Do you have enough Gem-Slots to support 3 offensive Spells?

Question

Is it possible to support 3 Damage Spells with each its own support gems with lategame gear? Would you have to sacrifice support-spells to achieve this?

Not the topic, background:

My goal at the moment is Freezing Pulse + Ice Spear. One for the Shotgun melee range/damage, the other for the sniping range and extra damage versus ranged mobs or bosses. However if there weren't enough slots, I would have to decide for one which is not the topic. Btw the third (or second if the answer is no) is Ball Lightning to trigger Elemental Equilibrium.

~ This is part of an answer of my initial question ~ Added after getting more knowledge ~

My damage spells:

1. Ice Spear - 5 up to 6 sockets
2. Ball Lightning - 4 sockets
3. Freeze Pulse - 4 sockets

Besides of Damage Spells I need:

1. Reduced mana - 3 up to 4 sockets
2. Chance when Damage (level 20) Taken - 3 up to 4 sockets
3. Chance when Damage (level 1) Taken - 2 up to 4 sockets
4. Lightning Warp - 1 up to 3 sockets
5. Curse - 1 socket (up to 3 if space)
6. Teleport - 1 (7. Cast when Stunned - 2 sockets) (if space)

Minimum: 11 sockets (no damage spells) Maximum: 21 sockets (no damage spells)

So the ultimate question is. How many Damage spells can I still equip into sockets (with sufficient support of course) with all this, and what do I have to sacrifice?

Answer 1

Short overview of how many sockets you can have:

1. Weapons
   • 2h weapon = 6 sockets
   • 1h weapon + shield / 2x 1h weapon = 3 sockets + 3 sockets
2. body armour = 6 sockets
3. boots / helmet / gloves = 4 sockets each
4. 2x unset ring = 1 socket each

So now to your setup:

• IceSpear + 5 supports = 6 sockets (chest)
• Ball Lightning + 3 supports = 4 sockets (for example boots)
• Freeze Pulse + 3 supports = 4 sockets (for example helmet)
• Reduced Mana + Auras = 4 sockets (for example gloves)

Now, depending on the setup, you have either 6 sockets in weapon (theoretically can be linked 3 + 3 or 4 + 2, which is very luck dependent, so we consider 2x 3 sockets 1h + shield or dual wield which gives us 3 + 3 sockets):

• cwdt (l20) = 3 sockets (weapon)
• cwdt (l1) + curse = 2 sockets + 1 socket (off hand)
• lightning warp = 1 socket (ring 1)
• teleport = 1 socket (ring 2)

So all in all it's possible with endgame gear, but you have to give up some implicit ring mods for sockets.

Answer 2

First I would like to apologize for the confusion. I was looking at your question with an experienced player viewpoint and not a beginner one. To answer your question, you are only limited by what gems you want to do, how many slots you have, and which support gems you attach.
If you find a piece of equipment you really like and will stick with for a while, I suggest modifying it to suit your needs. This can be done by using the in-game currency items.

• The Jeweller's Orb will randomly reforge how many sockets you have on the item.
  
• The Chromatic Orb will randomly recolor ALL of the sockets.
  
• The Orb of Fusing will randomly link sockets on an item.

These three orbs will allow you to customize your equipment to suit your needs, but make sure you have plenty of them farmed up beforehand. It can take quite a while with a TON of resources to get an item forged with the slots you prefer!