Energy | PoE2 Mechanic · WikiHere PoE2

What Energy does

Current rules

Activate the Meta skill, satisfy the event written on that skill, and compare the Energy gained with its maximum or the Energy required by its socketed skills. Automatic trigger Meta skills fire all eligible socketed skills when full and then lose their Energy. Invocation skills store Energy until you use the Invocation, and can invoke their socketed skills more than once when enough Energy is stored.

One counter per Meta skill: Every Energy-generating Meta skill has its own Energy count. Separate copies build and spend Energy independently, even when they use the same gem and socketed skills.
The skill defines Energy gain: There is no universal event for gaining Energy. Cast on Critical uses Critical Hits, Cast on Block uses Blocks, Cast on Minion Death uses Persistent Minion deaths, and each Invocation names its own event.
Monster Power and event strength: Many offensive triggers multiply their gain by the affected enemy's Monster Power. Some also scale the event by its strength, such as the percentage of Ailment Threshold represented by a Critical Hit or Ignite. A boss contributes more per qualifying event, while a pack supplies more separate targets and events.
Use time sets Energy requirements: Where a trigger calculates maximum Energy or consumption from a socketed skill's use time, it uses that skill's base attack or cast time. Modifiers to Total use time are treated as double their stated value for this calculation.
Multiple socketed skills combine: When several skills are socketed in one automatic trigger Meta skill, their Energy values combine. Reaching that combined maximum triggers all eligible socketed skills simultaneously, then the Energy counter resets. Energy above the maximum is discarded.
Triggered effects cannot feed the counter: Energy cannot be gained from the direct effects of Triggered skills. Skills socketed inside a Meta Gem also cannot gain Energy, which prevents a triggered payload from directly sustaining its own or another Meta counter.
Objects are not valid enemies: Hitting player-created or other inanimate objects such as Ice Crystals, Tempest Bell, or Vine Arrow plants cannot generate Energy for trigger skills.
Invocation spends manually: An Invocation stores Energy instead of firing as soon as it reaches a threshold. Using the Invocation spends the stored Energy to invoke socketed skills and can invoke them multiple times when the stored amount covers multiple uses, unless the Invocation says otherwise.

Energy systems and build choices

7 cases

01

Automatic trigger Meta skills

These gain Energy from their named event, trigger all eligible socketed skills on reaching maximum Energy, and then lose their Energy. The event and gain rate differ between skills.

02

Ailment trigger skills

Freeze, Shock, and Ignite triggers do not share one gain formula. Read the gem for its Power multiplier and whether the event's Ailment Threshold percentage changes the result.

03

Invocations

Barrier Invocation, Elemental Invocation, Feral Invocation, and Reaper's Invocation store Energy for a manual activation. Their generation events and eligible socketed skill types are different.

04

Energy gain supports

Boundless Energy I and II make the supported Meta skill generate Energy faster. They improve the named Meta counter rather than creating another counter.

05

Refund and capacity supports

Energy Retention can partially refund Energy spent when triggering or invoking. Energy Capacitor raises maximum Energy for Invocation skills, allowing more Energy to be stored before manual use.

06

Ritual Cadence

This keystone makes Invocations trigger spells every 2 seconds, prevents them gaining Energy while they are triggering, and makes invoked spells consume 50% less Energy.

Related: Ritual Cadence

07

The Soul Springs Eternal

This Invoker Ascendancy passive gives Meta skills 35% more Energy gain and 50% increased Reservation Efficiency. Both stats affect the Meta setup, but they solve different constraints.

Related: The Soul Springs Eternal

Limits and exceptions

7 rules

Energy is not Energy Shield. Energy drives certain Meta skills; Energy Shield is a defensive resource that usually protects Life.
Not every Meta skill generates or spends Energy. The Meta tag alone does not establish an Energy counter.
Each Meta skill and each separate copy keeps its own counter. Energy is not pooled across the character.
Automatic trigger overflow is discarded when the counter resets. More Energy from one event does not carry into the next cycle.
Triggered skills cannot generate Energy through their direct effects, and skills socketed inside a Meta Gem cannot gain Energy.
An Invocation does not automatically fire at maximum Energy unless another effect, such as Ritual Cadence, changes that behaviour.
A Channelling skill cannot be Triggered, and a skill assigned to multiple Trigger methods is disabled.

Related pages

16 connections

mechanicMeta

A Meta Gem is a Skill Gem that accepts other Skill Gems and Support Gems in its own sockets, then uses, Triggers, or otherwise applies those socketed skills according to the Meta Gem's rules.

mechanicTrigger

A Trigger causes a skill to occur immediately when its stated condition is met. A Triggered skill has no attack or cast time for that activation, usually targets the cause of the Trigger, and does not count as a skill you used.

mechanicPersistent

A Persistent skill is toggled in the Skills Panel and remains active until disabled or until its reservation or other requirement can no longer be met. Persistent Buffs, Meta skills, and Reviving Minions often reserve Spirit.

mechanicMonster Power

Monster Power is an underlying number that represents how strong and dangerous a monster is. Skills, Warcries, items, Glory generation and charge recovery can count or scale from that number.

mechanicInvocation

An Invocation is a Persistent Meta skill that stores Energy and spends it to Invoke socketed skills. Unlike an automatic trigger Meta skill, a normal Invocation waits for the player to use it after enough Energy has been gathered.

mechanicEnergy Shield

Energy Shield is a rechargeable defensive resource that normally protects Life. Damage is mitigated first, then removes Energy Shield before Life unless the damage or another effect explicitly bypasses it.

skillCast on Critical

While active, gains Energy when you Critically Hit enemies and triggers socketed Spells on reaching maximum Energy.

skillCast on Elemental Ailment

While active, gains Energy when you Freeze, Shock, or Ignite enemies, and triggers socketed spells on reaching maximum Energy.

skillCast on Block

While active, gains Energy when you Block and triggers socketed Spells on reaching maximum Energy.

skillCast on Minion Death

While active, gains Energy when one of your Persistent Minions is Killed, and triggers socketed Spells upon reaching maximum Energy. Very underlevelled Minions will incur an Energy generation penalty. Cannot socket Spells which create Minions.

skillElemental Invocation

While active, gains Energy when you Freeze, Shock or Ignite an enemy. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.

skillBarrier Invocation

While active, gains Energy when your Energy Shield is damaged by Enemy Hits. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.

skillFeral Invocation

While active, gains Energy when you spend Mana. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to create visages which attack once with a socketed Shapeshifting Attack, creating multiple visages if it has enough Energy.

skillReaper's Invocation

While active, gains Energy when you kill an enemy with a Melee Attack. Using the Invocation once sufficient Energy is gathered will consume the Energy to trigger socketed Spells, and can trigger them multiple times if it has enough Energy.