Penetration

Not to be confused with Penetrate.

Resistance Penetration

Tooltip

Penetration causes the target's corresponding ResistanceResistances reduce damage taken of the corresponding damage type — Fire, Cold, Lightning or Chaos — up to a Maximum. Fire, Cold and Lightning Resistances are Elemental Resistances. Resistances can be improved with Equipment, Passives & Quest items.

Your Elemental Resistances are lowered as you progress through the game. Elemental Resistances are a vital defensive tool, and should be one of the first things to check if you're having difficulty surviving. to be treated as lower than its actual value by the specified amount when of calculating Damage taken from your Hits.Any damage that isn't damage over time is Hit damage.

Damaging Ailments which result from a Hit will calculate their damage from that Hit, and will not subsequently have Damage modifiers applied directly to them. As a result of this, raising Hit Damage will result in more powerful Damaging Ailments innately. ResistancesResistances reduce damage taken of the corresponding damage type — Fire, Cold, Lightning or Chaos — up to a Maximum. Fire, Cold and Lightning Resistances are Elemental Resistances. Resistances can be improved with Equipment, Passives & Quest items.

Your Elemental Resistances are lowered as you progress through the game. Elemental Resistances are a vital defensive tool, and should be one of the first things to check if you're having difficulty surviving. can only be Penetrated down to a minimum of 0% by default.

Since Penetration only affects HitsAny damage that isn't damage over time is Hit damage.

Damaging Ailments which result from a Hit will calculate their damage from that Hit, and will not subsequently have Damage modifiers applied directly to them. As a result of this, raising Hit Damage will result in more powerful Damaging Ailments innately. and applies to the target's defensive stats rather than your own offensive stats, it does not affect damage with Ailments.Ailments that deal damage are Bleeding, Ignite, and Poison.

Resistance Penetration is the ability for hits to treat the target's resistance as if it was lowered by the specified amount.

Mechanics

Penetration causes the specified amount to be subtracted from the target's corresponding resistance when determining the damage they take from a hit, to a minimum of 0% resistance by default.

Penetration is calculated after accounting for other modifiers that raise or lower the target's resistances and their maximum capped resistances.

Related gems

Gem	Tier
Lightning PenetrationLightning PenetrationSupport, Lightning Category: Lightning Penetration Tier: 2 Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Support Requirements: +5 DexSupports any skill that Hits enemies, making those Hits Penetrate enemy Lightning resistance.Supported Skills Penetrate 30% Lightning ResistancePlace into a Skill's Support Gem socket in the Skills Panel to apply its effects to that Skill. You cannot have multiple Support Gems of the same Category socketed within one Skill.	2
Cold PenetrationCold PenetrationSupport, Cold Category: Cold Penetration Tier: 2 Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Support Requirements: +5 IntSupports any skill that Hits enemies, making those Hits Penetrate enemy Cold resistance.Supported Skills Penetrate 30% Cold ResistancePlace into a Skill's Support Gem socket in the Skills Panel to apply its effects to that Skill. You cannot have multiple Support Gems of the same Category socketed within one Skill.	2
Fire Penetration IFire Penetration ISupport, Fire Category: Fire Penetration Tier: 2 Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 120%Support Requirements: +5 StrSupports any skill that Hits enemies, making those Hits Penetrate enemy Fire resistance.Supported Skills Penetrate 30% Fire ResistancePlace into a Skill's Support Gem socket in the Skills Panel to apply its effects to that Skill. You cannot have multiple Support Gems of the same Category socketed within one Skill.	2

Related unique items

Item	Base item	Item class		Stats
Leopold's ApplauseLeopold's Applause Embroidered GlovesEnergy Shield: (56-70)Requires Level 52, 64 Int(60-100)% increased Energy Shield +(60-100) to maximum Mana (10-15)% increased Rarity of Items found Damage Penetrates 10% Elemental Resistances Your Hits can Penetrate Elemental Resistances down to a minimum of -50%"Keep smiling. The deepest cut comes not from insults, but from false praise."	Embroidered Gloves	Gloves	52	(60-100)% increased Energy Shield +(60-100) to maximum Mana (10-15)% increased Rarity of Items found Damage Penetrates 10% Elemental Resistances Your Hits can Penetrate Elemental Resistances down to a minimum of -50%
The PandemoniusThe Pandemonius Lapis AmuletRequires Level 52+(10-15) to Intelligence+(50-100)% to Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 75% Cold Resistance Blind Chilled enemies on HitA single moment sets in motion an eternal fall, beneath which all are buried.	Lapis Amulet	Amulet	52	+(10-15) to Intelligence+(50-100)% to Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 75% Cold Resistance Blind Chilled enemies on Hit

