Life & Mana Mechanics

In Sanctuary, there are two currencies that far outweigh the glint of gold. These are your Character's Life and Mana pools. Being able to manage these two resources well while traversing the myriad of dangers in Diablo 2 Resurrected determines whether you successfully dethrone the Lord of Destruction... or end up dead at the hands of a Mana Burn Elite pack in the Underground Passage. In this article, you find every in-game stat and mechanic which benefits or adversely affects your ability to keep your Life and Mana globes full.

Life

Your Life pool is quite literally your last line of defense in Diablo 2 Resurrected. Having a high maximum Life total is key in many scenarios to safely navigate Sanctuary and survive the worst the Prime Evils throw at you. Each Character gains Life per Level, Vitality point, from gear, and from Skills. Maximum Life becomes incredibly important because of Hit Recovery mechanics. Most attacks which deal damage in excess of 1/16^th of their maximum Life value stun a Character by putting them into Hit Recovery. We'll cover all the ways to maximize your Life pool and keep it fully in the red.

Character's Base Life Gain

Each Class starts with a base Life value, gain Life per Level, and also gain Life per Vitality point they allocate. The below table shows these values for each Class.

Base Life values are the most valuable because in addition to the Stat +xx to Life (i.e. perfectruby), these combined totals are the only values that are multiplied by the Stat Increase Maximum Life x% as on a jahrune.

Vitality Bonuses

In addition to the Stat Points allocated to Vitality, many gear options give additional Vitality. Whether through +x to Vitality like iorune or +xx to All Attributes on annihilus, you can greatly increase your Life pool by stacking many sources of these Stats.
These "soft" Vitality points add their additional normal Life value per point according to the class you're playing as. They do not count towards your "hard" Vitality points for the purposes of the Increase Maximum Life x% stat. In the total Life calculation, these are added on after any other multipliers have modified the base Life total.

Vitality also affect your healingpotion chances of critting which doubles the rate of regeneration when consumed. As you increase your Vitality total, your chance to crit on Potions increases, as seen below:

+xx Life

Whether on gear or more recognizably on Charms (i.e. Small Charm of Vita) +xx to Life is a very powerful source for additional Life since it is further multiplied by Increase Maximum Life x%. A full inventory of end game Charms can add easily 520+ Life alone before any other gear or base Character Stats. Sources of this Stat in the early game are incredibly important since your Life total tends to be lower, making you more likely to be put into Hit Recovery. Try keeping any +xx Life Charms you find, as well as putting ruby you find along the way in extra Socketed Items until you have solid replacements.

+xx Life (Based on Character Level)

While sometimes having higher values of +xx Life than the examples above, +xx Life (Based on Character Level) is overall a "weaker" Stat. It merely adds its value to the end of your total Life calculation, since it does not get multiplied further. This Stat is found on desirable gear pieces like Harlequin Crest and can be a significant portion of their total Life pool on builds with little to no Increased Maximum Life x%. While the Character screen does not show non-integer values, any decimal value of Life is calculated and does not round to an integer.

Increase Maximum Life x%

The increase in your total Life value from Increase Maximum Life x% (IML) cannot be overstated. The most recognizable source for most builds comes from battleorders provided by Call to Arms. For example: A 1,000 Life base Character with a level 6 battleorders gains 500 Life. IML applies to the total sum of:

• Base Life value
• Life gained from Level gains
• Life gained from Stat Points put into Vitality
• All sources of +xx Life

It then calculates the total summation of IML sources from Skills, Gear, and Party Buffs and multiply the Base by this value. IML does not apply to any Life gained from +xx to All Attributes, +xx to Vitality or +xx to Life (Based on Character Level).
Because of the strength of battleorders and oaksage, the Barbarian Support and Druid Support builds are very powerful in team compositions.

Healing and Rejuvenation Potions

The different Healing Potions apply a Life regeneration value over a number of seconds that heals the Character as well as counteract any Damage over Time (DoT) effects. Each Potion has a different regeneration length and heals a different amount for each class. These potions can crit, doubling their total Life regenerated as seen in the Vitality section above.

Drinking Potions of different values totals their regeneration lengths and then average the total amount healed by both types over this new time. This decreases the effective healing rate and is not advised when in dire situations.

Rejuvenation Potions immediately heal a set % of the Character's total Life pool when consumed. Making these potions incredibly important for difficult farming areas, and especially important on Hardcore Characters.

rejuvenationpotion heals the Character for 35% of their total Life.
fullrejuvenationpotion heals the Character for 100% of their total Life.

