An Enchantment is "A spell that causes a positive effect for a period of time (e.g., speed, increased armor, increased Energy)."
This boost can be an increase in armor, a reduction in Energy cost or even turning damage inflicted into healing. It is usually easy to tell who has an enchantment cast on them since they all have a cloudy white ring around their middle torso, with a revolving icon indicating the profession of the caster, as well as a golden up-arrow at the end of their health bar and the enchantment's skill icon surrounded by a yellow border in the player's Effects Monitor. Characters enchanted with Death Nova are also surrounded by a distinctive green ring of fumes and sparkles.
Enchantments placed on a target will last for a specific time (like Aura of Restoration), until a condition is met (like Illusion of Weakness) or will last as long as the caster is willing to maintain the upkeep cost of -1 pips of energy regeneration (like Life Barrier).
Limited duration enchantments can be extended by using a weapon upgrade "of enchanting." Blessed Aura and Extend Enchantments can also extend enchantment durations.
Some effects trigger when an enchantment ends. These effects will trigger if an enchantment's duration expires or if the enchantment is removed, but they will not trigger if an enchantment is overwritten by another copy of the same enchantment.
Enchantment Stacking
As a basic rule, you can't have multiple copies of the same enchantment active, but you can have multiple enchantments of several types active at once.
Regarding maintained enchantments: When an ally casts a maintained enchantment on a target and other allies cast the same maintained enchantment on the same target, the following happens:
- The enchantment ends when all maintainers stop maintaining it, or when an enchantment removing spell destroys it, in that case all maintainers stop maintaining it.
- Enchantment effect on target is determined by stats of maintainer with the highest attribute investment i.e. when two player cast Life Barrier on a target, one having barrier reducing damage by 50% and the other by 51%, damage on target is reduced by 51%.
- The enchantment effect on casters works for each caster independently; thus Essence Bond will give energy to everyone who maintains it on a target when the target is being hit, and Life Bond will damage everyone maintaining it when the target is hit, but each maintainers damage is reduced by the amount which is determined by his investment in Protection Prayers.
Unmaintained enchantments work similarly:
- When two copies of the same enchantment are cast on a target, the duration is reset to the higher duration of the two; either to the remaining duration of the already active enchantment, or to the longer duration of the new enchantment.
- When a weaker enchantment is cast over a stronger enchantment, the effect of the stronger enchantment lasts as long as stronger enchantment lasts.
Related skills
For a list of enchantment spell skills, see Enchantment spell skills quick reference or Category:Enchantment Spells.
For a list of skills which can remove enchantments, see enchantment removal quick reference.
These skills involve enchantments in other ways:
Melandru's Arrows (elite) deals more damage to enchanted foes.- Melandru's Assault deals extra damage to an enchanted foe and adjacent foes.
Melandru's Shot (elite) user gains energy if target foe is enchanted.- Nature's Renewal increases casting time and upkeep costs of enchantments for all.
- Symbiosis increases maximum health of each creature for each enchantment on them.
- Tranquility causes enchantments cast by non-spirit creatures to expire sooner.
- Air of Enchantment(elite) makes enchantments cast on target other ally cost less energy to cast.
- Blessed Aura makes your monk enchantments last longer.
- Blessed Signet gives energy for each maintained enchantment.
- Boon Signet gives energy for each enchantment on target ally.
- Contemplation of Purity removes all enchantments from its user and for each: gives health, removes a hex, and removes a condition.
- Dwayna's Kiss heals other ally more for each enchantment.
- Healing Light caster gains energy if target was enchanted.
- Release Enchantments caster loses all enchantments and and heals entire party for each enchantment lost.
- Scourge Enchantment whenever hexed foe is the target of an enchantment, the caster of that enchantment takes damage.
- Defile Enchantments deals extra damage for each enchantment on foes.
- Desecrate Enchantments deals extra damage for each enchantment on foes.
- Discord (elite) deals damage only if foe is affected by a condition as well as an enchantment or hex.
- Soul Barbs deals damage when foe gets enchanted.
- Enchanter's Conundrum (elite) increases casting time of hexed foe's enchantments, when it ends it damages the foe if the foe is not enchanted.
- Hex Eater Vortex (elite) if it removes a hex from target ally, all foes near that ally take damage and lose one enchantment.
- Mirror of Disenchantment remove one enchantment from target foe, all the foe's party members lose that same enchantment
- Ether Prodigy (elite) removes all enchantments from its user.
- Ether Renewal (elite) gives its user energy and life for each enchantment.
- Vapor Blade deals less damage if foe is enchanted.
- Golden Lotus Strike gives energy if user is enchanted.
- Golden Phoenix Strike misses unless user is enchanted.
- Shadow Shroud (elite) makes foe unable to be enchanted.
- Brutal Weapon deals extra damage if bearer is not enchanted.
- Godspeed increase speed while enchanted.
- Swift Javelin attack cannot be blocked and moves twice as fast if enchanted.
- Extend Enchantments doubles enchantment duration, but removes all enchantments at end.
- Arcane Zeal (elite) gives the user 1 energy for each enchantment on them whenever they cast a spell.
Notes
- The Guild Wars Prophecies manual describes Nature Rituals as "environmental enchantments", and some Ritual-related error messages refer to the effects of Nature Rituals as "global enchantments", however the game mechanics do not treat them as enchantments.