How a Spell Is Read

What it is

A spell is the runes on its row, read from left to right. The Cord screen’s readout always shows the result, so you never have to guess. This page explains the rules and how mana and cooldown are worked out.

Family	Colour	Job	Examples
Shape	teal	Where the spell goes. Starts a group.	Self, Bolt, Beam, Burst, Zone
Effect	its element’s	What happens to what the shape hit.	Fire, Heal, Freeze, Blink
Modifier	gold	Changes the closest rune on its left that it can change.	Amplify, Extend, Split, Rapid
Link	violet	The rest happens later, somewhere else or only if.	On Hit, Delay, Echo, Pulse

Every rune, by Codex category, is on the Rune Codex.

How to use it

The four rules

1. A shape starts a group. Every effect after it, up to the next shape or link, lands in order on whatever the shape hits.
2. A spell that starts with an effect is cast on you, as if it began with Self. Heal is Self · Heal.
3. A modifier changes the closest rune on its left that it can change. It never reaches back past a link.
4. A link ends the segment. Everything after it happens later, somewhere else, or only if something is true.

Several groups in one segment go off together. Bolt · Fire · Burst · Heal throws a fire bolt and, at the same moment, heals everything around you. A shape with no effects still flies but does nothing, unless a link is watching it.

Stasis is the one exception to “in order”: it always lands first in its group, so every other hit is held until time moves again.

After a link, who is “the target”?

After	Effects with no shape land on	New shapes start from
Delay, Pulse	You	You, aimed where you look then
On Hit	Each creature hit (or the block)	The hit, carrying on the same way
On Kill	The spot where it died	That spot
On Reaction, On Weakness	Each creature that reacted or was hit by its weakness	That creature
On Hurt	Whatever hurt you	The attacker
On Land, On Low Health	You	Where you are
Echo and the conditions	The same as before the link	The same place

So Bolt · On Hit · Fire sets alight the creature the bolt hit, and Bolt · On Hit · Burst · Fire bursts into flame around it.

Modifiers find their rune

A modifier looks left, rune by rune, and attaches to the closest rune that has what it needs. A gold line in the Cord screen shows which.

• Amplify needs power. In Bolt · Fire · Amplify it finds Fire. In Bolt · Amplify · Fire it finds nothing and the readout warns you.
• Split needs a shape, so Bolt · Fire · Split and Bolt · Split · Fire are the same spell.
• Widen needs a radius. In Burst · Explode · Widen it widens the blast; in Burst · Widen · Explode, the burst.

A modifier on an effect changes that effect. A modifier on a shape changes the whole group and multiplies the whole group’s cost. Rapid, Vow and Blood Price sit on a shape but change the whole spell. Modifiers inside a Knot only change the Knot’s own runes. Modifiers stack and multiply.

Modifier	Does	Cost ×
Amplify	+50% power	1.5
Overcharge	+150% power	2.6
Focus	Half the radius, +50% power (two per rune at most)	1.2
Extend	Twice as long (three per rune at most)	1.4
Widen	+50% radius	1.5
Quicken	Faster projectiles, faster strikes, shorter Delay and Pulse gaps	1.2
Split	Three copies of the shape	2.4
Volley	Fires three times, a quarter second apart	2.4
Pierce	Passes through 3 more targets	1.3
Bounce	Bounces off blocks 3 more times	1.3
Chain	Jumps to up to 3 more enemies within 6 blocks	1.8
Homing	Steers toward the nearest enemy within 12 blocks	1.4
Linger	The effect lands twice more, a second apart	1.8
Frugal	Half the mana; weaker and shorter	0.5
Execute	Double power against targets under half health (one per effect)	1.3
Trial Key	+60% power against targets at full health (one per effect)	1.3
Kindred	A helpful effect also lands on you and the nearest ally within 8 blocks, at half power	1.4
Thirst	You heal for part of the damage dealt	1.4
Belated	Lands 1.5 seconds late, 25% stronger	1.25
Rapid	Halves the whole spell’s cooldown	1.4, on the whole spell
Vow	That shape’s effects hit twice as hard; the whole spell’s cooldown is 5 times longer (one per shape)	1.0
Blood Price	The whole spell is paid in health	1.0

Extra copies past a limit show a warning and add nothing. Every rune page lists which modifiers work on it.

