Weapon Pool Skills, usually shortened to WPS, are attack modifiers that fire off your normal weapon swings instead of being cast on command. They fold extra damage and effects into attacks you would otherwise use for free, and the Fangs of Asterkarn update expanded the roster with several new entries.
Quick answer: A WPS is any skill whose tooltip reads “X% Chance to be Used.” It only triggers on default attacks or default attack replacers, its chances stack across every WPS you have equipped, and once your combined chance passes 100% it fully replaces your basic attack. Werewolf form cannot trigger WPS at all.
How Weapon Pool Skills trigger
A WPS is not a normal proc. Regular procs listed as “X% Chance on Attack” or “on Hit” can fire from almost anything, but a WPS specifically activates from your character’s default attack or from a default attack replacer. The wording gives it away. Only WPS use the phrase “chance to be used” on the tooltip.
The following skills count as default attack replacers and can carry your WPS. Cadence is an exception on its third hit, where the payoff swing cannot proc a WPS, though the two charge-up hits can.
| Default attack replacer | Source |
|---|---|
| Cadence | Soldier |
| Savagery | Shaman |
| Fire Strike | Demolitionist |
| Righteous Fervor | Oathkeeper |
| Onslaught | Berserker |
| Belgothian’s Strikes | Belgothian’s Slaughter set |
| Touch of Chaos | Rah’Zin’s Torment set |
| Fleshwarped Strikes | Heart of Theodin Marcell |
| Runic Bolts | Runebinder’s Spellthrower |
| Troll Rage | Mistborn Talisman |
| Beronath’s Fury | Shard of Beronath |
There is one more way to fire a WPS without a replacer. If you put a cooldown skill on your attack button and swing while it is recharging, your character performs a plain default attack during that gap, and that attack can proc your WPS.
How the chances pool
Every WPS carries a percentage chance to be used, and those percentages add together into a single pool. Stack five skills at 20 percent each and you reach 100 percent, meaning every swing becomes one of your WPS rather than an unmodified attack. Push the total past 100 percent and each skill triggers randomly in proportion to its share of the pool. This is why loading up on too many WPS can dilute your strongest one, since the pool is shared rather than independent.
Note: Werewolf transformation cannot use WPS, so a build that relies on those basic-attack procs will not get any value from them while shifted.
Full list of Weapon Pool Skills
Some WPS come from mastery trees and belong to specific classes. Many others are granted only by items, which means you gain access to them by equipping the right piece of gear. The table below lists each skill, what it does, and where it comes from.
| Skill | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bloodfangs | A cruel double strike that leaves enemies bleeding. | Berserker |
| Avalanche | Sends an avalanche of crushing ice with your attack. | Berserker |
| Zolhan’s Technique | A low thrust that imbalances opponents. | Soldier |
| Markovian’s Advantage | A downward strike that weakens enemy defenses. | Soldier |
| Whirling Death | A multi-target technique that leaves survivors bleeding. | Nightblade |
| Belgothian’s Shears | Direct, lethal strikes that can finish a foe in one move. | Nightblade |
| Execution | A merciless finishing blow struck at a moment of opportunity. | Nightblade |
| Amarasta’s Quick Cut | Strikes up to three times in the space of a normal attack. | Nightblade |
| Feral Hunger | Shreds enemies and feasts on the spilled blood. | Shaman |
| Upheaval | Critical basic attacks trigger a shockwave around the target. | Shaman |
| Reaping Strike | Infuses your weapon with necrotic energy for deeper wounds. | Necromancer |
| Necrotic Edge | Inflicts instant necrosis that can make foes falter. | Necromancer |
| Chilling Rounds | Arcane-infused barrage that freezes the target. | Inquisitor |
| Storm Spread | A spread across the room to even the odds against crowds. | Inquisitor |
| Shattering Smash | A shield blow that sends a shockwave through the target. | Oathkeeper |
| Smite | A righteous strike that staggers and breaks enemies. | Oathkeeper |
| Oathbreaker | Fires an explosive round teeming with dark powers. | Granted by items |
| Shrapnel Round | A rifle round that perforates your foes. | Granted by items |
| Fire Spread | An exploding round that shatters in a burst of flame. | Granted by items |
| Duelist | Fires both guns at once with lethal effect. | Granted by items |
| Valdun’s Clip | A custom round that splinters on contact. | Granted by items |
| Stun Blast | A spread that leaves foes perforated and stunned. | Granted by items |
| Shadowflame | Infuses your weapon to unleash a deadly barrage. | Granted by items |
| Knockout | A swift, precise strike that removes a foe from the fight. | Granted by items |
| Soul Steal | Devours the target’s essence to restore your own. | Granted by items |
| Add a Notch | Adds another notch to the supposed thousand. | Granted by items |
| Veilripper | Shreds the veil between realms with savage strikes. | Granted by items |
| Ruinous Crags | A shield smash that reverberates around you. | Granted by items |
| Aether Spread | Sprays the area with aether-infused ammunition. | Granted by items |
| Crossfire | Peppers foes with a barrage from twin guns. | Granted by items |
| Salvo | Well-aimed shots from twin guns meant to kill. | Granted by items |
| Exterminate | Ends a foe with a single well-aimed shot. | Granted by items |
| Void Rounds | Void-infused barrage that unmakes foes from within. | Granted by items |
| Venomlash | A viper-fast strike that sends deadly poison into the target. | Granted by items |
| Ice Thorn Smash | Creates a field of icy thorns around you. | Granted by items |
| Guardian’s Agonizing Bite | Lashes out with the caustic blood of Dreeg. | Granted by items |
| Demolish | A shockwave that exploits inherent weakness. | Granted by items |
| Veil Ripple | Ripples aether energy out from you. | Granted by items |
| Trick Shot | An unbelievable shot that catches the target by surprise. | Granted by items |
| Wake of Souls | Ammunition becomes a wake of souls that consumes life. | Granted by items |
| Scorch Reality | A shot that ignites reality. | Granted by items |
| Marauder’s Salvo | Twin-pistol salvo of arcane-infused ammunition. | Granted by items |
| Lucky Shot | A spread of bullets where luck may not be the factor. | Granted by items |
| Valdun’s Treachery | Ends a fight by loading an explosive round. | Granted by items |
| Korvaak’s Brand | Brands foes with Korvaak’s fury, incinerating them. | Granted by items |
| Blazing Fury | Unleashes a blazing fury from your guns. | Granted by items |
| Shatter Reality | Tears through reality with two-handed strikes. | Granted by items |
| Disorienting Strike | Assaults from a defensive position to disorient. | Granted by items |
| Direwolf Claw | A scissor-blade cleave that mimics a dire wolf’s mauling. | Granted by items |
| Mutilate | Three quick attacks causing heavy bleeding. | Granted by items |
| Shield Bash | Bashes a foe into a daze with your shield. | Granted by items |
| Volley | A calculated volley of bullets at the target. | Granted by items |
| Burning Void | Wraps your weapon in Void power; ranged shots explode on contact. | Granted by items |
| Oleron’s Might | Inflicts grievous wounds and cripples the target. | Granted by items |
Raising a Weapon Pool Skill’s level
Any character can technically use any WPS, but the payoff scales with the skill’s level. For the class-based skills you invest skill points directly. For the item-granted ones and to push past the point cap, you look for gear that adds levels to that specific WPS. The higher the skill level, the harder it hits and the better its added effects, so a real build centers on one or two WPS and stacks bonuses for them rather than spreading thin across the whole pool.
