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Combat
Status effects and resistances
Understand what a status check changes, how to counter it, and why the combat tooltip matters.
Updated 10/16/2026Source-backed editorial base · v1
Overview
A status icon is a change to the battle plan: damage over time can outlast a turn, a stun can prevent an action, and a move can invalidate a skill's rank requirement. Resistance reduces the chance an effect lands; it does not make a plan immune to every source.
Effect → practical response
| Effect | What changes | Response to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | Repeated damage; dangerous when health is already low. | Bandage/cleansing or a skill that removes it; if the source is dangerous, remove the source first. |
| Blight | Repeated damage that can compound during the route. | Antivenom, an appropriate skill, or a faster kill on the applicator. |
| Stun | The target loses an action when the check succeeds. | Prevent the enemy's most damaging turn; track resistance and diminishing value after repeated stuns. |
| Move | The target changes rank; some equipped skills become unavailable. | Use a movement skill that still contributes, or rebuild the next action around the new rank. |
| Debuff | A stat or resistance is reduced for a period. | Check whether to clear it, wait it out, or use a skill unaffected by the penalty. |
| Mark | Enables bonuses on specific attacks; it is not damage by itself. | Apply it only when a teammate can exploit it before the target dies or the mark expires. |
| Guard / Riposte | Redirects attacks or counters eligible attacks under their rules. | Check which enemy actions can bypass or avoid the interaction; do not mistake the icon for full immunity. |
Death's Door is a recovery race
| State | Implication | Safe priority |
|---|---|---|
| A hero reaches 0 HP | They enter Death's Door rather than dying immediately. | Heal above 0 before optional damage or stress actions. |
| They take another hit at 0 HP | A Death Blow check can kill the hero. | Prevent the next enemy action, heal, or retreat if the expedition's cost is now unacceptable. |
| They are healed above 0 | Immediate Death's Door penalties end, but recovery penalties may remain for the quest. | Check the remaining effect icons; healing once is not a full reset. |
| Stress reaches 200 while afflicted | A heart attack can trigger Death's Door, or death if already there. | Reduce stress before it crosses the threshold; do not spend the last respite on optional damage. |
Read the tooltip instead of memorizing a universal percentage
The battle preview can show hit, critical, and effect chances for the selected skill and target. Those results shift with attributes, rank, target resistance, torchlight, quirks, equipment, difficulty, and patch. Use the displayed result to compare actions in this fight; a table from another build is only a starting reference.
Related field guides
Before the expedition
- Inspect the current resistance and the effect's source.
- Compare a cure or prevention action with removing the enemy that applies it.
- Recheck ranks after any push, pull, shuffle, or hero movement.
- Treat a hero at Death's Door as an emergency, not as a stable low-HP build.