Ground Effects¶

Ground effects occupy separate patches. Your base limit is 1 patch across all types; global skill limit and ground limit increase it. Each projectile can create a patch: three projectiles can leave three patches at limit 3. At the limit, a new patch replaces the oldest. Identical effects do not stack where they overlap. Ground damage is damage over time, not a hit or an aura.

How it works¶

Ground Effects: a passive that creates ground for a damage type (Ashen Wake, Blighted Soil, Glassbound, Stormbed) makes your spells leave a patch where they land: a projectile that hits the ground or an object (not one that hits an enemy), or an area spell where it strikes. One impact makes one patch, with a layer for each of the spell's fire, frost, lightning and poison damage that has such a passive.

Each layer comes from the spell's damage of its type, after your damage increases (ground damage increases join them) and before its critical strike:

damage per second = 20% × that damage × your damage over time multiplier for the type

build-up per second = 20% × that damage, into burning, chill, shock or poison

A patch has a radius of 2 m × (1 + area increases; a spell's patch also takes spell area increases), at most 12 m, and lasts 4 s × (1 + effect duration increases), at most 60 s.

Enemies standing on it (on the ground, not swimming) take its damage every 0.2 s, paid about once a second, through their resistances. Ground damage is never a critical strike, can't be blocked or evaded, and doesn't stagger. Each enemy takes only the strongest patch of each type, whoever made it; different types add up. Your allies and you take no damage from your patches.

You can keep 1 patch at once (limits); a new one past the limit removes your oldest. Only spell patches count.

Chilled Ground makes everyone on it slide, you and your allies too. It doesn't lower speed: speeding up and braking work at 15% of the usual rate, turning at 35%.

Passives that work while you stand on a kind of ground count any patch of that type, yours or not.

With the other mechanics: Combat and building.

Referenced by¶

Passive Tree¶

Notables¶

	Name	Effect
	Ashen Wake	20% increased fire damage with ground effects 10% increased fire area of effect with ground effects 30% increased eitr regeneration while on Burning Ground Spells create ground when they hit terrain with fire damage
	Blighted Soil	20% increased poison damage with ground effects 30% increased poison damage over time while on Poisoned Ground Spells create ground when they hit terrain with poison damage
	Frozen Memory	20% increased frost damage with ground effects
	Glassbound	10% increased frost area of effect with ground effects 15% reduced cost while on Chilled Ground Spells create ground when they hit terrain with frost damage
	Rune Circle	10% increased ground area of effect 20% increased ground effect duration +2 ground limit
	Stormbed	10% increased lightning area of effect with ground effects 7.5% increased cast speed while on Shocked Ground Spells create ground when they hit terrain with lightning damage
	Unsettled Ground	40% increased ground build-up 25% increased ground ailment effect
	Venomous Reach	10% increased poison area of effect with ground effects
	Winter's Reach	40% increased chill build-up with ground effects

Small passives¶

Stat	Nodes
8% increased lightning damage with ground effects	4
4% increased poison area of effect with ground effects	3
8% increased poison damage with ground effects	3
4% increased ground area of effect	2
8% increased ground effect duration	2
16% increased ground build-up	2
10% increased ground ailment effect	2
4% increased frost area of effect with ground effects	2
8% increased fire damage with ground effects	2
4% increased fire area of effect with ground effects	2
4% increased lightning area of effect with ground effects	1
16% increased chill build-up with ground effects	1
8% increased frost damage with ground effects	1

Items¶

Mods (5)¶

Mod	Type	Rolls on	From (item level)
#% increased ground area of effect	Suffix	must be weapon; one of elemental magic, blood magic or sceptre	Meadows (1)
#% increased ground area of effect	Suffix	must be jewel; one of Intelligence jewel, Strength–Intelligence jewel or Dexterity–Intelligence jewel	Meadows (1)
#% increased ground build-up	Suffix	must be weapon; one of elemental magic, blood magic or sceptre	Meadows (1)
#% increased ground damage	Prefix	must be weapon; one of elemental magic, blood magic or sceptre	Meadows (1)
#% increased ground effect duration	Suffix	must be weapon; one of elemental magic, blood magic or sceptre	Meadows (1)

Patch history¶

Patch	Change
Patch 5.3.0 (New)	Ground effects occupy separate patches. Your base limit is 1 patch across all types; global skill limit and ground limit increase it. Each projectile can create a patch: three projectiles can leave three patches at limit 3. At the limit, a new patch replaces the oldest. Identical effects do not stack where they overlap. Ground damage is damage over time, not a hit or an aura.

Data from Path of Valheiman 5.3.6, extracted 2026-10-27.