Path of Exile 3.26, the Secrets of the Atlas expansion, brought a lot of changes to support gems — the backbone of how we scale and tweak our skills PoE 1 Currency. These updates made it feel like there's more room than ever to experiment with builds and push skills in new directions.

The biggest highlight for me is the new Focused Channelling Support. It ramps up your damage and reduces incoming damage while you're channeling. This feels amazing on skills like Flameblast, Incinerate, Scourge Arrow, or even Cyclone. The catch is that you need to stay locked in and channel, so it's a bit risky in hectic fights. But if you can manage positioning, the reward in both DPS and survivability is huge — it really changes how channeling builds play.

GGG also went through and rebalanced a bunch of older gems. The Exposure supports (Fire, Lightning, Cold) no longer hit you with a damage penalty; instead, they just bump up mana costs. That means you can finally lean on them without feeling like you're gimping your own skill damage. Electrocute got tweaked too — it doesn't tank your damage anymore, but you lose the ability to shock. Other gems like Lacerate and Envenom saw buffs that make bleeding and poison procs more reliable, which is great news for physical and chaos setups.

On top of that, a couple of new supports showed up. Tremors Support adds extra aftershocks to certain skills, so things like Earthquake-style abilities get more frequent hits (though at slightly less damage each). And Bidding Support gives a boost to minion command skills, letting summoners squeeze more power out of their army. These really help open up fresh ideas whether you're into smashing the ground or running a horde of minions.

Awakened supports weren't left out either. Stuff like Awakened Spell Echo and Awakened Unleash had their costs and penalties adjusted, while Decay got a buff to its damage over time. They're small tweaks but make awakened gems feel a bit more balanced across different setups.

Crafting also ties into gems more now thanks to new currency like the Orb of Remembrance and Orb of Intention. They give you more control over influenced mods, which makes it easier to fine-tune gear around your gem setup. It feels like item crafting and gem choices are working hand in hand more than before, especially for endgame builds.

3.26 really shook up support gems. The new ones like Focused Channelling and Tremors add fun tools, the balance passes fix some long-standing pain points, and the crafting changes make gearing more meaningful. If you're into experimenting with links and synergies, this patch is a gold mine Divine poe 1.