Replenish Life

Unlike Mana, a Character's Life does not passively regenerate in Diablo 2 Resurrected. The Stat Replenish Life gives a passive, constant Life regeneration value which in high enough theoretical quantities could counteract DoT effects.

Life regeneration per second = Replenish Life Value * (25 / 256)

You can estimate your Life gained per second by dividing your total Replenish Life by 10. Because of this, Replenish Life is a very low quality defensive Stat and is rarely, if ever prioritized on gear for PVM content.
In PvP, this Stat is more relevant, as the fights often go on long enough for Replenish Life to be more impactful.

Life Stolen per hit

On a successful weapon strike that deals Physical Damage, return Life to the attacker equal to a % of the damage dealt. This is often referred to as Life Leech (LL).

• All % sources from gear are summed together and applied to the Weapon which is used in the successful strike.
  • Life stolen per hit % on the Off-Hand Weapon is only applied if it is used to make a weapon strike.
• Only applies to Skills which do a Melee or Ranged Attack that has a Physical Damage component, excluding:
  • bladesentinel and smite
• In Nightmare Difficulty, Life returned is 1/2 effective, and in Hell Difficulty it is 1/3 effective.
• Any modifier which would reduce damage dealt applies to the Life Leech modifier as well. If the amount of LL would be < 1%, then it rounds down to 0%. So no Life is returned on that attack.
  • Example: multipleshot only applies 3/4 weapon damage, so 1% Life Stolen would round down to 0%.
• A target's Drain Effectiveness reduces Life returned. If the target has 0% Drain Effectiveness, no Life is returned, regardless of damage dealt. Most Undead type monsters have Drain Effectiveness of 0%.

Life After Each Kill

Whenever a Character kills a monster by attacking or using Skills, this Stat replenishes a flat amount of Life equal to the total summed amount on gear. The same goes for a Mercenary or irongolem that kills a monster. An important note is that Summons that kill a monster does not return Life to the Character. This includes Traps or hydra. Attacker Takes Damage / Thorns and Aura radial damage types (i.e. holyfreeze) also do not return any Life when they cause a monster to die.

This Life gain type can be very useful when farming Undead type monsters, and others with 0% Drain Effectiveness. When the monsters dies, you still replenish the flat amount of Life.

Skills with Life Mechanics

• Assassin:
  • cobrastrike accumulates % Life Stolen per hit that increases per charge and is applied on the next normal Attack or Finisher Move.
• Barbarian:
  • battleorders increases eligible Party member's maximum Life x% for the buff's duration.
• Druid:
  • carrionvine consumes monster corpses and return a % of the Druid's maximum Life to the Druid.
  • Feralrage adds an amount of % Life Stolen per hit for each charge level of Feral Rage the Druid has accrued.
  • lycanthropy gives additional Increased Maximum Life xx% to the Druid when shape-shifted.
  • oaksage increases the eligible Party member's maximum Life x%, within their aura range.
  • werebear gives Increased Maximum Life xx% when shape-shifted into Bear form.
  • werewolf gives Increased Maximum Life xx% when shape-shifted into Wolf form.
• Necromancer:
  • bloodgolem returns a % of damage dealt as Life back to the Necromancer. Damage taken is also shared with the Necromancer.
  • Lifetap causes 50% of Physical Damage dealt to the target to be returned as Life to the attacker. Ignores any penalties or Drain Effectiveness, making it very powerful.
• Paladin:
  • cleansing heals a small amount of Life every 2 seconds while the Aura is active. The amount is determined by the Skill Level of prayer.
  • meditation heals a small amount of Life every 2 seconds while the Aura is active. The amount is determined by the Skill Level of prayer.
  • prayer heals a small amount of Life every 2 seconds while the aura is active.
  • redemption: Consumes monster corpses every 2 seconds and replenishes a flat amount of Life per corpse consumed.

For more in depth Skill breakdowns, see the linked Character Overview.

Mana

For most builds the Mana pool is the energy source for their Skills, and by proxy, their actual power. Without Mana, a Sorceress is just a charlatan waving a stick in the air. Speaking of the Sorceress, she can actually harness her Mana to act as another "Life" pool. Because of some interesting code mechanics, effects like "Mana Burn" actually completely drain you of your available Mana. Having high Mana totals, and good regeneration can be a lifesaver.

