Blade Vortex

Blade VortexSpell, AoE, Duration, Physical
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (6-16) Mana
Cast Time: 0.50 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 30%Requires Level 12This spell creates ethereal blades which orbit in an area around you, dealing damage every 0.6 seconds to all enemies in their radius. As more blades are added, the damage becomes greater and more frequent.Deals (3-140) to (5-211) Physical Damage
Base duration is 4.00 seconds
+(0-0.2) metres to radius
35% increased Hit Rate for each blade
35% more Damage for each blade
Can have up to 10 active spinning blades

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.25-5)% increased Hit Rate for each bladePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Acquisition
Drop level: 12Vendor Offer
1x Scroll FragmentMetadata
Item class: Skill Gem
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemBladeVortex

Blade Vortex (often referred to as BV) is a spell that creates an ethereal blade that spins around the caster that deals physical damage, each blade lasting for the minimum duration of 4 seconds.

Skill functions and interactions

Blade Blast of Unloading: When targeted by Blade Blast of UnloadingBlade Blast of UnloadingSpell, AoE, Physical, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (8-21) Mana
Cast Time: 0.65 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 250%Requires Level 16Deals spell damage in an area around you. If you have Blade Vortex blades orbiting you, it will detonate each of them in turn, dealing damage again in an area around you for each one.Deals (40-1107) to (60-1661) Physical Damage
Base radius is 1.4 metres
100% more Area of Effect per Blade Vortex blade detonated

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Base radius is (0.005-0.1) metresPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., the blades will detonate in sequence, increasing in AoE with subsequent detonations. The damage from these detonations scale solely from the Blade Blast skill.

Maximum blades: Up to 10 blade stacks can be active at a time. Each stack has its own duration.

Multiple casts: Blade Vortex can have multiple stacks, but it only has one skill effect, based on the original cast or trigger. This means effects that apply to entire casts of a skill must apply to the first cast to have an effect, and effects that only apply to additional blades will normally not affect Blade Vortex, such as less damage from Unleash SupportUnleash SupportSpell, Support
Icon: q
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 150%Requires Level 38Supports spell skills, making their effect reoccur when cast. Cannot support skills with cooldowns, triggered skills, Brand skills, Vaal skills, channelling skills, skills with a reservation, or skills used by totems, traps, or mines. Cannot modify the skills of minions.Supported Spells gain a Seal every (0.90-0.71) seconds, to a maximum of 3 Seals
Supported Spells are Unsealed when cast, and their effects Reoccur for each Seal lost
Supported Skills deal (50-41)% less Damage when Reoccurring

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Supported Skills deal (0.5-10)% increased Spell DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket. or more damage from Greater Spell Echo Support. Intensity updates on each cast, however. Stats that apply per hit instead of per cast do not snapshot.

Visual effect: Blade vortex's visual effect does not scale with Area of effect modifiers. Instead, to give a rough indication of radius, there are several versions of the knife effect, each rotating at a different radius. The skill will always try to have one knife using the largest-radius effect that's not larger than the actual radius of the skill, but that skill results in discrete visual changes where you need to reach a certain threshold before the next wider effect can be used. The full radius is always used mechanically.

Gem level progression

Level			Mana Cost	Physical Damage	Radius	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	12	33	6	3 to 5	N/A	0	0
2	15	39	6	4 to 6	N/A	15249	15249
3	19	48	7	6 to 9	N/A	41517	56766
4	23	56	8	8 to 12	N/A	81983	138749
5	27	64	9	11 to 16	N/A	147968	286717
6	31	73	9	14 to 21	N/A	250557	537274
7	35	81	10	18 to 27	N/A	405086	942360
8	38	88	11	22 to 33	+0.1m	447718	1390078
9	41	94	11	26 to 40	+0.1m	615318	2005396
10	44	100	12	32 to 48	+0.1m	834639	2840035
11	47	106	12	38 to 57	+0.1m	1570760	4410795
12	50	113	13	45 to 68	+0.1m	1633987	6044782
13	53	119	13	54 to 81	+0.1m	2151030	8195812
14	56	125	14	64 to 96	+0.1m	2812189	11008001
15	59	132	14	76 to 114	+0.2m	5099360	16107361
16	62	138	15	90 to 135	+0.2m	9400731	25508092
17	64	142	15	101 to 151	+0.2m	15273366	40781458
18	66	146	16	113 to 169	+0.2m	26286582	67068040
19	68	151	16	126 to 189	+0.2m	62890590	129958630
20	70	155	16	140 to 211	+0.2m	212046017	342004647
21	72	159	17	157 to 235	+0.2m	N/A	N/A
22	74	N/A	17	174 to 262	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
23	76	N/A	18	194 to 291	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
24	78	N/A	18	216 to 324	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
25	80	N/A	18	241 to 361	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
26	82	N/A	19	267 to 401	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
27	84	N/A	19	297 to 446	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
28	86	N/A	19	330 to 495	+0.3m	N/A	N/A
29	88	N/A	20	367 to 550	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
30	90	N/A	20	407 to 610	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
31	91	N/A	20	429 to 643	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
32	92	N/A	20	451 to 677	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
33	93	N/A	21	475 to 713	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
34	94	N/A	21	501 to 751	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
35	95	N/A	21	527 to 791	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
36	96	N/A	21	555 to 832	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
37	97	N/A	21	584 to 876	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
38	98	N/A	22	615 to 923	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
39	99	N/A	22	647 to 971	+0.4m	N/A	N/A
40	100	N/A	22	681 to 1022	+0.4m	N/A	N/A

