The Curse of the Allflame expansion adds twelve new gems to Path of Exile, and most of them are aimed squarely at self-cast spellcasters that have struggled to keep up in the endgame. The headline addition is a brand-new archetype called Pacts, which trade mana efficiency for a heavy buff and a self-inflicted Affliction. Alongside those sit new Exceptional support gems, several Transfigured skills, and a fresh base skill built around blocking with a staff.
Quick answer: There are 12 new gems in 3.29, split into four Pacts (Beidat, Ghorr, K’tash, Lycia), three Exceptional supports (Coursing Current, Crystalfall, Communion), four Transfigured skills (Holy Hammers of Spirals, Reap of Butchery, Holy Sweep of Hammerfalls, Divine Blast of Radiance), and one new base skill (Mana-Infused Staff). All stats below are shown at max gem level with 20% quality.
Pact gems (Exceptional Skill Gems)
Pacts are the centerpiece of the update. Each one is themed around a Beyond Demon, and casting a Pact empowers a set number of your next spells instead of buffing damage passively. The catch is that every Pact burdens you with an Affliction rather than simply costing mana per cast, so the reward comes with a downside you have to manage. All four require Level 70, cost 33 Mana, have a 4-second cooldown, and use a 0.80-second cast time.
| Pact | What it empowers | Key effects |
|---|---|---|
| Pact of Beidat | Next 8 non-channelling spells that fire projectiles, hit an area, or chain | 35% more damage with hits and ailments; hits 8 extra areas in a spiral; beams chain 6 extra times; fires 6 extra projectiles in a circle |
| Pact of Ghorr | Next 3 non-ailment damage-over-time spells | 40% more damage over time; grants Hunger of Ghorr, which triggers Fleshrend every 2 seconds (up to 150% faster per stage) |
| Pact of K’tash | Your next damaging Vaal spells | Empowered Vaal spells deal more damage, have less soul gain prevention duration, and refund souls on use |
| Pact of Lycia | Next 3 channelling spells you cast yourself | 40% more damage; triggers a Lightning Bolt every 0.3 seconds while channelling (up to 10 times), then fires again for each earlier trigger when channelling ends |
Note: Pact of Lycia’s triggered bolt deals 130 to 2467 Lightning Damage over a 1.4-metre radius, while Pact of Ghorr’s Fleshrend projectile pierces all targets and applies a stacking physical DoT that also increases damage-over-time taken by 25%.
Exceptional Support gems
Three new support gems arrive, and all of them cap at gem level 3 and require Level 76. Coursing Current and Communion require 120 Intelligence, while Crystalfall requires 120 Strength. Their cost-and-reservation multipliers are higher than most supports, so plan your mana around them.
| Support | Supports | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Coursing Current Support | Skills that hit enemies (130% multiplier) | 28% increased effect of Chill and Shock, 10% increased ailment duration; chills enemies when they are Shocked by your hits and shocks them when they are Chilled |
| Crystalfall Support | Slam skills (150% multiplier) | 10% increased Melee Damage; triggers Falling Crystal on hit, a 2.5-metre abyssal soulstone slam; cannot support triggered skills or skills used by anything other than you |
| Communion Support | Spell skills that hit (150% multiplier) | 10% increased Spell Damage; adds 20 to 30 Physical Damage for each Permanent Minion; cannot modify the skills of Minions |
Coursing Current is built for hybrid Cold and Lightning builds that want both ailments running at once, while Communion rewards permanent minion counts on a hitting spell. Crystalfall gives Slam builds an entirely new damage layer that lands independently of the base skill.
Transfigured skills
Four Transfigured variants join the pool, each rebuilding an existing skill into a different playstyle. All four require Level 70, 98 Strength, and 68 Intelligence.
Holy Hammers of Spirals
This Attack/Slam/Melee/AoE/Lightning skill costs 13 Mana, swings at 85% of base attack speed, and deals 449% of base attack damage with 449% effectiveness of added damage. It slams the ground, consumes all Power Charges, and calls down a spiral of holy hammers. It converts 50% of Physical Damage to Lightning, has a 1.2-metre base radius, deals 20% more damage per Power Charge removed, cascades up to 6 times by default, and adds one cascade per Power Charge consumed. It needs a Mace, Sceptre, or Staff. The trade-off is that damage spreads across the whole cascade rather than concentrating on the first hit, so it leans toward clear speed while still scaling single-target with more charges.
Reap of Butchery
Reap of Butchery is a Spell/Physical/AoE/Duration skill that costs 58 Life, casts in 1.00 second, has 6% critical strike chance, and 130% effectiveness of added damage. It deals 556 to 834 Physical Damage and 2857.6 base Physical Damage per second, with spell damage modifiers applying to its DoT. Unlike base Reap, it swipes a scythe around your character across a 3.2-metre radius, turning it into a close-range ability. You gain a Blood Charge when it hits enemies and none die, lose one when a debuffed enemy dies, pay 20% more Life per Blood Charge, and deal 30% more damage per charge, up to 5 Blood Charges.
Holy Sweep of Hammerfalls
This Attack/AoE/Melee/Lightning/Duration skill costs 23 Mana, has a 5-second cooldown, swings at 70% of base attack speed, and deals 281% of base attack damage. Swinging a two-handed mace or staff in a circle, it calls down waves of holy hammers for 3.50 seconds over a 3.3-metre radius. It converts 50% of Physical Damage to Lightning, drops 3 hammers per Hammerfall every 0.7 seconds, and each hammer deals 50% less damage. Attack speed modifiers change how often Hammerfalls occur, and it cannot be supported by Multistrike.
Divine Blast of Radiance
Divine Blast of Radiance is an AoE/Attack/Physical/Duration/Fire/Orb skill that costs 10 Mana, has a 0.65-second attack time, 5% critical strike chance, and 100% of base attack damage. It projects a beam of holy light from your shield to a target, creating an implosion, then leaves an orb that periodically releases larger explosions for 5.00 seconds. It scales off shield stats, dealing 184 to 276 base off-hand Physical Damage plus 3 to 6 per 15 Armour on the shield, and adds off-hand critical strike chance per 10 maximum Energy Shield on the shield. It converts 50% of Physical Damage to Fire, uses a 2.2-metre explosion radius and 1.2-metre implosion radius, supports up to 3 orbs, and explodes once per second, with attack speed affecting the rate.
Mana-Infused Staff (new base skill)
Mana-Infused Staff is a new Arcane/Spell/AoE/Duration/Lightning base skill aimed directly at the mana problems self-cast builds run into. It reserves 30% Mana, has a 1.00-second cooldown, casts instantly, has 6% critical strike chance, and 450% effectiveness of added damage. It requires Level 70, 68 Strength, and 98 Intelligence.
Infusing your staff, the buff grants 30% less Mana Cost of Skills and 24% more chance to Block Attack and Spell Damage. When you block, you release an arcane wave over a 0.40-second duration that deals base Lightning Damage equal to 73% of your Maximum Mana, no more than once every second. Because damage scales off your mana pool, investing in maximum mana and block chance simultaneously turns defense into offense.
Quality and socket color changes worth knowing
All the numbers above assume 20% quality, but 3.29 makes it easier to push higher. A gem can now go into any equipment socket regardless of color, and matching a red, green, or blue socket grants +10% quality. That means chasing matching colors on your gear can take these gems toward 30% quality for the extra benefit, without blocking you from slotting them in the first place.
The Pacts in particular still have open questions. How strong they end up depends heavily on which spells you pair them with, and their in-game drop or acquisition points will become clearer once the league is live. For now, the stats and effects here are the confirmed baseline to plan a starter around.
