Spell

What Spell does

Current rules

Check the Spell tag, selected skill level, Cost, Cast Time, Critical Hit Chance, damage or effect lines, and every secondary tag. Those fields show what the Spell does, how its values change by level, whether it hits, and which modifiers and supports can apply.

Spell tag: The Spell tag is the reliable classification. Spells can be granted by gems, wands, staves, items, ascendancies, or other effects, and the source that grants the skill does not change its tag.
Skill-derived base: A damaging Spell normally lists its own base damage and base Critical Hit Chance. Its Cast Time is also listed on the skill. These values are not inherited from a weapon's inherent combat stats.
Weapon modifiers: A weapon's inherent damage, attacks per second, and base Critical Hit Chance do not scale a Spell. Explicit global modifiers on the weapon can still apply when their wording matches, including Spell Damage, Cast Speed, and levels to matching Spell Skills.
Skill level: Skill level can change damage, cost, cooldown, duration, or other values. The progression is defined separately for each skill and level, so use that skill's exact level table instead of a universal damage-per-level estimate.
Cast Speed: Cast Speed is the Spell-specific form of Skill Speed. Applicable increases and reductions to Cast Speed and Skill Speed stack additively for a normal cast, while explicit total-use-time adjustments are applied separately.
Accuracy: Spells are not affected by Accuracy, Evasion, or the distance-based Accuracy penalty used by Attacks. A Spell that hits can still be avoided or mitigated by other mechanics when their wording applies.
Damage type: Spell is a skill classification, not a damage type. A Spell can deal Physical, Fire, Cold, Lightning, or Chaos damage, and conversion changes the damage type without changing the Spell classification.
Modifier matching: Every restriction in a modifier must match the relevant component. Spell Damage applies to Spell damage, while Projectile, AoE, elemental, and other narrower modifiers require the corresponding property, tag, or damage type.
Hits and Critical Hits: Instant damage dealt by a Spell is Hit damage and can use the skill's listed base Critical Hit Chance. Damage over time and non-damaging effects do not become Hits just because the skill has the Spell tag.
Triggered Spells: A triggered Spell remains a Spell, but the triggered use occurs without a cast time and does not count as using the skill. Read the trigger condition and its own cooldown or energy rules instead of treating the listed Cast Time as the trigger interval.

How to read a Spell skill

7 cases

01

Tags

Spell confirms the skill type. Projectile, AoE, Duration, Channelling, Buff, Curse, damage-type, and other tags describe narrower behavior and compatibility.

02

Level

Select the exact level before comparing values. Damage, cost, cooldown, duration, and other fields can progress differently from one Spell to another.

03

Cost

Shows the resource paid for a normal use at the selected level. Supports and other effects can modify the final cost or add another resource cost.

04

Cast Time

Shows the base time for a normal cast. Cast Speed and Skill Speed modify that use speed, while triggered uses occur without a cast time.

05

Critical Hit Chance

Shows the Spell's base chance to critically hit. Applicable Critical Hit Chance for Spells modifies this value when the Spell deals a Hit.

06

Damage and effect lines

These are the actual outcomes at the selected level. Read every line because a Spell may hit, deal damage over time, apply a buff or curse, move the player, create a minion, or combine several effects.

07

Cooldown and stored uses

When present, these fields limit availability separately from Cast Time. Cooldown Recovery Rate affects the cooldown only when its wording applies.

Limits and exceptions

6 rules

Not every Spell deals damage. Buffs, curses, travel skills, defensive skills, minion skills, and other utility effects can all have the Spell tag.
A Spell granted by a wand, staff, or item is still a Spell. The granting item can provide matching global modifiers even though its inherent attack stats do not become the Spell's base stats.
There is no reliable universal percentage for the damage gained from one Spell level. Compare the exact skill and the two exact levels in its current level table.
Spell does not automatically mean Projectile, AoE, elemental, Hit, or damaging. Read the remaining tags and each effect line before choosing supports or modifiers.
A single skill can contain hit, damage-over-time, buff, trigger, or secondary components. A modifier applies only to the components that satisfy its wording.
Triggered Spells do not use their listed Cast Time for the triggered event. Trigger conditions, energy, cooldowns, and explicit restrictions can still limit how often they occur.

