Game Mechanics
Master guide to POE2's elemental and status effect mechanics
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A solid build picks a main skill and damage type, then develops supporting mechanics and defences around it.
Plan your scaling: identify your main 'more' multipliers, your conversion path (if any), and whether you scale ailments or hits. Remember only modifiers to the final damage type apply after conversion.
Plan defences early. Layer armour/evasion with block/deflection, energy shield/runic ward and recovery rather than over-investing in one layer.
Strength (+2 life each), Dexterity (+5 accuracy each) and Intelligence (+2 mana each) only give flat bonuses, so meet gem and gear requirements without expecting PoE1-style percentage scaling.
Budget Spirit for the auras, heralds and persistent minions you want to run, since it is a limited reservation resource sourced from quests, gear and passives.