PoE Impaled

Ah, impale! It's one of the most satisfying damage mechanics in Path of Exile, letting you inflict lingering pain on your enemies with every blow. Here's the rundown:

What it does:

  • When you impale an enemy with an attack, you mark them with a debuff.
  • This debuff deals additional physical damage to the enemy each time they are hit, for a certain number of hits or duration.
  • Think of it as planting tiny spikes inside them that explode with every subsequent attack!

Mechanics:

  • By default, impale deals 10% of the original hit's physical damage per hit, and lasts for 5 hits or 8 seconds.
  • You can have multiple impale stacks on an enemy, each dealing their own separate damage.
  • The maximum number of impale stacks depends on the duration and how many hits it will last for.
  • Impale damage is considered reflected damage, so it bypasses certain enemy defenses.

Applying impale:

  • Many skills can naturally impale enemies, like Sunder, Lacerate, and Cleave.
  • The Impale Support gem can be linked to any attack skill to add impale chance and increase its effect.
  • Certain unique items and ascendancy passives can also grant impale chance or enhance its effect.

Benefits:

  • Impale is great for dealing sustained physical damage, especially against bosses or tanky enemies.
  • It works well with skills that hit enemies multiple times, as each hit triggers the impale damage.
  • It can be a strong option for builds that lack other ways to bypass enemy defenses.

Things to keep in mind:

  • Impale damage is reflected, so it can't benefit from your own damage modifiers.
  • The hit count limit and duration can prevent you from fully utilizing impale against enemies that die quickly.
  • Some boss mechanics can cleanse or remove impale debuffs.

Overall, impale is a powerful and versatile damage mechanic that can be a great addition to many physical builds in Path of Exile. Just remember to plan your build around its strengths and limitations to unleash its full potential!

I hope this explanation gives you a good understanding of impale.

Impaled Path of Exile

Impaled Impaled: You’re impaled by a hit, and will take a portion of that reflected hit damage when you are hit again

  • impaled_debuff_unmodified_phys_damage_to_deal
 Impaled

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Impale (displayed as Impaled in the status icon) is a debuff that deals additional physical damage to the affected target each time it is hit.

Mechanics

When a hit applies impale to a target, 10% of that hit’s physical damage is recorded before any damage mitigation is applied. Impale then deals the recorded damage to that target each time it is hit after that. A hit from any source will cause impale to deal damage; it does not have to come from the character who inflicted impale.

Impale remains in effect for eight seconds or until the maximum number of hits is reached. By default, impale lasts for five hits. A target may have multiple impale effects on it at once. Each stack of impale will deal its own recorded damage to that target every time it is hit. The maximum number of impale stacks a target can have is inherently limited by how many hits the impales will last.

Damage dealt by impale is considered reflected damage. The source of the reflected damage is the impale debuff; there is no interaction with effects that pertain to damage you reflect, as seen on Crown of the Pale King.

Damage scaling

The damage that impale will deal implicitly scales with the amount of physical damage dealt by the hit that inflicts it. A higher amount of physical damage dealt up front results in a more damaging impale. The damage can be further increased by modifiers that grant x% increased Impale Effect.

Damage calculation

Note: All calculations below assume 100% impale chance to make them simple. They also assume solo gameplay. No impale damage is done on the first hit to enemies. The second hit does 10% reflected damage. The third hit does 20%. Etc. This damage is capped at the total number of impales you land per hit multiplied by 10. Therefore 5 impales is 50% and 7 is 70%. This damage is then further multiplied by increased impale effect.

Example: Champion with plus 1 max impales, level 20 impale support with 20% quality and 20% impale effect from passives.

  • Maximum impale damage begins at 7 hits. The base is 60% reflected damage.
  • All impale effect modifiers include 59% from the gem and 20% from passives = 79%.
  • Final damage is (60 x 1.79) = 107% of the damage of the hit in impale damage.
  • The slower the attack speed of the character and the less hits per attack, the longer it will take to start doing maximum impale damage per hit.

The Impaler causes impale damage to be calculated differently. Depending on the individual build this keystone may increase or decrease the impale damage.

