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# Vaal Molten Shell

[[Vaal Molten Shell]] is a vaal spell that creates a shell around the user that grants extra armour and absorbs incoming hits, absorbing more damage with increased armour. Each second or when expiring, the shell deals fire damage around it based on how much damage it has absorbed.

## Skill functions and interactions

- **Duration**: Skill duration modifiers will increase the duration of Vaal Molten Shell.
- **Critical Strike Chance**: Since Vaal Molten Shell deals reflected damage, its damage cannot critically strike.
- **Damage reflection**: Vaal Molten Shell doesn't trigger on reflected damage.
- **Molten Shell**: Casting [[Molten Shell]] while Vaal Molten Shell is active will terminate the Vaal Molten Shell buff and replace it for the cast Molten Shell. This will happen both ways (when Vaal Molten Shell is cast while Molten Shell is active). This makes it unfavorable to use both skills in conjunction with one another.
- **Order of Operations**: Guard skills happen after all other mitigation when receiving damage, so your character always takes 65-70% of damage directly to their base resources (ward, energy shield, life, mana). To reach the damage cap of a level 20 gem, the character would need to heal (.65/.35*30000=) 55714 points of the affected resource(s) over the buff's duration.