Path of Exile 2 comes with a massive overhaul to the Skill Gem system that made for some very entertaining builds while being a bit of frustration for players. Let's see what's new about the entire Skill Gems system!

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    Skill Gems Are No Longer on Gear - Skill Gems Interface

    Skill Gems are no longer found on gear! Now when you find new gear that is an upgrade you can immediately equip it without having to worry about the number of sockets and colors it has. Instead of plugging your precious gems into a piece of gear, you will now socket gems into a dedicated interface. 

    • Skill Gems can be slotted into the Skill Gems interface.
    • Characters start with 9 sockets for Skill Gems.
    • Skill Gems now have their own sockets for support gems. Each starts with 2 sockets.
    • Skill Gems are upgraded through currency to improve the colors or number of sockets.

    You're also now able to see a much better breakdown of what each Skill has for their damage and modifiers, thanks to a much larger panel. Here you can also change the ability to "always attack without moving" and "used with weapon set" states for each Skill Gem.

    Skill & Support Gems No Longer Found in the Wild - Gemcutting Interface

    A big change with Path of Exile 2 is that Skill & Support Gems are no longer found in the Wild as the random skills. Now, you will find Uncut Gems that you can then cut into a Skill (or Support) that you can use. This makes it much easier to acquire the Skills and Supports you need, assuming you get lucky enough to have an Uncut Gem drop of course.

    When you use an Uncut Gem, a special interface called "Gemcutting" will appear to allow you to choose which Skill or Support Gem it becomes.

    • Gemcutting's interface has different pages for each of the classes.
    • Each class has their own set of skills that belong to them, but other classes can use them.

    Another unique part about Uncut Gems is that they drop and won't be level 1. Instead, they drop at a level that is appropriate for the content you are in.

    How to Get More Support Sockets on Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2

    If you're looking to add more sockets to a Skill Gem, you're going to need to find yourself Jeweler's Orbs! Skill Gems start There are three new types of orbs, each of which will upgrade your gem to the next level:

    • Jeweler's Orb: Upgrades your Skill Gem to 3 sockets.
    • Jeweler's Orb 2: Upgrades your Skill Gem to 4 sockets.
    • Jeweler's Orb 3: Upgrades your Skill Gem to 5 sockets.

    We don't have the exact names yet of the level 2 and 3 Jeweler's Orbs.

    The maximum number of sockets you can have on a Skill Gem is 5, which is an effective 6-link in the original game. Each currency is going to be more rare than the last, so even though the element of RNG rolling is gone, don't expect it to be easy to progress to 6-links across all your skill gems. The Path of Exile 2 developers have stated we can expect a similar time investment into getting our gems situated.

    How to Change Colors on Skill Gem Sockets in Path of Exile 2

    Each Skill Gem still comes with the same sockets that we've come to love, though mostly hate when rolled incorrectly, in Path of Exile 2:

    • Red Sockets - Strength-focused support gems.
    • Green Sockets - Dexterity-focused support gems.
    • Blue Sockets - Intellect-focused support gems.

    Much like in Path of Exile, Chromatic Orbs are making a return and they will allow you to change the color of your sockets, however, there is a huge quality of life update: you get to choose which socket they apply to! There is still randomness involved in which color the socket will become, but no longer will you temporarily brick your item as you roll for an eternity to get the correct 6 colors on that chest. 

    Passive Skill Trees Get Skill Gems Support Through Weapon Sets

    Weapon sets are a truly new mechanic in Path of Exile 2. You can set each of your sets of weapons to work with a certain skill gem and through that, activitate a different set of passives for that specific set of weapons.

    Let's say for example you are using a Frost-heavy set of skills and some Lightning skills. Assuming you have enough passive points for each of your weapon sets, you will be able to augment each set of weapons, and thus skill gems assigned to them, with different talents. This means our Frost skills could get extra Frosty goodness by going through passives on one side of the tree, but pick up some Lightning-focused goodies on another side.


    Different paths for your weapon sets are different colors.

    This adds a completely new level of complexity to the game but can see newfound power in player's hands.

    That's a lot of information on Skill Gems in Path of Exile 2, with much more to come in the future. What are you most excited to play with?