Gem quality

Type	Additional Effects per 1-20% Quality	Weight
Superior	+(0.25-5)% increased Hit Rate for each blade	1

Calculating DPS

Blade Vortex's in-game tooltip DPS gives the average damage of one hit from one Blade Vortex instance, multiplied by casts per second. This value is misleading primarily because Blade Vortex can hit more than once over its duration, thus not cast speed must be used, but hits per second (rounds per second, spin rate), over the duration of the stacks.

Math and tables

Base spin rate of Blade Vortex is 600 ms. Blade Vortex hit more frequently with more stacks it has. As gem says: 35% increased Hit Rate for each blade. So spin time is calculated as $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}SpinTime={BaseSpinTime \over (1+SpinTimeReduction\times StacksCount)}$

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}RoundsPerSecond={1 \over SpinTime}={(1+SpinTimeReduction\times StacksCount) \over BaseSpinTime}$

Assuming spin rate increases for 35% for each stack, we have the following data:

Stacks	Hit Rate (ms)	Hits Per Second
0	600	1.667
1	444	2.250
2	353	2.833
3	293	3.417
4	250	4.000
5	218	4.583
6	194	5.167
7	174	5.750
8	158	6.333
9	145	6.917
10	133	7.500

Each stack of Blade Vortex increases hit damage with the following formula: $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}HitDamage={BaseHitDamage\times {(1+F\times StacksCount)}}$

Where ${\textstyle \color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}F}$ is per-stack damage increase factor.

Then we need just multiply hits per second with hit damage. $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}DamagePerSecondMultiplier={HitDamage\times RoundsPerSecond}$

Assuming 35% more damage per stack, then using base hit damage as 1, we would expect the following per-hit damage increases:

Stacks	Damage Per Hit	Effective DPS Multiplier
0	1.00	1.667
1	1.35	3.04
2	1.70	4.82
3	2.05	7.00
4	2.40	9.60
5	2.75	12.60
6	3.10	16.02
7	3.45	19.84
8	3.80	24.07
9	4.15	28.70
10	4.50	33.75

Finally, to obtain sustained DPS from tooltip use the following formula: $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}SustainedDPS={{DamagePerSecondMultiplier\times TooltipDPS} \over CastsPerSecond}$

or in expanded form $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}SustainedDPS={{{(1+{PerStackDamageIncreaseFactor\times StacksCount})\times (1+{SpinTimeReduction\times StacksCount})}\times TooltipDPS} \over ({CastsPerSecond\times BaseSpinTime})}$

Item acquisition

Blade Vortex can drop anywhere.

Recipes

Blade Vortex can be created from the following recipes:

Amount	Part	Description	Meta
13	The CataclysmThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem CorruptedThe mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.	Random corrupted level 21 Spell gem	A
6	The FoxThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox." - Ezomyte Proverb	Random level 20 gem	A
3	Gemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise3Gem Quality: +20%"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter	Random gem with 20% quality	A
1	Gemcutter's IncubatorGemcutter's IncubatorStack Size: 10Adds an incubated Quality Gem item to an equippable item Item drops after killing {0} monstersRight click this item then left click an item to apply it. The Incubated item drops after killing a specific number of monsters.	Random gem with 1–20% quality	A
1	The VoidThe Void1Reach into the Void and claim your prize.	Random divination card set exchange	A

Quest reward

This item is given as a quest reward for the following quests:

Class →	Witch	Shadow	Ranger	Duelist	Marauder	Templar	Scion
Quest ↓
The Siren's Cadence Act 1	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓

Vendor reward

This item can be bought at the listed NPC vendors, after completing the following quests:

Class →	Witch	Shadow	Ranger	Duelist	Marauder	Templar	Scion
Quest ↓
The Siren's Cadence Act 1 Nessa	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
A Fixture of Fate Act 3 Siosa	✓
Fallen from Grace Act 6 Lilly Roth	✓

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Blade Vortex.

Note that helmet enchantments are no longer obtainable since version 3.23.0 and can only be obtained in permanent leagues as already enchanted items from before this patch.

