What is Unholy Might?
Unholy Might is a buff in Path of Exile that grants a character or their minions a percentage of their Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage. This provides a significant boost to overall damage output, particularly for builds dealing substantial physical damage.
Mechanics of Unholy Might
- Extra Chaos Damage: The core effect is adding Chaos Damage based on Physical Damage. For example, if Unholy Might grants 30% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage and you deal 100 Physical Damage, you will deal an additional 30 Chaos Damage. This Chaos Damage is added on top of your physical damage and any damage it was converted to.
- Scaling: The Chaos Damage granted by Unholy Might scales with modifiers to Chaos Damage, general Damage, Damage over Time (if the Chaos Damage contributes to an ailment like Poison), and any other relevant damage modifiers that apply to Chaos Damage. The initial amount of Chaos Damage gained is based on your final Physical Damage dealt by the hit.
- Damage Calculation Order: Unholy Might is an "extra damage" modifier. This means it is calculated based on your physical damage after conversions but before some global damage multipliers. It adds a separate instance of Chaos Damage to the hit.
- Chaos Damage Properties: By default, Chaos Damage bypasses Energy Shield, dealing damage directly to Life. This makes it effective against enemies relying heavily on Energy Shield, unless they possess specific defenses like Chaos Inoculation (immunity to Chaos Damage) or modifiers that allow Energy Shield to protect against Chaos Damage.
Common Sources of Unholy Might
Unholy Might can be obtained from various sources, including:
- Skill Gems: Certain skills or support gems can grant Unholy Might. For instance, the skill gem Withering Step grants Unholy Might while its Elusive effect is active.
- Ascendancy Classes: Some Ascendancy passives provide Unholy Might. A notable example is the Necromancer's "Mistress of Sacrifice" notable, which grants Unholy Might to the player and their minions if they have consumed a corpse recently (typically by using an Offering skill).
- Unique Items: Several unique items can grant Unholy Might. Prominent examples include the Sin's Rebirth unique flask and The Scourge unique claw. Modifiers on influenced or synthesized items can also be a source.
- Passive Skill Tree: Specific notable passives on the skill tree can grant Unholy Might. This includes the "Unholy Might" notable itself, often found in specific passive skill clusters or as a modifier on Cluster Jewels.
Benefits and Synergies
- Increased Overall Damage: The primary benefit is a direct and substantial increase in total damage output, particularly for builds that primarily deal Physical Damage.
- Bypassing Energy Shield: The inherent property of Chaos Damage to bypass Energy Shield makes Unholy Might particularly effective against certain types of enemies.
- Poison Synergy: Unholy Might has strong synergy with Poison builds. Since Poison deals Chaos Damage over time based on the combined Physical and Chaos damage of the applying hit, the extra Chaos Damage from Unholy Might increases both the initial hit damage and the base damage for calculating Poison, leading to significantly more potent Poisons.
- Versatility: It can augment a diverse range of Physical Damage builds, whether they are attack-based or spell-based.
