Decay

Decay is a special status effect that reduces the target's max HP.

Mechanics

Each count of Decay decreases the target's max HP by 20% of their original max HP. Decay can be stacked up to 5 times.

• If Decay is stacked 5 times, then the target's max HP will be 1 HP.

If the target's current HP is higher than their max HP after Decay is applied, then the excess HP is lost.

• Example: a demon has 1,000 max HP and 950 current HP. 1 stack of Decay is applied, reducing max HP to 800. The excess 150 HP is lost.

Decay cannot be removed by skills that would remove status Ailments, such as Prayer.

• Decay also cannot be prevented by skills that would prevent ailments, such as Barrier.

Decay cannot be removed by skills that would remove Good Status Effects, such as Silent Prayer.

Decay can only be applied to enemies in D2 Duel and Battle Tower. It cannot be applied in PvE areas, including Democalypse. (However, PvE enemies can still apply it to the player's demons).

Interaction with HP-based skill effects

When max HP is reduced due to Decay, the following effects will use the post-reduction max HP:

• Skills that use max HP as their attack stat, such as Fatal Burn.
• Skills that heal a percentage of max HP, such as Alder King.
• Skills that inflict Fractional Damage based on max HP, such as Pestilence.
• Damage taken from Poison (which is 5% of max HP).
• HP healed by Lydia (which is 15% of max HP).

However, Bulwarks will use the original max HP, regardless of Decay.

• The maximum size of a Bulwark will be the user's original max HP.
• Bulwarks that calculate their size based on max HP will reference the user's original max HP.

Effects that activate when HP is above or below a certain level will reference the user's original max HP.

• For example: Rejection will look at 99% of the user's original max HP, not their max HP post-Decay. In this skill's case, if 1 count of Decay is applied, then the user's max HP is 80% of the original value. Therefore, Rejection's "above 99% HP" condition is failed.

Interaction with Fortify

Fortify is Decay's opposite, and the effects will cancel each other out on a per-count basis if both are applied at once.

• For example: if an enemy is already Decayed and then receives one count of Fortify, then one count of Decay will be removed.

Duration

Decay does not wear off over time. It will be removed when the affected demon dies.

Decay Appliers

Skills that apply Decay

Type	Name	MP Cost	Target	Skill Points	Exclusive?
Phys	Berserk	5 MP	Single Target	2 Levels	-	Berserker Guts	Force	Fallen Impact	6 MP	Single Target	-	Barbatos
Dark	Soul Levy	6 MP	Single Target	-	Mephisto
Passive	Destroyer of Virtue	Passive	2 Targets	-	Mephisto
Passive	Hell's Gunner	Passive	All Targets	-	Barbatos

Chain effects upon applying Decay

Type	Name	MP Cost	Target	Skill Points	Exclusive?
Passive	Hell's Gunner	Passive	All Targets	-	Barbatos