleton Sacrifice Builds:
Skeletons are disposable and can be resummoned quickly, making them perfect candidates for the life-drain mechanic.
High-Damage Spell Builds:
Spells with high base damage, such as Fireball or Frostbolt, benefit greatly from the additional damage scaling.
Summoner Attack Builds:
Builds that use melee or ranged attacks, such as Spectral Throw, can pair this gem with minions for an unconventional playstyle.
Synergies and Combinations
Minion Life Boosters:
Combine with Minion Life Support or passive nodes that increase minion health to ensure they can survive repeated life drains.
Minion Resummoning:
Skills like Skeleton Summon or items that auto-summon minions ensure you always have minions available for sacrifice.
Durable Minions:
Use tanky minions like Zombies or Animate Guardians that have high life pools for sustained support.
Defensive Auras and Buffs:
Pair with defensive auras like Vitality to offset the life drain and keep your minions alive longer.
Example Playstyle
Summon a group of Skeletons or durable minions like Zombies to serve as your life resource.
Cast a supported high-damage skill, such as Fireball, draining minion life to amplify its damage.
Resummon or reposition minions as necessary to maintain a consistent flow of sacrifices and damage boosts.
Conclusion
The Minion Pact Support Gem introduces a dynamic and engaging mechanic for summoner builds in Path of Exile 2, blending the roles of minions and direct-damage skills. By trading minion life for increased damage, this gem offers a high-risk, high-reward playstyle that rewards strategic planning and resource management.
Whether you’re building a hybrid summoner-caster or an unconventional attack build, Minion Pact opens up exciting possibilities for powerful damage scaling while keeping your minions integral to your strategy.