# Gem tag All [skill gems](Skill_gem) have **gem tags** (also called **keywords**) listed in the first line of the mouseover description. They are used for dividing the skills into groups and to clarify which type a skill is. They do not indicate which [modifier](Modifiers) (or [stats](Stat)) apply to a skill however. ## Mechanics Gem tags only categorize skills into groups, so effects like <span class="explicitMod">+x Level of Socketed <gem tag> Gems</span> can apply to them. In particular, there are common misconceptions about gem tags: - gem tags are only granted by skill gems, skills granted from items or threshold jewels do not modify gem tags in any way - they do not describe which gems can support other gems and are not meant to, even if it often does line up - they do not describe which stats (and to that extend modifiers) apply to a skill ## Overview of gem tags <div style="max-width: 100%; overflow-x: auto;"><table style="max-width: 100%;"> <thead><tr> <th class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending">Category </th> <th class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending">Mainpage </th> <th class="headerSort" tabindex="0" role="columnheader button" title="Sort ascending">Description </th></tr></thead><tbody> <tr> <td>[[AoE]]</a> </td> <td>[[Area of effect]]</a> </td> <td> Skills that have some area of effect portion to them. Note that some skills with the AoE tag may not be affected by area damage but only benefit from increases and reductions to the radius. </p> </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Arcane]]</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skills which care about the amount of mana you have or spend for the purposes of that skill or support </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Attack]]</a> </td> <td>[[Attack]]</a> </td> <td>Skills that use a weapon. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Aura]]</a> </td> <td>[[Aura]]</a> </td> <td>Skills that grant or modify auras</a>. <p>An aura is a permanent effect focused on your character that also affects nearby party members and minions. Most auras reserve a portion of the player's mana pool. </p> </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Blink]]</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skills that move the character and share the same cooldown. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Bow]]</a> </td> <td>[[Bow]]</a> </td> <td>These skills require a bow to be used. They implicitly have the <i>projectile</i> gem tag. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Brand]]</a> </td> <td>[[Brand]]</a> </td> <td>Brands attach themselves to an enemy and have some sort of effect while they are attached. </td></tr> <tr> <td>Cast</a> </td> <td></a> </td> <td>Skills marked with the <i>Cast</i> tag deal [[Secondary damage]]</a>. Cast gems are not spells, and are therefore not affected by modifiers that would normally only modify spells. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Chaining]]</a> </td> <td></a> </td> <td>Skills that have the ability to chain. <p>Skills that have the ability to chain. Support skill gems with the Chaining can also be linked to active skill gems with the Projectile tag. </p> </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Channelling]]</a> </td> <td>[[Channelling]]</a></a> </td> <td>Channelled skills are activated continuously as long as the respective keyboard button is pressed. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Chaos]]</a> </td> <td>[[Chaos Damage]]</a> </td> <td>Chaos is one of the five damage types</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Cold]]</a> </td> <td>[[Cold Damage]]</a> </td> <td> Cold is one of the five damage types</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Curse]]</a> </td> <td>[[Curse]]</a> </td> <td>These skills weaken enemies to make them less dangerous or easier to kill. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Duration]]</a> </td> <td>[[Duration]]</a> </td> <td>Certain skills have an effect over time or activate after the duration. In some cases, such as curses, reusing the skill will reset the timer. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Fire]]</a> </td> <td>[[Fire Damage]]</a> </td> <td>Fire is one of the five damage types</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Golem]]</a> </td> <td>[[Golem]]</a> </td> <td>Golems are a type of minion that provides a direct Buff to the person who summoned them, but not to anyone else. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Guard]]</a> </td> <td>[[Guard Skill]]</a> </td> <td>Skills with defensive buffs. These all share the same cooldown. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Lightning]]</a> </td> <td>[[Lightning Damage]]</a> </td> <td>Lightning is one of the five damage types</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Melee]]</a> </td> <td>[[Melee]]</a> </td> <td>Some melee skills require certain weapon types. These skills all deal melee damage</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Mine]]</a> </td> <td>[[Mine]]</a> </td> <td>Mines can be placed down have to be remotely detonated or triggered with [[Detonate Mines]]</a>. <p>Using [[Blastchain Mine Support]] it is possible to turn any active skill gem into a mine and benefiting from any other support gems with the Mine tag. </p> </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Minion]]</a> </td> <td>[[Minion]]</a> </td> <td>These skills let characters raise minions to fight enemies. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Movement]]</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skills that affect the movement of the character. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Prismatic]]</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skills which pick a random element to attack with, avoiding choosing the same element twice in a row </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Projectile]]</a> </td> <td>[[Projectile]]</a> </td> <td>Skills that emit projectiles. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Physical]]</a> </td> <td>[[Physical damage]]</a> </td> <td>Physical damage is one of the five damage types</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Spell]]</a> </td> <td>[[Spell]]</a> </td> <td>Skills that do not require weapons to be used. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Strike]]</a> </td> <td>[[Strike]]</a> </td> <td>Skills that strike a single target or all within melee swing range. Many proc secondary effects such as the blades from [[Frost Blades]] and are supportable with [[Ancestral Call Support]] to repeat the secondary effect on multiple targets. Can also be supported by [[Melee Splash Support]] to create overlapping aoe effects on each enemy within a melee swing radius. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Support]]</a> </td> <td>[[Support skill gem]]</a> </td> <td>Tag exclusively used by support skill gems</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Totem]]</a> </td> <td>[[Totem]]</a> </td> <td>Totems are stationary summons that assist in battle. Note that many other skills can be turned into a totem with the [[Spell Totem Support]] or [[Ballista Totem Support]] support gems. See totem damage</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Trap]]</a> </td> <td>[[Trap]]</a> </td> <td>Traps are skills that trigger when an enemy walks over it. Note that many other skills can be turned into a trap with the [[Trap Support]] support gem. See trap damage</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Travel]]</a> </td> <td> </td> <td>Skills that move the character. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Trigger]]</a> </td> <td>[[Trigger]]</a> </td> <td>Certain skills can't be activated manually, and happen automatically when specific conditions are met</a>. <p>Getting hit by these skills does not activate any trigger effects, like [[Reckoning]] or the energy shield recovery of [[Aegis Aurora]]. </p> </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Vaal]]</a> </td> <td><a href="/us/Vaal_skill" title="Vaal skill">Vaal skill</a> </td> <td>Vaal skills need to be charged in order to use them, but are a lot more powerful than their regular counterparts. </td></tr> <tr> <td>[[Warcry]]</a> </td> <td>[[Warcry]]</a> </td> <td>Warcries are active skills that provide situational benefits to players and are typically aligned with melee characters, because they only affect nearby enemies and allies. Warcries are not spells therefore cannot be supported by support gems that specifically link with spells, such as [[Cast when Damage Taken Support]]. They all share a cooldown. </td></tr></tbody><tfoot></tfoot></table></div>