Health, represented by the red bar in the user interface, represents the character's vitality (often called "hit points"). When a character's health reaches zero, the character dies.
Maximum health
All level one characters start with 100 health. Every level a character earns increases their maximum health by 20. This brings maximum health to 480 at level of 20. In addition, some skills, weapon upgrades, focuses, shields, Morale Boosts, death penalty, armor, consumables, and runes can affect a player's maximum health.
The maximum health that a level 20 character can achieve without skills or titles is 670, however Dervish primaries can attain 695 (due to an inherent +25 health on their chest armor).
480 (base hp) + 50 (Rune of Superior Vigor) + 40 (4X Rune of Vitae) + 40 (5X Survivor Insignia) + 30 (shield or focus) + 30 (Main Weapon) = 670
Any temporary effects on maximum health also modify current health by the same amount, albeit also temporarily. For example, if a creature with 300 of 500 health has its maximum health reduced by 100, it would then have 200 of 400 health. When the effect expires, the creature would be restored to 300 of 500 health. Reduction of maximum health cannot, however, reduce a creature to below 1 current health.
Healing
Healing a character causes that player to gain health points, up to their full health. The healing player and healed player see blue numbers showing the amount healed. Blue numbers are shown even when no HP is actually gained (usually because the character is at full health). The size of the blue numbers may be modified through options.
Health gain, health regeneration, and healing
There are three distinct types of health replentishment- health regeneration, healing, and gain health. Healing skills are affected by healing reduction skills while gain health skills give you the stated amount. Health regeneration provides health over time determined by the number of "pips" a character has.
Health regeneration/degeneration
The rate at which health regenerates (or degenerates) is represented by pips, or arrows, that appear in the health bar. Each pip indicates 2 points per second of health recovery (arrows pointing to the right) or loss (arrows pointing to the left). Health degeneration usually affects the color of a character's health bar. A pale pink health bar indicates bleeding, while a green bar indicates disease, poison or health degeneration from an environmental effect and a purple bar indicates degeneration from a hex or well. Degeneration from burning and miasma does not affect the color of the health bar.
It should be noted that skills that incur health degeneration ignore armor, and thus are useful against heavily-armored foes, or foes which use armor-increasing skills (such as Armor of Earth).
Health regeneration will stack to exceed ±10 pips, but the effect will be no greater than that of ±10 pips. For instance, if a target has -20 health regeneration they will lose health at the rate of -10 pips, and if they use a +10 Healing Breeze, they will still lose health at the rate of -10 pips.
Natural health regeneration
If a character is not at full health, isn't attacking, isn't using a skill that targets foe, isn't being targeted by a non-party member's spell and hasn't lost health recently (from damage, sacrifice, or health degeneration), then the character will slowly start gaining health regeneration as a form of natural healing. Natural health regeneration stops when any one of the above conditions ceases to be true. It is possible to regain health this way while you're under attack as long as the damage you receive is 0 and any degeneration is offset by regeneration.
- After 5 seconds you get a health regeneration of 1
- After 7 seconds you get a health regeneration of 2
- After 9 seconds you get a health regeneration of 3
- After 11 seconds you get a health regeneration of 4
- After 13 seconds you get a health regeneration of 5
- After 15 seconds you get a health regeneration of 6
- After 17 seconds you get a health regeneration of 7
Notes
- With the Masters of Corruption or Drink from the Chalice of Corruption quests it is possible to have health degeneration and health regeneration while in a town or outpost, however, the effect will not actually decrease your health.
- At some outposts in the Maguuma Jungle, there are bodies of water and standing in them will trigger the Fount Of Maguuma effect, giving you +1 regeneration.
- Some monsters in Pre-Searing Ascalon have health that is below what it should be according to the formula.
| Health | Monster | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Aloe Seed | 0 |
| 35 | River Skale Tad | 0 |
| 50 | Aloe Husk | 0 |
| 70 | River Skale | 1 |
| 80 | Gargoyle | 1 |
| 80 | Stone Elemental | 1 |
| 80 | Restless Corpse | 1 |
| 120 | Tomb Nightmare | 4 |