Let me help you understand how damage scaling really works in the endgame - it's actually quite interesting once you get the core concepts! The key is understanding that damage multipliers stack in different ways (that's why more multipliers are so powerful, they multiply each other instead of just adding up).

When you're building for serious damage, start with support gems that give more multipliers because these create exponential growth. Think of it like this - if you stack three 40% more multipliers, you're not getting 120% more damage, you're getting nearly 270% because they multiply together! Pretty neat, right? (And this is why gem choices are so crucial early on)

Critical strikes are your best friend for scaling, but here's something many players miss - you want to balance your critical chance with your critical damage bonus. Having 100% crit chance isn't helpful if your bonus damage is tiny! Aim for at least 50% chance and stack that bonus damage through gear and passives (those gloves with 222% increased are absolutely worth hunting down).

Debuffs are another layer that's often overlooked, but they're multiplicative with your other damage sources. Shock and exposure together can boost your damage by over 60%, and that's before any other multipliers kick in! Speaking of multipliers, those t1 support gems like execute and fire infusion aren't just good on paper - they're game-changers because they interact with all your other damage sources.

For defense, remember that a dead character deals zero damage (learned that one the hard way). Keep those resistances at 75% and aim for at least 2.5k life. You might be surprised, but this defensive foundation actually lets you push more aggressive damage strategies since you're not constantly dying.

Oh, and one thing that might save you some headache - don't waste time looking for cluster jewels or trying to scale through damage conversion like in the old days. The mechanics have changed, and there are much better ways to boost your damage now!