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

Mastering the Double Herald Setup in Path of Exile 2: A Comprehensive Guide

Path of Exile 2 introduces the powerful Double Herald strategy, combining Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder for devastating area-of-effect damage. This guide details how to implement and understand this technique.

Setting Up the Double Herald (Herald of Ice + Herald of Thunder)

This setup requires four key elements:

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

Remember to activate both Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder in your skill menu.

Effective ways to initially trigger Herald of Ice include:

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

How Herald of Ice and Thunder Synergize

The synergy lies in the interplay of Freeze and Shock:

• Herald of Ice triggers on Shattered enemies (frozen then hit). Crucially, Herald of Ice's cold damage cannot Freeze, preventing self-sustaining chains.
• Herald of Thunder triggers on killing Shocked enemies. Similarly, Herald of Thunder cannot inflict Shock directly.

Lightning Infusion converts a portion of Herald of Ice's damage to Lightning, enabling Shock. Cold Infusion similarly converts a portion of Herald of Thunder's damage to Cold, enabling Freeze. This allows one Herald to trigger the other in a chain reaction.

While theoretically infinite, the chain reaction practically lasts for one or two cycles due to the need for a continuous supply of enemies. Breaches are ideal due to their high enemy density.

Initiate the chain by first triggering Herald of Ice via Freeze and shattering, creating a cold explosion that also Shocks. Prioritizing Herald of Ice is preferable because Freeze is easier to inflict than Shock, and Herald of Thunder's lightning bolts have better range.