Recharge

Recharge , alternatively cooldown or CD, is the interval of time (in seconds) after a skill or ability has been used before it can be used again. While a skill is recharging, its icon is darkened and has a clock-like animation that gradually brightens the icon until the skill has fully recharged. When an ability—such as the weapon set switch—is recharging, a white bar appears above the ability icon that depletes over time until the ability has fully recharged.

Skills have various recharge times. Some, such as Necrotic Bite, don't have any recharge at all and can be used again immediately. While a skill is recharging, it cannot be removed from your skill bar or replaced by another skill (excluding weapon skills when changing weapon sets). This is especially important to remember when using elite skills, as they can take up to 3 minutes to recharge. Before you can use the skill again or swap it for another, it must fully recharge.

Weapon skills recharge even if their respective weapon set is not active.

Thief weapon skills do not have a recharge, but are fueled by initiative.

When an effect description states that skills recharge X% faster, it seems to actually reduce the recharge time by X% instead. Thus, for example, a skill that "recharges 20% faster" can actually be used 25% more often (ignoring activation time).

Certain Sigils and Runes with active effects also have hidden recharge timers. The time taken to recharge can be found on the item, but there is no way to know exactly how long is left before it can activate again.

Related skills

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   Renewed Focus — Focus, making yourself invulnerable and recharging your virtues.
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   Mimic — The next utility skill you use recharges faster.
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   Signet of Illusions — Passive: Creates a clone every few seconds.
  Active: Recharges Mind Wrack, Cry of Frustration, Diversion, and Distortion.
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   Signet of the Ether — Passive: Heal yourself whenever you summon an illusion.
  Active: Heal yourself and reduce the recharge of phantasm skills.

Related traits

Traits that reduce recharges of profession mechanics

•  Power of the Virtuous — Deal increased damage for each boon you have. Virtues gain reduced recharge.
•  Renewed Justice — Virtue of Justice is renewed when you kill a foe.
•  Courageous Return — Virtue of Courage is recharged when you revive an ally or rally yourself.
•  Loremaster — Tome skills gain reduced recharge. Retain Virtues passives while they are on cooldown.
•  Versatile Power — Gain might on weapon swap. Burst skills recharge 15% faster.
•  Mechanized Deployment — Recharge of your tool belt skills is reduced.
•  Loud Whistle — While your health is above the threshold, your pet deals more damage. Your pet swap gains recharge reduction.
•  Swindler's Equilibrium — Successfully evading an attack while wielding a sword or spear recharges Steal. Swords and spears deal increased damage.
•  Lead Attacks — Increases damage and condition damage per initiative spent. Steal recharges faster.
•  Sleight of Hand — Stealing also dazes the target. Reduces the recharge of Steal.
•  Elemental Enchantment — Gain concentration and your attunements gain reduced recharge.
•  Fresh Air — Recharge air attunement on a critical hit. Gain a ferocity boost when attuning to air.
•  Master of Misdirection — Shatter skills gain recharge reduction.
•  Vital Persistence — Gain Vitality. Shroud skills gain reduced recharge.
•  Sand Savant — You can summon only one shade at a time, but this greater shade has a modified recharge. You affect more targets and influence a larger area with Shade skills.
  A greater shade counts as three shades for related traits.