Character's Base Mana Gain

Each class starts with a base Mana value, gain Mana per Level, and also gain Mana per Energy point they allocate. The below table shows these values for each class.

Base Mana values are the most valuable because in addition to the Stat +xx to Mana (i.e. perfectsapphire), these combined totals are the only values that are multiplied by the Stat Increase Maximum Mana x% like from a surrune.

Energy Bonuses

In addition to the Stat points allocated to Energy, many gear options give additional Energy. Whether through +x Energy like lumrune or +xx All Attributes on annihilus, you can greatly increase your Mana pool by stacking many sources of these Stats.
These "soft" Energy points add their additional normal Mana value per point according to the class you're playing as. They do not count towards your "hard" Energy points for the purposes of the Increase Maximum Mana x% Stat. In the total Mana calculation, these are added on after any other multipliers have modified the base Mana total.

Energy also affects your manapotion chances of critting which doubles the rate of regeneration when consumed. As you increase your Energy total, your chance to crit on Potions increases, as seen below:

+xx Mana

Gear with +xx Mana is much more useful in the early game of Diablo 2 Resurrected, especially for builds which require large amounts of Mana to use their Skills. The benefit of +xx Mana is also useful, since it is further modified by Increased Maximum Mana x%. In the early game, items like Bahamut's Yew Wand of the Magus are incredibly powerful on Sorceress' and Barbarians that are spamming teleport and warcry.

+xx Mana (Based on Character Level)

While sometimes having higher values of +xx Mana than the examples above, +xx Mana (Based on Character Level) is overall a "weaker" Stat. It merely adds its value to the end of your total Mana calculation, and is not multiplied further. This Stat is found on desirable gear pieces like Harlequin Crest. On builds with little to no Increased Maximum Mana x% this can be a significant portion of their total Mana pool. While the Character screen does not show non-integer values, any decimal value of Mana is calculated and does not round to an integer.

Increase Maximum Mana x%

The increase in your total Mana value from Increase Maximum Mana x% (IMM) cannot be overstated. The most recognizable source for most build comes from battleorders provided by Call to Arms. For example: A Character with 1,000 base Mana gains 500 Mana from a level 5 battleorders. IMM applies to the total sum of:

• Base Mana value
• Mana gained from Level gains
• Mana gained from Stat Points put into Energy
• All sources of +xx Mana

It then calculates the total summation of IMM sources from Skills, Gear, and party buffs and multiply the base by this value. IMM does not apply to any Mana gained from +xx to All Attributes, +xx to Energy or +xx to Mana (Based on Character Level).

Because of the strength of battleorders the Barbarian Support build is very powerful in team compositions.

Mana and Rejuvenation Potions

The different Mana Potions apply a Mana regeneration value over 5.12 seconds that replenishes the Character. Each Potion replenishes a different amount depending on the Character. These Potions can crit, doubling their total Mana regenerated, as seen in the Energy section above.

Drinking Potions of different values totals their replenish value and then average the total amount replenished by both types over this new time. This decreases the effective replenish rate and is not advised when in dire situations.

Rejuvenation Potions immediately replenishes a set % of the Character's total Mana pool when consumed. Making these potions incredibly important for difficult farming areas and especially important on Hardcore Characters, when faced with Mana Burn.
rejuvenation potion replenishes the Character for 35% of their total Mana.
fullrejuvenationpotion replenishes the Character for 100% of their total Mana.

Regenerate Mana xx%

A Character's Mana pool naturally replenishes itself over a 2-minute interval. Regardless of the size of the Mana pool, it always takes 2 minutes, unless otherwise augmented by Skills or Gear. With a larger Mana pool, the amount of Mana regenerated per second increases, which does affect the rate at which Skills can be used. The equation of Mana Regeneration is as follows:

Mana Regenerated per Second = 25 * ((256 * Maximum Mana / (25 * 120)) * (100 + Regenerate Mana) / 100) / 256

The most recognizable source of Regenerate Mana xx% would be from Insight Partizan's meditation Aura, which drastically increases your Mana regenerated per second. This early Runeword fixes most Mana issues on a build until the late game.
The Skill warmth increases the Mana regeneration for Sorceresses, usually taken as a one Skill Point wonder.

