Path of Exile: Consecrated Ground explained

Have you ever been playing Path of Exile and suddenly noticed your character standing on glowing, holy-looking ground? Congratulations, you’ve just discovered Consecrated Ground! 

This special terrain effect can be quite a game-changer, especially for builds focusing on life regeneration and critical strike effectiveness, but it’s not always clear what it does or how to make the most of it. 

Understanding how Consecrated Ground works can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your character, particularly if you’re playing a build that synergizes with it. So, let’s dive in and shed some light on this game mechanic.

What is Consecrated Ground in Path of Exile?

Consecrated Ground provides various buffs to players and their allies standing on it. It’s usually created by certain skills, items, or passive tree nodes. When you’re on Consecrated Ground, you’ll notice a distinct, shimmering visual effect beneath your feet.

The benefits of Consecrated Ground can vary depending on what’s creating it, but they often include things like increased life regeneration or reduced curse effects from the enemies. Characters specifically regenerate five per cent of their maximum life per second

Some sources of Consecrated Ground even grant more exotic bonuses, like improved critical strike chance. Consecrated Ground affects both players and allies, including minions. So, if you’re playing a summoner build, your army of undead pals can benefit from the same holy perks as you.

Creating Consecrated Ground in Path of Exile

So, how do you get your hands on this blessed buff? There are a few different ways to create Consecrated Ground in Path of Exile. 

Skills

Certain skills such as Purifying Flame, Consecrate, and Holy Flame Totem can create areas of Consecrated Ground. These skills are typically found within the Templar’s skill tree or are available to other classes through skill gems.

Items

Some unique items, like the Bottled Faith flask, can create Consecrated Ground when used or equipped. These can be a good choice if you want to add Consecrated Ground to a build that doesn’t naturally have access to it.

Ascendancy Classes

Specific Ascendancy classes, such as the Inquisitor, have passive skills that can create Consecrated Ground under certain conditions, such as on critical strike or when taking a critical strike.  These passives can be a nice supplement to other sources of Consecrated Ground, or a way to get it without dedicating any skill slots or item choices.

How to best use Consecated Ground in Path of Exile

Now that you know how to get Consecrated Ground in Path of Exile, let’s talk about how to use it effectively. The key is to play to its strengths and build around the specific benefits it provides. For example, if your Consecrated Ground grants bonus life regeneration, you might want to focus on stacking other sources of life recovery to become an unkillable juggernaut. Or, if it gives you extra critical strike chance, you could lean into a crit-based build to maximize your damage output.

Another important factor is positioning. Since Consecrated Ground only affects you while you’re standing on it, you’ll want to be mindful of your placement during combat. Try to lure enemies into your Consecrated Ground zones, or use movement skills to quickly reposition onto them when you need a defensive boost.

Consecrated Ground may seem like a small detail in the grand scheme of Path of Exile‘s complex systems, but it can make a big difference in the right build.