On this page
- Quick Answer
- Quick Facts
- Requirements
- The Mana Storm
- Mana Drain Breakdown
- Spell Empowerment Scope
- Split vs Chain / Fork
- Linger and Positioning
- Support Compatibility
- Support Loadouts
- Skill Interactions
- Mapping Usage
- Bossing Rotation
- Build Usage
- Troubleshooting
- Community Evidence
- Video Guides
- Sources and Verification
- Patch History
- Changelog
Quick Answer
Mana Tempest drops a stationary storm. While it is up, it drains mana per second, and the cost goes up the more you cast inside it.
Spells cast inside the storm gain added Lightning Damage scaled by your maximum mana — this is the whole point of mana-stacking builds.
When you leave the storm, the empowerment lingers for a short time, so you can step out and keep benefiting briefly.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Spell / Aura / Lightning
- Tagged spell, aura, lightning, mana, empower.
- Cost
- Mana per second while up
- Casting inside the storm raises the per-second cost.
- Payoff
- Gain Damage as Lightning
- Spells in the storm gain lightning based on max mana.
- Acquisition
- Uncut Skill Gem (Tier 6)
- Mid-to-late gem for mana-stacking builds.
- Best role
- Mana-stack enabler
- Core for Oracle and Titan mana builds.
Requirements
No special attribute gate. Mana Tempest is a spell gem; its value scales with maximum mana and mana regeneration, so a mana-stacking character gets the most from it.
The Mana Storm
Activating Mana Tempest places a storm at your location. The storm has a base mana cost per second and a duration; while you stand in it and cast, the per-second cost climbs.
The storm ends early if your mana hits zero or the duration expires, so you must plan your mana pool and regeneration around the window you want to spend inside.
The empowerment is the reason to tolerate the drain: spells cast inside gain Lightning Damage as a fraction of your maximum mana.
- Base cost per second plus a scaling cost from casting.
- Ends on mana depletion or duration expiry.
- Empowerment is the payoff for the drain.
Mana Drain Breakdown
| Cost source | Raises storm cost/sec | How to verify | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm base cost | Yes | Tooltip | Only seeing this line |
| Mana spent casting in storm | Yes | Tooltip / client | Ignoring fast Spark |
| Life paid in storm | Yes | Current text | Thinking only mana counts |
| Other resources | Per current rule | Client | Cannot assume by analogy |
| Triggered spell | Verify | Client test | Assuming no cost |
Spell Empowerment Scope
Spells you cast while inside the storm gain a portion of your maximum mana as added Lightning Damage. This is why mana-stacking builds funnel every point of maximum mana they can.
Weapon innate skills that cost no mana can still be empowered if they are spells cast inside the storm — the empowerment is about where you cast, not whether the spell costs mana.
Triggered spells cast from inside the storm are also empowered, which is how a triggered Spark or Comet benefits from the tempest.
- Empowerment scales with maximum mana.
- No-mana spells still benefit if cast inside.
- Triggered spells inside are empowered too.
Split vs Chain / Fork
Mana Tempest's Split is a distinct behaviour from Chain or Fork. Split creates additional projectile paths from the cast, while Chain and Fork are their own support behaviours.
If a spell already has Chain or Fork, Split stacks as a separate source of extra projectiles, which can multiply screen coverage inside the storm.
Do not assume Split obeys the same targeting rules as Chain; treat it as its own layer.
- Split is separate from Chain and Fork.
- It can stack with those supports for more projectiles.
- Targeting rules differ from Chain.
Linger and Positioning
After you step out of the storm, the empowerment lingers for a short time, letting you reposition or dodge while still dealing empowered spells.
Place the storm where you will fight, not where you enter. In boss fights, drop it on the boss arena centre so your casts stay empowered during the dance.
In maps, you rarely want to stop and stand; drop the storm, cast a burst, and move on before the drain bites.
- Empowerment lingers briefly after leaving.
- Place the storm on the fight, not the entry.
- Maps: burst then move to avoid heavy drain.
Support Compatibility
Mana Tempest itself is an aura-like spell; supports that help spell auras or duration apply. The spells you cast inside benefit from their own supports.
- Increased Duration helps the storm stay up.
