Regarding the upcoming fortify support gem and passives.

From here: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1232639/filter-account-type/staff

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Rory wrote:

We're introducing a new support gem and a new passive mechanic that grant the buff by performing melee hits, but we also wanted an active skill as the easy way to quickly add Fortify on a new character.

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Rory wrote:

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obz wrote:

Question To Rory: Does it need to be linked with you attack skill? or setup just like Vengeance, Riposte and Reckoning gem?

We'll have a support gem that can grant Fortify (Which hasn't been fully announced yet), and this probably won't work with triggered attacks. We'll be testing it to see how it feels!

Just a precaution, but should fortify require both a melee skill AND melee range? So that you can only gain the buff if the enemy is very close to you, not just because your skill says melee on it. I'm worried that melee skills that already have a long range such as ground slam and reave will be too good if they also grant Fortify. Having range on a melee skill allows you to avoid danger and act almost like a spellcaster does, so having the fortify buff on top of that might be a bit much.

There's also the aspect of actual spellcasters using a melee skill purely to gain fortify, such as reave with a spell-modded dagger or ground slam with a sceptre/staff. Perhaps Fortify should have a low base duration, but gain duration with every melee hit taken/received in order to ensure that only melee characters are maintaining the buff?

This thread is also open to discussion on the trigger gem behaviour. I personally agree that the support gem's fortify should not work with counterattack skills as it'd make vigilant strike pretty pointless. Fortify from passives however probably should as that level of investment is much higher.

Anyone else have thoughts about the new fortify mechanic?

I'm desperately hoping it doesn't work with melee projectiles such as Lightning Strike and Molten Strike.

I think something like Flicker Strike + Fortify Support Gem is going to be extremely powerful and very widely used anyway (force resync + buff).

Will Rogue Exiles have access to Fortify?

EDIT: Reave is probably going to be a special case. Even Reavers who achieve impressive aoe/range will still need to use other skills (movement, curses, etc) quite frequently and thus reset their stacks. It needs testing :P

I'm not sure how I feel about this "solution" to melee fragility.

Introducing a new "must-have" gem basically costs most melee characters an extra gem/skill slot that they now need to use for this skill. Or, if they're using the support, gimps the DPS of many melee builds. Archers/casters still don't have this problem.

But perhaps in combination with other yet-to-be-revealed mechanics or skill gems (warcies, for instance) the Fortify mechanic might be fine. I also strongly expect big buffs to the strength branch of the skill tree!

I wish a formula change for armor or something was on the docket, as this would preserve current melee builds in perma leagues.

Anybody else here feeling cheated by the groundslamming action going on? I personally would really love to see fortify not being able to support aoe skills. Would be a lot of fun if it actually only mitigated against the hit target in addition to that. I allways cringe when I see people hitting some random spawn and kiting the boss for maximum savety while minimum melee. And on that note allowing riposte to use this would give players a reason to use this over reckoning/revenge in some cases. Melee guys cannot avoid getting into the brawl and taking hits. I was under the impression that fortify was intended for melee guys. And block based characters getting this mitigation would help block builds be tanky (seemed reasonable at one point). I know that jewels can give silly amounts of block but I expect a 1-3% drop in base block in exchange for the higher block acessability anyway. (On the topic of debatable block interactions. I am still not sure if beartrap should bypass block and spellblock. My lowlife block build used to heal of the ek enough to not die but if I ever get crit by a beartrap that is goodbye.)
Never hurts to ask for something in exchange if stuff gets taken from you either way.

honestly , it is not that big of a deal. 25% is a nice bonus but all it really is .. is a method to tip an already beefy build to a better ground.


there are plenty of examples in poe's history of mandatory gems and combinations of gems cough CWDT...