Path of Exile 2: Shock vs Electrocute Ailment, explained

The lightning-based Path of Exile 2 ailments of Shock and Electrocute have baffled some players since the game hit Early Access. They both sound similar, are incredibly powerful, and are useful to a wide array of players. However, the game doesn’t always make 100% clear where these come from and what exactly they do for you. Shock is much easier to inflict, compared to Electrocute, however there are ways to adjust that.

While you don’t have to be a Sorceress to inflict Shock or Electrocute in Path of Exile 2, it certainly couldn’t hurt to go down that path. If you need to know the difference between these two important status ailments, we’re here to help.

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What is the difference between Shock and Electrocute in Path of Exile 2?

Shock and Electrocute are similar in Path of Exile 2, in that they both are status ailments that are inflicted through lightning damage. They also use the same ailment threshold system. Essentially, the more Lightning damage the enemy takes relative to their total health, the easier it is to shock them — and the same goes for Electrocute.

The only catch here is it has to be Lightning damage, which is tallied against a target's Ailment threshold. In other words if you use a Lightning-damage weapon (such as Crackling Staff), it's possible to actually trigger Shock or Eletrocute with your regular main-hand attack. Another thing to take into account is the target's Lightning resistance, which indirectly boosts their Ailment threshold by virtue of nullifying some of the incoming Lightning damage.

Generally, to trigger these ailments, you're looking at Lightning Skills—which, at the time of writing, is available in the Skill Gem kits of Sorceress, Ranger (bow), Mercenary (crossbow), and Monk (quarterstaff).

Almost every lightning ability can Shock, but only certain ones can Electrocute (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

However, this is where the similarities end. Both of them are very important to a wide array of builds. However, we’d argue that Shock is used far more often, due to its delivery system and what it does for players.

If you hit an enemy with a lightning attack that crits, it can Shock them. This status ailment makes the target take up to more damage from all sources, based on the hit’s lightning damage. It only lasts for about four seconds, so you have to make the most of it. The alternative is to run an incredibly high-crit build.

On the other hand, Electrocute is a status ailment that has a percentage meter. When that percentage meter hits 100%, that target is stunned for 5 seconds. You can tell this debuff is on when you see a “Boots” icon under the enemy's health bar.

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How to Electrocute enemies in Path of Exile 2?

Be warned - Electrocute skills can't inflict Shock anymore in Path of Exile 2 (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

An ability can only Electrocute under two conditions. The first is the Electrocute Support Gem must be attached to that skill. It can be attached to the following skills as of this writing:

• Tier 1: LIghtning Arrow, Spark
• Tier 5: Galvanic Shards
• Tier 9: Charged Staff
• Tier 11: Skeletal Storm Mage
• Tier 13: Magnetic Salvo, Lightning Conduit

Your other option is to get a specific piece of gear that allows for Electrocute like Kotoko’s Current Jeweled Gloves unique. This makes Lightning damage from Hits contribute to Electrocution buildup, making it much easier to stun enemies and bosses alike.

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Shock vs Eletrocute: Which one to use?

As you can see, these two ailments are similar, but also incredibly different. So should you use Shock or Eletrocute in Path of Exile 2? On a pure Lightning-focused build, it's actually quite expedient to use both simultaneously rather than choosing one.

Some items can influence how Electrocute works too, expanding it (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

While the Electrocute gem locks that ability to doing Electrocute buildup, you can use other Lightning skills to inflict Shock, so you can get both at the same time if you play it right.

You can also increase the amount of damage taken with the Electrocution node on the passive skill tree. This will make electrocuted enemies take 20% more damage, so you can get an effect similar to Shock, without waiting for it to trigger. You also have the Thunderstruck node, which incentivies having both Shock and Electrocute active in Path of Exile 2. It grants 50% increased Electrocute buildup on Shocked enemies, and 50% increase Shockbuildup on Electrocuted enemies.

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Check out our other Path of Exile 2 guides and features

• Skill Gems and Gemcutting guide
• Endgame systems guide
• Item Crafting guide
• Runes and Sockets guide
• Energy Shield, Armor, and Evasion explained