A ground effect is the general term for a patch of terrain that has some consequence on characters or monsters positioned on it. Burning ground created by the Fire Trap skill is one common example of a ground effect.
Detrimental ground effects do not affect allies of the character that created them, while those ground effects created by monsters or the environment will not affect other monsters. The inverse is true for beneficial ground effects. Modifiers on items that care about ground effects affecting the player only apply to non-player ground effects.
Characters and monsters can be affected simultaneously by different types of overlapping ground effects. Those of the same type do not cumulatively stack their effects. For ground effects that inflict damage, only one of each type with the highest damage per second will cause damage at any given moment.
Flying monsters, including Raging Spirits and Watchers, are not affected by certain ground effects that lie close to the ground. Other ground effects, such as those that consist of vapor or smoke, can influence monsters above the ground as well.
| Ground effect | Affects flying |
|---|---|
| Burning ground |
✗
|
| Chilled ground |
✗
|
| Frozen ground |
✗
|
| Shocked ground |
✗
|
| Consecrated ground |
✓
|
| Desecrated ground |
✓
|
| Tarred ground |
✗
|
| Caustic ground |
✗
|
| Smoke cloud |
✓
|
| Fungal Ground | |
| Slipstream |