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