Area of effect

This page is about the game mechanic. For the support gem, see Increased Area of Effect Support.

Ground Slam'sGround SlamAttack, AoE, Slam, Melee
Level: (1-20)
Cost: 6 Mana
Attack Speed: 90% of base
Attack Damage: (115-188)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (115-188)%
AoE Radius: 35Slams the ground in front of you, creating a wave that travels forward and damages enemies with an increased chance to stun. The wave deals more damage to closer enemies. Requires an Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.25% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
+(0-1) metre to radius
Deals up to (40-49)% more Damage with Hits to closer targets

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Deals up to +(1-20)% more Damage with Hits to closer targetsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. "wave" area of effect

Area of effect (often referred to as AoE) refers to mechanics (such as skills, auras, and monster abilities) that apply to an area of the ground (rather than targeting a particular character, monster, etc.).

Many AoE mechanics deal damage, but AoE mechanics can have other effects. For example, auras produce positive effects on allies within the area, while curses like Temporal ChainsTemporal ChainsSpell, AoE, Duration, Curse, Hex
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (16-33) Mana
Cast Time: 0.50 secRequires Level 24Curses all enemies in an area, lowering their action speed and making other effects on them expire more slowly.Base duration is (5.00-8.80) seconds
+(0-1) metre to radius
50% less Effect of Curse against Players
Cursed Normal and Magic Enemies have (15-29)% less Action Speed
Other effects on Cursed enemies expire 25% slower
Cursed Rare and Unique Enemies have (9-18)% less Action Speed

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(1-20)% increased Curse DurationPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. produce negative effects on enemies.

While AoE mechanics can affect multiple characters or monsters within the area, not all mechanics that can affect multiple characters or monsters are AoE mechanics. For example, Ice SpearIce SpearCritical, Spell, Projectile, Cold
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (8-23) Mana
Cast Time: 0.70 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 7.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 130%
Projectile Speed: 1000Requires Level 12Launches shards of ice in rapid succession. After travelling a short distance they change to a second form, which moves much faster and pierces through enemies.Deals (22-568) to (33-852) Cold Damage
Fires 2 Projectiles
Second form has 600% increased Critical Strike Chance
Second form has +(30-49)% to Critical Strike Multiplier
Second form has 300% more Projectile Speed

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Second form has +(2-40)% to Critical Strike MultiplierPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. targets a single monster rather than an area, so it is not an AoE skill, even though it creates piercing projectiles that can hit other nearby monsters as well.

Usage

The term "area of effect" or "AoE" is used in several different ways:

• It can describe the mechanic itself. ("Molten StrikeMolten StrikeAttack, Projectile, AoE, Melee, Strike, Fire
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 6 Mana
  Attack Damage: (110-185)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (110-185)%
  Projectile Speed: 750Infuses your melee weapon with molten energies to attack with physical and fire damage. This attack causes balls of molten magma to launch forth from the enemies you hit, divided amongst all enemies hit by the strike. These will deal area attack damage to enemies where they land.(2-75) to (3-113) Added Fire Damage
  Fires 4 Projectiles
  60% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage
  +(0.2-0.6) metres to Melee Strike Range
  Projectiles deal 50% less Damage with Hits and Ailments
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Projectiles deal (0.5-10)% more Damage with Hits and AilmentsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. is an AoE skill.")
• It can describe the area affected by the mechanic. ("VengeanceVengeanceTrigger, Attack, AoE, Physical, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cooldown Time: 1.20 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Attack Damage: (170-255)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (170-255)%Requires Level 24Chance to perform a swift counter-attack against all enemies around you when you are hit. Weapon range increases the area of this attack. Requires a Melee Weapon.(8-56) to (12-85) Added Attack Physical Damage
  30% chance to Trigger this Skill when Hit
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (1-20)% chance to Trigger this Skill when HitPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. has a circular area of effect around the character.")
• It can describe what the mechanic does to the characters or monsters within the area. ("Gruthkul's slam attack does AoE physical damage.")

