Damage reflection

Damage reflection is a game mechanic that makes an attacker (e.g. character, monster, trap, etc.) hit himself. Usually it appears as a modifier that causes a damage dealt to a target to also be taken by an attacker; but this mechanic is also being used in other places.

Mechanics

Reflect cares about the damage taken after mitigation, not the amount of life removed. The offensive stats of a creature can affect whether it takes reflected damage (accuracy, block chance reduction, etc.), but cannot affect the amount of damage dealt (critical strikes, penetration, ignoring resistance, damage modifiers, etc).

Although reflected damage hits, it intentionally doesn't trigger most on/when hit effects and, accordingly, cannot cause status ailments, stun, critical strikes and other similar effects that require a hit. Reflected hit, however, is able to yield a flask charge if the Flagellant's prefix is present there.

Damage sources

Like any other damage, reflected damage has a damage source, or, to be more precise, one of three sources – attack, spell or secondary. Damage over time doesn't hit and, therefore, can't be reflected. A source of reflected damage is always the same as a source of damage dealt to a target, e.g. if a creature hits with a spell, the reflected damage is a spell damage.

Interaction with leech

Leech is processed before reflect damage. Therefore the order of operations is:

Hit a target -> Leech -> Receive reflected damage

Reflect mitigation

• Reflected attacks can be blocked and dodged, and reflected spells can be blocked if the player has spell block or spell dodge. Block chance reduction will lower the characters block chance as well.
• Reflected damage is reduced by the attacker's armour and resistances. For instance if a player with 75% lightning resistance deals 100 lightning damage to a monster with 20% elemental damage reflection, the player will only take 5 of the reflected 20 lightning damage.
• Modifiers to damage taken, such as Fortify and Arctic ArmourArctic ArmourSpell, Duration, Cold
  Level: (1-20)
  Reservation: 25% Mana
  Cooldown Time: 1.00 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 16Conjures an icy barrier that chills enemies when they hit you. You drop chilled ground while moving, and take less Fire and Physical damage while stationary.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Skill Effect Duration1% chance to Freeze Enemies for 350 ms when Hit0.05% less Physical Damage taken from Hits
  0.05% less Fire Damage taken from HitsChill Enemy for 0.5 seconds when Hit, reducing their Action Speed by 30%
  (8-13)% less Physical Damage taken from Hits
  (8-12)% less Fire Damage taken from Hits
  Base duration is (2.5-4.4) seconds
  Buff grants Immunity to FreezePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., also lessen reflected damage taken.
• If the reflected damage is attack damage, it can be evaded. It uses accuracy rating.
  • Consequently, reflected attack damage with the hits can't be evaded modifier cannot be evaded by the player. It can still be blocked or dodged.
• All damage over time effects cannot be reflected.
• Damage dealt by a player's totems, traps, mines, and minions will be reflected back to the totem/trap/mine/minion, not the player.
• Certain skills are explicitly stated to ignore reflection. Skills that ignore reflection are Herald of IceHerald of IceSpell, AoE, Cold, Herald
  Level: (1-20)
  Reservation: 25% Mana
  Cooldown Time: 1.00 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: Instant
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: 80%Requires Level 16Grants a buff adding cold damage to spells and attacks. If you shatter an enemy, this skill will cause them to explode and deal AoE cold damage to enemies near them. This damage is not affected by modifiers to spell damage.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentBuff grants 0.75% increased Cold Damage0.5% increased Area of EffectBuff grants 0.5% chance to FreezeAdds (4-38) to (5-56) Cold Damage to Spells
  Adds (4-38) to (5-56) Cold Damage to Attacks
  Deals (18-308) to (26-462) Cold Damage
  Damage cannot be ReflectedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Infernal CryInfernal CryWarcry, AoE, Duration, Fire, Attack, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (15-19) Mana
  Cooldown Time: 8.00 sec
  Use Time: 0.80 secRequires Level 24Performs a warcry, taunting nearby enemies to attack the user and exerting subsequent attacks. Covers enemies in ash, causing them to move slower and take increased fire damage. Affected enemies explode when they die, dealing fire damage in an area.
  (for Combust) Deals attack damage in an area.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal1% increased Area of Effect2% increased Warcry SpeedExerted Attacks deal 0.5% increased Damage(Combust has) 1% chance to Cover Enemies in Ash on HitBase duration is (5-5.9) seconds
  Explosion deals Fire Damage equal to 8% of the Monster's maximum Life
  Covers Enemies in Ash, causing 3% increased Fire Damage taken per 5 Power, up to 20%
  Exerts the next 6 Melee Attacks you perform
  Damage cannot be Reflected
  Counts total Power of Enemies in Range
  Exerted Attacks Trigger Combust the first time they deal a Melee Hit
  (0-38)% increased Warcry Speed
  Deals (100-157.5)% of Base Attack Damage
  60% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage
  This Skill is Triggered by Attacks Exerted by Infernal CryPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. and Detonate DeadDetonate DeadSpell, AoE, Fire
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (5-20) Mana
  Cast Time: 0.60 sec
  Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: 160%
  Radius: 22Targets a corpse, and deals spell damage to enemies around the corpse, as well as causing the corpse to explode, dealing fire damage. The explosion is not affected by modifiers to spell damage and cannot be reflected.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Cast SpeedExplosion deals base Fire Damage equal to 6% of the corpse's Maximum Life
  Deals (15-798) to (22-1197) Fire Damage
  +(0-4) to radiusPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..

