Health



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, armor, and runes can affect a player's maximum health. Morale Boosts and death penalty also affect maximum health.

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.

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, miasma, or Enduring Toxin does not affect the color of the health bar.

It should be noted that skills that incur health degeneration ignore armor, and thus is useful against heavily-armored foes, or foes which use armor-increasing skills (such as Armor of Earth).

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

Maximum health regeneration/degeneration
The maximum net regeneration or degeneration is limited to ten pips. For example, if a character is both poisoned (-4 pips) and burning (-7 pips), the character will only suffer from -10 health degeneration. If Healing Breeze at 12 Healing Prayers is then cast upon that character to provide +8 pips of regeneration, then net total will now be -7 + -4 + 8 = -3 pips (not -2, as only the net result is subject to capping). In the original situation involving only poison and burning, the -1 pip of degeneration over the cap has no immediate effect but it is still "there" and matters when a source of health regeneration is thrown in.

Related articles

 * Modify max health quick reference
 * Inflict deep wound skills quick reference
 * Healing skills quick reference
 * Life steal skills quick reference
 * Regen/Degen health skills quick reference
 * Skills that cause bleeding
 * Skills that cause burning
 * Skills that cause disease
 * Skills that cause poison
 * Skills and their efficiency at healing