Sources

Skill gems

Gem Level
Lancing Steel 28
Shattering Steel 12
Splitting Steel 1
Dread Banner 24

Support gems

Gem Level
Impale Support 31

Related unique items

The following unique items are related to Impale:

Item Base Item Level Stats
Lord of Steel Viridian Jewel 1 5% increased Impale Effect
Call of Steel deals Reflected Damage with (40-50)% increased Area of Effect
Call of Steel has (80-100)% increased Use Speed
Lord of Steel Viridian Jewel 1 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Call of Steel deals Reflected Damage with (40-50)% increased Area of Effect
Call of Steel causes (20-25)% increased Reflected Damage
Lord of Steel Viridian Jewel 1 Impale Damage dealt to Enemies Impaled by you Overwhelms 10% Physical Damage Reduction
Call of Steel has (80-100)% increased Use Speed
Call of Steel causes (20-25)% increased Reflected Damage
Skin of the Lords Simple Robe 1 Item has no level requirement and Energy Shield (Hidden)
Sockets cannot be modified
+2 to Level of Socketed Gems
100% increased Global Defences
You can only Socket Corrupted Gems in this item
Item has 6 Sockets and is fully linked (Hidden)

<Random Keystone>

Corrupted
Watcher’s Eye Prismatic Jewel 1 (4-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield
(4-6)% increased maximum Life
(4-6)% increased maximum Mana

<Two or Three random aura modifiers>
Great Old One’s Tentacles Eelskin Gloves 38 Adds (8-12) to (15-20) Physical Damage to Attacks
+(50-70) to maximum Life
(10-20)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
50% chance for Impales on Enemies you Kill to Reflect Damage to surrounding Enemies
Replica Heartbreaker Royal Skean 50 30% increased Global Critical Strike Chance(60-70)% increased Spell Damage
(40-80)% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge
+(30-50) to maximum Life
20% increased Impale Effect
20% chance to Impale on Spell Hit
The Hungry Loop Unset Ring 70 Has 1 SocketConsumes Socketed Uncorrupted Support Gems when they reach Maximum Level
Can Consume 4 Uncorrupted Support Gems
Has not Consumed any Gems

<Consumed support gem modifier>

Related modifiers

The following modifiers are related to Impale:

