Plague Bearer

Plague BearerSpell, Chaos, AoE
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (6-13) Mana
Cooldown Time: 0.50 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 24Gain an Incubating buff, adding to its Plague Value as you inflict poisons. Use the skill again to begin Infecting, dealing chaos damage over time to nearby enemies until the Plague Value is depleted. Your damage modifiers don't apply to this skill's damage. Using the skill again alternates between Incubating and Infecting.+(0-0.3) metres to radius
20% less Damage with Poison while Incubating and not at Maximum Plague Value
When you inflict Poison while Incubating, adds 40% of the Expected Poison
Damage to Plague Value
Maximum Plague Value is (4000-1000000)
While Infecting, deals Chaos Damage per second equal to 12% of the Plague Value when Infecting began, and loses Plague Value at the same rate

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Plague Bearer deals Damage based on an additional +(0.2-4)% of Plague ValuePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Acquisition
Drop level: 24Metadata
Item class: Skill Gem
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemPlagueBearer

Plague Bearer is a chaos spell skill gem. While active, you deal less poison damage and store part of the damage you have dealt with poison. Activating this skill again releases any stored poison, causing nearby enemies to take chaos damage over time. Activating the skill causes it to alternate between these modes.

Skill functions and interactions

The gem's advanced description specifies (The Expected Damage of Poison is its Damage per second multiplied by its Duration).

Plague Bearer inflicts its Infecting debuff in an area around the player, similar to Righteous FireRighteous FireSpell, AoE, Fire
Level: (1-20)
Cooldown Time: 0.30 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 16Engulfs you in magical fire that rapidly burns you and nearby enemies. Your spell damage is substantially increased while under this effect. The effect ends when you have 1 life remaining.Deals 70% of your Maximum Life as Base Fire Damage per second
Deals 70% of your Maximum Energy Shield as Base Fire Damage per second
You Burn for 90% of your Maximum Life per second as Fire Damage
You Burn for 70% of your Maximum Energy Shield per second as Fire Damage
Grants (20-39)% more Spell Damage
Base radius is (1.8-2.3) 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.. This damage cannot be further scaled by modifiers to Chaos Damage or Damage over time; however, it can be scaled by modifiers to the damage enemies take and enemy resistances, including shock or DespairDespairSpell, AoE, Duration, Chaos, Curse, Hex
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (16-33) Mana
Cast Time: 0.50 sec
AoE Radius: 22Requires Level 24Curses all targets in an area, lowering their chaos resistance.Base duration is (8.00-11.80) seconds
+(0-1) metre to radius
Cursed enemies have -(15-30)% to Chaos Resistance

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
(0.5-10)% increased Effect of CursePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.. Plague Bearer's debuff DOT is also subject to damage reduction, including from Delirium.

By default, the Plaguebearer Infecting stage lasts 8.33 seconds (12%/second). With 20% quality, it instead lasts 6.25 seconds (16%/second). Combined with the legacy Eternal Labyrinth helmet enchantment, it lasts 4.76 seconds (21%/second).

Since the damage from Plague Bearer can't be directly increased, increasing its gem level or quality becomes the only ways to increase its DPS (gem level increases the maximum plague value stored, while gem quality increases the rate the plague value is released). Empower SupportEmpower SupportExceptional, Support
Icon: +
Level: (1-3)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Supports any skill gem. Once this gem reaches level 2 or above, will raise the level of supported gems. Cannot support skills that don't come from gems.+(0-2) to Level of Supported Skill Gems

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
This Gem gains (5-100)% increased ExperienceThis 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., Enhance SupportEnhance SupportExceptional, Support
Icon: +
Level: (1-3)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Supports any skill gem. Once this gem reaches level 2 or above, will raise the quality of supported gems. Cannot support skills that don't come from gems.+(0-16)% to Quality of Supported Skill Gems

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
This Gem gains (5-100)% increased ExperienceThis 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., 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. are the highest-priority support gems for Plague Bearer.

Plague Bearer cannot currently be triggered, except by AutomationAutomationTrigger, Spell
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 150%
Cooldown Time: 0.60 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 24While this skill is active, supported spells will be repeatedly triggered.Each Supported Spell will Trigger when its Cooldown is over
Supported Skills have (24-5)% reduced Cooldown Recovery Rate
Supported Spells are Triggered when their Cooldowns are over

Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
Supported Skills have (0.25-5)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..

