Vortex

VortexSpell, AoE, Cold, Duration, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (11-20) Mana
Cooldown Time: 1.80 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cast Time: Instant
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 270%Requires Level 28An icy blast explodes around the caster, dealing cold damage to enemies, and leaving behind a whirling vortex which deals cold damage over time and chills enemies caught in it. If the caster targets near their Frostbolt projectiles, it will explode from a number of those projectiles instead, destroying them.Deals (41-1209) to (62-1813) Cold Damage
Base duration is 3 seconds
Deals (116-2317.2) Base Cold Damage per second
Can explode from up to 5 Frostbolt Projectiles
20% less Area of Effect when Cast on Frostbolt
Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
(0-76)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
0.5% increased Area of Effect1% increased Cold Damage1% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
1% less Skill Effect Duration2% increased Damage when Cast on FrostboltPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Acquisition
Drop level: 28Vendor Offer
1x Scroll FragmentMetadata
Item class: Skill Gem
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemFrostBoltNova

Vortex is a cold spell that deals damage in an area around the character and leaves a ground effect that chills and deals heavy cold damage over time. If the player has any active FrostboltFrostboltSpell, Projectile, Cold
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (6-25) Mana
Cast Time: 0.75 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 360%
Projectile Speed: 375Fires a slow-moving projectile that pierces through enemies, dealing cold damage.Deals (9-1594) to (13-2392) Cold Damage
Projectiles Pierce all Targets

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(1-20)% increased Cold DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. projectiles, Vortex will be cast on those projectiles instead.

Skill functions and interactions

• Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this skill's Damage Over Time Effect: Modifiers to spell damage only affect the damage over time effect of Vortex granted by the gem and do not affect other sources of damage over time which may be applied by the skill, such as poison or Decay SupportDecay SupportChaos, Support
  Icon: D
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Requires Level 38Supports any skill that hits enemies.Supported Skills inflict Decay on Hit, dealing (120-843) Chaos Damage per second for 8 seconds
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Supported Skills deal (0.5-10)% increased Chaos 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..
• FrostboltFrostboltSpell, Projectile, Cold
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (6-25) Mana
  Cast Time: 0.75 sec
  Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: 360%
  Projectile Speed: 375Fires a slow-moving projectile that pierces through enemies, dealing cold damage.Deals (9-1594) to (13-2392) Cold Damage
  Projectiles Pierce all Targets
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (1-20)% increased Cold DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.: The player may cast Frostbolt and subsequently cast Vortex on the Frostbolt projectiles. If Vortex is cast this way, it will have 20% less area of effect and it may cast on up to 5 Frostbolt projectiles, consuming them.
  • If the player has any active Frostbolt projectiles and Vortex is triggered by an effect (such as Cast On Critical Strike SupportCast On Critical Strike SupportCritical, Support, Spell, Trigger
    Icon: &
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%
    Cooldown Time: 0.15 sec
    Can Store 1 Use(s)Requires Level 38Must support both an attack skill and a spell skill to work. The attack skill will trigger a spell when it critically strikes an enemy. Cannot support totems, traps, or mines. Vaal skills, channelling skills, and skills with a reservation cannot be triggered.Supported Attacks will Trigger a Supported Spell when you Crit an Enemy
    Supported Skills deal (19-10)% less Spell Damage
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    Supported Skills have (1-20)% increased Attack Critical Strike Chance
    Supported Skills have (1-20)% increased Spell Critical Strike ChanceThis 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.), Vortex will automatically be cast on the Frostbolt projectiles.

• Overlap: If an enemy is standing on multiple Vortex ground effects, only the one with the highest damage per second will deal damage at any given moment. This is consistent with other damage over time ground effects, such as burning ground.

• Cast time: Vortex is an instant spell; it has no cast time and does not interrupt your character's other actions.

• On hit effects: Because the initial explosion counts as a hit, Vortex can be used with on hit effects such as Hextouch SupportHextouch SupportSupport, Hex, Trigger
  Icon: &
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Requires Level 38Must support both a skill that hits enemies, and a hex curse skill to work. The hex will be applied when enemies are hit by the other skill. Cannot support totems, traps, or mines. Minions cannot apply hexes this way.Supported Skills apply supported Curses on Hit
  You cannot Cast Supported Curse Spells
  35% less Effect of Supported Curses
  Supported Skills have (50-31)% reduced Curse Duration
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Supported Skills have (0.5-10)% increased Curse DurationThis 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..