Traits that reduce recharges of weapon skills

•  Zealous Blade — Greatsword abilities deal increased damage and gain reduced recharge. Heal yourself when you combo in a light field.
•  Right-Hand Strength — Critical hit chance with one-handed weapons is increased. Sword skills recharge faster.
•  Radiant Fire — Gain Zealot's Flame when you critically hit an enemy. Burning you inflict has increased duration, and your torch skills gain reduced recharge.
•  Focus Mastery — Gain protection when using a focus ability. Focus abilities have reduced recharge.
•  Stalwart Defender — Gain additional toughness while wielding a shield. Shield ability recharge is reduced.
•  Invigorated Bulwark — Increase your outgoing healing each time you block an attack. Mace skills gain reduced recharge and their boons gain increased duration.
•  Honorable Staff — Staff skills gain reduced recharge, and you gain concentration.
•  Glacial Heart — Critical hits with hammers chill enemies. Hammer recharge is reduced.
•  Forceful Greatsword — Gain might on a critical hit with a greatsword or spear. Greatsword and spear skills deal more damage and recharge faster.
•  Axe Mastery — Get ferocity while wielding an axe in either hand. Axe skills gain reduced recharge and grant adrenaline when you critically strike with one.
•  Blademaster — Sword skills gain reduced recharge and conditions they inflict gain increased duration.
•  Shield Master — Reflect missiles whenever you are blocking. Gain might when you block an attack. Shield skills recharge faster.
•  Sundering Mace — Stuns, dazes, and knock downs applied by mace skills last longer against vulnerable foes. Mace skills gain reduced recharge.
•  Quick Breathing — Warhorn skills have an increased number of targets, grant adrenaline per ally affected, and have reduced recharge.
•  Burning Arrows — Dual shot causes burning and longbow skills recharge faster.
•  Crack Shot — Base rifle and harpoon gun shots gain bonus adrenaline. Reduces recharge on rifle and harpoon gun skills.
•  Merciless Hammer — Deal increased damage with a hammer when attacking a foe that is dazed, knocked down, launched, or stunned. Hammer skills gain reduced recharge. Inflict confusion when you interrupt enemy skills.
  This trait can only confuse enemies with defiance bars once per interval.
•  Heat the Soul — Reduced recharge on torch skills. Gain condition damage while wielding a torch.
•  Over Shield — Shield skills gain recharge reduction and grant protection to nearby allies. Protection on you gains increased damage reduction.
•  Lead the Wind — Your longbow and harpoon-gun skills pierce and recharge faster. When you strike a foe with a projectile combo, gain swiftness.
•  Strider's Defense — Evading an attack grants Quickness. Sword skills gain reduced recharge.
•  Quick Draw — When swapping weapons, the next ranger weapon skill you use will recharge faster.
•  Light on your Feet — Damage and condition duration is increased for a while after dodging. Short bow skills pierce, recharge faster, and their attacks from behind or by flanking are improved.
•  Ambidexterity — Gain condition damage. Gain additional condition damage while wielding a torch or dagger. Torch and Dagger skills recharge faster.
•  Windborne Notes — Warhorn skills gain reduced recharge and grant regeneration around their target. Recover health when you gain regeneration.
•  Two-Handed Training — Greatsword and spear skills deal more damage and recharge faster. Gain fury when you disable a foe.
•  Primal Echoes — Reduces recharge of staff skills. Daze nearby foes when you swap to staff.
•  Aeromancer's Training — Gain ferocity while attuned to air. Reduces recharge on all air weapon skills.
•  Aquamancer's Training — Deal extra damage when your health is above the threshold. Reduces recharge on all water weapon skills.
•  Geomancer's Training — You recover more quickly from crippling, immobilizing, and chilling. Reduces recharge on all earth weapon skills.
•  Pyromancer's Training — Deal more damage while attuned to fire. Reduces recharge on all fire weapon skills.
•  Imagined Burden — Greatsword skills other than the Spatial Surge gain recharge reduction and inflict cripple. Phantasmal Berserker summons an additional berserker but deals less damage.
•  Fencer's Finesse — Gain a stacking ferocity effect when you or one of your illusions strikes with a one-handed sword or a spear. Reduces recharge on sword and spear skills.
•  Duelist's Discipline — Pistol attacks from you and your illusions cause bleeding. Interrupting a foe recharges pistol skills.
  This trait can only reduce recharge on enemies with defiance bars once per interval.
•  Chaotic Dampening — Chaos armor grants protection. Staff and trident skills gain reduced recharge.
•  Warden's Feedback — Focus weapon skills reflect projectiles. Reduces recharge on focus weapon skills.
•  The Pledge — Reduces recharge on torch skills. Flame bursts from torch skills inflict additional burning.
•  Malicious Sorcery — Increases attack speed while wielding a scepter. Reduces recharge on scepter skills.
•  Mirrored Axes — Reduce recharge of axe skills. Axe skills generate an additional phantom axe.
•  Spiteful Talisman — Deal increased damage to foes with no boons. Focus and Axe skills recharge faster.
•  Quickening Thirst — Increases movement speed while above the health threshold. Dagger skills recharge faster if activated while above the health threshold.
•  Banshee's Wail — Reduces recharge on warhorn skills and increases their effect durations.
•  Fell Beacon — Torch skills gain reduced recharge. Gain expertise based on your condition damage.

