Gem tag

For a list of active skill gems ordered by gem tags, see List of active skill gems by gem tag.

For a list of support skill gems ordered by gem tags, see List of support skill gems by gem tag.

All Skill gems have gem tags (also called keywords) listed in the first line of the mouseover description. In addition to dividing the skills into groups, gem tags largely determine which support gems and modifiers can modify a certain skill. The relationship is not strict, however.

Support Skill Keywords

While you can technically link any support gem to any skill gem, some combinations will have no effect. If a support gem contains one of the following keywords, the skill must have the keyword as well to be affected. Note that any skill with the Bow keyword counts as having Projectile.

Just "Support": Elemental Focus

For example, Freezing Pulse and Ethereal Knives get no benefit from being linked to Point Blank: although they are Projectiles, they are not Attacks.

Overview of gem tags

Category	Mainpage	Description
AoE	Area of effect	Skills that have some Area of Effect portion to them. Note that some skills with the AoE may not be affected by Area Damage but only benefit from increases and reductions to the radius.
Attack	Attack Damage	Skills that use a weapon.
aura	Aura	Skills that grant or modify Auras. An aura is a permanent effect focused on your character that also affects nearby party members and minions. Most auras reserve a portion of your mana pool with the exception of reserves a flat amount.
Bow	Bow	These skills require a bow to be used. They implicitly have the Projectile gem tag.
Cast	Cast	Skills marked with the Cast keyword deal secondary damage. Cast gems are not spells, and are therefore not affected by modifiers that would normally only modify spells.
Chaining	Chaining	Skills that have the ability to chain. support skill gems with the Chaining can also be linked to active skill gems with the Projectile tag
Chaos	Chaos Damage	Chaos is one of the five damage types
Cold	Cold Damage	Cold is one of the five damage types
Curse	Curse	These skills weaken enemies to make them less dangerous or easier to kill.
Duration		Certain skills have an effect over time or activate after the duration. In some cases, such as curses, reusing the skill will reset the timer.
Fire	Fire Damage	Fire is one of the five damage types
Golem	Golem	Golems are a type of minion that provides a direct Buff to the person who summoned them, but not to anyone else.
Lightning	Lightning Damage	Lightning is one of the five damage types
Melee	Melee	Some melee skills require certain weapons; see Melee Skills. These skills all deal melee damage.
Mine	Mines	Mines can be placed down have to be remotely detonated or triggered with . Using it is possible to turn any active skill gem into a Mine and benefiting from any other support gems with the Mine tag
Minon	minion damage.	These skills let characters raise minions to fight enemies
Movement		Skills that move the character.
Projectile	Projectile Damage	Skills that emit projectiles
Spell	Spells	Skills that do not require weapons to be used
Totem	Totem	Totems are stationary summons that assist in battle. Note that many other skills can be turned into a totem with the Spell Totem or Ranged Attack Totem support gems. See totem damage.
Trap	Trap	Traps are skills that trigger when an enemy walks over it. Note that many other skills can be turned into a trap with the support gem. See trap damage.
Trigger	Trigger	Certain skills can't be activated manually, and happen automatically when specific conditions are met. Getting hit by these skills does not activate any trigger effects, like Reckoning or the energy shield recovery of Aegis AuroraAegis Aurora Champion Kite ShieldChance to Block: 32% Armour: (860-1235) Energy Shield: (176-250) Movement Speed: -3%Requires Level 62, 85 Str, 85 Int(300-400)% increased Armour and Energy Shield +10% to all Elemental Resistances +5% to maximum Cold Resistance +6% Chance to Block Recover Energy Shield equal to 2% of Armour when you Block (10-20)% increased Elemental Damage with Attack SkillsBorn from the marriage of ice and sky, the aurora evokes both awe and power..
Vaal	Vaal skill
Warcry	Warcry	Warcries are active skills that provide situational benefits to players and are typically aligned with melee characters, because they only affect nearby enemies and allies. Warcries are not spells can therefore cannot be supported by support gems that specifically link with spells, such as Cast when Damage Taken. They all share a cooldown.