[Tool] "Cast When Damage Taken" Setup Planning Chart

If you are a new player, know that this is one of the most important types of mechanics you need to get acquainted with in Path of Exile.



The support gem "Cast When Damage Taken" (CWDT) is used to automatically cast one or more spells linked to it when you are dealt a certain amount of damage (of whatever type). The full description of the gem can be found here :

For example, if you level the gem up to Level 5, it will trigger every time you take an amount of 812 damage, and when triggering it will cast (always in the same order, as indicated on the Wiki page I've just linked) the spells (not attacks or warcries or other types of skill gems) that you have linked to it.

Usually, a build will include 1 or 2 CWDT setups which will serve as utility setups for defensive purposes. For example, on this character you can see I have two different setups :

• One uses a Level 1 CWDT gem, which means that it triggers very often (when just a little damage is taken), but at the same time it can only support spell gems that have a lower level. I use this setup to trigger Immortal Call (lvl 3), which procs often and gives me immunity to physical damage for about 1 second (since it's also supported by Increased Duration), which is enough to save my butt and let me get out of the middle of mobs.
  
  
• The other setup uses a Level 15 CWDT gem, which triggers Molten Shell (lvl 18), giving me a decent Armour boost when I take a large amount of damage, and which also triggers the Enfeeble curse (lvl 17) to reduce the damage dealt by mobs around me at the moment.

This chart is simply a tool to figure out quickly up to which level you can bring each spell gem you want to have triggered by a certain CWDT level gem, without going over the level limit of the CWDT gem. For example, a Level 1 CWDT gem can only support spell gems requiring a level or 38 or lower. So you need to make sure that whatever is the level of the spells you link to it, the required level to use the gems is 38 or lower.

For example, if your CWDT gem is at Level 15, and you want to link Molten Shell to it, you cannot bring your Molten Shell gem higher than Level 18, otherwise it won't trigger. The support gems you would use, for example, to increase the duration of Molten Shell, can be leveled up all the way to Level 20+, since they support a spell triggered by CWDT, they are not triggered by it themselves.