Examples

The simplest examples of AoE mechanics are skills like Shock NovaShock NovaSpell, AoE, Lightning, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (12-23) Mana
Cast Time: 0.70 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 190%
AoE Radius: 26 / 14Requires Level 28Casts a ring of Lightning around you, followed by a larger Lightning nova. Each effect hits enemies caught in their area with Lightning Damage.Deals (34-537) to (101-1610) Lightning Damage
+10% to Maximum Effect of Shock
Ring always Shocks

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.5-10)% to Maximum Effect of ShockPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Ice NovaIce NovaSpell, AoE, Cold, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (8-23) Mana
Cast Time: 0.70 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 230%
AoE Radius: 30Requires Level 12A circle of ice expands from the caster.Deals (23-988) to (34-1481) Cold Damage
Base radius is (2.6-3) metres

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Base radius is (0.015-0.3) metresPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. and SweepSweepAttack, AoE, Physical, Melee
Level: (1-20)
Cost: 8 Mana
Attack Speed: 70% of base
Attack Damage: (170-281)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (170-281)%
AoE Radius: 26Requires Level 12Swings a two handed melee weapon in a circle, knocking back monsters around the character.Knocks Enemies Back on Hit
(5-75) to (8-113) Added Attack Physical Damage
+(0-0.4) metres to radius

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.02-0.4) metres to radiusPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., which create circular areas of effect. Other AoE skills like CleaveCleaveAttack, AoE, Physical, Melee
Level: (1-20)
Cost: 6 Mana
Attack Speed: 80% of base
Attack Damage: (125-237)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (125-237)%
AoE Radius: 20The character swings their weapon (or both weapons if dual wielding) in an arc, damaging monsters in an area in front of them. Only works with Axes and Swords.When Dual Wielding, Deals 60% Damage from each Weapon combined
(2-75) to (3-113) Added Attack Physical Damage
+(0-1) metre to radius

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+0.1 metres to radius per Nearby Enemy, up to a maximum of +1 metrePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. and Ground SlamGround SlamAttack, AoE, Slam, Melee
Level: (1-20)
Cost: 6 Mana
Attack Speed: 90% of base
Attack Damage: (115-188)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (115-188)%
AoE Radius: 35Slams the ground in front of you, creating a wave that travels forward and damages enemies with an increased chance to stun. The wave deals more damage to closer enemies. Requires an Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.25% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
+(0-1) metre to radius
Deals up to (40-49)% more Damage with Hits to closer targets

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Deals up to +(1-20)% more Damage with Hits to closer targetsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. create cone-shaped areas of effect, while others like Flame SurgeFlame SurgeSpell, AoE, Fire, Duration
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (6-16) Mana
Cast Time: 0.50 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 190%
AoE Radius: 30Requires Level 12Strikes enemies in front of you with a surge of flame. Burning enemies are dealt more damage. If you hit an ignited enemy, will create burning ground under them. Your damage modifiers don't apply to this burning ground.Base duration is 4.00 seconds
Deals (26-832) to (40-1247) Fire Damage
(50-88)% more Damage with Hits against Burning enemies
Cannot Ignite
+(0-9) to Area of Effect length
Hits on Ignited Enemies create Burning Ground, no more than once every 2 seconds
Burning Ground deals 25% of Fire Damage per second of Ignite affecting Enemy

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(1-20)% more Damage with Hits against Burning enemiesPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. or Glacial CascadeGlacial CascadeSpell, AoE, Cold, Physical
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (10-20) Mana
Cast Time: 0.60 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 65%Requires Level 28Icicles emerge from the ground in a series of small bursts, each damaging enemies caught in the area and knocking them back in the direction of the next burst.Deals (21-300) to (32-450) Physical Damage
Knocks Enemies Back on Hit
100% of Physical Damage Converted to Cold Damage
Cannot Knockback Unique Enemies more than once per second
Final Burst Deals 200% more Damage
Final Burst has 100% more Area of Effect
Final Burst cannot Knockback
Causes 4 Bursts

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Final Burst Deals +(2.5-50)% more DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. have more complicated areas of effect.

