Status Effects & Reactions

Reactions are how you use skills in sequence to set off one big burst.

Three roles

Every skill plays one of three roles in a reaction.

• Prime (called Ignite in the talent tree) — leaves a mark (a debuff) on the enemy
• Detonate — sets off the marks that have built up
• Control — weakens or stuns. It neither primes nor detonates

Order

First stack marks with a Prime skill, then use a Detonate skill to set them off. Reverse the order and nothing happens.

🔴 Detonation only works when the element matches

Not every Detonate skill can set off every mark. Each mark has a set element that triggers it — Bleed is set off by Physical, Burn by Fire, Poison by Poison.

So if you're going for reactions, you need to match the elements of your Prime and Detonate skills when building your slots. Loading your slots with detonators and still seeing nothing go off is almost always down to this.

Stacks

Apply the same mark several times and it builds stacks, up to a maximum of three (only World Bosses stack deeper).

Stacks do work in two places.

• They hurt far more when detonated. The gap between one stack and three is more than a simple multiple.
• They hurt before detonation, too. Damage over time grows heavier with each stack.

The combat log shows exactly how many stacks were detonated.

Where the blast gets its power

Detonation damage has nothing to do with how strong the detonating skill is. It is decided entirely by which marks you stacked and how many layers deep.

That means there's no loss in detonating with a small, fast skill. You don't need to spend a big skill on detonation.

When two or more different marks are stacked, they can go off in a single chain.

How long marks last

Once applied, a mark stays until it is detonated or the fight ends. It doesn't fade away on its own over time. You can build it up slowly and set it all off at once.

It doesn't matter who applied it

You can detonate marks laid down by your accompanying Souls with your own skills. A setup where you bring a Soul that's good at priming and hold only detonators yourself works just fine.

Basic attacks can't detonate

Your basic attack cannot set off marks.

It can lay marks down, though — the "Brand" family of weapon affixes and the unique effects of some legendary weapons apply a Prime on every basic-attack hit. With a weapon like that, you can fill your slots with detonators alone and leave priming to your gear.

Where to use them

Because a single burst hits so hard, reactions shine against enemies that last a long time. World Bosses and regional bosses are the prime examples.