Gem level progression

Level			Mana Cost	Cold Damage	Cold DPS	Cooldown Recovery	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	28	67	13	49 to 73	116	N/A	0	0
2	31	73	14	61 to 91	147.3	N/A	199345	199345
3	34	79	15	75 to 113	185.4	N/A	285815	485160
4	37	85	16	93 to 139	232.9	N/A	401344	886504
5	40	92	16	114 to 171	290.9	N/A	554379	1440883
6	42	96	17	131 to 196	336	N/A	477437	1918320
7	44	100	18	150 to 224	389	N/A	583786	2502106
8	46	104	18	171 to 256	449.2	N/A	710359	3212465
9	48	109	19	195 to 292	517.9	N/A	1355511	4567976
10	50	113	19	222 to 333	596.3	N/A	1138877	5706853
11	52	117	20	253 to 379	685.8	N/A	1368233	7075086
12	54	121	20	288 to 431	787.9	N/A	1638338	8713424
13	56	125	21	327 to 490	902.9	N/A	1956648	10670072
14	58	130	21	371 to 556	1033.8	N/A	3655184	14325256
15	60	134	22	420 to 631	1186.8	N/A	3017327	17342583
16	62	138	22	476 to 715	1356.3	N/A	7759995	25102578
17	64	142	23	539 to 809	1552.4	N/A	15138193	40240771
18	66	146	24	610 to 915	1775.3	N/A	26083825	66324596
19	68	151	24	690 to 1035	2030.9	N/A	62620247	128944843
20	70	155	25	779 to 1169	2316.1	N/A	211708088	340652931
21	72	159	25	880 to 1320	2642.5	N/A	N/A	N/A
22	74	N/A	26	993 to 1489	3012.8	N/A	N/A	N/A
23	76	N/A	26	1120 to 1679	3428.8	N/A	N/A	N/A
24	78	N/A	27	1262 to 1893	3899.8	N/A	N/A	N/A
25	80	N/A	27	1422 to 2132	4447.6	N/A	N/A	N/A
26	82	N/A	28	1601 to 2401	5052.3	N/A	N/A	N/A
27	84	N/A	28	1802 to 2702	5755	N/A	N/A	N/A
28	86	N/A	29	2027 to 3040	6551.4	N/A	N/A	N/A
29	88	N/A	30	2279 to 3418	7414.2	N/A	N/A	N/A
30	90	N/A	30	2561 to 3842	8431.2	N/A	N/A	N/A
31	91	N/A	30	2715 to 4073	8984.4	N/A	N/A	N/A
32	92	N/A	31	2878 to 4317	9572.6	N/A	N/A	N/A
33	93	N/A	31	3050 to 4575	10198.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
34	94	N/A	31	3232 to 4848	10863.1	N/A	N/A	N/A
35	95	N/A	31	3425 to 5137	11570.2	N/A	N/A	N/A
36	96	N/A	32	3629 to 5443	12321.8	N/A	N/A	N/A
37	97	N/A	32	3844 to 5766	13120.7	N/A	N/A	N/A
38	98	N/A	32	4072 to 6108	13969.8	N/A	N/A	N/A
39	99	N/A	33	4313 to 6470	14872.2	N/A	N/A	N/A
40	100	N/A	33	4569 to 6853	15815.4	N/A	N/A	N/A

Item acquisition

Vortex can drop anywhere.

Recipes

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

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 ↓
A Fixture of Fate Act 3 Siosa	✓
Sever the Right Hand Act 3 Clarissa	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓
Fallen from Grace Act 6 Lilly Roth	✓

Other sources

Vortex

Debuff

The skill is also used by several monster. The UI would display a status icon to show the player character is affected by the skill.