How modifiers to AoE sizes work

Support gems and other mechanics can increase or decrease the size of an area of effect, almost always by a percentage, e.g. 30% increased Area of Effect. These percentages refer to the total amount of ground covered by the area of effect, not to the area of effect's radius, diameter, or other dimensions. For example, a 100% increased Area of Effect modifier applied to Shock NovaShock NovaSpell, AoE, Lightning, Nova
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (12-23) Mana
Cast Time: 0.70 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 190%
AoE Radius: 26 / 14Requires Level 28Casts a ring of Lightning around you, followed by a larger Lightning nova. Each effect hits enemies caught in their area with Lightning Damage.Deals (34-537) to (101-1610) Lightning Damage
+10% to Maximum Effect of Shock
Ring always Shocks

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.5-10)% to Maximum Effect of ShockPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.'s circular area of effect will double the area of ground covered by the circle. The mathematics of that mean that the circle's radius and diameter will increase by around 40%.

If multiple percentage-based modifiers apply to the same area of effect, they add together. For example, if 40% increased Area of Effect, 20% increased Area of Effect, and 30% decreased Area of Effect modifiers all apply to the same area of effect, the area of effect's size will increase by 30% (40+20-30).

A few mechanics apply a specific increase (usually expressed as an integer) to a dimension of the area of effect. For example, the skill gem level bonus for Caustic ArrowCaustic ArrowAttack, Projectile, AoE, Duration, Chaos, Bow
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (6-10) Mana
Attack Damage: (55-64)% of base
Effectiveness of Added Damage: (55-64)%
Projectile Speed: 3260
AoE Radius: 20Fires an arrow which deals chaos damage in an area on impact, and spreads caustic ground. Enemies standing on the caustic ground take chaos damage over time.Deals (8.8-1927.1) Base Chaos Damage per second
Base duration is 2.00 seconds
Modifiers to Projectile Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
+(0-0.6) metres to radius
60% of Physical Damage Converted to Chaos Damage

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
+(0.01-0.2) metres to radiusPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. specifically grants a +(0-6) to radius increase to the Caustic Arrow area of effect. These specific types of modifiers always apply before percentage-based modifiers are applied to the total area of effect. This means that dimension-specific modifiers tend to have a greater impact on the area of effect's final size.

Calculations

Distances are displayed in metres, however all calculations are done using internal units equal to 0.1m. Any calculation that would produce a result that is not a multiple of 0.1m will be rounded down.

We can calculate the increased area of effect ($\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}AoE\%$) required to increase a certain base radius $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}r_{b}$ to a desired increased radius $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}r_{i}$ using the formula for area of a circle:

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}\pi r_{i}^{2}={\frac {100+AoE\%}{100}}\times \pi r_{b}^{2}$

Cancelling out $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}\pi$ and dividing both sides by $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}r_{b}^{2}$ we get

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}{\frac {r_{i}^{2}}{r_{b}^{2}}}=({\frac {r_{i}}{r_{b}}})^{2}={\frac {100+AoE\%}{100}}$

Taking the square root of both sides shows that the proportion of the increased radius to the base radius is equal to the square root of the multiplier to area.

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}{\frac {r_{i}}{r_{b}}}={\sqrt {\frac {100+AoE\%}{100}}}$

This suggests that an area's radius can be increased from 28 to 30 with 15% increased area of effect:

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}({\frac {30}{28}})^{2}\approx 1.148<{\frac {100+15}{100}}$

However, the square root of increased AoE is truncated to two decimal places before multiplying the radius, thus 15% increased AoE only results in a radius of

$\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}28\times {\sqrt {\frac {100+15\%}{100}}}=28\times 1.07238\approx 28\times 1.07=29.96$

Similarly, $\color [rgb]{0.6392156862745098,0.5529411764705883,0.42745098039215684}{\sqrt {1.16}}\approx 1.077$ is also truncated to 1.07, thus the breakpoint to increase a radius of 28 to 30 is 17% increased AoE.

