Decimation

Decimation is a stacking self-buff in Windrose applied by the Executioner halberd. Each enemy killed while wielding the weapon adds a stack of Decimation, and each stack grants a flat boost to Critical Hit Chance. At three stacks the buff caps, giving the wielder the largest non-armor Critical Hit Chance window in the launch build.

Summary

How it Works

Landing a killing blow while the Executioner is the equipped weapon adds one Decimation stack. Stacks do not decay between kills as long as the player keeps the buff active in combat; they build up to the 3-stack cap during camp clears and longer boss fights. The effect is a passive crit-chance boost; it does not change damage numbers on non-crit swings.

Source Weapon

Decimation comes only from the Executioner, a two-handed Halberd that scales with Strength. The weapon deals Crude damage and is built for wading into groups, which is exactly the situation that feeds Decimation stacks. Because the buff is tied to the equipped weapon rather than to a Talent System node, any character can use it the moment the Executioner is equipped, with no point investment required.

Apathy (Epic Tier)

Ascending the Rare Executioner to Epic at the Weaponsmith Workshop unlocks a second effect called Apathy. While Decimation is active on the wielder (at least one stack present), Apathy grants 10% Damage Resistance. The DR applies for as long as Decimation holds, so maintaining the stacks turns the Executioner into both a damage steroid and a moderate defensive buffer.

Stat Interaction

The crit chance from Decimation is additive with every other source of Critical Hit Chance in the build. Each point of Mastery adds 0.5% crit, so a character with high Mastery plus three Decimation stacks plus a crit-focused talent reaches the highest crit window in the launch build. The stacks add a flat percentage; they do not multiply other crit sources, so plan crit gear around an additive total rather than expecting a multiplier.

Decimation does nothing for ranged builds. The buff requires the Executioner to be the equipped weapon, so a Marksman or other ranged loadout cannot trigger it. It is a melee-only mechanic by design.

Stacks at a Glance

Practical Use

• Open a fight by clearing a low-priority mob to stack Decimation, then commit to the boss or elite with stacks already built up.

• Pair with Executioner's Aim (+4/8/12% Two-Handed melee crit) to stack flat crit chance on top of the Decimation buff. At rank 3 plus 3 Decimation stacks, base crit can climb above 40% without any armor-set contributions.

• Pair with Dominating Presence (on-kill melee damage for 60s) to compound the on-kill return from each stack-building kill.

• In camps, stack-feeding works best when the weakest enemies are killed first to fill up Decimation before committing to elites.

Counterplay

Decimation is a self-buff, not a debuff on enemies, so there is no cleanse path from the opposing side. The only counter is denying kills: if the player cannot secure a killing blow, Decimation never comes online. Boss arenas with no ambient mobs (the Sealed Temple entrance for Israel Hands, for example) deny the stack window entirely until the boss fight itself begins to feed kills.

Design Notes

Decimation replaced what some pre-launch and early community references called "Rage." The Crosswind-era naming used Rage and Ward for the Executioner halberd's two effects; at Early Access launch on April 14, 2026 the canonical names became Decimation and Apathy. See Rage for the naming-history disambiguation page.

See Also

• Executioner the halberd that grants Decimation

• Weaponsmith Workshop where Rare ascends to Epic

• Executioner's Aim flat crit chance synergy

• Status Effects full combat buff roster

• Rarity System Rare and Epic tier mechanics

• Mastery the stat that adds flat Critical Hit Chance per point

• Halberd the weapon class the Executioner belongs to

• Strength the attribute the Executioner scales with