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect 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 Vortex AoE On Frostbolt 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Vortex has 30% increased Area of Effect when Cast on Frostbolt	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex AoE On Frostbolt 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Vortex has 45% increased Area of Effect when Cast on Frostbolt	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Cooldown Recovery 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Vortex has 20% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Cooldown Recovery 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Vortex has 30% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Damage 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	25% increased Vortex Damage	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Damage 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	40% increased Vortex Damage	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Duration 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	20% increased Vortex Duration	helmet 75
Enchantment Vortex Duration 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	30% increased Vortex Duration	helmet 75
EnchantmentVortexRadius1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	16% increased Vortex Area of Effect	helmet 0
EnchantmentVortexRadius2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	24% increased Vortex Area of Effect	helmet 0
WeaponTreeSkillVortexFrostbolt	1	N/A	+15% to Vortex Critical Strike Chance when Cast on Frostbolt	two_hand_weapon 0 caster_unique_weapon 1000 attack_staff 0 attack_dagger 0 weapon_can_roll_minion_modifiers 0 wand 1000 staff 1000 dagger 1000 sceptre 1000 shield 500
WeaponTreeSkillVortexFrostbolt2H	1	N/A	+25% to Vortex Critical Strike Chance when Cast on Frostbolt	one_hand_weapon 0 caster_unique_weapon 1000 attack_staff 0 attack_dagger 0 weapon_can_roll_minion_modifiers 0 wand 1000 staff 1000 dagger 1000 sceptre 1000

Alternate skill effects

Vortex has the following alternate skill effects:

Item	Effect(s)
Black Hole Vortex EffectBlack Hole Vortex EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Vortex becomes a stationary black hole.	Your Vortex becomes a stationary black hole.
Ghastly Vortex Skill EffectGhastly Vortex Skill EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Vortex becomes a ghastly effect.	Your Vortex becomes a ghastly effect.
Myrmidon Vortex EffectMyrmidon Vortex EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Vortex becomes a Myrmidon Effect.	Your Vortex becomes a Myrmidon Effect.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.17.0	Vortex now deals 41 to 62 Cold Damage at gem level 1 (previously 42 to 63), up to 1209 to 1813 at gem level 20 (previously 833 to 1250). Now deals 116.1 Base Cold Damage per second at gem level 1 (previously 116.2), up to 2317.2 at gem level 20 (previously 2315.1).
3.16.0	Now deals 42 to 63 Cold Damage at gem level 1 (previously 38 to 57), up to 833 to 1250 at gem level 20 (previously 524 to 787). It now deals 116.2 Base Cold Damage per second at gem level 1 (previously 106.5), up to 2315.1 at gem level 20 (previously 1456.9). It now has a Critical Strike Chance of 6% (previously 6.5%), and 180% Effectiveness of Added Damage at all gem levels (previously 100%).
3.6.4	Improved the graphical performance.
3.6.2	Vortex can no longer be supported by Intensify SupportIntensify SupportAoE, Spell, Support Icon: T Level: (1-20) Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 140%Requires Level 31Supports spell skills that you cast yourself. Cannot support triggered skills, Vaal skills, instant skills, channelling skills, skills with a reservation or which create minions, or skills used by totems, traps, or mines.Supported Skills have (30-49)% increased Area of Effect Supported Spells lose 1 Intensity every 0.25 seconds while moving, or immediately if you teleport Supported Spells gain Intensity when you Cast them, to a maximum of 3 Supported Skills deal (10-14)% more Area Damage with Hits per Intensity Supported Skills have 15% less Area of Effect per Intensity Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality: Supported Skills deal (0.5-10)% increased Area 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..
3.6.0	Mana Cost at gem level 20 is now 20 (was 21) Now deals 38 to 57 Cold damage at gem level 1 (from 42 to 63) and 524 to 787 Cold damage at gem level 20 (from 538 to 808). Now deals 106.5 base Cold damage per second at gem level 1 (from 116.1) and 1456.9 base Cold damage per second at gem level 20 (from 1495.6).
3.5.0	Now instant, with a 1.8 second cooldown. Can now detonate from up to 5 Frostbolt projectiles at once. Gains increased cooldown recovery speed as the gem levels up. Deals 42 to 63 cold damage at gem level 1 (down from 50 to 75) and 538 to 808 cold damage at gem level 20 (up from 458 to 688). Deals 116.1 base cold damage per second at gem level 1 (up from 41.6) and 1495.6 base cold damage per second at gem level 20 (up from 684.5) No longer deals 40% more damage when cast on Frostbolt. Now has 20% less Area of Effect when cast on Frostbolt.
3.0.0	Vortex now deals 40% more damage when cast on a Frostbolt.
2.3.0	Introduced to the game.