Mechanics with both AoE and non-AoE aspects

Some mechanics' effects may have both AoE and non-AoE aspects. Modifiers that apply to "area of effect" will only apply to the AoE aspect of these mechanics.

• One example is a Fire TrapFire TrapTrap, Spell, Duration, AoE, Fire
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (8-20) Mana
  Cast Time: 1.00 sec
  Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: 260%
  AoE Radius: 15Requires Level 12Throws a trap that explodes when triggered, dealing fire damage to surrounding enemies and leaving an area of burning ground that damages enemies who walk through it.Trap lasts 4 seconds
  Deals (32.5-3018.8) Base Fire Damage per second
  Base duration is 1.75 seconds
  Deals (10-915) to (15-1373) Fire Damage
  Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
  +(0-0.8) metres to radius
  (3-286) to (5-429) added Fire Damage against Burning Enemies
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (4-80)% increased Trap Trigger Area of EffectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. skill gem supported by an Increased Area of Effect SupportIncreased Area of Effect SupportSupport, AoE
  Icon: E
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Requires Level 38Supports any skill with an area of effect.Supported Skills have (30-49)% increased Area of Effect
  
  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. gem. The trap has a trigger radius, meaning it will explode if an enemy moves into a circular area of ground around the trap. This trigger area does not create any effects on the enemy or anything else within the area, so it is not considered to be an "area of effect." The support gem will not increase the size of the trigger area. However, when the trap triggers, it produces a circular area of burning ground that damages enemies on it. That is an "area of effect," so the support gem will increase its size.

• Another example is Ancestral WarchiefAncestral WarchiefAttack, Totem, AoE, Slam, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 10 Mana
  Attack Speed: 90% of base
  Attack Damage: (110-166)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (110-166)%Requires Level 28Summons an Ancestor Totem which attacks enemies with a powerful slam while you're near it. Being near it grants you more melee damage. Requires a Melee Weapon or Unarmed.Totem lasts 12 seconds
  Summons a Totem which uses this Skill
  (8-18)% more Melee Damage while Totem is Active
  50% increased Totem Placement speed
  +1 metre to Melee Strike Range
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (1.5-30)% increased Activation rangePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.. The totem is only active when the character is standing within a given radius of it. Standing in this circle of ground activates the totem, but doesn't create any effects on anything else in the circle, so the circle is not an "area of effect." Adding an Increased Area of Effect SupportIncreased Area of Effect SupportSupport, AoE
  Icon: E
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Requires Level 38Supports any skill with an area of effect.Supported Skills have (30-49)% increased Area of Effect
  
  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. gem will not allow the character to activate the totem from farther away. However, when the totem is active, it deals melee splash damage in an area around it, causing enemies in that area to take damage. This damaging area is an "area of effect," so the support gem will increase its size.

Items that have AoE mechanics

Main page: Aoe Radius

• Skill gems
• Support gems
• Unique items

Modifiers

Main page: List of area of effect modifiers

Passive skills

Main page: List of area of effect passives

Version history

Version	Changes
2.6.0	In this update, we are removing the concept of "Increased Radius of Area Skills" and replacing it with "Increased Area of Effect" for all skills, items and passives. The broad impact of this change is that early increases to area of effect will be significant and impactful, while every subsequent point will be less and less noticeable. Previously, each point spent towards increasing the radius of area skills was better than the last, making accumulation of the stat far too desirable.
0.8.1	Spell area of effect is slightly harder to obtain now.
0.6.8	Implemented skill area of effect boosts.
0.5.2	Fixed lag with area of effect damage.