Skill Gems
Understand active gems, automation slots, tags, scaling, and crafted gem affixes.
Skill gems are equippable abilities. They are separate from gear, occupy automation slots, gain levels, and can carry their own affixes. A champion uses equipped skills automatically whenever their targeting and cooldown conditions are satisfied.
Active skills
The current skill roster covers melee attacks, ranged attacks, and spells:
- Skewer, Cleave, Heavy Strike, Shield Bash, and Blade Flurry;
- Power Shot;
- Firebolt, Frost Lance, and Arc Bolt;
- Runic Strike.
Each skill has tags such as attack, spell, melee, projectile, area, or a damage
school. These tags determine which weapon types, affixes, and Discipline effects apply.
Automation slots
A champion can equip multiple active gems. The AI evaluates the equipped skills during combat and uses available skills against valid targets. Skills do not wait for a manual key press.
Cooldown, mana cost, range, area, and targeting behavior all matter. A build with only long-cooldown skills may spend too much time making basic attacks.
Gem levels
Skill gems earn experience while used. Higher levels improve the skill’s main numbers. Equipment and affixes may also grant gem-level bonuses.
Gem level is only one axis of power. A lower-level gem with well-matched affixes can be more useful than a higher-level gem whose tags do not fit the build.
Gem affixes
Gems can roll up to two prefixes and two suffixes. Common examples include:
- increased skill or damage-school damage;
- critical chance and critical damage;
- cooldown reduction;
- increased area radius;
- extra projectiles or chains;
- ailment chance and duration;
- gem experience gain.
Signature and Mythic affixes appear only at deeper progression gates. They can change how a skill behaves, not only increase a number.
Building a useful loadout
Combine roles. A general clearing skill, a focused single-target skill, and a utility or control option give the AI better answers than several nearly identical attacks.
Always check weapon compatibility after changing equipment. An unavailable skill is an empty automation slot in practice.