Gem level progression

Level			Mana Cost	Radius	Plague Value	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	24	58	6	—	4000	0	0
2	27	64	7	—	5903	118383	118383
3	30	71	7	—	8655	175816	294199
4	33	77	8	—	12616	254061	548260
5	36	83	8	—	18299	359090	907350
6	39	90	9	+0.1m	26429	498508	1405858
7	42	96	9	+0.1m	38027	682057	2087915
8	45	102	10	+0.1m	54530	921777	3009692
9	48	109	10	+0.1m	77962	1727879	4737571
10	50	113	10	+0.1m	98791	1138877	5876448
11	52	117	11	+0.2m	125046	1368233	7244681
12	54	121	11	+0.2m	158112	1638338	8883019
13	56	125	11	+0.2m	199725	1956648	10839667
14	58	130	11	+0.2m	252058	3655184	14494851
15	60	134	12	+0.2m	317825	3017327	17512178
16	62	138	12	+0.3m	400423	7793914	25306092
17	64	142	12	+0.3m	504097	15206031	40512123
18	66	146	13	+0.3m	634145	26185582	66697705
19	68	151	13	+0.3m	797189	62755923	129453628
20	70	155	13	+0.3m	1000000	211877683	341331311
21	72	159	13	+0.4m	1100000	—	—
22	74	—	14	+0.4m	1180000	—	—
23	76	—	14	+0.4m	1245000	—	—
24	78	—	14	+0.4m	1300000	—	—
25	80	—	15	+0.4m	1350000	—	—
26	82	—	15	+0.5m	1400000	—	—
27	84	—	15	+0.5m	1450000	—	—
28	86	—	15	+0.5m	1500000	—	—
29	88	—	16	+0.5m	1550000	—	—
30	90	—	16	+0.5m	1600000	—	—
31	91	—	16	+0.6m	1650000	—	—
32	92	—	16	+0.6m	1700000	—	—
33	93	—	16	+0.6m	1750000	—	—
34	94	—	17	+0.6m	1800000	—	—
35	95	—	17	+0.6m	1850000	—	—
36	96	—	17	+0.7m	1900000	—	—
37	97	—	17	+0.7m	1950000	—	—
38	98	—	17	+0.7m	2000000	—	—
39	99	—	17	+0.7m	2050000	—	—
40	100	—	17	+0.7m	2100000	—	—

Item acquisition

Plague Bearer can drop anywhere.

Recipes

Plague Bearer can be created from the following recipes:

Amount	Part	Description	Meta
3	The Bitter BlossomThe Bitter Blossom3Level 21 Chaos Gem Quality: +23% CorruptedThe pain you feel is of no consequence, it is evolution, to be made whole within something greater.	Random corrupted level 21 Chaos gem with 23% quality	A
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 ↓
Lost in Love Act 3

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 Root of the Problem Act 2 Yeena
Lost in Love Act 3 Clarissa
A Fixture of Fate Act 3 Siosa

Related helmet enchantments

The following helmet enchantments affect Plague Bearer.

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 Plague Bearer Poison Dot Multiplier While Aura Active 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Plague Bearer Buff grants +12% to Poison Damage over Time Multiplier while Infecting	helmet 100
Enchantment Plague Bearer Poison Dot Multiplier While Aura Active 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Plague Bearer Buff grants +20% to Poison Damage over Time Multiplier while Infecting	helmet 100
Enchantment Plague Bearer Stored Poison Damage To Deal Per Second 1	66	Merciless Labyrinth	Plague Bearer deals Damage based on an additional 3% of Plague Value	helmet 100
Enchantment Plague Bearer Stored Poison Damage To Deal Per Second 2	75	Eternal Labyrinth	Plague Bearer deals Damage based on an additional 5% of Plague Value	helmet 100

Alternate skill effects

Plague Bearer has the following alternate skill effects:

Item	Description
Celestial Plague Bearer EffectCelestial Plague Bearer EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Plague Bearer becomes a Celestial Effect.	Your Plague Bearer becomes a Celestial Effect.
Stygian Plague Bearer EffectStygian Plague Bearer EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Plague Bearer becomes a Stygian Effect.	Your Plague Bearer becomes a Stygian Effect.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.23.0	Quality now causes Plague Bearer to deal Damage based on an additional +0-4% of Plague Value, instead of providing 0-10% increased Area of Effect.
3.17.2	The Invisible Buff Effect Microtransaction can now be applied to Plague Bearer, allowing you to hide its visual effects..
3.13.0	Divergent Plague Bearer no longer grants reduced chaos damage taken while Incubating. Now causes the Plague Bearer buff to have +0.5% to Poison Damage over Time multiplier while Infecting per 1% gem quality. Anomalous Plague Bearer now causes you to have 0.25% increased movement speed while Infecting per 1% gem quality (from 0.5% per 1% gem quality).
3.12.0	Now has alternative gem quality.
3.8.0	Plague Bearer has been added to the game.