Empowered Attacks | PoE2 Mechanic

What Empowered Attacks does

Current rules

First identify what is doing the empowering. Then read four parts of that source: which skills are eligible, what the empowered use gains, how many uses or how much time it covers, and what consumes or ends it. A Warcry may empower a number of later attacks, Barrage empowers the next eligible attack for repeats, Mana Tempest empowers qualifying spells while they remain affected, and a Power Charge can create an Empowered Raise Zombie with its own minion bonuses.

No inherent bonus: Empowered is a state that lets the skill receive effects written for Empowered Skills or Empowered Attacks. The state alone does not add damage, area, repeats, projectiles, or any other bonus.
The source defines eligibility: Each source states what it can empower. Infernal Cry requires subsequent Melee Attacks, Barrage requires the next Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attack, Unleash requires a Repeatable Spell without a Cooldown, and some skills explicitly cannot be empowered by Warcries.
The source defines the benefit: The granting skill supplies the actual benefit. Infernal Cry grants extra Fire damage, Barrage grants Repeats, Temper Weapon triggers Combust, and Empowered Raise Zombies gain their listed damage, movement, and damage-taken modifiers.
Counts and durations are separate: Some effects empower a stated number of future skill uses, while others use a buff duration or apply continuously under a condition. Do not apply the Warcry count or expiry rule to Barrage, Mana Tempest, Primal Bounty, Raise Zombie, or another source with different wording.
Warcry empowerment expiry: An unused count-based attack empowerment from a Warcry expires after 15 seconds. That fixed expiry is not modified by Duration or Skill Speed. A Warcry may also grant separate duration-based effects with their own timers.
Multiple effects can apply: More than one empowerment effect can apply to the same skill use when that use satisfies every source's restrictions. Each source contributes its own benefit rather than replacing the other empowerment effects.
Ancestral Boost counts as Empowered: An Ancestrally Boosted skill counts as Empowered for modifiers that require an Empowered skill or attack. The separate Ancestral Boost benefit still depends on the skill type, such as the specific Slam or Strike rules.
Scaling follows the affected use: Empowered Attack Damage and similar stats apply to the qualifying attack. They do not automatically scale the Warcry, setup skill, or unrelated triggered component that created the empowerment.

Ways to empower skills and attacks

10 cases

01

Warcries

Infernal Cry, Seismic Cry, Fortifying Cry, Ferocious Roar, and Arctic Howl empower later attacks with skill-specific effects. The Warcry determines eligible attack types and how many uses are empowered.

02

Barrage and Ice-Tipped Arrows

Barrage empowers the next eligible Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attack to Repeat. Ice-Tipped Arrows empowers a limited number of eligible attacks with Cold conversion and Ice Fragment behaviour. Their own buff durations and restrictions control the effect.

03

Temper Weapon

Each anvil strike empowers the next three Melee Attacks, up to the skill's maximum count, and those Empowered Attacks trigger Combust on Hit.

04

Ancestral Boosting

Ancestrally Boosted attacks count as Empowered, so Empowered Attack modifiers can apply. The Ancestral benefit itself remains type-specific: Slams and Strikes do not receive an identical built-in result.

05

Empowered spells

Unleash empowers one eligible Spell to Repeat, Mana Tempest empowers qualifying Mana-costing Spells while its effect applies, and Triskelion Cascade empowers the next Cascadable Spell. Each source has its own restrictions and cooldown interaction.

06

Empowered minions

Raise Zombie consumes a Power Charge instead of a Corpse to create an Empowered Zombie and two additional normal Zombies. The Empowered Zombie receives the exact bonuses listed on Raise Zombie.

Related: Raise Zombie, Power Charge, Minion

07

Primal Bounty

Primal Bounty empowers the next Projectile Skill used after the triggering Dodge Roll, adding Projectiles and Projectile Speed. Spirit Walker passives can increase the empowerment effect through additional Owl Feathers.

08

Preserving or extending counts

Tireless can prevent an attack from lowering a supported Warcry's empowerment count. Olroth's Conviction makes a supported source apply to more skill uses. These modify the granting source rather than adding a generic Empowered bonus.

Related: Tireless, Olroth's Conviction

09

Always counts as Empowered

The Empty Roar makes all Attacks count as Empowered Attacks, allowing applicable Empowered Attack modifiers to work without spending an empowerment count. Its tradeoff is that the character cannot use Warcries.

Physical Damage(61-71) to (89-99)Critical Hit Chance5%Attacks per Second1.05Weapon Range1.5RequiresLevel 22, 41 StrStrikes deal Splash DamageAdds (25-35) to (40-50) Physical DamageLeeches 10% of Physical Damage as Life(10-20)% chance to cause Bleeding on HitAll Attacks count as Empowered AttacksCannot use WarcriesSecrecy and silence are powers all their own., Warcry

10

Passive and item scaling

Empowered Attack modifiers can add increased Damage, Stun Buildup, extra elemental damage, Bleeding interactions, instant Leech, or on-kill explosions. Only the wording on the selected passive or item is granted.