Traits that reduce recharges of skill types

•  Eternal Armory — Spirit weapons gain additional casts, improved count recharge, and burn foes they strike.
•  Perfect Inscriptions — Signets gain reduced recharge, improved passive effects, and share those passives with other allies when activated.
•  Monk's Focus — Using a meditation skill heals you and grants fury to allies in a radius. Meditation skills have reduced recharge.
•  Pure of Voice — Allies affected by shouts have conditions converted to boons. Shout abilities have their recharge reduced.
•  Master of Consecrations — Consecrations gain reduced recharge and increased duration.
•  Piercing Light — Traps gain reduced recharge and slow enemies.
•  Weighty Terms — The final charge of your Mantra skills inflict immobilize. Mantras gain reduced charge-recovery time.
•  Peak Performance — Physical skills have reduced recharge and increase all outgoing physical damage for a period of time. Receive less damage from falling, and launch nearby foes when you take fall damage.
•  Signet Mastery — Signets gain reduced recharge and grant a stacking ferocity boon on use. Cast Lesser Signet of Might whenever you strike a foe below the health threshold.
•  Vigorous Shouts — Shouts heal allies and grant adrenaline. Shouts recharge faster.
•  Short Fuse — Bombs explode faster and have a faster cooldown. Gain fury when you strike a foe with an explosion.
•  Automated Medical Response — All heal skills recharge when struck while you are below the health threshold.
•  HGH — Elixirs grant might, have reduced recharge, and have increased duration.
•  Power Wrench — Reduces recharge of your tool-kit skills. Reduce the recharge of your elite skill when you dodge.
•  Gadgeteer — Gadget skills are overcharged and become more powerful. Overcharged gadgets have reduced charge.
•  Brutish Seals — Activating a Signet grants fury to nearby allies. Signets gain reduced recharge.
•  Trapper's Expertise — Boons and conditions caused by traps last longer. Traps recharge faster and offensive ones cause cripple.
•  Wilderness Knowledge — Survival skills have reduced recharge, grant fury, and remove conditions.
•  Resounding Timbre — Shouts apply regeneration and swiftness to allies. Reduces recharge on shouts.
•  Verdant Etching — Glyphs gain reduced recharge and cast Lesser Seed of Life.
•  Deadly Trapper — Traps apply vulnerability to enemies and grant you might. Trap recharges are reduced.
•  Improvisation — You can use stolen skills twice. One random skill category is immediately recharged when you steal.
•  Signets of Power — Signets gain reduced recharge time and an additional passive effect.
•  Concealed Defeat — Create a smoke screen when downed. Deception abilities recharge faster.
•  Trickster — Reduces recharge on tricks. Tricks remove conditions.
•  Brawler's Tenacity — Physical skills grant endurance when activated and gain reduced recharge.
•  Elemental Surge — Based on your attunement, arcane skills inflict a condition on foes. Gain more ferocity when you use an arcane skill. Arcane skills recharge faster.
•  Inscription — Grants a boon associated with your current attunement when you cast a glyph. Reduces glyph recharge.
•  Soothing Disruption — Cantrips grant you regeneration and vigor; reduce recharge on cantrips.
•  Written in Stone — Maintain the passive effects of signets when you activate them. Reduce recharge of signets.
•  Blurred Inscriptions — Signets have improved active effects, and activating one grants you distortion.
•  Master of Manipulation — When you use a manipulation skill, gain mirror for a short duration. Reduces recharge on manipulation skills.
•  Signets of Suffering — Signets have improved passive effects. Gain the benefits of your equipped signet passives while in shroud. Signets recharge every second that you are in shroud.
•  Master of Corruption — Reduces recharge on corruption skills. Corruption skills inflict additional conditions on you.
•  Vampiric Rituals — Wells gain reduced recharge time. They now grant protection to allies when cast, and siphon health with every pulse.
•  Spectral Mastery — Reduces recharge on spectral skills. Spectral skills last longer and grant life force on use.
•  Augury of Death — Reduces recharge of shouts. Your shouts siphon health and gain additional recharge reduction for each foe they hit.
•  Sadistic Searing — Punishment skills gain reduced recharge and cause your next Manifest Sand Shade to inflict burning on foes near it.

Traits that reduce recharges of pet skills

•  Pack Alpha — Your pet is more powerful, and their skills gain recharge reduction.

Traits that reduce recharges of actions

•  Fast Hands — Weapon-swapping recharges faster.

Traits that increase recharge of skills

•  Power Block — Interrupts deal damage and inflict weakness. Enemy skills that you interrupt have an increased cooldown.
  Cannot increase recharge of skills with no recharge or skills on creatures with defiance bars.
  This trait can only damage enemies with defiance bars once per interval.