Can Traps Leech in Path of Exile? A Comprehensive Guide
The short answer is: no, traps cannot leech life or mana for the player in Path of Exile (PoE). While traps can indeed deal damage, and that damage could technically be modified by leech, the way leech mechanics function within the game prevents traps from transferring that recovered life or mana to the player who laid them. Instead, any leech effects applied to a trap’s damage are wasted. This is because leech applies to the entity doing the hit, and traps, once triggered, effectively self-destruct; they do not have a pool of life or mana to recover.
Let’s delve deeper into the complexities of leeching in PoE and how it interacts with various mechanics.
Understanding Leech Mechanics in Path of Exile
At its core, leech in Path of Exile is a recovery mechanism that returns a portion of the damage dealt as life, mana, or energy shield over time. This recovery is granted to the entity that initiated the hit. This distinction is absolutely critical to understanding why traps cannot leech for the player.
Key Concepts of Leech:
- Source of Leech: Leech is always linked to the source of the damage. If your character hits an enemy with an attack that has leech, the leech applies to your character. However, if a totem or a minion makes a hit, any leech applies to them, not you.
- Leech Over Time: Leech recovery doesn’t happen instantly. It occurs over time, and each instance of leech has a duration determined by the amount of life or mana to be recovered and the leech rate, typically capped at 2% of maximum life per second per instance.
- Maximum Recovery: Each instance of leech also has a maximum recovery cap, generally 10% of your maximum life per instance. This means that no matter how much damage you deal and leech, you will only leech up to a certain amount of life per hit.
- Multiple Instances of Leech: You can have multiple leech instances active simultaneously, and they stack. This means that if you are hitting multiple enemies, each hit can create a separate leech instance, increasing your overall recovery.
Why Traps Fail to Benefit from Leech
The fundamental problem is that traps are treated as separate entities in Path of Exile. When a trap is triggered, it deals damage, and if it has leech modifiers, a leech instance is created. However, because traps effectively cease to exist after their activation, the leech has no target for recovery. This recovered amount, which is a percentage of the damage dealt, disappears as the trap self-destructs. They have no health pool to replenish.
Therefore, any investment into leech on a trap build is effectively useless in the sense that it does not benefit the player. The trap will not provide the player with life or mana leech.
Interactions With Other Mechanics
It’s important to consider that several other mechanics and game interactions mirror this same behavior, further clarifying why traps cannot leech for the player.
Brands
Unlike traps and mines, brands are tied to the player. When a brand attached to an enemy deals damage, leech applies to the player as the brand’s damage source is ultimately the player. This direct connection between player and brands is the main difference in how leech functions.
Mines
Similar to traps, mines cannot leech for the player. The damage dealt by mines, even if modified by leech, only results in leech for the mine itself. As mines self-destruct after detonation, just like traps, this leech is wasted.
Totems and Minions
Totems and minions, again, will only leech for themselves. Any leech attached to their attacks will not recover life for the player. The only exceptions to this are certain specialized mechanics like the Chieftain Ascendancy passive, “Hinekora, Death’s Fury,” and the “Trolltimber” unique shield.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some common questions regarding leech and related mechanics in Path of Exile:
1. Can Fire Trap Leech Life?
No, Fire Trap cannot leech life for the player. While Fire Trap has an initial hit component and fire damage over time, leech is tied to the entity that performs the hit. The trap itself performs the hit, not the player, and leech applies to the trap, which is a temporary entity that self-destructs.
2. Does Spell Damage Apply to Traps?
Yes, spell damage modifiers apply to traps that cast spells. Passives like “fire damage,” “area damage,” “spell damage,” and “elemental damage” will enhance both the initial hit and the damage over time effects for spells cast through traps. However, be sure to keep in mind that leech does not carry over to the player if the trap’s damage is what is leeching.
3. Do Traps Use Accuracy?
Yes, traps use the player’s accuracy rating when dealing attacks. It is important to remember that Accuracy is only important when traps are dealing Attack damage, not spell damage.
4. Can You Leech with Elemental Damage?
Yes, you can leech with elemental damage, but it is not as straightforward as physical damage. Maintaining high elemental leech can be difficult and requires specific gear or passive tree investment. It’s possible, but often less practical than physical leech.
5. Can You Leech from Damage Over Time?
No, you cannot leech directly from damage over time (DoT). Leech is tied to the damage dealt by an initial hit. This is important for builds based around damage over time as leech will be ineffective.
6. Does Leech Stack?
Yes, multiple instances of leech do stack and apply simultaneously. There is no limit to the number of leech instances you can have active at any given time, greatly improving recovery potential when dealing damage.
7. What Is the Maximum Life Leech Recovery?
The default maximum recovery per life leech is 10% of your maximum life per instance. Each instance of leech is capped at this amount.
8. What is the Leech Recovery Rate?
The leech recovery rate is capped at 2% of your maximum life per second per instance. Any amount over 2% is capped. If the leech is below 2%, you leech the appropriate amount.
9. How Long Does Leech Last?
The duration of a leech instance is determined by the maximum recovery per leech instance divided by the leech recovery rate (2% per second). The default duration is 5 seconds, based on the default maximum of 10% life recovery.
10. Can Totems Leech for the Player?
Normally, totems will not leech for the player. Leech applies only to the totem itself. The only way a totem’s leech can recover life for the player is with the Chieftain Ascendancy passive “Hinekora, Death’s Fury” or the “Trolltimber” unique shield.
11. What is Rage in Path of Exile?
Rage is a resource primarily utilized by Berserker ascendancies and certain attack skills that grants bonuses to attack damage, attack speed, and movement speed. The effects increase with the amount of accumulated rage.
12. What Are Blood Charges?
Blood charges are a temporary buff that is mainly used by the Reap skill. They have a default maximum of 5, a 10-second duration, and refresh when a new one is gained.
13. What is RMT and Why is It Banned?
RMT stands for Real Money Trading. This is when players purchase or sell in-game items or currency for real money, which is against the Terms of Service and can lead to a permanent account ban.
14. Will My Microtransactions Transfer to PoE 2?
Yes, microtransactions are shared between Path of Exile 1 and Path of Exile 2. This means you will not need to repurchase any items.
15. Do Traps Count as Spells?
While traps themselves are not spells, they can trigger spells when activated. Traps like Fire Trap use spell damage to calculate their damage. Therefore, any trap that casts a spell does benefit from spell-specific modifiers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while traps are powerful tools in Path of Exile, their mechanics are specifically designed to prevent leeching for the player. Understanding how leech works and its limitations is vital for effectively building and optimizing your character in the world of Wraeclast. Focus on alternative forms of sustain for your trap builds and reserve leech to other builds that can benefit directly. By understanding the rules of engagement of the game mechanics, you can make more informed decisions about your character builds and how you choose to engage in combat.