One of the biggest changes within gameplay mechanics from Path of Exile 1 to Path of Exile 2 is that skill gems are no longer dependent on the sockets and links provided and a piece of gear. Let’s dive in for a closer look at this new skill gems system and talk about its effect on the game.
Path of Exile 2 Gems Sockets
In Path of Exile 2, the gem itself will hold the sockets and links connected to it, as opposed to having the sockets on the items as it was in the original Path of Exile. For example, a skill gem such as lightning arrow will have its own sockets and links where you can socket additional support gems along with it.
Aura gems (e.g. Discipline) or Trigger gems (e.g. Cast on crit) are now called meta gems and they also have sockets linked to them which you can insert additional linking skill gems to them.
Is Path of Exile 2 new gem sockets system good?
It is clear that the overhaul of the gem sockets system was aimed to deliver a number of quality-of-life (QOL) improvements to the game. In spite of that, will these changes actually benefit the game? Let us look at the main implications of the new gem sockets system to further analyze them.
Gems sockets are no longer part of an item
In the original Path of Exile, gems sockets are part of an equipment, namely the weapon, offhand (or shield), helmets, body armour, boots and jewelry (rings, amulet and belt). Essentially any piece of gear can have a number of sockets ranging from 1 to 6 with a specific color for each socket and the link between each socket which also goes up to a maximum of 6. These sockets are where you can put your skill gems on and be able to use your skills.
This means that, in Path of Exile, the number of sockets, their colors and links are a characteristic or a modifier that adds to the depth of the customization of any item. The idea is that an item with more sockets and more links is generally more desirable.
In essence, sockets were a layer of depth and customization to many items in Path of Exile. However, in Path of Exile 2, gems are no longer socketed directly into the item, instead, skill gems themselves have the sockets. Thus, by removing this sockets-and-items relationship, this layer of depth to the game is also removed.
At this point, It is still not clear whether the gear will still dictate the number of sockets or whether you can modifier these sockets with jeweler orbs or chromatic robs as was the case in Path of Exile 1. Nonetheless, we are of the opinion that this change in gem sockets for Path of Exile 2 somewhat “dumb down” the diverse customization that is signature of POE games.
Any items can be six-linked now
Item bases are no longer bound to a set number of sockets as they were in Path of Exile anymore (e.g. 1-handed weapon and shield can only have up to 3 sockets). Any item with a gem slot can hold six-linked gem sockets along with it.
However, judging from the original Path of Exile, sockets were already redundant. Looking back at the prequel, we were given upward of 18 skill gems sockets. However, for many builds, this amount of sockets was not fully utilized or very marginally benefitted the builds. This is because even if you acquire the skills, there are typically other factors that limit their usage: mana reservation, mana cost, or more simply the fact that too many skills require button pressing from players which many players consider tiring and troublesome, especially after many hours of playtime.
Having said that, with the addition of the new resource Spirit which replaces mana reservation, perhaps this addition will alleviate the mana reservation and mana cost issue.
Multiple six-links can produce multi-primary-skills builds
As opposed to the previous game where you can only have up to 1 or 2 clusters of six-linked sockets where we would put our main damage skill in the six-linked to increase its damage as much as possible, the abundance of six links now, according to the developers, could introduce more options for multi-primary-skills type of builds.
However, there are essentially no builds that utilize more than one primary skill, and not due to a lack of another six-link. As we have mentioned, there were already 2 six links back in Path of Exile 1 with our weapons and body armours. But there are practically no multi-primary skills because it is simply better to optimize for one skill rather than 2.
There is one thing to consider, however, and that is the addition of weapon-set-specific skill points to Path of Exile 2. There should be more options for a multi-skills setup. However, this is only for a limited amount of passive skill points, not taking into account countless other customization such as armour, jewels, jewelry, etc.
Changing gears no longer requires you to adjust skill gems
Every Path of Exile player knows what it’s like to unsocket your gems from a piece of gear and re-socket them into a new one. However, in this new system, switching to a new gear is instantaneous and does not require you to manually adjust the gems anymore.
If that is the case, then this should be a positive change – is what you might conclude. However, we believe this new feature is, at the most, a minor QOL improvement. The reason is that the act of socketing and socketing gems gears was never really a problem. If anything, we can consider these tasks to be a healthy amount of “noise” added to the gameplay. “Noise” here refers to game tasks and mechanics that are relatively monotonous and vapid. However, in the context of gameplay, socketing gems was never often enough to create a negative experience thus making it a rewarding feeling to put your gems into your new gear.
Support skill gem can no longer be socketed by itself
Since skill gems hold the sockets now, a support gem cannot be inserted by itself as it has no sockets. in essence, support gems have no use on their own and are expected to be socketed into a skill gem. This makes it impossible to socket a support gem by itself. This is a good but minor improvement. It can benefit players that are completely new to the game.
Thoughts on the new gem sockets system
At first glance, it seems that the developers have streamlined that gem sockets system and eliminated certain annoying aspects of it. The truth is, however, we are not convinced this is a good change to the game as it will remove certain layers of customization to the game as well as streamline aspects of the game in a way that can be described as “fixing something that is not broken” and merely creating a new and different way to previous game mechanics to “spice things up” for a new title.
With that said, we are neither complaining nor being ungrateful. Ultimately, we regard these changes as minor improvements. Thus we remain hopeful and positive for the future of Path of Exile 2 with even better and cooler additions to the game.
