Coward's LegacyCoward's Legacy

Basics guide

Low, High, and Full Resource States

Understand Low Life, Low Mana, High, and Full thresholds in PoE2, including reservation, overflow, count-as modifiers, and effects that trigger only when a threshold is crossed.
Steps
5
Game version
0.5.4d
Quick answer

Low means 35% of the resource's maximum or less. High means 65% or more. Full means 100%, including valid Overflow above the normal maximum, but a Reserved resource is not Full unless an effect explicitly checks Full Unreserved. Low Life and Low Mana use the same 35% threshold. Items can replace a threshold or make one resource count as a state based on another resource without changing the actual amount.

What to compare

3 points
  • Identify the exact resource named by the modifier, such as Life, Mana, Energy Shield, Infernal Flame, or Runic Ward.
  • Read the current amount and maximum amount separately.
  • Check whether any item or passive changes when the resource counts as Low, High, or Full.
1
Step 1

Use 35%, 65%, and 100% as the default thresholds

A resource is Low at 35% of its maximum or below, High at 65% or above, and Full at 100%. Low Life and Low Mana therefore begin at the same percentage. The boundary is included: exactly 35% is Low, exactly 65% is High, and exactly 100% is Full.

  • Use the maximum resource, not the amount currently available after reservation.
  • Include the exact boundary value.
  • Apply the state only to the resource named by the modifier.
Mechanic

Low Life

Effects, items, skills, and modifiers that check Low Life.

Mechanic

Low Mana

Effects, items, skills, and modifiers that check Low Mana.

2
Step 2

Calculate the state from the current percentage

Divide the current amount by the maximum amount, then multiply by 100. With 1,000 maximum Life, 350 Life is Low, 650 Life is High, and 1,000 Life is Full. At 500 Life the character is neither Low nor High under the default thresholds. Missing 35% is not the same as being at 35%: 650 of 1,000 is High, not Low.

  • Recalculate after maximum Life or Mana changes.
  • Do not confuse percentage remaining with percentage missing.
  • Treat the middle range above 35% and below 65% as neither Low nor High by default.
Mechanic

Low Life examples

Items, Skills, passives, and modifiers that check the remaining Life percentage.

Mechanic

Low Mana examples

Items, Skills, passives, and modifiers that check the remaining Mana percentage.

3
Step 3

Handle reservation and overflow before checking Full

A resource with any amount Reserved does not count as Full merely because its unreserved portion is filled. The wording must explicitly check Full Unreserved for that case. Overflow can raise a resource above its normal maximum, and an unreserved Overflowed resource still counts as Full. Overflow changes the stored amount, while a count-as modifier changes only the state check.

  • Check whether any part of the resource is Reserved.
  • Look for the exact phrase Full Unreserved.
  • Keep Overflow and count-as effects separate.
Mechanic

Reservation

How reservation reduces the resource available for ordinary use.

Mechanic

Overflow

Recovery above the normal maximum and the 1.5 times maximum cap.

4
Step 4

Apply threshold replacements and count-as modifiers

Coward's Legacy replaces the normal Low Life threshold and makes the wearer count as on Low Life at 75% of maximum Life or below. Serpent's Lesson instead makes the wearer count as on Low Life while at 35% maximum Mana or below and on Low Mana while at 35% maximum Life or below. These effects satisfy matching conditions without setting Life or Mana to those values.

  • Read instead as a threshold replacement.
  • Read count as as a state check rather than resource recovery or loss.
  • Recheck every conditional item, Skill, and passive that uses the affected state.
5
Step 5

Separate being in a state from reaching it

While on Low Life is continuously true for as long as the state applies. When you reach Low Life describes the event of crossing into that state. Omen of Resurgence checks reaching Low Life and then fully recovers Life, Mana, and Energy Shield, while Wondertrap checks the continuing Low Life state for its item-rarity bonus. Against enemies on Low Life checks the enemy's state rather than the player's state.

  • Distinguish while, when you reach, and against enemies that are wording.
  • Do not expect a threshold-crossing effect to repeat while the character remains inside the state.
  • Check whether the condition belongs to the player, an Ally, a Minion, or an enemy.

Important limits

Low means percentage remaining

At 35% or less remaining, the resource is Low. Missing 35% leaves 65% remaining and therefore meets the default High threshold instead.

Low and High can overlap after a threshold change

The default ranges do not overlap, but Coward's Legacy makes 65% through 75% Life count as both Low and High. Matching benefits from both states can therefore apply at the same time.

Reserved is not Full

Filling the entire unreserved portion does not make the resource Full unless the effect explicitly checks Full Unreserved.

State checks do not change the resource

Counting as Low Life or Low Mana can activate matching effects, but it does not spend, recover, reserve, or set the underlying Life or Mana amount.