Name		Labyrinth	Stats	Spawn Weighting
Enchantment Blade Vortex Crit Multi Per Blade 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Blade Vortex has +2% to Critical Strike Multiplier for each blade	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Crit Multi Per Blade 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Blade Vortex has +3% to Critical Strike Multiplier for each blade	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Damage 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	25% increased Blade Vortex Spell Damage	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Damage 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	40% increased Blade Vortex Spell Damage	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Duration 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	20% increased Blade Vortex Duration	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Duration 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	30% increased Blade Vortex Duration	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Area Of Effect 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	16% increased Blade Vortex Area of Effect	helmet 75
Enchantment Blade Vortex Area Of Effect 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	24% increased Blade Vortex Area of Effect	helmet 75

Alternate skill effects

Blade Vortex has the following alternate skill effects:

Item	Effect(s)
Demonic Blade VortexDemonic Blade VortexSkill Gem EffectYour Blade Vortex becomes a black and red demonic vortex.	Your Blade Vortex becomes a black and red demonic vortex.
Illusionist Blade Vortex EffectIllusionist Blade Vortex EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Blade Vortex becomes an Illusionist Effect.	Your Blade Vortex becomes an Illusionist Effect.
Sawblade Blade VortexSawblade Blade VortexSkill Gem EffectYour Blade Vortex becomes a Sawblade Effect.	Your Blade Vortex becomes a Sawblade Effect.
Transcendence Blade Vortex EffectTranscendence Blade Vortex EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Blade Vortex becomes a Transcendence Effect.	Your Blade Vortex becomes a Transcendence Effect.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.23.0	No longer has 0-10% increased Critical Strike Chance for each blade. It now deals 3 to 5 Physical Damage at gem level 1 (unchanged), scaling up to 140 to 211 at gem level 20 (previously 128 to 191). Quality now provides +0-5% increased Hit Rate for each blade, instead of 0-10% increased Area of Effect.
3.22.1	Weapon Range displayed on Melee Weapons and other descriptions that use ranges with values now instead use metres. The reminder text for "Close Range" and the description of Presence range in the Character panel also now use metres.
3.17.0	Blade Vortex now deals 3 to 5 Physical Damage at gem level 1 (unchanged), up to 128 to 191 at gem level 20 (previously 86 to 129). Now has 30% Effectiveness of Added Damage at all gem levels (previously 20%).
3.14.0	Now has a base duration of 4 seconds (previously 5 seconds). Now has a radius of +2 at gem level 20 (previously +4). Now has added damage effectiveness of 20% (previously 25%). Now deals 86 to 129 Physical Damage at gem level 20 (previously 101 to 151).
3.10.0	Blades created by this skill can now be destroyed with Blade BlastBlade BlastSpell, AoE, Physical Level: (1-20) Cost: (6-16) Mana Cast Time: 0.50 sec Critical Strike Chance: 6.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 70%Requires Level 16Deals spell damage in a targeted area. Each time this spell deals damage, it will detonate any of your Lingering Blades it touches, dealing damage again in an area around them. Up to 50 Blades can be detonated this way.Deals (11-309) to (17-464) Physical Damage Base radius is 1.4 metres Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: Base radius is (0.005-0.1) metresPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..
3.6.0	Mana Cost at gem level 20 is now 16 (was 19). Now deals 3 to 5 Physical damage at gem level 1 (from 7 to 10) and 101 to 151 Physical damage at gem level 20 (from 123 to 185). Now has an added damage effectiveness of 25% (from 30%).
3.5.0	Added physics interactions.
3.3.0	Now has 35% increased hit rate for each blade (up from 10%). Now deals 35% more damage with hits and ailments for each blade (up from 30% for hits and 20% for ailments). Now has 10% increased critical strike chance for each blade. Now has a limit of 10 active spinning blades (down from 20).
3.0.0	Blade Vortex had its 'more spell damage' scaling modifier changed to 'more damage with hits for each blade', and separately 'more damage with ailments for each blade'.
2.6.0	Blade Vortex's radius has increased from 14 to 15 units. Blade Vortex gains 1 additional unit of radius every 5 levels. No longer gain increased area of effect radius. You can now only have one instance of Blade Vortex active at once.
2.5.1	Blade Vortex's "More Damage per Blade" modifier has been changed to apply only to spell damage instead of all damage types. This will remove a double-dipping effect that should not have been occurring.
2.5.0	Blade Vortex has been refactored. Instead of separate hits for each active blade, the blades now increase the frequency at which all enemies in the radius take damage, and the amount of damage they take. The skill now has a base hit frequency of 600ms and has 10% increased hit rate per active blade. Its damage has been reduced by 30% at all levels and it deals 30% more damage per active blade.
2.4.0	Blade Vortex now has a stack limit of 20 (down from 50). It now deals 63% more damage at level 20.
2.2.0	The frequency with which Blade Vortex's can repeatedly hit the same enemy has been halved, but its damage and damage effectiveness have been doubled.
2.1.1b	Extra Gore now doesn't trigger every time Blade Vortex hits. Fixed a bug where some of the visual effects on Blade Vortex weren't being updated when swapping in and out support gems which modified the area of effect. Fixed a bug where some of the effects of Blade Vortex weren't finishing their animations smoothly.
2.1.0	Added to the game.