Related pages

16 connections

mechanicAttack

An Attack is a skill with the Attack tag. It normally takes its base damage, attack speed, and base Critical Hit Chance from an equipped Martial Weapon, unless the skill states a different rule.

mechanicHit

A Hit is an instantaneous damage event. Any damage that is not damage over time is Hit damage, whether it comes from an Attack, a Spell, Thorns, or another effect.

mechanicCritical Hit

Critical Hits deal +100% extra damage (i.e. twice as much damage) by default. Critical Damage Bonuses can further modify this value.

mechanicSkill Speed

Skill Speed changes how quickly skills are used. Generic increases and reductions to Skill Speed add together with matching specific speed stats such as Attack Speed, Cast Speed, Warcry Speed, reload speed, or totem placement speed.

mechanicProjectile

A Projectile is a moving entity created by an Attack or Spell. Projectile describes delivery, not the source type or damage type, so the Projectile can still be an Attack or Spell and can deal any supported damage type.

mechanicAoE

Area of Effect, usually shortened to AoE, describes a skill component that applies to targets inside an area instead of selecting only one target. The area can be a circle, cone, line, ring, or another shape defined by the skill.

mechanicDamage

Damage is classified on three independent axes: source, delivery, and type. A component can come from an Attack, Spell, Thorns, or another source; deal a Hit or damage over time; and deal Physical, Fire, Cold, Lightning, or Chaos damage.

mechanicPhysical

Physical damage is one of the five Damage Types. It is the most common and the only one reduced by Armour, rather than by a Resistance.

mechanicElemental

Elemental Damage is the collective name for Fire, Cold, and Lightning Damage. A modifier to Elemental Damage can scale all three types, but each part is still mitigated by its matching Resistance and keeps its own ailment rules.

mechanicFire

Fire Damage is one of the five damage types. Fire Hits apply Flammability, which supplies chance to Ignite, while Fire Resistance mitigates Fire Hits and Fire damage over time separately.

mechanicCold

Cold Damage is one of the five damage types. Cold Hits can Chill and build Freeze, but Chill Magnitude, Freeze Buildup, and Freeze Duration are separate values, and Cold damage from Hits cannot build Heavy Stun.

mechanicLightning

Lightning Damage is one of the five damage types and one of the three Elemental damage types. Lightning Hits can Shock by default, while Electrocution requires a Skill, item, support, or other effect that explicitly enables Electrocution Buildup.

mechanicChaos

Chaos is one of the five damage types. Chaos Resistance reduces it, and ordinary Chaos damage removes twice its damage value from Energy Shield instead of bypassing Energy Shield by default.

mechanicTrigger

A Trigger causes a skill to occur immediately when its stated condition is met. A Triggered skill has no attack or cast time for that activation, usually targets the cause of the Trigger, and does not count as a skill you used.

mechanicItem Modifiers

Item modifiers are stat lines or rules attached to an item. They include implicit modifiers, explicit prefixes and suffixes, enchantments, corruption enchantments, crafted and Desecrated modifiers, fractured modifiers, and the fixed effects on Unique items.

mechanicAccuracy

Accuracy Rating determines whether an Attack Hits by being compared with the target's Evasion. Player Attacks also lose Accuracy with distance, while Spells do not use Accuracy.

Items and gems using this mechanic

24 connections

Direct relationArc

An arc of Lightning stretches from the caster to a targeted enemy and Chains on to other nearby enemies. Consumes a Lightning Infusion if possible to deal more damage and Chain further.

Direct relationArctic Armour

While active, conjures an icy barrier that gains stages over time. While the barrier has stages, Melee Attacks that hit you will remove a stage to cause a burst of ice that deals Cold Spell damage to the attacker.

