Conviction
In Hell Lock, Conviction is a crucial mechanic that impacts both enemy defenses and player abilities. Understanding its nuances is key to mastering combat.
Conviction in Enemies
Section titled “Conviction in Enemies”Powerful enemies, especially Bosses, feature a Conviction Barrier that you must break before you can directly damage their Health. This barrier appears as a separate layer above their main health bar.
- How It Works: While Conviction is active, the enemy takes no direct damage to their Life. You must first deplete their Conviction barrier.
- Breaking Conviction: Breaking a Conviction barrier requires sustained and high damage output. Once the barrier is shattered, the enemy becomes vulnerable and begins taking normal damage to their Life.
- Example: Bosses like The Matriarch (Bosses & Mini-Bosses) integrate the Conviction mechanic into their fight, forcing players to adapt their strategies during specific combat phases.
Conviction in Player Abilities
Section titled “Conviction in Player Abilities”Players can also interact with or generate Conviction through certain abilities, typically for defensive or counter-offensive purposes.
- Generating Conviction Barrier: Specific skills allow your character to create a temporary Conviction barrier, often scaled by your Maximum Mana. When active, this barrier can absorb incoming damage or trigger special effects.
- Conviction Decay: Conviction barriers (both for enemies and players) have a “Decay” rate, meaning they diminish over time or when taking damage. Some abilities or passives can reduce this Decay rate, allowing the barrier to persist longer.
Related Skill Example: Closed Body
Section titled “Related Skill Example: Closed Body”The Closed Body skill (Abilities) directly interacts with the Conviction mechanic:
Closed Body
Envelops you in a Barrier of Conviction based on your Maximum Mana. While Closed Body is active, your Conviction Decay is reduced by 50%, and every attack received is retaliated with a Physical Damage Explosion.
This skill provides players with a direct way to gain a temporary Conviction Barrier, turning their Mana into an effective defensive shield. By reducing Conviction Decay, the Closed Body skill helps you maintain this barrier for longer, enhancing your survivability and allowing you to retaliate against incoming attacks with a damaging explosion. It’s a key ability for tankier, mana-focused builds looking to mitigate damage.
Conviction is a versatile mechanic in Hell Lock that both enhances enemy durability in challenging encounters and provides players with unique defensive and counter-play strategies.