Invocation | PoE2 Mechanic

What Invocation does

Current rules

Activate the Invocation in the Skills Panel, satisfy its listed Energy condition, place the Invocation action on the skill bar, and use it when enough Energy is stored. The Invocation spends Energy to Invoke eligible socketed skills. If the stored amount covers several uses, it can invoke them multiple times unless its wording says otherwise.

Persistent Meta skill: An Invocation must be active before it can gather Energy. It is both a Persistent skill and a Meta skill, so activation, any listed Spirit Reservation, and the eligibility of socketed skills all belong to that Invocation setup.
Energy is stored: Reaching enough Energy does not make a normal Invocation fire automatically. The Energy stays on that Invocation until the player uses it or another effect explicitly changes the release behaviour.
Each Invocation has its own condition: Spellslinger gains Energy from casting Spells, Barrier Invocation from Energy Shield lost to enemy Hits, Elemental Invocation from elemental ailments, Reaper's Invocation from melee kills, and Feral Invocation from Mana spent.
Stored Energy can fund repeats: Using an Invocation spends Energy according to the socketed skill. When enough Energy is available for several uses, the Invocation can invoke that skill several times unless the Invocation or socketed skill states another rule.
Use time affects consumption: Where Energy consumption is based on a socketed skill's use time, base attack or cast time is used. Modifiers to Total use time count as double their stated value in the Energy calculation.
Invocation trigger cooldown: Invocation skills have a 0.2 second cooldown between their skill triggers. This cadence limits how quickly a stored batch of invoked skills is released.
Invoked usually means Triggered: An Invoked skill is normally a skill Triggered by an Invocation. Trigger rules therefore apply, including the exclusion for Channelling skills and the rule that one skill cannot be assigned to multiple Trigger methods.
Feral Invocation is an exception: Feral Invocation creates visages that each attack once with a socketed Shapeshifting Attack. Those attacks are explicitly not Triggered, so do not apply Trigger-only modifiers or restrictions to them merely because the parent skill is an Invocation.
Ritual Cadence changes release: Ritual Cadence makes Invocation skills trigger Spells every 2 seconds instead of releasing them through the normal manual pattern. They cannot gain Energy while triggering, and Invoked Spells consume 50% less Energy.

Invocation skills and scaling

8 cases

01

Spellslinger

Gains Energy when you cast Spells, then invokes socketed Spells. Its Energy gain scales from the base cast time of the Spells you cast.

Related: Spellslinger, Spell

02

Barrier Invocation

Gains Energy when enemy Hits damage your Energy Shield. It links defensive Energy Shield loss to a manually released group of socketed Spells.

03

Elemental Invocation

Gains Energy from Freezing, Shocking, or Igniting enemies. Each ailment has its own gain rule, including Monster Power and event-strength scaling where stated.

04

Reaper's Invocation

Gains Energy from enemies killed with Melee Attacks and invokes socketed Spells. The killed enemy's Monster Power scales the gain.

Related: Reaper's Invocation, Melee, Power

05

Feral Invocation

Gains Energy from Mana spent and creates one or more visages that attack with a socketed Shapeshifting Attack. The visage attacks are not Triggered.

06

Energy supports

Energy Capacitor raises maximum Energy for an Invocation. Energy Retention can partially refund Energy spent when invoking, while Boundless Energy increases generation speed.

07

Invocation passive cluster

Invocation passives can scale maximum Energy, Energy consumption, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Damage Bonus, or damage for Invocated skills. Read whether a passive names all Invocated skills or only Invocated Spells.

08

Ritual Cadence

Converts the normal stored manual release into periodic Spell triggering every 2 seconds, pauses Energy gain during those triggers, and halves the Energy consumed by Invoked Spells.

Related: Ritual Cadence

Limits and exceptions

7 rules

A full Energy bar does not automatically fire a normal Invocation. Use the Invocation action unless another effect changes the release rule.
Energy is tracked separately for each Invocation and is not pooled with other Meta skills.
The Invocation's listed generation event matters. Casting, blocking, losing Energy Shield, inflicting an ailment, killing, and spending Mana are not interchangeable events.
Socketed skill use time can change Energy consumption, so a slower skill can reduce the number of uses available from the same stored total.
Invoked skills are normally Triggered, but Feral Invocation's visage attacks are explicitly not Triggered.
Ritual Cadence applies to Invoked Spells. Do not assume its Spell wording changes Feral Invocation's Shapeshifting Attacks.
Invocation does not override every socket restriction, cost, cooldown, or targeting rule. Check the Invocation and the socketed skill together.

Related pages

11 connections

mechanicEnergy

Energy is a resource generated and spent by certain Meta skills. Each Energy-generating skill keeps its own counter, separate from other Meta skills and completely separate from Energy Shield.

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.

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.

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.

skillSpellslinger

While active, gains Energy when you cast Spells. 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.

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.

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.

supportEnergy Capacitor

Supports Invocation Skills which Trigger other Skills. Supported Skills have significantly higher Maximum Energy.

supportEnergy Retention

Supports Meta Skills. Supported Skills gain a chance to partially Refund a portion of Energy cost when Triggering or Invoking other Skills.

Items and gems using this mechanic

7 connections

Direct relationBarrier 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.

Direct relationElemental 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.

Direct relationFeral 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.

Direct relationReaper'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.

Direct relationSpellslinger

While active, gains Energy when you cast Spells. 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.