Links

Link	Tier	Mana	The rest of the spell…
Delay	I	2	fires 1 second later, from you. Extend doubles the wait, Quicken halves it.
On Hit	II	2	fires at each creature the shape before it hits.
On Land	II	2	fires the next time you touch the ground.
Pulse	II	2	fires three times, a second apart. The part after it costs three times over.
On Hurt	II	2	fires at whatever next hurts you.
If Sneaking	II	1	fires only if you’re sneaking.
If Airborne	II	1	fires only if you’re in the air.
If Wounded	II	1	fires only if you’re below half health.
If Wet	II	1	fires only if you’re in water or rain.
On Weakness	II	2	fires at each creature struck with an element it’s weak to.
Imbue	II	3	is stored with 3 charges in an item or block. See Imbuing.
On Kill	III	2	fires where each creature the shape kills died.
Echo	III	2	carries on, and everything before it fires again half a second later.
On Low Health	III	2	fires when your health drops below 30%.
Combo	III	2	fires only on every third cast of this spell.
If Outnumbered	III	1	fires only if 3 or more enemies are within 8 blocks.
On Reaction	III	2	fires at each creature the shape sets off a reaction on.

• On Hit, On Kill, On Reaction, On Weakness and Imbue watch the group just before them, and need a shape there.
• On Hit fires for every hit: each pierced creature, each split bolt, each Chain jump (at most 8 from one hit).
• An Echo or Pulse after On Hit or On Kill is paid once, so it goes off for the first hit only.
• Conditions check once, the moment the spell reaches them. Everything before them has already happened.
• Echoes double. Bolt · Fire · Echo · Echo throws four bolts. Only 3 Echoes count.
• A cast goes at most 8 links deep.

Friendly fire

• Harmful effects never touch you, your party, your pets or your team. Other players are only harmed if the server allows PvP, and then rune damage to players is scaled down (to 60% by default).
• Helpful effects only touch you and those same allies. To heal a friend with Burst · Heal, join a party with /party (up to 8 players) or share a team.
• Movement and world effects only work where you’re allowed to build.

So Burst · Fire · Heal burns every enemy around you and heals you and your allies at once.

Cost and cooldown

A spell’s cost is worked out from its runes in one go, then rounded up:

• A group costs its shape’s cost, plus each effect’s cost times the shape’s multiplier.
• A modifier on an effect multiplies that effect’s cost. A modifier on a shape multiplies the whole group. Rapid, Vow and Blood Price multiply the whole spell.
• A link adds its own cost plus everything after it. Pulse and Imbue count what’s after them three times. An Echo adds the cost of everything it repeats.

Shapes

Shape	Cost	Effects ×		Shape	Cost	Effects ×
Self	0	1.0		Ring	6	1.7
Touch	1	1.0		Pillar	5	1.4
Spark	1	1.0		Wave	6	1.5
Ray	2	1.15		Mine	5	1.3
Bolt	3	1.1		Snare	4	1.4
Arc	3	1.25		Cone	5	1.4
Beam	3	1.2		Trail	7	2.85
Nova	3	1.3		Zone	8	2.75
Imprint	3	1.3		Constellation	8	2.4
Wisp	4	1.3		Orbit	9	3.05
Crescent	5	1.4		Orb	9	2.0
Lance	5	1.5		Vortex	9	2.8
Prism	5	1.5		Rain	10	2.5
Ricochet	5	1.5		Wall	10	2.95
Comet	5	1.6		Totem	10	3.15
Sweep	5	1.8		Domain	20	3.9
Barrage	5	1.85		Burst	6	1.5
Stream	5	1.95		Blitz	6	1.5
Glaive	5	1.8		Cluster	6	1.5
Latch	6	2.15

Each effect’s cost is on its rune page.

