Power Charges are a game-changer in Path of Exile 2, so getting familiar with them is essential for taking your build further.
They might seem confusing at first, but once you get how to generate and use them, they’ll quickly become an essential part of your gameplay.
This article will cover everything you need to know about Power Charges, like how to build them up and use them to make your skills way more powerful.
How Do Power Charges Work?
If you're running a build based on elemental damage or skills that use charges, Power Charges are a must in Path of Exile 2.
Power Charges are there to boost abilities, using them up to deal more damage or add things like shocks or freezes.
Unlike other types of charges in the game, Power Charges don’t provide passive benefits by themselves.
Instead, they’re used when you trigger specific abilities, giving you a solid increase in skill power.
You can stockpile up to three Power Charges by default, each lasting 20 seconds.
The timer resets each time a new Power Charge pops up, so as long as players keep generating them, they can stay active for a while.
You can use most abilities without Power Charges, but they’re key for builds that rely on elemental attacks like lightning.
The trick to using Power Charges in your build is to make the most of them.
There are several ways to build up Power Charges, each giving you a different level of control and working well with other skills.
Skills
Power Charges are made using a bunch of skills in PoE 2.
For example, abilities like Profane Ritual and Siphoning Strike can build up Power Charges when they hit enemies or put debuffs on them.
Profane Ritual is especially useful as it consumes corpses to generate charges and deals Chaos damage over time in the surrounding area.
This skill is excellent for builds focusing on corpse mechanics or dealing damage over time.
Another way to earn Power Charges is to use the Killing Palm, which gives you one whenever you land a killing blow.
Some elemental powers (like lightning damage) can set off Power Charge generation, enhancing your elemental builds.
Passive Skills
You can generate Power Charges in the passive skill tree in many ways.
One clear example is the Resonance passive, which swaps Frenzy Charges for Power Charges.
This allows players to throw in Power Charge generation with their Frenzy Charge builds, making things more adaptable.
If you focus on boosting elemental damage or burst abilities, Resonance creates a solid synergy that helps Power Charges build up more seamlessly.
Support Gems
You can find many support gems in PoE 2 that affect Power Charge generation.
Gems like Profusion, Perpetual Charge, and Potential either speed up Power Charge generation or improve the skills' ability to use them.
You can link these gems to your core skills to generate extra Power Charges or boost the effects of consuming them.
Items
Some items in the game can help you rack up Power Charges, too.
For example, Voll’s Protector allows you to get a Power Charge when you land a crit.
The Redflare Conduit increases the chances of getting Power Charges with each hit, so it’s a solid pick for fast or crit-based builds.
When you have Power Charges, you can use them to make your skills work better.
Power Charges modify skills in distinct ways when consumed, depending on the ability to use them.
For example, the Charged Staff ability in PoE 2 lets you charge up your weapon with lightning, making it hit harder and trigger a shockwave when you burn through a Power Charge.
If you're using builds that scale with Power Charges, you're in for serious burst damage or a solid DPS output.
Some builds focused on lightning damage rely on Power Charges to set off things like shocks, boosting the damage of their attacks.
Power Charges like this let players deal much more damage than their skills can do.
On top of that, Power Charges can trigger extra effects, like adding elemental debuffs such as shock or freeze.
Power Charges become a valuable tool for offense and defense, thanks to their ability to control enemies.
You could have a Lightning Monk build using Power Charges to boost your damage while zapping enemies to debuff them.
Power Charges don’t last long, so you’ll need to plan ahead to handle them.
To recap, Power Charges last 20 seconds by default, and the timer resets whenever a new one is generated.
To keep your charges active, just make sure you’re generating them frequently and using them well.
Handling your Power Charges well is important for high-difficulty foes like bosses to ensure your damage is on point.
Some builds can have difficulty generating Power Charges against bosses, especially if they don’t hit with status effects like shock or freeze often.
If things get rough, consider changing your gear, skills, and passives to ensure you get enough Power Charges.
Some players might change tactics, focusing on debuffs or using skills that help generate Power Charges faster in boss fights.