- Spell supports apply to the empowered payloads.
- Mana-related supports help the caster survive the drain.
Support Loadouts
For the tempest gem, duration and mana-efficiency supports keep the storm alive. For the payload spells, use lightning and crit supports as normal.
- Tempest: Increased Duration, mana efficiency.
- Payload: Lightning Damage, Crit, Penetration.
- Quality often adds empowerment or duration.
Skill Interactions
Mana Tempest empowers Spark, Comet and Eye of Winter cast inside it, making it the hub of mana-stacking caster setups.
Archmage-style mana scaling raises both your mana pool (more empowerment) and spell cost, so the storm drains faster — you must balance investment with regeneration.
Triggered spells from a cast-on-crit setup still count as cast inside the storm if the trigger fires while you stand in it.
- Empowers Spark, Comet, Eye of Winter.
- Archmage raises empowerment but also drain.
- Triggered spells inside are empowered.
Mapping Usage
In maps, dropping the storm and standing still is usually a trap. Use it as a burst window: place it, cast your screen-clear spell a few times, then leave.
The linger means your next few casts after stepping out stay empowered, smoothing the transition back to movement.
- Burst inside, then move.
- Use the linger for the exit casts.
- Do not camp the storm in maps.
Bossing Rotation
Against a boss, drop the storm at the start of the fight or during a stationary phase, then cast your empowered single-target spell through the window.
Time the storm for when you can actually stand and cast; during heavy movement phases, skip it and rely on the linger from earlier.
- Drop storm on fight start or a still phase.
- Cast empowered Comet through the window.
- Skip during heavy movement; use linger.
Build Usage
Mana Tempest is the signature enabler for mana-stacking Oracle and Titan caster builds, where maximum mana is pushed as high as possible.
It pairs naturally with Spark and Comet as the empowered payloads in the same setup.
- Mana-stacking Oracle: tempest plus totems.
- Twisted Empyrean mana Titan: tempest plus spells.
- Spark / Comet as empowered payloads.
Troubleshooting
If the storm ends early, your mana is depleting — raise regeneration or cast less inside. If empowerment feels weak, your maximum mana is too low for the build.
If Archmage seems to empty you faster, that is expected; add mana regen or flask sustain.
- Storm ends early: mana depletion, add regen.
- Weak empowerment: raise maximum mana.
- Archmage drains fast: balance with sustain.
- No benefit outside storm: cast inside it.
- Linger expired: re-enter or re-drop.
Community Evidence
Mana-stacking Oracle and Titan builds featuring Mana Tempest are repeatedly highlighted in 0.5 meta threads as high-ceiling caster setups.
The main community caution is the mana drain: players warn that without regeneration the storm is a liability.
- Tempest Oracle / Titan are 0.5 meta picks.
- Drain without regen is the common failure.
Video Guides
Spark Mana Tempest Oracle
Spark Mana Tempest Oracle Build Guide (0.5)
An Oracle build using Mana Tempest to empower Spark with maximum-mana scaling.
What to watch for: Watch how the storm empowers the clear spell.
Open source ↗Broken Oracle Builds
Top Broken Oracle Builds (0.5)
A roundup of strong Oracle builds including mana-stacking tempest variants.
What to watch for: Watch where Mana Tempest fits in the meta.
Open source ↗Sources and Verification
GGG official Patch Notes and forums confirming Mana Tempest drain, empowerment and Split in 0.5.4.
PoE2DB and Community Wiki provide Mana Tempest skill id, tags and empowerment values.
Community wiki page for Mana Tempest with drain and empowerment details.
YouTube Oracle mana-stacking builds used to cross-check tempest usage.
Reddit and forums surface mana-stacking and tempest discussions.
Patch History
- 0.5.0 (Return of the Ancients): Mana Tempest introduced as the mana-stacking caster enabler with storm drain and empowerment.
- 0.5.4 (2026-08): Current baseline: per-second drain scaling with casts, Gain Damage as Lightning from max mana, Split behaviour, short linger after leaving.
Changelog
- Initial release: storm drain, cost breakdown, empowerment scope, Split vs Chain, linger, support loadouts, Archmage interaction, mapping and boss usage, troubleshooting and community questions.
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