How does Omniscience work in Path of Exile?

In the lead-up to Path of Exile’s Siege of the Atlas expansion, Grinding Gear Games revealed a few new items coming to the game in the upcoming update. One such item, the legendary Crystallized Omniscience Amulet, came bearing a brand new mechanic: Omniscience.

So far, this amulet is the only item we know of that grants Omniscience or any of its associated bonuses. The primary effect of the mechanic is that it transforms all Attribute points into Omniscience. This means that characters wearing Crystallised Omniscience won’t receive any of the usual benefits associated with Attribute bonuses. Strength modifiers will no longer grant maximum Life or increase melee Physical damage. Intelligence modifiers will no longer grant maximum Mana or increase maximum Energy Shield. Dexterity modifiers will no longer confer a bonus to either Accuracy or Evasion Rating. The tradeoff is that Omniscience will instead grant its own bonuses to Elemental Resistance and Elemental Penetration.

Modifiers to Attributes include any effect granted by either equipment or a Passive that changes a character’s Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, or any combination of the three. Each class starts with a total of 60 Attribute points, so calculating your overall modifier value simply involves adding up your total attribute points and subtracting 60.

Related: When is the release date of Path of Exile’s Siege of the Atlas expansion?

It’s worth noting that the effectiveness of this amulet will depend on the rolls for each of its effects. As of now, we don’t know for sure what the range of possible values might be, but we know enough to determine what types of builds could benefit from Crystallised Omniscience. Where builds that rely on Attribute bonuses will not work well with it, builds that utilize multiple elements, such as those using Elemental Hit, stand to benefit significantly from its huge potential to penetrate all Elemental Resistances. It also has fantastic synergies with any items that also negate the usual benefits that come from Attributes.