Elements and auras

ExperienceSystem 0.4.0 · default settings. Elements come from the damage dealt by weapons, projectiles and creature attacks. You do not need to select a character element, learn a separate reaction spell or enchant your fists to use the system.

Created by the friendly_neighbor team · Discord

Language: English. Русская версия: RU 03. Элементы и ауры in the Wiki menu.

The six elements

Water deals no damage and is not an attacking element. It prepares a target for another hit. Buying Channelling does not turn an ordinary physical attack into a fire or frost attack.

Items from other mods are supported when their hits use the corresponding Valheim damage types. To inspect elemental weapons available in your loaded setup, use es_elements after enabling devcommands.

What is an aura?

An aura is a temporary supply of an element on the target, available for a subsequent hit to react with. It is separate from a normal game status: a fire aura and the Burning effect are related, but have different rules and lifetimes.

A target can hold up to two different auras. By default, a hit supplies min(elemental damage × 0.12, 4) aura units. For example, 20 frost damage supplies 2.4 units. Without refreshing, that frost supply lasts approximately 3 seconds. A full 4-unit aura lasts about 2 seconds for lightning and 8 seconds for poison.

Applying the same element again keeps the greater of the remaining and incoming amounts; it does not add them together. With both slots occupied, a new element can replace the weakest aura only if the incoming aura is stronger.

Existing game statuses, such as Wet or Burning, are considered when a hit is processed and can supply their matching aura again. The default amount from a status is 3 units. An aura from a single hit and a wet target's overall reaction window can therefore have different durations.

Triggering a reaction

1. A previous hit or status gives the target an elemental aura.
2. A compatible elemental hit arrives.
3. The strongest eligible aura is chosen and one elemental reaction triggers.
4. Its multiplier increases only the elemental component that triggered it, and its additional effects are applied.

Read the order as “aura already on the target → element of the new hit.” Frost → fire produces Thaw with ×2 fire damage. Fire → frost produces Quench with ×1.5 frost damage. These are different results.

Most reactions consume the selected aura. The exceptions are poison → fire, poison → lightning and poison → frost: half of the poison supply remains. The triggering element does not automatically attach as a new aura through the reaction itself; later statuses and hits can apply it again.

Identical elements do not react with one another. Becoming wet does not trigger a reaction by itself either: a suitable hit must follow.

Weapons with multiple elements

The aura system considers the two largest elemental components of a hit. The secondary component is seeded as an aura first; the dominant component is then checked as the trigger. In version 0.4.0, a mixed hit can therefore react on its first impact if its newly seeded secondary aura is eligible. Auras already present on the target also affect the result.

For example, a hit containing 40 frost and 20 spirit damage against a target with no auras first supplies spirit; frost then triggers Hallow. The third and any further elements of a mixed hit still deal their damage, but do not create separate auras.

If changing ammunition or adding another mod's bonus changes your reactions, check which component is now dominant.

Understanding damage numbers

Example: a hit contains 70 physical and 30 fire damage, and the target has a water aura. Steam multiplies the 30 fire by 1.5. The result is 70 + 45 = 115, before other modifiers and defences, not 150.

Some reactions also add a separate burst or extra hit. The listed 25 damage in the reference is its base value, not a guaranteed loss of 25 HP: further bonuses and the target's defences still apply.

Reactions against players

Enemies can use the same interactions against you by default. A wet character is especially exposed to subsequent frost, fire or lightning hits. Resistances reduce their matching damage, but do not by themselves prevent aura formation.

Administrators can disable reactions against players with 01 General → ReactionsAffectPlayers. Each element can also be enabled or disabled under 10 Element - .... These switches govern auras and reactions; they do not remove a normal weapon's damage type.