This guide explains the Double Herald setup in Path of Exile 2, a technique combining Herald of Ice and Herald of Thunder for massive area-of-effect damage.
Key Components of the Double Herald Setup:
- Herald of Ice: Socketed with the Lightning Infusion Support Gem.
- Herald of Thunder: Socketed with the Cold Infusion Support Gem (Glaciation is recommended).
- 60 Spirit: Required for the Heralds to function effectively.
- A Cold Damage Source: To initially trigger Herald of Ice. Monk's Ice Strike is ideal, but other sources like passive skills boosting Freeze or the Against the Darkness Time-Lost Diamond Jewel can work.
Remember to activate both Herald skills in your skill menu.
The Synergy:
The core concept lies in the damage type conversion:
- Lightning Infusion converts a portion of Herald of Ice's damage to Lightning, enabling it to Shock enemies.
- Cold Infusion converts a portion of Herald of Thunder's damage to Cold, enabling it to Freeze enemies.
Herald of Ice triggers upon shattering a frozen enemy (creating a cold AoE), while Herald of Thunder triggers upon killing a shocked enemy (creating lightning bolts). Neither skill inherently inflicts Freeze or Shock, but the infusions bridge this gap, creating a chain reaction.
Ideally, this creates a continuous loop: Herald of Ice shocks, triggering Herald of Thunder, which freezes, triggering Herald of Ice, and so on. In practice, the chain often breaks after one or two cycles due to the need for a constant supply of enemies. Breaches are particularly effective due to their high enemy density.
Initiating the Chain Reaction:
- Use your cold damage skill (like Ice Strike) to Freeze an enemy.
- Shatter the frozen enemy, triggering Herald of Ice.
- The resulting shock from Herald of Ice will then trigger Herald of Thunder, continuing the chain.
Starting with Herald of Ice is preferred because Freeze is easier to inflict than Shock, and Herald of Thunder's lightning bolts have better range.
Four essential components for the Double Herald setup.
Herald of Ice Skill Gem 
Lightning Infusion Support Gem
Herald of Thunder Skill Gem 
Cold Infusion Support Gem 
Glaciation
Visual representation of the Herald interaction.
Against the Darkness Time-Lost Diamond Jewel
