Melee skill gems in Path of Exile 2 define close-combat gameplay, ranging from powerful slams to precise strikes. This article provides a complete reference of every melee-tagged skill, described in simple terms to highlight their core mechanics and uses.

1. Boneshatter

A brutal strike that damages both enemies and yourself. Each hit causes trauma, increasing your damage but also dealing physical damage to you. Perfect for berserker-style builds that embrace risk for overwhelming reward.

2. Earthquake

A powerful slam that cracks the ground. After a short delay, the fissure erupts in a devastating aftershock, rewarding players who can time their strikes for maximum impact.

3. Rolling Slam

Momentum is your weapon. Rolling Slam carries you forward, smashing enemies in your path and creating a rhythmic flow of attack and movement.

4. Armour Breaker

As the name suggests, this strike smashes through enemy armour, reducing their defenses. It’s invaluable against heavily armoured foes and synergizes well with high-damage follow-up skills.

5. Shield Charge

This iconic travel skill lets you rush forward with your shield raised, dealing damage to all in your way. It also boosts your defenses mid-charge, making it a strong initiation tool.

6. Shockwave Totem

Although technically a totem, Shockwave Totem is melee-tagged because it repeatedly slams the ground in close range. It’s excellent for controlling space and layering area damage.

7. Magma Barrier

A hybrid defensive-offensive gem, Magma Barrier surrounds you with a fiery shield that deals damage on contact. It’s a strong choice for melee builds that want extra protection while staying in the thick of battle.

8. Perfect Strike

A channelled melee strike that builds up for maximum damage. Once fully unleashed, it delivers a devastating blow that can melt through tough enemies.

9. Resonating Shield

Channel energy through your shield to unleash a shockwave of force. This sustained melee skill emphasizes timing and defense, giving shield users a way to deal consistent AoE damage.

10. Earthshatter

A slam that drives spikes of stone from the ground. Enemies caught in the blast are impaled, and the spikes can later be detonated for bonus damage—rewarding tactical setups.

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11. Leap Slam

A mobility and attack hybrid that lets you leap into the air and crash down on enemies. It’s great for engaging quickly, dodging hazards, or chaining movement across the battlefield.

12. Shield Wall

A defensive melee skill that raises your shield to create a temporary wall of protection. It reduces incoming damage while still letting you hold your ground against enemies.

13. Volcanic Fissure

A fiery slam that splits the ground and sends molten fissures erupting forward. It deals sustained fire damage and works well for controlling lanes of enemies.

14. Forge Hammer

A heavy slam that channels raw strength into fiery bursts. It creates lasting ground effects that punish enemies who linger too long in the impact zone.

15. Fortifying Cry

A warcry that empowers your melee attacks and grants a burst of fortification. It also creates a shockwave that damages nearby enemies, combining utility with offense.

16. Sunder

A slam that sends out a powerful wave through the ground. The wave shatters enemies in a line, making it excellent for both crowd control and clearing packs.

17. Stampede

A movement-focused slam where you rush forward, trampling enemies along your path. It blends mobility with AoE damage and is useful for repositioning in chaotic fights.

18. Supercharged Slam

A staged melee attack that builds power while channelled. Once fully charged, it delivers an explosive slam that deals massive area damage.

19. Ancestral Cry

A fiery warcry that empowers slams and triggers additional projectiles. It enhances melee attacks with conditional bonuses and deals AoE damage when activated.

20. Ancestral Warrior Totem

Summons a melee totem that fights alongside you. The totem delivers sustained melee strikes, making it a reliable partner for physical-focused builds.

21. Hammer of the Gods

A mighty slam that channels divine force into the ground. It creates a lingering shockwave, dealing damage over time to enemies who remain in the area.

22. Disengage

A tactical strike that lets you attack while leaping backward. It’s useful for dodging incoming damage while still keeping pressure on enemies.

23. Whirling Slash

A staged melee strike that spins through enemies. Each stage builds momentum, rewarding players who commit to the full sequence for maximum damage.

