Deathwish
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Feature type | Equipment attachment |
| Access | Item Workbench · Perks Mode |
| Rules and progression | |
| Requirements | Weapon |
| Limits | Uses one item attachment slot |
| Progression | Levels 1–5 |
Deathwish is an item perk made at Item Workbench. Its compatible equipment is listed above.
What it changes
Passively increases qualifying monster-attack maximum damage as your HP falls. The bonus grows linearly from zero at full base HP to the level maximum at 1 HP.
The first successful direct hit of a target engagement against a full-HP monster is raised to the level's fraction of that hit's maximum, rounded up with a minimum of 1. Misses do not consume this opening-hit effect.
When it helps
Improves rolled damage while you are below full HP and makes the first successful hit against a fresh monster more consistent. The opening-hit benefit works even at full HP.
Worked example
At base 99 HP and current 50 HP, you are halfway between 99 and 1, so level 5 supplies +15% maximum damage: an otherwise unmodified rolled maximum of 40 becomes 46. Separately, a first successful hit with a maximum of 50 against a full-HP monster is raised to at least 40 at level 5; a miss remains a miss. Encounter reductions after this floor can lower damage dealt.
Levels
| Level | Effects at this level |
|---|---|
| 1 | Maximum damage bonus at 1 HP: 10% Opening-hit minimum against a full-HP monster: 40% of hit maximum |
| 2 | Maximum damage bonus at 1 HP: 15% Opening-hit minimum against a full-HP monster: 50% of hit maximum |
| 3 | Maximum damage bonus at 1 HP: 20% Opening-hit minimum against a full-HP monster: 60% of hit maximum |
| 4 | Maximum damage bonus at 1 HP: 25% Opening-hit minimum against a full-HP monster: 70% of hit maximum |
| 5 | Maximum damage bonus at 1 HP: 30% Opening-hit minimum against a full-HP monster: 80% of hit maximum |
Limits and interactions
Monster targets only, with no Wilderness exclusion, trigger roll, cooldown or timed activation. Ordinary Gridmaster attacks qualify; secondary perk hits, Echo and Guardian hits are excluded.
The low-HP multiplier affects random damage rolls. Fixed-damage hits do not receive that scaling. It does not improve accuracy, so neither low HP nor the opening floor guarantees that an attack hits.
A first successful hit against a monster that is already damaged still starts the engagement and consumes the opener. Letting that same monster heal to full does not grant it again while it remains your most recently successfully hit target.
The engagement tracking remembers your most recently successfully hit monster. A successful hit against a different monster starts a new engagement; merely switching targets or missing does not reset it.
Ravager and Deathwish damage bonuses add together before the rolled maximum is calculated. Other modifiers, rounding and encounter caps can change the final maximum and damage.
Attach and upgrade
At home, open Item Workbench and choose Perks Mode. Select the equipment from your inventory, then choose Deathwish. The first application rolls a level from 1 to 5. Applying it again can raise its level; an equal or lower roll keeps the current level and does not refund materials used. Each attempt normally spends the recipe again; eligible donation ranks can preserve individual recipe entries. This does not change the level-roll chances. Level 5 cannot be upgraded further.
| Material | Full recipe | Remove Perk return |
|---|---|---|
| Refined Essence | 50 | 35 |
| Prismatic Essence | 60 | 42 |
| Ascendant Catalyst | 3 | 2 |
Stored and carried materials combine; storage is used first. The return column is for Remove Perk in Perks Mode. It refunds part of one base recipe to Workbench Storage, even after several upgrades. Disintegration destroys the equipment and its attachments.
Level roll chances
| Rolled level | Chance per attempt |
|---|---|
| 1 | 50% |
| 2 | 30% |
| 3 | 11% |
| 4 | 6% |
| 5 | 3% |
These are the chances of each exact rolled level. Selecting a level preview does not choose the result. Repeated attempts do not guarantee level 5.