In Path of Exile 2, the complexity and depth of POE2 Currency the skill system allow players to craft unique builds that take advantage of numerous synergies between passive skills, active abilities, and gear. One such skill, Storm Charge, offers incredible potential for elemental damage builds by combining critical hits with increased elemental damage. Whether you gain it through the passive skill tree or infuse it into your gear, Storm Charge can significantly elevate your character's damage output.

In this guide, we will delve into how Storm Charge functions, its benefits, and the process of infusing it onto an amulet to take full advantage of its effects.

Storm Charge is a passive skill in Path of Exile 2 that provides two key effects:

20% increased critical strike chance

40% increased elemental damage if you've dealt a critical hit recently

The first effect increases your chances of landing critical strikes with attacks or spells, making your damage more consistent and reliable. The second effect grants a 40% boost to elemental damage for 4 seconds after dealing a critical hit, significantly enhancing your elemental skills during this window.

This combination of increased critical chance and elemental damage makes Storm Charge an excellent choice for builds that rely on both critical hits and elemental damage, allowing you to create powerful synergies between the two.

20% Increased Critical Chance
The 20% increased critical chance part of Storm Charge works automatically and continuously while you have the skill. It gives a flat boost to the likelihood that your attacks or spells will critically strike. This is particularly useful for builds that rely on high critical hit chance to trigger devastating effects, as the more often you crit, the more you benefit from the next part of Storm Charge: the increased elemental damage.

40% Increased Elemental Damage for 4 Seconds After a Critical Hit
The second part of Storm Charge is its 40% increased elemental damage bonus, which lasts for 4 seconds after you land a critical hit. The term “recently” refers to the 4 seconds following the critical hit, and during this period, all of your elemental damage is boosted by a substantial 40%. This includes both the elemental damage from crits and non-critical elemental damage, allowing you to fully capitalize on your elemental abilities.

For example, let’s say you use an elemental skill like Fireball, which doesn’t necessarily crit all the time. If you use a secondary attack or skill that crits often, every time you land a critical hit with that skill, the Storm Charge buff activates, boosting your Fireball or other elemental damage sources for the next 4 seconds. This synergy makes Storm Charge incredibly valuable for builds that combine critical hit mechanics with elemental damage.

The real power of Storm Charge lies in its ability to amplify elemental damage after critical hits, which can otherwise be challenging to scale. Many elemental builds, especially those relying on damage-over-time (DoT) or non-crit elemental spells, often struggle to take full advantage of critical hit-focused bonuses. Storm Charge solves this issue by allowing any critical hit—whether from a fast-hitting attack or another skill—to increase your elemental damage for the next few seconds.

By utilizing Storm Charge, you essentially open up new opportunities for hybrid builds that rely on both critical strike and elemental damage. For example:

A minion build that relies on a fast-crit weapon to trigger the Storm Charge bonus can still amplify the damage dealt by their elemental spell or curse-based skills.

A spellslinger that uses a spell like Fireball, which doesn't rely on critical hits, can still benefit from critical hits from a fast-hitting attack or another source to trigger the 40% elemental damage boost.

Storm Charge adds a layer of flexibility that can increase overall damage significantly, particularly in longer fights where critical hits can trigger the bonus repeatedly.

How to Anoint Storm Charge on an Amulet
While you can naturally acquire Storm Charge by allocating points in the passive skill tree, an alternative way to gain the skill is by infusing it onto an amulet. This method is especially useful if your passive tree is already tightly optimized and you don’t want to spend skill points on this particular passive. Infusing Storm Charge onto an amulet allows you to gain its benefits without altering your tree.

Materials Needed: Distilled Emotions
To infuse Storm Charge onto an amulet, you need three specific Distilled Emotions items. These are:

Distilled Fear

Distilled Terror

Distilled Envy

These materials can be obtained by farming Delirium enemies found in the Ultimate Delirium map, or alternatively, you can buy Distilled Mood from Alva in your Hideout and exchange it for the required Distilled Emotions.

It’s important to note that monsters in maps accessed with Infused Waystones will not drop Distilled Mood, so make sure you’re farming in the correct maps.

The Infusion Process
Once you have the necessary materials, the infusion process is relatively simple:

Obtain Distilled Emotions
Collect Distilled Fear, Distilled Terror, and Distilled Envy, or purchase Distilled Mood from Alva.

Open the Infuse Window
Right-click on any Distilled Mood in your inventory to open the infusion interface.

Insert Your Amulet
Place the amulet you want to infuse into the top slot of the window.

Add the Distilled Emotions
Place the Distilled Emotions in this exact order in the row below:

Distilled Fear in the first slot

Distilled Terror in the second slot

Distilled Envy in the third slot

Confirm Storm Charge
If the order is correct, the bottom of the window will display “Storm Charge”.

Click Infuse
Click the Infuse button to apply the Storm Charge passive to your amulet.

Equip the Amulet
Once infused, equip the amulet to activate the effects of Storm Charge. Now, you can enjoy the 20% increased critical strike chance and 40% increased elemental damage after landing critical hits.

Maximizing the Potential of Storm Charge
To maximize Storm Charge’s effectiveness, consider these tips:

Ensure Frequent Critical Hits: To fully utilize the 40% elemental damage bonus, you’ll want to consistently land critical hits. Pair Storm Charge with fast, high-crit chance skills or weapons to maintain the buff.

Combine with Elemental Scaling: The elemental damage boost from Storm Charge is incredibly potent when combined with other sources of elemental damage scaling, such as % elemental damage nodes or added elemental damage on gear.

Infuse When Passive Points Are Tight: If you need to save skill points for other important nodes in your passive tree, consider infusing Storm Charge onto an amulet. This way, you can take advantage of the skill without sacrificing passive tree progression.

Storm Charge is an incredibly versatile and powerful passive skill in Path of Exile 2, offering a significant boost to both your critical strike chance and elemental damage. Whether you choose to allocate points in the passive skill tree or infuse it onto an amulet, this skill can enhance your damage output and open up new synergies for your build.

By combining critical hits with elemental damage scaling, Storm Charge allows players to take full advantage of both mechanics, creating exciting new possibilities for hybrid builds. Mastering this skill can be a Path of Exile 2 Currency for sale game-changer in your progression through Path of Exile 2, making it an essential tool for anyone looking to dominate the toughest challenges.