Path of Exile 2: Complete Guide to the Chaos Damage Debuff

In Path of Exile 2, debuffs play a central role in increasing damage output and shaping advanced build strategies. Among these, Withered stands out as one of the most impactful debuffs for builds that deal Chaos Damage. Whether you're playing a Toxic Arrow Ranger, Essence Drain Occultist, or any chaos-based caster, understanding how Withered works is crucial for optimizing your DPS potential and surviving encounters where enemies can apply it back to you.

In this guide, we'll break down exactly what Withered does, how it stacks, how its duration and magnitude work, and how to defend against or amplify its effects in Path of Exile 2.

What is Withered in Path of Exile 2?

Withered is a temporary stacking debuff that causes an entity - whether an enemy or player - to take increased Chaos Damage from all sources. This includes both hits and damage over time effects, such as poison or degeneration effects.

Each stack of Withered increases Chaos Damage taken by 5%, stacking up to a maximum of 10 times by default. At full stacks, an affected target takes 50% increased Chaos Damage from all sources.

Unlike many other debuffs, applying a new stack of Withered does not refresh the duration of existing stacks. Instead, each stack operates independently - meaning that once a stack expires, it's gone unless reapplied by your skills or passives.

Because Withered affects the "damage taken" multiplier, its impact scales multiplicatively with your Chaos Damage - making it one of the most efficient ways to scale endgame DPS in Path of Exile 2, especially for builds that depend on rare Path of Exile 2 Items or specialized crafting using Path of Exile 2 Currency.

Duration of Withered

The duration of each Withered stack depends entirely on how it was applied. Different sources of the debuff can have different durations:

·Withering Presence - A passive aura-like effect that applies the Withered debuff every few intervals to nearby enemies. Each stack applied through Withering Presence lasts a base of 6 seconds, or 7.2 seconds with 20% Quality.

·Withering Touch Support - This Support Gem applies Withered stacks via attacks or skills. Because it has the Duration tag, it benefits from any modifiers that increase Skill Effect Duration, making it ideal for builds that want longer-lasting stacks.

Importantly, each Withered stack has its own independent timer. You can apply a new stack while old ones are still active, but you can't reset their timers - so if your application rate is too slow, stacks will drop off before reaching the maximum of ten.

To maintain maximum uptime, fast-hitting or persistent sources like Wither Totems, Withering Step, or Auras like Withering Presence are essential in Path of Exile 2.

Magnitude of Withered

The default magnitude of Withered is 5% increased Chaos Damage taken per stack. However, in Path of Exile 2, players can scale this magnitude even further through specific modifiers and passive nodes.

For instance, items or passives that provide "Increased Withered Magnitude" amplify the effect multiplicatively.

·Example: A modifier that reads "20% increased Withered Magnitude" increases the per-stack effect to 6% instead of 5%.

·This means that at maximum stacks, enemies would take 60% increased Chaos Damage instead of 50%.

This scaling creates powerful synergy for endgame chaos builds, especially those using multiple Wither sources to quickly stack and maintain maximum debuff uptime.

Some advanced builds also combine Withered Magnitude scaling with infinite duration setups, completely bypassing the need for constant reapplication.

Defence Against Withered

While Withered is an excellent tool for offensive chaos builds, it's also something monsters can apply to players, causing them to take more Chaos Damage - a dangerous threat in high-tier maps or boss fights.

Players can counter this by investing in modifiers that reduce the effectiveness of Withered on them. For example:

·The unique jewel Distant Dreamer grants modifiers that reduce the effect of Withered debuffs on you, allowing you to survive better in areas with heavy Chaos Damage enemies.

·Certain defensive passives and crafted modifiers on gear may also reduce "Effect of Withered on You" or increase your Chaos Resistance, mitigating incoming Chaos Damage even further.

When you buy POE2 Currency and invest it in top-tier defensive gear, always prioritize Chaos mitigation for endgame bossing - Withered-inflicting enemies are among the most lethal in Path of Exile 2.

Interactions and Unique Item Synergies

Cospri's Will

One of the most famous items that interacts with Withered is the Unique Body Armour Cospri's Will. This armor makes any Withered debuffs you inflict last indefinitely - meaning they will never expire naturally.

With this item equipped, you can apply 10 stacks of Withered to a target once and maintain them permanently, freeing you from the need to reapply stacks mid-combat. This makes it an incredible choice for chaos-based DoT builds that rely on maintaining consistent debuffs for damage scaling.

Withering Step

This skill applies Withered instantly around your character and provides a burst of mobility. In Path of Exile 2, Withering Step remains one of the best tools for instantly reaching maximum stacks against packs of enemies or bosses.

Wither Away Passive

Players who want even higher Withered potency can allocate passives like Wither Away, which increases Withered Magnitude multiplicatively. When combined with Cospri's Will, it allows for devastating Chaos Damage scaling that can melt even pinnacle bosses.

Final Thoughts

Withered is one of the most powerful debuffs in Path of Exile 2, transforming how Chaos Damage builds function. Its stacking, non-refreshing nature rewards fast-paced playstyles, while items like Cospri's Will allow for more static and strategic approaches.

Understanding how to apply, scale, and defend against Withered is essential for mastering chaos-oriented gameplay. Whether you're experimenting with Occultist curses, Chaos Totem builds, or poison-infused melee setups, leveraging Withered effectively can elevate your build from strong to endgame-ready.

In Path of Exile 2, chaos reigns supreme - and Withered is the key to unlocking its full destructive potential.