Life force

In-game screenshot of life force meter.

Life force is the necromancer's resource that fuels Death Shroud and Reaper's Shroud. Life force is gained when players or NPCs die nearby (providing 10% life force per death, approximately within a range of 1,200 units) and through certain skills. Death Shroud depletes life force and ends when it reaches zero.

The base size of your life force pool is 69% of your maximum health, meaning it is indirectly affected by your Vitality attribute, and can be further increased by the Soul Battery minor trait of the Soul Reaping specialization, to 82.80% of maximum health.

The life force bar, located above the weapon skills, displays life force level relative to its full value. Character death will drain some life force, as well as changing maps, or logging out and back in.

List of skills that grant Life Force

Skill Categories	Skill	Life Force	Description
Staff	Necrotic Grasp	4%	Send out a grasping hand that damages foes in a line and grants you life force.
	Mark of Blood (with Soul Marks trait)	3%	Mark. Inscribe a mark that bleeds foes when they trigger it, and grants regeneration to allies.
	Chilblains (with Soul Marks trait)	3%	Mark. Chill and poison the target area.
	Putrid Mark (with Soul Marks trait)	3%	Mark. Inscribe a mark that transfers conditions from yourself to foes when they trigger it.
	Reaper's Mark (with Soul Marks trait)	3%	Mark. Inscribe a mark that causes fear when foes trigger it.
Scepter	Feast of Corruption	8% +1% per condition	Strike your target, gain life force, and corrupt boons on your foe. For each condition on your target up to the condition threshold, gain additional life force and inflict torment.
	Devouring Darkness (with Lingering Curse trait)	8% +1% per condition +2% per foe	Corrupt boons from enemies around your target. Inflict torment and gain life force for each condition on your initial target up to the threshold. Gain extra life force for each extra foe struck.
Axe	Ghastly Claws	12%	Summon spectral claws to slash your foe in a quick flurry of strikes, gaining life force per strike. This attack deals increased damage per stack of vulnerability on your target.
Main-hand Dagger	Necrotic Stab	2%	Chain. Strike your foe again.
	Necrotic Bite	6%	Strike your foe and gain life force.
Warhorn	Locust Swarm	1.5% per hit	Gain swiftness and summon a swarm of locusts that siphon health to you from nearby foes.
Focus	Soul Grasp	11%	Release a disembodied hand to draw life force from your foe.
Spear	Reaper's Scythe	3%	Reap life force from nearby foes.
Trident	Feast	5%	Weaken and damage foes around you. Gain life force per foe struck. Fire a Crimson Tide at each enemy in the area.
Greatsword	Dusk Strike	1%	Chain. Cleave foes in front of you.
	Fading Twilight	1%	Chain. Cleave foes in front of you again.
	Chilling Scythe	5%	Chain. Strike foes, and chill them.
	Death Spiral	2%	Conjure a drill of dark energy on your blade, and rend the armor of foes in front of you.
	Grasping Darkness	4%	Conjure claws of darkness from the shadows to attack foes, applying a condition to them and pulling them to you. Gain life force for each struck foe.
Torch	Harrowing Wave	3%	Unleash a wave of corrupted fire, burning and tormenting enemies. Gain life force for each enemy struck.
Heal	"Your Soul Is Mine!"	5%	Shout. Heal yourself, gain life force, and strike foes around you, absorbing additional life force from each foe struck.
Utility	Haunt (after Summon Shadow Fiend)	10%	Command your shadow fiend to teleport to a foe and attack all nearby foes, inflicting conditions.
	Necrotic Traversal (after Summon Flesh Wurm)	10%	Sacrifice your flesh wurm, teleport to it, and poison foes.
	Signet of Undeath	1.33% per second. 2% per second when traited with Signets of Suffering	Signet Passive: Generates life force while in combat. Signet Active: Sacrifice health to revive one downed ally in a target area.
	Spectral Armor	8%	Spectral. Gain life force as you take damage.
	Spectral Grasp	15%	Spectral. Pull target foe and all nearby foes to you, chill them, and gain life force.
	Spectral Ring	4%	Spectral. Create a spectral ring that protects allies and inflicts fear on foes. Gain life force when a foe is inflicted by fear from this skill. This skill can only inflict fear on the same foe once per interval.
	Spectral Walk	4% per condition	Spectral. Create a shadowy tether and become spectral, consuming conditions for life force. You may return to your initial position by using Spectral Recall.
	Well of Corruption	1% per pulse	Well. Target area pulses, converting boons on foes into conditions.
	Desiccate	10%	Punishment. Draw vital energy from your foes to gain life force and grant boons to nearby allies. Gain additional life force per target struck. Convert a boon on affected enemies to torment and cripple.
Elite	Lich Form	15%	Spectral. Assume the form of a lich for a brief time. Entering this form removes all other spectral effects. Gain life force when this skill ends.
Death Shroud	Life Transfer	3%	Shroud. Damage nearby foes and steal their life force.
Reaper's Shroud	Life Reap	1.5%	Shroud. Cleave foes around you, gaining life force for each foe struck. This skill inherits traits from Life Blast.
Blood Magic	Mark of Evasion (with Soul Marks trait)	3%	Leave a Mark of Blood when you dodge.
Soul Reaping	Fear of Death	15%	Your fear effects have increased durations. Inflicting fear generates life force.

• Skills marked with are only available with the Reaper Elite specialization.
• Skills marked with are only available with the Scourge Elite specialization.

Related traits

Death Magic

•  Soul Comprehension — Your passive life-force generation from nearby deaths is increased. Kills grant carapace.
•  Unholy Sanctuary — Regenerate health while in shroud. If your life force is above the threshold, your shroud will activate if you would take a lethal blow.

Blood Magic

•  Unholy Martyr — Entering shroud transfers conditions from allies to you. Exiting shroud consumes conditions currently on you and converts them to life force.

Soul Reaping

•  Gluttony — Increases the amount of life force gained from all sources.
•  Soul Marks — Marks become unblockable and generate life force when triggered.
•  Fear of Death — Your fear effects have increased durations. Inflicting fear generates life force.
•  Soul Battery — Maximum life force is increased.

Reaper

•  Chilling Victory — Striking a chilled foe grants might and life force. Single attacks can activate this trait more than once before recharging.
•  Blighter's Boon — Gain life force when you apply a boon to yourself. If you are in reaper's shroud, gain health instead.

Scourge

•  Nourishing Ashes — Gain life force when you inflict burning, and remove or corrupt a boon.

References

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Skill types and profession mechanics