In Path of Exile 2, building a powerful character depends on more than just your skills and gear—it requires smart use of passive abilities. One standout passive that benefits many elemental builds is Storm Charge, a POE2 Currency versatile and potent option that boosts both your critical strike capabilities and elemental damage output.

Whether you're a caster, ranged attacker, or damage-over-time specialist, Storm Charge can significantly enhance your performance in combat. Let's break down how it works, why it’s useful, and how to apply it to an amulet.

What Is Storm Charge?
Storm Charge is a passive skill that provides two distinct bonuses:

+20% increased Critical Strike Chance

+40% increased Elemental Damage if you’ve dealt a Critical Hit recently

The word “recently” in Path of Exile means within the last 4 seconds. This means that once you land a critical hit, your character gains a 4-second window where all elemental damage is amplified by 40%.

The beauty of Storm Charge lies in its flexibility: the elemental damage boost is not limited to the critical hit that triggered it. This means that even if your primary source of damage is a non-critical, elemental-based effect—like ignite, poison converted to chaos, or cold DoTs—you can still benefit from the increased damage just by landing a crit with a secondary ability.

Why Storm Charge Matters
Storm Charge fits naturally into any build that:

Relies on critical strikes

Focuses on elemental damage types (fire, cold, lightning)

Utilizes DoT effects that scale with elemental damage but don’t crit themselves

For example, an Elemental Bow character might use a high-crit skill like Lightning Arrow to trigger the buff, while their poison or burning effects enjoy the 40% elemental damage increase. Even if only one ability in your setup crits reliably, the buff enhances all elemental damage while it’s active—making Storm Charge useful even in builds with mixed or indirect damage sources.

How to Apply Storm Charge to an Amulet
Storm Charge is available in the passive skill tree, but players looking to save skill points or further enhance their gear can infuse it onto an amulet. This is done through a system using Distilled Emotions, which are special infusion items.

To infuse Storm Charge, you need the following Distilled Emotions:

Distilled Fear

Distilled Terror

Distilled Envy

These can drop from Delirium enemies within Ultimate Delirium maps, though they’re not guaranteed. Alternatively, you can obtain them by purchasing Distilled Mood from Alva in the Hideout's Currency Exchange. Distilled Mood can then be converted into a specific emotion of your choice.

Note: If you're farming for these items, avoid using maps accessed with Infused Waystones, as enemies in those areas will not drop Distilled Mood.

How to Infuse Your Amulet with Storm Charge
Follow these steps to infuse Storm Charge onto your amulet:

Place your amulet and the three Distilled Emotions in your inventory.

Right-click on any of the Distilled Emotions to open the Infusion interface.

Put the amulet into the top infusion slot.

Place the Distilled Emotions in the following order:

First: Distilled Fear

Second: Distilled Terror

Third: Distilled Envy

If entered correctly, the infusion panel will display "Storm Charge" at the bottom.

Click Infuse to complete the process.

Your amulet is now permanently imbued with Storm Charge, granting the effect whenever it is equipped.

When to Use Storm Charge
Storm Charge is highly effective in many builds, including:

Crit-based spellcasters (e.g., Fireball, Arc)

Ranged attackers (e.g., Elemental Hit, Ice Shot)

DoT-based builds that rely on ignite, burning, or cold ailments

Hybrid builds that switch between crit bursts and sustained elemental effects

With only a moderate investment in crit chance, players can keep the Storm Charge buff active almost constantly—transforming it into a nearly permanent source of increased elemental damage.

Storm Charge is a smart, scalable passive that empowers both crit-based and elemental-focused builds in Path of Exile 2. Its ability to reward critical hits with a generous damage boost—regardless of Path of Exile 2 Currency Orbs whether the damage source crits—makes it valuable for a wide range of character archetypes.

Whether you pick it up from the passive tree or infuse it into an amulet, Storm Charge can be a game-changer for anyone looking to amplify their elemental prowess and dominate the battlefield.