Skill Gems & Passive Tree

Arc / Storm Brand Archmage Scion Endgame Skill Gems, Auras, Jewels & Passive Skill Tree.

Skill Gems

Skill Breakdown

Main Abilities

Vaal Arc

• Vaal Arc - Our main clearing ability, which scales its coverage and single target potential by Chaining.
• Awakened Spell Echo Support - We need a lot of Cast Speed, and Spell Echo grants us additional free casts and a massive Cast Speed multiplier.
• Awakened Lightning Penetration Support - Lightning Penetration is a good way to scale damage. The awakened version provides a 10% chance to inflict Lightning Exposure on Hit, which lowers the Lightning Resistance of the enemy.
• Archmage Support - Our build is built around this specific support gem: the more Mana we have, the more Damage we deal.
• Arcane Surge Support - By spending a certain amount of Mana, we get the Arcane Surge buff. This buff grants Cast Speed, Mana Regeneration and more Spell Damage.
• Awakened Chain Support - As mentioned above, the more Chains, the better the clear and single target damage.

Storm Brand

• Storm Brand - The build's primary Endgame Bossing ability. Brands act like a dot dealing damage as long as they remain attached to an enemy. With the Keystone Runebinder, we can attach 2 Brands simultaneously, which essentially doubles are damage output.
• Awakened Lightning Penetration Support - Lightning Penetration is a good way to scale damage. The awakened version provides a 10% chance to inflict Lightning Exposure on Hit, which lowers the Lightning Resistance of the enemy.
• Swiftbrand Support - Increases the activation frequency of our Brands.
• Concentrated Effect Support - One of the best damage support gems and since we use Storm Brand as our primary Bossing ability, we don't need area of effect at all.
• Archmage Support - Our build is made around this support gem: The more Mana we have, the more Damage we deal.
• Arcane Surge Support - By spending a certain amount of Mana, we get the Arcane Surge buff. This buff grants Cast Speed, Mana Regeneration and more Spell Damage.

Auras

Wrath

• Wrath - Our primary Aura which grants more Spell Lightning Damage.
• Eternal Blessing Support - We use Blessing Support to reserve no Mana for our Aura but therefore, we cannot use any other Aura while Wrath is active.
• Empower Support - Since our Wrath is free of Mana reservation, thanks to Eternal Blessing Support, we can raise the Mana multipliers without worrying about reservation.
• Enhance Support - Gives Quality to our main Skill gem, increasing the Aura Effect.

Utility

Arcane Cloak

• Arcane Cloak - Once active, provides us with an Absorb Shield as well as a Damage buff.
• Arcane Surge Support - By spending a certain amount of Mana, we get the Arcane Surge buff. This buff grants Cast Speed, Mana Regeneration and more Spell Damage.
• Increased Duration Support - Increases the duration of Arcane Cloak,
• Enhance Support - Gives Quality to Arcane Cloak, increasing the Skill Effect Duration.

Lightning Warp

• Lightning Warp - Castable mobility skill which has a built-in delay.
• Less Duration Support - Reduces the Duration of Lightning Warp, making us teleport quicker.
• Brutality Support - This support gem removes the damage of our Lightning Warp - use it while farming a boss rushing strategy to not spawn Altars before the Map Boss dies.
• Swift Affliction Support - Similar to Less Duration Support, reduces the duration of Lightning Warp to teleport quicker.

Sigil of Power

• Sigil of Power - Gain Stages by spending Mana within its radius. The Sigil grants us Lightning Damage and reduces the damage of enemies within.
• Vaal Righteous Fire - We use this to gain a massive burst damage boost by sacrificing 60% of our Life on use.
• Awakened Increased Area of Effect Support - Increases the radius of Sigil of Power and Vaal Righteous Fire.

Storm Brand

• Storm Brand - Our secondary Brand to grant Power Charges and Culling Strike, mainly used with the Vaal Arc setup.
• Power Charge On Critical Support - Provides us with Power Charges, increasing the proc rate of Elemental Overload.
• Culling Strike Support - This support gem executes enemies that have 10% of their maximum Life or less on hit.

Passive Tree Progression

Jewel Locations

Certain Jewels require specific placement on the passive tree, you can find these locations below.

Large Cluster Jewel 1

The Jewel Socket on the edge of the passive tree near Elemental Overload should only be allocated after you have acquired the Large Cluster Jewel jewel to socket within it.

Large Cluster Jewel 2

The Jewel Socket on the edge of the passive tree near Point Blank should only be allocated after you have acquired the Large Cluster Jewel jewel to socket within it.

Lethal Pride

The Jewel Socket on the top of the passive tree near Instability should only be allocated after you have acquired the Lethal Pride jewel to socket within it.

Thread of Hope

The Jewel Socket on the left of the passive tree near The Agnostic should only be allocated after you have acquired the Thread of Hope jewel to socket within it.

Unnatural Instinct

The Jewel Socket in the middle of the passive tree near Iron Will should only be allocated after you have acquired the Unnatural Instinct jewel to socket within it.

Tattoos

Passive Skill Tree Tattoos redefine character building in Path of Exile! They excel at covering for a build's weaknesses by converting unneeded Attributes into Resistances, damage, and quality of life. Choosing the ideal Tattoos for your build often comes down to your specific gearing choices, to learn more about optimizing Passive Skill Tree Tattoos check out our full guide here.