Effect of Shock – PoE

PoE Maximum Effect of Shock

In Path of Exile, the maximum effect of Shock is 50%, meaning the shocked enemy will take 50% more damage from all sources. However, there are some ways to circumvent this cap, making Shock even more potent:

Standard Maximum:

  • The base Shock effect scales based on the amount of Lightning damage dealt compared to the enemy's ailment threshold.
  • No modifiers directly increase the maximum effect of Shock to surpass 50%.

Circumventing the Cap:

  • Voltaxic Rift Unique Bow: This weapon grants "+40% to maximum effect of Shock". With it, you can achieve a maximum Shock effect of 90% (capped at 100%).
  • Shock Nova Skill Support: This gem grants "+10% to maximum effect of Shock". It stacks multiplicatively with Voltaxic Rift, potentially reaching 100% maximum Shock effect.
  • Lightning Mastery: Specific nodes in this passive skill mastery provide an increased effect of Shock, which applies before the maximum cap is enforced. This effectively lowers the damage required to reach high Shock effects.

Important Notes:

  • Diminishing Returns: While exceeding the 50% cap is powerful, the benefit of each additional point of Shock effect diminishes significantly. Consider other damage multipliers for maximum efficiency.
  • Investment Cost: Acquiring Voltaxic Rift and potentially Shock Nova comes at a high cost, both financially and in terms of build choices.
  • Limited Applicability: Not all builds deal Lightning damage or can easily incorporate Voltaxic Rift and Shock Nova.

Alternatives to Pushing Maximum Shock Effect:

  • Invest in Overall Damage: Increasing your base elemental damage or critical strike chance can be more universally beneficial than focusing solely on a higher Shock effect.
  • Shock Consistency: Consider maximizing your chance to inflict Shock consistently rather than aiming for the highest possible effect.

Who might benefit from exceeding the 50% cap:

  • Lightning-Focused Builds: Characters specializing in Lightning damage can leverage Voltaxic Rift and Shock Nova for massive Shock effects.
  • Specific Boss Encounters: Bosses with high resistances might necessitate exceeding the cap to deal significant damage.

Ultimately, the decision to break the Shock effect cap depends on your build, playstyle, and the challenges you face. Weigh the cost-benefit against other damage-boosting options for the most effective approach.

I hope this information helps!

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Effect of Shock PoE 3.19 Changes

Problem: Having all sources of maximum shock effect override your maximum rather than add to it prevents investment in multiple sources of maximum shock effect, which becomes less reasonable as more sources are added. However, changing this in isolation may cause attack-focussed unique weapons with shock-related stats to become best-in-slot for the newly added shock spells, which would be an undesirable outcome.

Solution: Make sources of maximum shock effect additive with each other. Tweak shock application stats on Voltaxic Rift and Brain Rattler to only apply to shocks with weapon damage.

  • The Voltaxic Rift Unique Bow now has Hits with this Weapon Shock Enemies as though dealing 300% more Damage, instead of Shock Enemies as though dealing 300% more Damage. It also now has +40% to maximum Effect of Shock, instead of Your Shocks can increase Damage taken by up to a maximum of 100%. This change affects existing versions of the unique, unless something has gone terribly wrong.
  • The Brain Rattler Unique Mace now has Hits with this Weapon Shock Enemies as though dealing 300% more Damage, instead of Shock Enemies as though dealing 300% more Damage. Existing versions of this unique are affected by this change.
  • The Lightning Passive Skill Mastery that grants “Your Shocks can increase Damage taken by up to a maximum of 60%” has been replaced with +15% to Maximum Effect of Shock.

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