Name Generation Type Level Stats Spawn Weighting
Hunter’s Prefix 68 (13-16)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks gloves_basilisk 500
default 0
Hunter’s Prefix 80 (17-20)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks gloves_basilisk 500
default 0
Impervious Prefix 46 Monsters have a 20% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 800
Impervious Prefix 73 Monsters have a 35% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 800
Impervious Prefix 78 Monsters have a 50% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 800
of the Crusade Suffix 68 (25-29)% increased Impale Effect 2h_sword_crusader 500
2h_axe_crusader 500
2h_mace_crusader 500
bow_crusader 500
default 0
of the Crusade Suffix 71 (30-34)% increased Impale Effect 2h_sword_crusader 500
2h_axe_crusader 500
2h_mace_crusader 500
bow_crusader 500
default 0
of the Crusade Suffix 75 (35-38)% increased Impale Effect 2h_sword_crusader 500
2h_axe_crusader 500
2h_mace_crusader 500
bow_crusader 500
default 0
of the Crusade Suffix 68 (12-16)% increased Impale Effect sword_crusader 500
axe_crusader 500
claw_crusader 500
dagger_crusader 500
rune_dagger_crusader 500
mace_crusader 500
default 0
of the Crusade Suffix 71 (17-21)% increased Impale Effect sword_crusader 500
axe_crusader 500
claw_crusader 500
dagger_crusader 500
rune_dagger_crusader 500
mace_crusader 500
default 0
of the Crusade Suffix 75 (22-25)% increased Impale Effect sword_crusader 500
axe_crusader 500
claw_crusader 500
dagger_crusader 500
rune_dagger_crusader 500
mace_crusader 500
default 0
Impervious Prefix 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 35% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 mid_tier_map 800
expedition_logbook 0
primordial_map 0
default 0
Impervious Prefix 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 50% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 800
maven_map 0
expedition_logbook 0
primordial_map 0
default 0
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindDelve Delve Area 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 30% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 default 1000
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindDelve2 Delve Area 52 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 40% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 default 1000
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindDelve3 Delve Area 173 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 50% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 default 1000
Impervious Prefix 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 20% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 low_tier_map 800
expedition_logbook 0
primordial_map 0
default 0
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindSynthesis Synthesis unknown 1 Monsters have a 20% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 1000
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindSynthesis2 Synthesis unknown 68 Monsters have a 30% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 1000
MapMonstersAvoidPoisonBleedBlindSynthesis3 Synthesis unknown 79 Monsters have a 40% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding default 1000
Impervious Prefix 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 10% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 0
expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impervious Prefix 68 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 20% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 0
expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impervious Prefix 73 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 35% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 0
expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impervious Prefix 1 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
Monsters have a 50% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 0
maven_map 800
primordial_map 800
default 0
Impervious Prefix 78 10% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
4% increased Pack size
Monsters have a 50% chance to avoid Poison, Impale, and Bleeding		 top_tier_map 0
expedition_logbook 800
default 0
of Impaling Suffix 1 (5-7)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks not_str 250
default 350
Skewering Prefix 75 (3-4)% increased Impale Effect abyss_jewel_melee 300
abyss_jewel_ranged 300
abyss_jewel_caster 100
abyss_jewel_summoner 100
default 0
Lancing Prefix 86 (5-6)% increased Impale Effect abyss_jewel_melee 300
abyss_jewel_ranged 300
abyss_jewel_caster 100
abyss_jewel_summoner 100
default 0
Chosen Prefix 60 (120-139)% increased Physical Damage
(21-25)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks		 wand 500
sceptre 500
dagger 500
weapon 1000
default 0
ExpeditionRelicModifierImpaleOnHitImpaleEffect_ Prefix 1 Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
100% increased Impale Effect		 default 1000
HellscapeUpsideChanceToImpaleOnHit2 Scourge Benefit 45 (7-8)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks gloves 200
default 0
HellscapeUpsideChanceToImpaleOnHit3__ Scourge Benefit 68 (9-10)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks gloves 200
default 0
HellscapeUpsideChanceToImpaleOnHit4_ Scourge Benefit 68 (11-12)% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks gloves 200
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect1h2 Scourge Benefit 45 (7-8)% increased Impale Effect two_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect1h3 Scourge Benefit 68 (9-10)% increased Impale Effect two_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect1h4_ Scourge Benefit 68 (11-12)% increased Impale Effect two_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect2h2__ Scourge Benefit 45 (10-12)% increased Impale Effect one_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
bow 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect2h3 Scourge Benefit 68 (13-15)% increased Impale Effect one_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
bow 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideImpaleEffect2h4 Scourge Benefit 68 (16-18)% increased Impale Effect one_hand_weapon 0
sword 1000
axe 1000
claw 1000
dagger 1000
mace 1000
bow 1000
default 0
HellscapeUpsideKeystoneTheImpaler_ Scourge Benefit 68 The Impaler body_armour 10
default 0
Impaling Prefix 1 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 25% chance to Impale with Attacks		 primordial_map 0
low_tier_map 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 1 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 40% chance to Impale with Attacks		 primordial_map 0
mid_tier_map 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 1 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 60% chance to Impale with Attacks		 primordial_map 0
top_tier_map 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 1 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
Monsters have 60% chance to Impale with Attacks		 maven_map 800
primordial_map 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 1 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 15% chance to Impale with Attacks		 expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 68 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 25% chance to Impale with Attacks		 expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 73 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 40% chance to Impale with Attacks		 expedition_logbook 800
default 0
Impaling Prefix 78 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 60% chance to Impale with Attacks		 expedition_logbook 800
default 0
MapMonstersImpaleOnHitDelve Delve Area 20 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 15% chance to Impale with Attacks		 default 1000
MapMonstersImpaleOnHitDelve3 Delve Area 92 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 40% chance to Impale with Attacks		 default 1000
MapMonstersImpaleOnHitDelve4_ Delve Area 173 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 60% chance to Impale with Attacks		 default 1000
MapMonstersImpaleOnHitDelve2 Delve Area 52 16% increased Quantity of Items found in this Area
9% increased Rarity of Items found in this Area
6% increased Pack size
Monsters have 25% chance to Impale with Attacks		 default 1000
Impaling Prefix 73 Monsters have 40% chance to Impale with Attacks default 800
Impaling Prefix 68 Monsters have 25% chance to Impale with Attacks default 800
Impaling Prefix 78 Monsters have 60% chance to Impale with Attacks default 800
Impaling Prefix 46 Monsters have 15% chance to Impale with Attacks default 800
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit1 Eater of Worlds 75 5% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_6_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit3 Eater of Worlds 75 15% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_4_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit2 Eater of Worlds 75 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_5_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit5 Eater of Worlds 75 25% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_2_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit4 Eater of Worlds 75 20% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_3_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicit6 Eater of Worlds 75 30% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_1_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 700
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitUniquePresence2 Eater of Worlds 75 20% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_5_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 350
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitUniquePresence3 Eater of Worlds 75 25% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_4_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 350
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitUniquePresence4 Eater of Worlds 75 30% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_3_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 350
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitUniquePresence5 Eater of Worlds 75 35% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_2_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 350
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitUniquePresence6 Eater of Worlds 75 40% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_1_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 350
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitPinnaclePresence3 Eater of Worlds 75 35% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_4_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 140
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitPinnaclePresence4 Eater of Worlds 75 40% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_3_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 140
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitPinnaclePresence5 Eater of Worlds 75 45% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_2_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 140
default 0
AttackImpaleChanceEldritchImplicitPinnaclePresence6 Eater of Worlds 75 50% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks no_tier_1_eldritch_implicit 0
gloves 140
default 0