24. Cull the Weak

A precise strike designed to finish off low-health enemies. It deals extra damage against foes below a certain life threshold, making it perfect for execution.

25. Fangs of Frost

A cold-infused strike that slashes enemies and chills them. Its added cold damage slows foes, giving you better control over melee engagements.

26. Rake

A vicious physical strike that tears through enemies. It deals solid upfront damage and can be used to quickly clear weaker foes.

27. Wind Dancer

A staged melee buff that enhances mobility and evasion. With each stage, it improves your movement-based combat, blending offense and agility.

28. Rapid Assault

A fast, physical strike that lingers with a short duration effect. It emphasizes speed and relentless pressure in melee combat.

29. Spearfield

A sustained melee skill that plants a field of spectral spears. The zone persists and damages enemies within, providing both area denial and consistent DPS.

30. Blood Hunt

A payoff strike that thrives on finishing enemies. It delivers heavy physical damage when conditions are met, rewarding aggressive execution.

31. Primal Strikes

A lightning-charged strike that calls on primal energy. It deals strong lightning damage and offers a payoff bonus when used effectively, making it a great choice for elemental melee builds.

32. Thunderous Leap

A slam infused with lightning that doubles as a travel skill. You leap forward and land with an explosive detonation, shocking enemies caught in the impact.

33. Elemental Sundering

A devastating melee attack that combines fire, cold, and lightning damage. It releases a nova on impact, making it effective against large groups.

34. Wind Serpent’s Fury

A conditional sustained attack that channels serpent-like speed. It boosts melee damage and movement when triggered under the right conditions.

35. Parry

A defensive melee skill that allows you to block and counter incoming attacks. It lasts for a duration and requires channeling, rewarding precise timing.

36. Axe Slash

A straightforward melee strike using axes. It delivers wide cleaving damage, ideal for physical-focused axe users.

37. Mace Strike

A crushing melee strike with maces. It emphasizes heavy physical blows that can stagger enemies and break defenses.

38. Sword Slash

A balanced melee strike with swords. It’s versatile and reliable, fitting well into early-game and sword-based builds.

39. Claw Stab

A fast and precise melee strike with claws. It focuses on single-target damage and excels in critical strike builds.

40. Dagger Stab

A quick melee strike with daggers. It emphasizes speed and precision, rewarding high attack rate and crit-focused setups.

41. Flail Strike

A heavy melee strike using flails. It delivers crushing blows with wide arcs, great for hitting multiple enemies at once.

42. Quarterstaff Strike

A melee strike with quarterstaves that blends reach and control. It sweeps through enemies, making it effective for both offense and crowd management.

43. Spear Stab

A thrusting melee strike with spears. Its long reach allows you to keep enemies at a safer distance compared to other melee options.

44. Punch

A bare-handed melee strike. Simple but effective, it scales with physical bonuses and can be surprisingly strong with the right build.

45. Raise Shield

A shield-based melee attack that also boosts defense while channelled. It’s a solid choice for tanky characters who want both protection and offense.

46. Temper Weapon

A melee buff skill that channels fire into your weapon. It triggers fiery attacks and enhances your strike damage while active.

47. Falling Thunder

A slam that sends a lightning projectile crashing down. It combines AoE melee impact with ranged lightning effects for versatile combat.

48. Frozen Locus

A cold melee attack that creates a lingering frozen zone. Enemies inside are chilled and take damage over time, adding strong area control.

49. Glacial Cascade

A melee-based cold attack that sends waves of ice erupting forward. It deals payoff damage in a line, striking multiple targets.

50. Killing Palm

A precise palm strike that delivers physical damage. Focused on martial arts style combat, it’s fast and efficient for close-range duels.

51. Staggering Palm

A buffed palm strike that projects physical force. It also fires projectiles, lasts for a duration, and staggers enemies with each hit.

52. Tempest Bell

A sustained melee attack that resonates like a bell. It deals damage over time in its area of effect and triggers under conditional circumstances.

