Burn

Burn is a fire-element damage-over-time debuff that deals 1 damage per stack at the start of the afflicted unit's turn, then decreases the stack count by 1. Unlike Bleed, Burn naturally decays over time, but high initial stacks can deal devastating front-loaded damage. Burn damage ignores both Shield and Holy Shield, bypassing conventional defenses entirely. If a cat is downed while burning, it suffers the Immolated injury, permanently reducing Charisma by 1 and Luck by 1.

Burn interacts heavily with the environment and other status effects. Burning units light flammable tiles on fire as they move, which can spread the effect to other units. Burn also melts ice tiles and triggers Rat Bombs. If a Frozen unit is hit with a fire-element attack, the Freeze is removed and they become Wet instead. Similarly, applying Freeze to a Burning unit removes the Burn and applies Wet. The Tarred debuff creates a dangerous synergy with Burn, as Tarred units exposed to fire immediately convert the Tar into Burn stacks. Elite enemies with the Flaming buff are immune to fire and leave trails of fire tiles behind them.

Fire-focused builds that stack Burn can deal significant burst damage, especially against groups of enemies standing on flammable terrain. Burn is commonly applied by fire-element spells like Firebolt, fire-element weapons, and various fire-themed abilities. The Entangled and Webbed debuffs are both removed by Burn, making fire attacks a natural counter to spider and vine enemies. To protect against Burn, the Wet status prevents Burning entirely, and water tiles can help manage fire spread on the battlefield. Brace also reduces Burn damage per tick, though the minimum remains 1.