The dangers of damage reflection

Reflection can be one of the most dangerous effects to encounter at high levels, especially for players focused on high damage output. A fast moving rare monster that appears quickly from off the screen can cause a large spike of damage to the player if hit by those high damage attacks or spells. Players must also be careful with skills that have a long duration (such as SparkSparkSpell, Projectile, Duration, Lightning
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (5-21) Mana
Cast Time: 0.65 sec
Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
Effectiveness of Added Damage: 125%
Projectile Speed: 560Launches unpredictable sparks that move randomly until they hit an enemy or expire.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal1% increased Projectile SpeedProjectiles Pierce 0.1 additional TargetsFires 0.1 additional Projectiles2% of Lightning Damage Converted to Chaos DamageDeals (2-29) to (70-1326) Lightning Damage
Base duration is 2 seconds
Fires (4-6) additional Projectiles
(0-19)% increased Projectile SpeedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. supported by Pierce SupportPierce SupportSupport, Projectile
Icon: p
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Supports projectile skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile DamageProjectiles from Supported Skills Pierce 0.1 additional TargetsProjectiles from Supported Skills that have Pierced deal 2% increased DamageProjectiles from Supported Skills Pierce (2-4) additional Targets
Supported Skills deal (0-19)% more Projectile DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket. and Increased Duration SupportIncreased Duration SupportSupport, Duration
Icon: D
Level: (1-20)
Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 140%Requires Level 31Supports any skill with a duration.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Skill Effect DurationSupported Skills have 1% reduced Mana Cost
Supported Skills have 0.5% reduced Skill Effect DurationSupported Skills have 1% increased Duration of Ailments on EnemiesSupported Skills have (45-64)% increased Skill Effect DurationThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.), as once cast, they cannot be cancelled if a source of reflection appears.

Long-range attacks and spells can also be dangerous, as stray arrows and spells might hit a reflecting rare monster, causing a large amount of damage to the player.

Even monsters that are much lower level than the player and would normally pose no threat can prove deadly if affected by reflection, since the reflection is based on the player's damage output, not the monster's damage.

Reflection can sometimes be difficult to spot, especially in the heat of battle when the monster ability can be obscured by various skill effects.

Sources of reflect damage reduction

Modifiers on items

Equipment

No results found

Jewels

No results found

Unique items

Item		Stats

Passive skills

No results found for the given query.

Ascendancy skills

The following Ascendancy class skills are related to reflected damage: No results found for the given query.

Miscellaneous

• Soul of Yugul Pantheon power
• An can be crafted on a quiver or ring to gain the mod

Sources of reflect damage

Items

Base items

• has the mod 20% of Melee Physical Damage reflected to Attacker. This can be increased by X% increased effect of flasks modifiers.

Unique items

These items contain bonuses which deal reflect damage:

Reflect damage to attackers

Item		Stats

Reflect damage on block

Item		Stats

Self-reflect

Item		Stats

Monster modifiers

Rare monsters can have the Physical and Elemental Thorns mods.

Map modifiers

Some map modifiers give all monsters in that map a damage reflection, either physical or elemental.

Skill gems

Molten ShellMolten ShellSpell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard
Level: (1-20)
Cost: (8-12) Mana
Cooldown Time: 4.00 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
Cast Time: Instant
Radius: 15Applies a buff that adds to your armour, and can take some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. When the buff expires or is depleted, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken from the buff. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Skill Effect DurationBuff can take additional Damage equal to 0.25% of your ArmourReflected Damage Penetrates 1% of Enemy Fire ResistanceBase duration is 3 seconds
Buff grants +(50-858) to Armour
75% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield
Buff can take Damage equal to 20% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 10000
Reflects (100-3000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage when Buff expires or is depleted
This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard
Level: (1-20)
Cooldown Time: 0.50 sec
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Souls Per Use: 50
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
Cast Time: InstantApplies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds
Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour
(30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield
Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000
Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second,
or when Buff expires or is depleted
Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour
Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention
CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., and Call of Steel deal reflected damage.

Other

Certain effects are typed as reflected damage, but are not necessarily triggered when taking damage. deals a percentage of leeched life as reflected chaos damage from leech targets.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.1.0	Damage reflection mods on rare monsters have been removed from the game.
2.0.0	Damage reflection mods on rare monsters are no longer auras.
1.2.0	Both physical and elemental damage reflection from monster auras have been reduced from 15% to 14% reflection.