Mana Stolen per hit

On a successful weapon strike that deals Physical Damage, returns Mana to the attacker equal to a % of the damage dealt. Mana Stolen per hit is often referred to as Mana Leech (ML)

• All ML sources from gear are summed up and applied to the Weapon which is used in a successful strike.
  • ML on the Off-Hand Weapon is only applied if it is used to make a weapon strike.
• Only applies to Skills which do a Melee or Ranged Attack that has a Physical Damage component, excluding:
  • bladesentinel and smite
• In Nightmare difficulty, Mana returned is 1/2 effective, and in Hell Difficulty it is 1/3 effective.
• Any modifier which would reduce damage dealt also applies to the Mana Stolen per hit modifier as well. If the amount of Mana Stolen % would be < 1%, then it rounds down to 0%. So no Mana is returned on that attack.
  • Example: multipleshot only applies 3/4 weapon damage, so 1% ML would round down to 0%.
• A target's Drain Effectiveness reduces the amount of Mana returned. If the target has 0% Drain Effectiveness, no Mana is returned, regardless of damage dealt. Most Undead type monsters have 0% Drain Effectiveness.

Mana After Each Kill

Whenever a Character kills a monster by attacking or using Skills, this Stat replenishes a flat amount of Mana equal to the total summed amount on gear. An important note is that Summons that kill a monster does not return Mana to the Character. This includes Traps and hydras. Attacker Takes Damage, Thorns, and Aura radial damage types (i.e. holyfreeze) also do not return any Mana when they cause a monster to die.
This type of Mana recovery can be very useful when farming Undead type monsters, and others with 0% Drain Effectiveness.

Damage Taken Goes to Mana

When a Character is hit by an attack or Skill that deals any damage at all, a % of that damage is replenished to the Character's Mana if they were at <100% of their total Mana. The damage to Mana calculation occurs after all Damage Reductions, but prior to the healing from Absorb. The Mana is replenished, then the damage healed from Absorb, and finally the final damage is applied. The Mana is returned after energyshield would redirect damage from Life to Mana. The Mana that is replenished does not save an energyshield from expiring due to the damage exceeding the Character's current Mana value, even if the replenished Mana could have covered the excess damage dealt.

Mana Damage

There are Monster types, and Elite Affixes which apply their damage to your Mana as well as Life. When this damage would drain your Mana total, the monster is also healed by that amount. Since Characters are the only targets with Mana pools, this damage type only works on targets that are them. The Wraith and Willowisp monster classes (Ghosts and Souls) have a natural chance to drain Mana. The Mana Burn Elite Affix on monsters and their minions always drains Mana and due to a coding error, the Mana drain is multiplied by 256. This makes fighting Mana Burn Elites very dangerous, as you rarely escape the Mana drain, and they heal for large amounts of Life on each attack. Luckily, Mana Damage is not increased by Critical attacks.

Skills with Mana Mechanics

• Assassin:
  • cobrastrike accumulates % Mana Stolen per hit that increases per Charge and is applied on the next normal Attack or Finisher Move.
• Barbarian:
  • battleorders increases eligible Party member's maximum Mana x% for the buff's duration.
• Druid:
  • solarcreeper consumes monster corpses and return a % of the Druid's maximum Mana to the Druid.
• Paladin:
  • meditation greatly increases Mana regeneration rate while inside the radius of the Aura.
  • prayer drains a small amount of Mana per second while active.
  • redemption consumes monster corpses every 2 seconds and replenish a flat amount of Mana per corpse consumed.
• Sorceress:
  • energyshield reduces and then redirects damage taken from Life to Mana. Effectively "replacing" a Sorceress' Life pool with their Mana pool.
  • warmth increases Mana regeneration rate passively once at least 1 Skill Point is allocated or granted by gear.

For more in depth Skill breakdowns, see the linked Character Overview.

Summary

• Character Life and Mana are incredibly important resources, and in depth knowledge of how the game interacts with them drastically increases your survivability and efficiency while navigating Sanctuary.
• Hardcore Players should know these mechanics inside and out. Especially effects like Mana Damage and Life / Mana Stolen per hit.
• Even just boosting your Life total with Gems and Charms can potentially save your Life. Remember that you may get "Stunlocked" in Hit Recovery if the damage dealt exceeds a large percentage of your total Life.

I hope this in depth mechanics section for Life and Mana helps you the next time you wander into Sanctuary. Keep your Life in the Red, and that Mana globe full!

Credits

Written by MacroBioBoi
Reviewed by Teo1904