One of the most anticipated features in Path of Exile 2 is its completely overhauled skill gem system. While the original Path of Exile’s skill-gem-and-support system was rightly praised for its flexibility, over the years it grew increasingly convoluted and sometimes restrictive. Path of Exile 2 reimagines this core system to deliver greater clarity, improved usability, and a whole new layer of strategic depth for build creators.

The new system moves away from the old “support socket in gear” paradigm and instead places all skill and support links directly into the skill gem itself. In the first game, players needed to constantly chase high-link items—usually 5- or 6-link body armours or weapons—to enable their main skill to use multiple supports. This made gearing overly deterministic at times: you had to get the right number of links to truly “finish” a build, which created frustration, high costs, and repetitive grinding.

Path of Exile 2 solves this by making each active skill gem contain its own support sockets. This means your skill gem itself can be linked with supports independently of the item it’s socketed into. If you want to use a 6-link main skill, you don’t need a 6-link item anymore—just a fully linked gem. Gear sockets still matter (they determine which skill gems you can use at once and have colour restrictions), but the pressure to find perfect links on gear is greatly reduced.

This change offers multiple benefits. First, it dramatically lowers the barrier to entry for new or casual players. You can access “full power” skill setups without needing ultra-rare 6-link drops or spending hours on fusings and crafting. Second, it frees up build creativity. Since your gear no longer dictates your main skill’s linking, you have more freedom to choose items for stats, defenses, or unique effects instead of purely for link count.

Furthermore, the new system supports more modular and flexible planning. Players can level multiple skill gems in parallel, swap them around as needed, and experiment with different support combinations much more easily. You might have a 5-link Fireball for clearing and a 4-link Flame Dash for movement in one setup, switching supports for boss fights or different encounters without re-rolling sockets on your gear every time.

It also means that future balance changes can target skill gems more surgically. Instead of the current situation—where nerfing a support gem affects every skill that uses it—the developers can tailor support interactions more closely within each gem, making it easier to encourage diverse build options and avoid dominant meta combos.

This overhaul signals Grinding Gear Games’ commitment to learning from Path of Exile’s first decade. The old system, while brilliant in concept, became a barrier to build experimentation because of how expensive and random linking was. The new approach removes that pain point while still rewarding planning and customization. It’s a shift designed to make build-crafting even more central to the game while smoothing out some of its rougher edges.

The new skill gem system in Path of Exile 2 is more than just a quality-of-life update—it’s a revolution in how players will think about, plan, and enjoy their builds. By separating power progression from gear links and putting control back in the player’s hands, poe 2 items opens the door to an even deeper, more accessible, and more satisfying ARPG experience.