Related helmet enchantments

Name Level Stats
Enchantment Lancing Steel Impale Chance 1 66 Lancing Steel’s additional Projectiles have +20% chance to Impale Enemies
Enchantment Lancing Steel Impale Chance 2 75 Lancing Steel’s additional Projectiles have +30% chance to Impale Enemies

Related passives skills

Name Stats
Axe Damage and Impale Chance 14% increased Physical Damage with Axes
Axe Attacks deal 14% increased Damage with Ailments
10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Impale Chance 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Impale Chance and Physical Attack Damage 5% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
10% increased Attack Physical Damage
Impale Chance with Two Handed Weapons 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Two Handed Weapons
Impale Effect 6% increased Impale Effect
Impale Effect with Two Handed Weapons 10% increased Effect of Impales you inflict with Two Handed Weapons
Forceful Skewering 10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
10% increased Impale Effect
Impale Damage dealt to Enemies Impaled by you Overwhelms 25% Physical Damage Reduction
Harpooner 30% increased Effect of Impales you inflict with Two Handed Weapons on Non-Impaled Enemies
20% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Two Handed Weapons
50% increased Impale Duration
Harvester of Foes 30% increased Physical Damage with Axes
Axe Attacks deal 30% increased Damage with Ailments
12% increased Impale Effect
Merciless Skewering 15% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Impale Damage dealt to Enemies Impaled by you Overwhelms 15% Physical Damage Reduction
5% increased Impale Effect

Cluster Jewel passive skills

The following Cluster Jewel passives are related to Impale:

Name Stats
Readiness 30% increased Evasion Rating if you haven’t been Hit Recently
30% chance to Avoid Bleeding
30% chance to Avoid being Impaled
Deep Cuts 15% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Impales you inflict last 1 additional Hit
Rotten Claws Minions have a 12% chance to Impale on Hit with Attacks
Run Through 15% increased Physical Damage with Axes or Swords
10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Axes or Swords
10% increased Impale Effect
Axe or Sword Attacks deal 15% increased Damage with Ailments
Vicious Skewering 15% increased Effect of Impales inflicted by Hits that also inflict Bleeding
10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Attacks have 10% chance to cause Bleeding

Ascendancy passive skills

There are Ascendancy passive skills related to Impale:

Ascendancy
Class		 Name Stats
Champion Armour and Evasion, Impale Chance 15% increased Evasion Rating and Armour
10% chance to Impale Enemies on Hit with Attacks
Champion Master of Metal Impales you inflict last 1 additional Hit
If you’ve Impaled an Enemy Recently, you
and nearby Allies have +1000 to Armour
You and nearby Allies deal 6 to 12 added Physical Damage for
each Impale on Enemy

Keystone passive skills

Name Stats
The Impaler When your Hits Impale Enemies, also Impale other Enemies near them
Inflict 4 additional Impales on Enemies you Impale
For 4 seconds after you Impale Enemies, they cannot be Impaled again, and Impales cannot be Called from them

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