Path of Exile 2: How Do Herald Of Ice And Thunder Work Together

Mastering the Double Herald Setup in Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2's Double Herald setup combines Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder for devastating area-of-effect damage. This guide explains how to implement and optimize this powerful technique.

Implementing the Double Herald Setup

This strategy requires four key elements:

1. A Herald of Ice Skill Gem socketed with a Lightning Infusion Support Gem.
2. A Herald of Thunder Skill Gem socketed with a Cold Infusion Support Gem (Glaciation is highly recommended).
3. 60 Spirit.
4. A method for inflicting Cold damage.

Remember to activate both Herald skills via right-click in your skill menu.

Effective Cold damage sources for initiating the chain reaction include:

• Monk's Ice Strike (highly effective).
• Passive skills boosting Freeze buildup.
• Weapons/gloves with flat cold damage.
• Against the Darkness Time-Lost Diamond Jewel (+Cold damage%).

How the Heralds Interact

The synergy relies on the Heralds' unique properties:

• Herald of Ice: Triggers on shattering frozen enemies, creating an AoE cold explosion. Crucially, its cold damage cannot freeze, preventing self-perpetuating chains.
• Herald of Thunder: Triggers on killing shocked enemies, unleashing damaging lightning bolts. Similarly, it cannot inflict shock independently.

The key is the damage conversion: Lightning Infusion on Herald of Ice converts some damage to lightning (which can shock), and Cold Infusion on Herald of Thunder converts some damage to cold (which can freeze). This allows them to trigger each other.

Ideally, this creates a continuous chain reaction. In practice, the chain usually breaks after one or two cycles due to the need for a constant supply of enemies. Breaches are particularly effective due to their high enemy density.

To initiate: Freeze and shatter an enemy using a cold skill (like Ice Strike). This triggers Herald of Ice, shocking enemies and subsequently triggering Herald of Thunder. Prioritizing Herald of Ice is beneficial because Freeze is easier to inflict than Shock, and Herald of Thunder's lightning bolts have greater range.