Reactive

Reactive gives the elite enemy 1 stack of Kinetic Spikes, which causes it to emit a Sparkle projectile at a random enemy (your cat) whenever it takes damage. Each Sparkle deals 1 magic damage at infinite range, meaning there is no safe distance. The enemy has a bright sparkling particle effect and a slightly brightened tint. Every individual instance of damage triggers a Sparkle, so multi-hit attacks cause multiple retaliatory projectiles.

Reactive punishes aggressive, high-frequency attackers the hardest. Multi-hit abilities that land 5 or 6 strikes will generate 5 or 6 Sparkle projectiles, each targeting a random cat at infinite range. Over a long fight, this passive retaliation damage adds up significantly. Reactive is especially dangerous in combination with other defensive buffs like Tough or Shielded that prolong the fight, since more total attacks means more total Sparkle damage to your team. The random targeting means even your backline support cats can take hits.

High single-hit damage is preferable over multi-hit attacks to minimize Sparkle triggers. Fewer, harder hits mean fewer retaliatory projectiles. Cats with high health or Shield can absorb the Sparkle damage more safely. Killing the Reactive elite quickly reduces total Sparkle damage across the fight. Since the Sparkles deal magic damage, magic resistance or related defenses can mitigate them. Area-of-effect abilities that only count as a single damage instance per target are efficient since they only trigger one Sparkle regardless of how many other enemies they hit.