Limits and exceptions

7 rules

Empowered does not mean more damage unless the granting effect or another modifier says it adds damage.
A source can empower only the skill types allowed by its wording. An ineligible skill does not spend or inherit that source's benefit.
The 15-second fixed expiry applies to count-based Warcry attack empowerment, not every Empowered Skill in the game.
Empowered Attack Damage scales the attack, not the damage of the Warcry that empowered it.
Ancestrally Boosted attacks count as Empowered, but Strikes and Slams still use different Ancestral Boost rules.
A skill that says it cannot be empowered by Warcries can still require separate checking for non-Warcry empowerment sources.
When multiple empowerment effects apply, every source must independently accept that skill use.

Related pages

19 connections

mechanicWarcry

Warcries are active skills that count the Power of nearby enemies and then apply their own damage, control, Guard, Rage, or attack empowerment effects.

skillInfernal Cry

Perform a Warcry, Empowering subsequent Melee Attacks if there are enemies nearby. Enemies in the warcry's area are destabilised and will Combust on death. This Skill's cooldown can be bypassed by expending an Endurance Charge.

skillSeismic Cry

Perform a damaging Warcry, Knocking Back nearby enemies and Heavy Stunning enemies that are Primed for Stun. If an enemy is Heavy Stunned or a currently Heavy Stunned enemy is Hit, this Skill Empowers subsequent Slams to perform an additional Aftershock. This Skill's cooldown can be bypassed by expending an Endurance Charge.

skillFortifying Cry

Perform a Warcry that grants Guard and Triggers Shield Wave when subsequent Shield Attacks deal damage. This Skill's cooldown can be bypassed by expending an Endurance Charge.

skillBarrage

Ready a volley of arrows or spears, Empowering your next Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attack to Repeat multiple times. Consumes your Frenzy Charges on use to add additional repeats.

skillIce-Tipped Arrows

Ready your active Bow or Spear, Empowering your next Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attacks to Convert Physical Damage to Cold Damage and Trigger Ice Fragments on Hit. This Skill's cooldown can be bypassed by expending a Frenzy Charge. Cannot Empower Sustained Skills.

skillTemper Weapon

Channel to temper your main hand Melee Martial Weapon. Each hit of the hammer against the anvil Empowers subsequent Attacks to Combust when Hitting enemies.

supportUnleash

Supports Repeatable Spells you cast yourself, Sealing them over time. The Seals are broken when cast, each causing the Spell to Repeat. Cannot support skills with a Cooldown or which already gain Seals.

skillMana Tempest

Create a storm of arcane energies that Empowers your Mana-costing Spells while you remain inside it. Maintaining the storm constantly drains your Mana, and spending more causes it to drain faster. The storm will dissipate when you exit it or run out of Mana.

skillTriskelion Cascade

Tap into the power of the Triskelion Flame to Empower the next Cascadable Spell you cast. The Empowered Spell becomes centred on your location, and Cascades to six areas around you in a Triskelion pattern.

skillRaise Zombie

Consume a Corpse or Power Charge to create a short-lived Zombie. Zombies created from Power Charges are Empowered and also create two additional non-empowered Zombies.

skillPrimal Bounty

Empowers the next Projectile Skill you use, causing it to create additional Projectiles and fly faster.

supportTireless

Supports Warcry Skills. Attacks Empowered by Supported Skills have a chance not to lower the Empowerment count of Supported Skills when they are used.

supportOlroth's Conviction

Supports skills that can Empower a specific number of other skills, causing them to apply to more skill uses.

unique itemThe Empty Roar

Adds (25-35) to (40-50) Physical Damage

The Empty RoarUnique | Cultist Greathammer

Physical Damage(61-71) to (89-99)Critical Hit Chance5%Attacks per Second1.05Weapon Range1.5RequiresLevel 22, 41 StrStrikes deal Splash DamageAdds (25-35) to (40-50) Physical DamageLeeches 10% of Physical Damage as Life(10-20)% chance to cause Bleeding on HitAll Attacks count as Empowered AttacksCannot use WarcriesSecrecy and silence are powers all their own.

skillResonating Shield

Repeatedly hammer your Shield with your weapon causing damaging shockwaves in an area around you. Enemies hit by the shockwave lose Armour for a duration. While Channelling Resonating Shield, your Shield is raised and you will Block all incoming Blockable hits.

mechanicPower Charge

Power Charges are Intelligence-associated charges used by spell, quarterstaff, minion, and Wyvern skills. They have no inherent critical bonus unless another effect, such as Charge Regulation, supplies one.

mechanicFrenzy Charge

Frenzy Charges are Dexterity-associated charges used heavily by bow and spear skills. They have no inherent speed or damage bonus unless a skill, passive, or item explicitly grants one.

mechanicRunic Ward

Runic Ward protects the final point of Life. When damage would reduce Life to 0, Life stops at 1 and current Runic Ward absorbs the remainder. The character still dies if the remaining damage is greater than the Ward available.