A worked price

Bolt · Fire · Split · On Hit · Burst · Explode:

Part	Sum	Mana
Bolt and its Fire	3 + (8 × 1.1)	11.8
Split on the Bolt	11.8 × 2.4	28.32
On Hit	2	2
Burst and its Explode	6 + (18 × 1.5)	33
Total	63.32, rounded up	64

What you actually pay

The readout always shows your own price after Thrift (7% less per level), the Archmage perk of the 8th Heart Circle (15% less), casting gear, a mana storm overhead (25% less), an affinity at level V, and the server’s cost setting. A Knot costs 10% less than the runes inside it.

Blood Price pays the whole spell in health: 1 health per 4 mana, rounded up, at least 1. It never kills you: if you don’t have enough health, the cast is refused. Bolt · Fire · Blood Price costs 3 health.

Cooldown

• One second for every 20 mana of the plain cost, from half a second to 20 seconds.
• Halved for every Rapid, five times longer for every Vow.
• Then shortened by Celerity (8% per level) and the Flow perk of the 5th Heart Circle (15%).
• In the end, from a quarter of a second to a minute.

A secret spell you’ve found takes 1.5 times as long. Lesson spells use their own fixed rest instead. Every spell has its own cooldown, kept when you log out or die.

Worked examples

Plain numbers, before your own discounts.

Spell	What it does	Mana	Cooldown
Heal	Heals you 8 health	12	0.6 s
Bolt · Push	A bolt that knocks back	8	0.5 s
Bolt · Fire	Fire bolt: 5 fire damage, burns 6 s	12	0.6 s
Bolt · Fire · Amplify	Fire bolt, +50% power	17	0.8 s
Bolt · Fire · Split	Three fire bolts in a fan	29	1.4 s
Burst · Explode · Widen	Each creature in a 4-block burst explodes, blast 50% wider	47	2.35 s
Burst · Widen · Explode	A 6-block burst of explosions	50	2.5 s
Zone · Fire · Extend	A field; what it sets alight burns twice as long	39	1.95 s
Zone · Extend · Fire	A field that lasts twice as long	42	2.1 s
Bolt · Fire · Burst · Heal	A fire bolt and a healing burst at once	36	1.8 s
Bolt · On Hit · Burst · Fire	A burst of fire where the bolt lands	23	1.15 s
Bolt · Fire · Split · On Hit · Burst · Explode	Three fire bolts that each explode	64	about 3.2 s
Bolt · Frost · Delay · Bolt · Fire	Frost, then a fire bolt a second later for Shatter	26	1.3 s
Self · Launch · On Land · Burst · Lightning	Rocket up; lightning where you land	46	2.3 s
Self · Brace · On Hurt · Jolt	Brace, then stun whatever hits you next	15	0.75 s
Bolt · Fire · If Sneaking · Bolt · Frost	Fire bolt, plus a frost bolt when sneaking	25	1.25 s
Bolt · Fire · Echo · Echo	Four fire bolts	54	2.65 s
Bolt · Fire · On Hit · Burst · Explode · Rapid	Exploding fire bolt, half cooldown	66	1.65 s
Bolt · Fire · Split · Split	Nine fire bolts	68	3.4 s
Bolt · Vow · Fire	Fire bolt that hits twice as hard	12	3 s
Self · Heal · Kindred	Heals you 8 and the nearest ally 4	17	0.85 s

Tips and counterplay

• Put On Hit right after the group you want watched. In Bolt · Fire · Burst · Heal · On Hit · Explode, On Hit watches the Burst, not the Bolt.
• After On Kill, use an area. The creature is gone, so On Kill · Burst · Explode works and On Kill · Explode has nothing to hit.
• Put Vow on the shape whose effects you want stronger. On an empty shape it’s a longer cooldown for nothing.
• A third Split adds nothing. Two Splits already make 9 copies, the most allowed, so a third only raises the cost.

Limits

Limit
Runes in a spell	Your Cord’s sockets: 3, 5, 8 or 12
Copies from Split	9
Echoes that count	3
Volley	9 shots
Linger	6 more landings
Widen on an effect	8 times its radius
Domain radius	24 blocks
Quicken	8 times as fast
Links deep	8
Creatures one cast can touch	64 (servers can change this)
Blocks one cast can change	32 (servers can change this)
Parts of one cast	128
Your spell projectiles in flight	24
Spirits you command	6
Knots inside Knots	2 deep
Mana cost	anything, but above your pool you must overcast