Direct relationBall Lightning

Fire a slow-moving Projectile that moves through enemies. The Projectile itself does not Hit enemies, but repeatedly discharges bolts of Lightning at nearby enemies. Consumes a Fire Infusion if possible to slow down over time, create Ignited Ground as it travels, and explode dealing Fire damage in an Area after it dissipates.

Direct relationBarrage

Ready a volley of arrows or spears, Empowering your next Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attack to Repeat multiple times. Consumes your Frenzy Charges on use to add additional repeats.

Direct relationConductivity

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering their Lightning Resistance.

Direct relationDespair

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering their Chaos Resistance.

Direct relationDetonate Dead

Cause a Corpse to violently explode, damaging surrounding enemies.

Direct relationEffigy of Cruelty

+(20-30) to maximum Energy Shield

Direct relationElemental Weakness

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering their Elemental Resistances.

Direct relationEnervating Nova

Unleash a Nova of Lightning damage to Electrocute enemies. Enemies close to you take no damage while enemies at the edge of the ring take significantly more damage. Enemies Hit can be Electrocuted by all Lightning damage for a short duration.

Direct relationEnezun's Charge

(80-100)% increased Spell Damage

Direct relationEnfeeble

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, making them deal less damage.

Direct relationFirebolt

Launch a fiery Projectile towards a target. The Projectile explodes on impact, damaging foes in a small area.

Direct relationFirestorm

Rain a storm of flaming bolts over the targeted area. Can Consume all three types of Elemental Infusion, creating a much larger storm when Fire-Infused, causing lightning bolts when Lightning-Infused, and raining ice bolts when Cold-Infused.

Direct relationFlameblast

Channel to build destructive energy around you. Releasing the energy causes a devastating explosion that is larger and more intense the longer you Channelled for.

Direct relationFlammability

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering their Fire Resistance.

Direct relationFrost Wall

Create a wall of Ice Crystals which holds back enemies. The Crystals explode if sufficiently damaged, or if pushed hard enough, damaging nearby enemies. Consumes a Lightning Infusion if possible to add another Lightning explosion if destroyed.

Direct relationHypothermia

Curse all targets in an area after a short delay, lowering their Cold Resistance.

Direct relationIce Nova

Conjure a wave of ice in all directions, Knocking Back enemies based on how close they are to you. Casting Ice Nova targeting near a Frostbolt Projectile will cause it to originate from the Frostbolt instead of you. Consumes a Cold Infusion if possible to leave a patch of Chilled Ground.

Direct relationIce-Tipped Arrows

Ready your active Bow or Spear, Empowering your next Repeatable Bow or Projectile Spear Attacks to Convert Physical Damage to Cold Damage and Trigger Ice Fragments on Hit. This Skill's cooldown can be bypassed by expending a Frenzy Charge. Cannot Empower Sustained Skills.

Direct relationIncinerate

Gain fuel by spending Mana on any Skill, then use the accumulated fuel to conjure a torrent of Fire from your hand, Igniting enemies in front of you. The flames grow stronger the longer you Channel. Consumes a Fire Infusion if possible to also create Ignited Ground. Cannot gain fuel while using this skill.

Direct relationLightning Warp

Target an enemy to either teleport inside the target's body if they are under the Cull threshold, causing it to violently explode, or to apply a Debuff to them, which will cause the same effect if that enemy falls under the Cull threshold during its duration. Can also be used on Ball Lightning Projectiles. On teleport, the target is destroyed, and the explosion deals Lightning damage to surrounding enemies. If targeting an enemy, the explosion also creates Shocked Ground. Creates a Lightning Infusion on successful use. Highlights enemies that can be Culled.

Direct relationMask of the Sanguimancer

+(20-25) to Evasion Rating

Direct relationPower Siphon

Attempt to rip the lifeforce from an enemy. Enemies within Culling range will be highlighted and instantly killed on Hit, granting a Power Charge. Can only target Enemies in Culling range.

Catalog version 0.5.4d

What Spell does

How to read a Spell skill

Limits and exceptions

Guides using this page