Related passive skills

The following passive skills are related to penetration:

Fire penetration

Name	Stats
Fire Penetration	Damage Penetrates 8% Fire Resistance [1] [2] Damage Penetrates 6% Fire Resistance [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
Fire Penetration and Stun Buildup	Damage Penetrates 5% Fire Resistance 10% increased Stun Buildup [1]
Breath of Fire	Damage Penetrates 15% Fire Resistance +10 to Strength [1]
Burn Away	15% increased Fire Damage Damage Penetrates 10% Fire Resistance 10% increased Ignite Magnitude [1]
Cremation	Damage Penetrates 18% Fire Resistance Gain 6% of Elemental Damage as Extra Fire Damage [1]
Exposed to the Inferno	Damage Penetrates 18% Fire Resistance 15% increased Duration of Ailments against Enemies with Exposure [1]
Smoke Inhalation	Damage Penetrates 15% Fire Resistance 15% increased Duration of Damaging Ailments on Enemies [1]

Cold penetration

Name	Stats
Cold Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% Cold Resistance [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Breath of Ice	Damage Penetrates 15% Cold Resistance +10 to Intelligence [1]
Exposed to the Cosmos	Damage Penetrates 18% Cold Resistance 20% increased chance to inflict Ailments against Enemies with Exposure [1]
Glaciation	Damage Penetrates 18% Cold Resistance Gain 6% of Elemental Damage as Extra Cold Damage [1]
Snowpiercer	Damage Penetrates 15% Cold Resistance +10 to Intelligence [1]
Storm Surge	Damage Penetrates 8% Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance [1]
Storm Swell	Damage Penetrates 15% Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 8% Lightning Resistance [1]

Lightning penetration

Name	Stats
Lightning Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% Lightning Resistance [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Breath of Lightning	Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance +10 to Dexterity [1]
Electric Amplification	Damage Penetrates 18% Lightning Resistance Gain 6% of Elemental Damage as Extra Lightning Damage [1]
Exposed to the Storm	Damage Penetrates 18% Lightning Resistance 15% increased Critical Hit Chance against enemies with Exposure [1]
Flash Storm	Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance 30% increased chance to Shock [1]
Overload	Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance Damage Penetrates 10% Lightning Resistance if on Low Mana [1]
Storm Surge	Damage Penetrates 8% Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance [1]
Storm Swell	Damage Penetrates 15% Cold Resistance Damage Penetrates 8% Lightning Resistance [1]
Surging Currents	Damage Penetrates 15% Lightning Resistance +10 to Dexterity [1]

Elemental penetration

Name	Stats
Elemental Penetration	Damage Penetrates 4% of Enemy Elemental Resistances [1] [2] [3]
Shapeshifted Elemental Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% of Enemy Elemental Resistances while Shapeshifted [1]
Forces of Nature	Attack Damage Penetrates 15% of Enemy Elemental Resistances [1]
Piercing Claw	Damage Penetrates 15% of Enemy Elemental Resistances while Shapeshifted [1]

Paths Not Taken passive skills

The following passive skills are exclusive the Oracle with The Unseen Path allocated:

Name	Stats
Cold Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% Cold Resistance [1] [2]
Elemental Penetration	Damage Penetrates 3% of Enemy Elemental Resistances [1]
Fire Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% Fire Resistance [1] [2]
Lightning Penetration	Damage Penetrates 6% Lightning Resistance [1] [2]
Call Upon the Deep	Damage Penetrates 20% Elemental Resistances for each time you've used a Skill that Requires Glory in the past 6 seconds [1]

Version history

Version	Changes
0.1.0	Introduced to the game.