53. Vaulting Impact

A slam and travel skill that launches you into the air before crashing down. It deals physical damage in a wide radius and leaves lingering effects on impact.

54. Ice Strike

A melee strike infused with cold damage. It freezes or chills enemies, making it a reliable control tool in elemental melee builds.

55. Tempest Flurry

A lightning-based melee strike that hits in rapid succession. Its speed and elemental damage make it effective for overwhelming enemies quickly.

56. Wind Blast

A simple but effective melee attack that generates a burst of wind. It pushes enemies back and can be used to maintain breathing space in melee combat.

57. Siphoning Strike

A lightning melee attack that restores energy or life when it lands. Its payoff effect makes it ideal for sustain-heavy melee builds.

58. Storm Wave

A melee attack that channels lightning in waves. It strikes multiple enemies and provides steady AoE elemental damage.

59. Wave of Frost

A cold melee attack that sends a chilling wave forward. It slows and damages enemies in its path, blending offense with crowd control.

60. Hand of Chayula

A chaos-based melee strike tied to the lore of Chayula. It deals chaos damage with each hit and stands out as one of the unique meta melee gems.

61. Shattering Palm

A cold melee strike that delivers crushing blows with icy force. Enemies hit can be shattered, making it strong for dealing with frozen targets.

62. Whirling Assault

A spinning melee attack that slashes through enemies around you. Its fast, sweeping motion makes it ideal for clearing groups.

63. Flicker Strike

A chaotic melee skill that teleports you to nearby enemies with each strike. It’s unpredictable but extremely fast, perfect for aggressive, high-mobility builds.

64. Gathering Storm

A channelling melee skill infused with lightning. While moving, it builds energy before releasing it in a stormy burst of damage.

65. Heavy Smash

A crushing melee slam that focuses on raw physical impact. It’s slower but deals devastating damage when it lands.

66. Serpent Lash

A melee strike that mimics the lashing speed of a serpent. It delivers fast, piercing blows that excel in sustained combat.

67. Burning Palm

A fiery melee strike that ignites enemies on contact. It’s a strong option for damage-over-time builds focused on burning effects.

68. Twin Fangs

A dual-hit melee strike that mimics a predator’s bite. Each strike lands in quick succession, making it excellent for dual-wield builds.

69. Crimson Lash

A physical melee strike that leaves bleeding wounds. It excels in bleed-focused builds, adding damage over time after the initial hit.

70. Steel Tempest

A whirling melee attack that unleashes a storm of steel. It strikes multiple enemies in a wide radius, fitting well as a crowd-clearing skill.

71. Dragon Palm

A martial arts–style melee strike infused with elemental force. It delivers explosive impact and works well in hybrid elemental builds.

72. Shadow Palm

A stealth-inspired melee strike that delivers quick, precise hits. It synergizes with evasion and crit-focused builds for deadly bursts.

73. Warbringer’s Slam

A brutal slam skill tied to warcries. It combines raw AoE physical damage with conditional bonuses when used after rallying.

74. Spirit Strike

A melee strike that channels spectral energy into each hit. It’s versatile and can scale well with spiritual or minion-focused setups.

75. Celestial Palm

A mystical palm strike infused with cosmic power. It blends melee with magical elements, offering both style and strength.

76. Lion’s Smash

A ferocious melee slam that roars with bestial might. It deals massive impact damage and can intimidate nearby enemies.

77. Crushing Wave

A melee slam that generates a wave of force. It hits enemies in a broad arc, making it great for both control and damage.

78. Ghost Strike

A fast melee strike that phases through enemies. Its ghostly nature allows you to bypass some defenses while keeping high mobility.

79. Bloodfang Strike

A savage melee attack that drains life on hit. It rewards aggressive play by sustaining you through constant offense.

80. Dragon’s Wrath

An ultimate-style melee slam infused with elemental fury. It unleashes devastating power in a huge area, serving as a high-end payoff skill.

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