Path of Exile 2: Hand of Wisdom and Action

Path of Exile 2, the long-awaited sequel to Path of Exile, is a game that's sure to challenge even the most seasoned of players. With its rich lore, complex mechanics, and high level of difficulty, PoE2 promises to bring an even more intricate world filled with deep RPG elements. One of the notable aspects of the game that has generated a lot of buzz is the "Hand of Wisdom and Action," which has been revealed as one of the game's new skill gems. This unique skill offers a combination of offensive and defensive capabilities, making it a versatile choice for a variety of playstyles.

In this guide, we will dive deep into the mechanics of Hand of Wisdom and Action, how it fits into the overall game, the best ways to use it, and the strategies you can adopt to make the most of this powerful skill.

What is Hand of Wisdom and Action?

The "Hand of Wisdom and Action" is a new gem introduced in Path of Exile 2 that blends both offensive and defensive properties into one skill. It allows players to channel both intelligence and strength simultaneously, offering a unique way to scale damage, while also providing utility and survivability.

In its basic form, Hand of Wisdom and Action has two core components:

Wisdom: This represents the character's intellectual prowess. When activated, Wisdom contributes to scaling the player's spellcasting, critical chance, and mana regeneration. Wisdom is all about increasing your effectiveness in using magical abilities.

Action: This refers to the physical prowess of the character, enhancing their combat skills, melee attacks, and movement speed. By activating Action, players will gain increased damage with physical skills and enhance the speed and efficiency of their attacks.

The most interesting part about Hand of Wisdom and Action is how these two elements work together. When the player activates the skill, their character will temporarily benefit from both Wisdom and Action simultaneously, increasing their damage potential and providing enhanced defensive layers. However, it's not just a toggle ability - the skill requires a certain balance between the two, making it both a strategic and dynamic choice for players.

How Does Hand of Wisdom and Action Work?

The Hand of Wisdom and Action skill gem operates in a unique way compared to other skill gems in Path of Exile. Once linked to your character, it functions as an active skill, where you need to manage two distinct resources or buffs that tie into your character's attributes.

Channeling the Skill: To activate Hand of Wisdom and Action, you need to channel it. While channeling, the player will gradually build up a "Wisdom" and "Action" meter. This meter fills over time and can be modified with certain support gems or passive skill tree nodes. Once the meter is fully charged, you will gain a temporary boost to both spellcasting and physical damage, increasing your effectiveness across a wide range of scenarios.

Balancing Wisdom and Action: The effectiveness of the skill is governed by the balance between the two. The more Wisdom you have, the more your spellcasting abilities and mana regeneration improve. The more Action you have, the stronger your physical attacks become, and your movement speed and defense are also bolstered.

The key to maximizing the potential of Hand of Wisdom and Action is ensuring that you can maintain a steady flow between Wisdom and Action, ideally keeping both at optimal levels. Players who can balance these two aspects will find the skill incredibly rewarding and powerful.

Cooldowns and Synergies: The skill also has cooldown mechanics tied to its usage. Once activated, there's a brief cooldown before you can trigger it again. During this period, players must rely on other offensive and defensive capabilities while waiting for the skill to reset. This makes timing and strategic planning an essential part of using the skill effectively.

In addition, Hand of Wisdom and Action has a number of synergies with other skills, support gems, and passive tree nodes that can enhance its performance. By stacking specific buffs, players can unlock higher damage outputs or further defensive layers, depending on their desired build.

Best Ways to Use Hand of Wisdom and Action

Given the dual nature of the Hand of Wisdom and Action skill, it's essential to plan your build around it in order to fully maximize its potential. Here are some strategies to help you use it effectively:

1. Hybrid Builds: Intelligence and Strength

The obvious choice for using Hand of Wisdom and Action is creating a hybrid build that prioritizes both Intelligence and Strength. This allows you to make the most of both components of the skill-Wisdom for spellcasting and Action for physical damage.

To do this, players will want to focus on passive skill tree nodes that enhance both Strength and Intelligence. Additionally, consider stacking items that grant both attributes or have bonuses to mana regeneration, spell power, physical damage, or movement speed.

Hybrid builds often struggle with defenses due to their lack of a clear focus, but the Hand of Wisdom and Action skill can provide a balanced approach by offering offensive capabilities from both magic and physical damage. This is perfect for players who want versatility without overcommitting to one particular playstyle.

2. Maximize Both Wisdom and Action with Support Gems

The support gems you pair with Hand of Wisdom and Action will make a huge difference in your character's effectiveness. Some support gems enhance Wisdom, others boost Action, and a few offer ways to synergize both.

For example:

Spell Echo (for Wisdom) - This gem will cause your spells to repeat, effectively doubling the magical damage and increasing your mana costs. When combined with Hand of Wisdom and Action, this can massively increase your damage output during the Wisdom phase.

Faster Attacks (for Action) - If you want to scale your physical damage and attack speed, consider linking Hand of Wisdom and Action with Faster Attacks. This will give you increased action speed, letting you move and deal physical damage faster during the Action phase.

Damage on Full Life - Since the skill has both physical and magical damage, a support like Damage on Full Life can be incredibly beneficial when you're at max health. This synergy works well if you're maintaining high survivability and need a damage boost.

By carefully choosing the right support gems, you can further fine-tune the balance of Wisdom and Action to suit your needs, whether you want to focus more on physical damage, spellcasting, or balancing both.

3. Consider Your Gear

Your POE 2 gear is another crucial factor in maximizing the potential of Hand of Wisdom and Action. Since the skill benefits from both Intelligence and Strength, gear that boosts both attributes will be essential. In particular, look for items with modifiers such as:

+% to Strength/Intelligence: This will directly boost your overall stats, increasing the effectiveness of the skill.

Mana Regeneration or Mana on Hit: Since Wisdom has a connection to mana regeneration, these modifiers can help you sustain longer activations of the skill.

Increased Movement Speed: Action-related boosts improve mobility, and faster movement allows you to engage and disengage more efficiently.

Physical Damage or Spell Power: Depending on which aspect of the skill you are focusing on, gear that enhances either physical or spell damage will provide a substantial damage boost.

By incorporating these stats into your gear, you'll be able to increase both the offensive and defensive aspects of Hand of Wisdom and Action and create a more powerful build overall.

4. Survivability Focus

Since Hand of Wisdom and Action offers both offensive and defensive benefits, the skill can help improve survivability in addition to damage output. The defensive capabilities of Action give you enhanced movement speed and increased physical defense, making it easier to dodge enemy attacks and mitigate damage.

However, don't forget to invest in other defensive layers such as:

Elemental Resistances: To protect against elemental damage.

Life Leech or Regeneration: To keep your health pool topped off.

Evasion or Armor: To reduce physical damage taken.

By ensuring you have a well-rounded defensive strategy while using Hand of Wisdom and Action, you can survive even the toughest encounters without compromising your damage output.

Conclusion

Hand of Wisdom and Action in Path of Exile 2 is a powerful and flexible skill that offers both offensive and defensive benefits. Whether you're creating a hybrid build focused on Intelligence and Strength or optimizing your gear and support gems for maximum effectiveness, this skill provides plenty of options for customization and strategic planning. With its synergy between spellcasting and physical combat, it's sure to be a favorite for players who enjoy versatility and adaptability in their playstyle. POE 2 Currency can help you achieve this goal quickly.

The key to success with Hand of Wisdom and Action is finding the right balance between Wisdom and Action, and leveraging the various synergies available through your gear, skill tree, and support gems. By doing so, you'll be able to create a build that can tackle almost any challenge PoE2 throws at you.

MMOexp POE 2 Team