Channelling skill

Channelling is a skill mechanic that effects how certain skills are used to attack or cast.

Mechanics

Using Channelled Skills

Most skills in Path of Exile are considered "Fire and Forget". Meaning that once the player uses a skill, the effect is triggered the specified number of times denoted by said skill, and upon the completion of that action being performed, the skill is finished and ready to be used again. Unlike fire and forget skills, when you use a channelled skill the effect doesn't finish until you release the relevant button/key. Your character will continue performing the same skill repeatedly.

Similar to other skills, when the player initiates a channelled skill, the mana cost is used to start the ability. While the player continues to channel a skill by holding the corresponding trigger key, the mana cost of the skill must be paid relative to the attack/cast speed of the associated skill. Having insufficient resources to continue using a channelled skill will end the channell of the skill and trigger any end of channelling effects, such as the additional hits from Blade Flurry.

Example ▾ [Expand] ▾

A player casts an unsupported level 1 Incinerate.

At the start of the cast the player must pay the mana cost of 6. If the player continues to hold the key needed to continue channelling, after .2 seconds of casting another 6 mana is spent to sustain the cost of continuing channelling the skill. This cycle of 6 mana every .2 seconds will continue in perpetuum until the key is released and channelling stops or insufficient mana is available to continue casting.

Other than insufficient mana, channelling can be halted by:

• Being subjected to a stun
• Becoming inflicted with a silence curse (if the skill used is a spell)
• Death

Triggered effects

On use triggers

Effects which trigger when you use a skill will only trigger when you initially start channelling, regardless of how long you maintain a channelled skill. As long as a player continues to channell an ability, this counts as the same single use of the skill. This makes effects such as gaining an power charge using , life regeneration for casting a spell with LifesprigLifesprig
Driftwood WandWand
Physical Damage: 5-9
Critical Strike Chance: 7.00%
Attacks per Second: 1.40(8-12)% increased Spell Damage+1 to Level of Socketed Spell Gems
(20-28)% increased Spell Damage
(5-8)% increased Cast Speed
+(15-20) to maximum Life
+(15-20) to maximum Mana
Regenerate (6-8) Life over 1 second when you Cast a SpellFrom the smallest seeds
To the tallest redwoods,
Life endures in Wraeclast. equipped, and other on use effects are limited to one event per channelling regardless of the number of times the trigger criteria is met during the same channell.

This mechanic can have limiting effects for certain supports such as , but can also be used to great advantage. Critical Strike chance is only rolled once per channelling. This means that if the first hit of a channelled skill scores a critical strike, all other hits while that skill is channelled will be critical strikes as well. The exception to this is when a hit is made a critical due to a conditional Critical Strike Chance modifier such as or the Assassin notable passives Ambush and Assassinate.

On hit triggers

Effects which trigger on hit will trigger as with any other skill in the game that produces a hit. Life gain, leech, power charge per enemy hit while wearing Voll's ProtectorVoll's Protector
Holy ChainmailArmour: (388-582)
Energy Shield: (82-122)
Movement Speed: -5%Requires Level 35, 53 Str, 53 Int(100-150)% increased Armour and Energy Shield
50% reduced maximum Mana
Gain a Power Charge for each Enemy you hit with a Critical Strike
Inner ConvictionAlthough a great leader during the war,
Voll proved disastrous in times of peace., , , and other on hit effects will all trigger as normal.

Multistrike and Spell Echo

Channelled skills cannot be supported by or because they operate in continuous fashion while they are being channeled; they do not consist of discrete attacks or casts that can be repeated.

Related skills

The skill gems below have the Channeling gem tag. Template:SMW item table/skill gems

Mock Channelled Skills

Channelled skills are relatively new to Path of Exile (implemented in Version 2.4.0), and while some older skills were intuitively restructured to abide by the new channelling rules, some other related skills were not.

This skill exhibits properties very similar to Channelled Skills, but lacks the proper mechanics and tags to be considered Channelled. As such, it cannot be supported by . Additionally this skill follows its own specific rules for attacking. For example, Cyclone cannot be supported by .

There are other skills that arguably exhibit mock channelled functions. If in doubt about whether or not a skill truly qualifies as a channelled ability, check the skill gem for the Channelling gem tag.