Path of Exile 3.26, the Secrets of the Atlas expansion, brought a lot of changes to support gems — the backbone of how we scale and tweak our skills PoE 1 Currency. These updates made it feel like there’s more room than ever to experiment with builds and push skills in new directions.
Tip: If you just want a quick overview of all the new and updated support gems in Path of Exile 3.26, check out the summary table below before diving into the full details.
The biggest highlight for me is the new Focused Channelling Support. It ramps up your damage and reduces incoming damage while you’re channeling. This feels amazing on skills like Flameblast, Incinerate, Scourge Arrow, or even Cyclone. The catch is that you need to stay locked in and channel, so it’s a bit risky in hectic fights. But if you can manage positioning, the reward in both DPS and survivability is huge — it really changes how channeling builds play.
GGG also went through and rebalanced a bunch of older gems.
1. The Exposure supports (Fire, Lightning, Cold) no longer hit you with a damage penalty; instead, they just bump up mana costs. That means you can finally lean on them without feeling like you’re gimping your own skill damage.
2. Electrocute got tweaked too — it doesn’t tank your damage anymore, but you lose the ability to shock.
3. Other gems like Lacerate and Envenom saw buffs that make bleeding and poison procs more reliable, which is great news for physical and chaos setups.
On top of that, a couple of new supports showed up.
1. Tremors Support adds extra aftershocks to certain skills, so things like Earthquake-style abilities get more frequent hits (though at slightly less damage each).
2. Bidding Support gives a boost to minion command skills, letting summoners squeeze more power out of their army.
These really help open up fresh ideas whether you’re into smashing the ground or running a horde of minions.
Awakened supports weren’t left out either. Stuff like Awakened Spell Echo and Awakened Unleash had their costs and penalties adjusted, while Decay got a buff to its damage over time. They’re small tweaks but make awakened gems feel a bit more balanced across different setups.
Crafting also ties into gems more now thanks to new currency like the Orb of Remembrance and Orb of Intention buy PoE Currency. They give you more control over influenced mods, which makes it easier to fine-tune gear around your gem setup. It feels like item crafting and gem choices are working hand in hand more than before, especially for endgame builds.
| Support Gem | Effect / Changes | Best Used With | Notes |
| Focused Channelling Support (New) | Grants more damage and less damage taken while channeling. | Flameblast, Incinerate, Scourge Arrow, Cyclone | High reward if you can stay in place; risky in hectic fights. |
| Tremors Support (New) | Adds extra aftershocks at slightly reduced damage. | Earthquake, Seismic Slam, Ground Slam | More frequent hits = smoother DPS output. |
| Bidding Support (New) | Boosts minion command skills. | Summoner builds (Skeletons, Zombies, Feeding Frenzy) | Extra power when micro-managing minions. |
| Fire/Lightning/Cold Exposure Supports (Updated) | No longer reduce skill damage; now just increase mana costs. | Any elemental builds (Fireball, Arc, Ice Spear, etc.) | Debuff enemies without hurting your own DPS. |
| Electrocute Support (Updated) | Removes damage penalty, but you lose ability to shock. | Lightning skills like Arc, Ball Lightning | Better raw damage, but weaker utility for shock-based setups. |
| Lacerate Support (Updated) | Improved bleed application and consistency. | Bleed builds (Lacerate, Reave, Split Arrow bleed) | Stronger for physical DoT archetypes. |
| Envenom Support (Updated) | Buffed poison reliability. | Poison builds (Cobra Lash, Venom Gyre, Toxic Rain) | Great for chaos/poison scaling. |
| Awakened Spell Echo Support (Adjusted) | Adjusted mana cost/penalties. | Spellcasters (Freezing Pulse, Fireball, Arc) | Easier to use in high-end setups. |
| Awakened Unleash Support (Adjusted) | Balanced charges/penalties. | Burst casters (Freezing Pulse, Ice Nova, Blade Vortex) | Smoother multi-cast mechanics. |
| Awakened Decay Support (Adjusted) | Buffed damage over time. | DoT builds (Essence Drain, Bane, Soulrend) | Stronger for chaos DoT stacking. |
