Vaal Molten Shell

Vaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard
Souls Per Use: 50 (N) /
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec
Cooldown Time: 0.50 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds
Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour
(30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield
Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000
Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second,
or when Buff expires or is depleted
Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour
Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention
CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.Acquisition
Level: 4Sell Price
1x Scroll FragmentMiscellaneous
Item class: Active Skill Gems
Metadata ID: Metadata/Items/Gems/SkillGemVaalMoltenShell

For the non-Vaal counterpart, see 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 ShellMolten ShellSpell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard
  Radius: 15
  Mana Cost: (8-12)
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec
  Cooldown Time: 4.00 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that adds to your armour, and can take some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. When the buff expires or is depleted, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken from the buff. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Skill Effect DurationBuff can take additional Damage equal to 0.25% of your ArmourReflected Damage Penetrates 1% of Enemy Fire ResistanceBase duration is 3 seconds
  Buff grants +(50-858) to Armour
  75% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield
  Buff can take Damage equal to 20% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 10000
  Reflects (100-3000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage when Buff expires or is depleted
  This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. 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.

All Guard skills

Below are the 5 skill gems with the Guard gem tag:

Skill gem
Arcane CloakArcane CloakSpell, Duration, Guard, Lightning Can Store 1 Use(s) Cooldown Time: 4.00 secRequires Level 16Spends a portion of your mana to grant a buff that takes some of the damage from hits for you until depleted. The buff grants added lightning damage based on the amount of mana spent by this skill. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1231% increased Skill Effect Duration0.25% of Damage taken gained as Mana over 4 seconds when Hit0.5% increased Buff EffectBase duration is 3 seconds 75% of Damage from Hits is taken from Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to Mana Spent by this Skill's effect Spends (45-64)% of current Mana Buff grants Added Lightning Damage equal to (10-14)% of Mana Spent by this Skill's effect This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	N/A	N/A		16
Immortal CallImmortal CallSpell, Duration, Guard Mana Cost: (21-36) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 3.00 secRequires Level 34Take less Physical and Elemental Damage for a short time. Consumes up to 5 Endurance Charges to lengthen the buff and further lessen Physical Damage taken. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1231% increased Skill Effect Duration1% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate-0.1% less Physical Damage taken per Endurance Charge removed 0.1% less Elemental Damage taken per Endurance Charge removedBase duration is 1 seconds (25-34)% less Elemental Damage taken (25-35)% less Physical Damage taken 15% less Physical Damage taken per Endurance Charge removed 20% increased Buff Duration per Endurance Charge removed This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.		N/A	N/A	34
Molten ShellMolten ShellSpell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Radius: 15 Mana Cost: (8-12) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 4.00 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that adds to your armour, and can take some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. When the buff expires or is depleted, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken from the buff. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Skill Effect DurationBuff can take additional Damage equal to 0.25% of your ArmourReflected Damage Penetrates 1% of Enemy Fire ResistanceBase duration is 3 seconds Buff grants +(50-858) to Armour 75% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 20% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 10000 Reflects (100-3000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage when Buff expires or is depleted This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.		N/A	N/A	4
SteelskinSteelskinSpell, Duration, Guard Mana Cost: (4-16) Can Store 1 Use(s) Cooldown Time: 3.00 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff which can take some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1230.5% increased Cooldown Recovery RateSteelskin Buff can take 0.5% increased amount of DamageBuff grants +1% to all ResistancesBase duration is 1.5 seconds 70% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before Life or Energy Shield Buff can take (54-2209) Damage This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.		N/A	N/A	4
Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Souls Per Use: 50 (N) / Can Store 1 Use(s) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 0.50 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:11% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour (30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000 Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second, or when Buff expires or is depleted Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.		N/A	N/A	4

Strategy

Unlike its non-Vaal counterpart, Vaal Molten Shell will persist for the full duration, regardless of how many times an explosion is triggered. This unique property offers potentially vastly more utility than Molten Shell at the cost of less availability. Because of this, it is recommended that Vaal Molten Shell be saved for an occasion in which it will offer the greatest benefit, such as during an encounter with a unique monster or even a troublesome rare.

Due to the nature of Vaal Molten Shell, it has synergy with support gems that utilize the potentially frequent explosions, such as stun or life leech; however, the rather steep soul cost of Vaal Molten Shell gates the strength of the gem. In addition, while the armour offered during Vaal Molten Shell's duration is first-rate, it may cause conflicts with Cast when Damage Taken SupportCast when Damage Taken SupportSupport, Spell, Trigger
Icon: !
Can Store 1 Use(s)
Cooldown Time: 0.25 secRequires Level 38Each supported spell skill will track damage you take, and be triggered when the total damage taken reaches a threshold. Cannot support skills used by totems, traps, or mines. Vaal skills, channelling skills, and skills that reserve mana cannot be triggered.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased DamageSupported Skills have 1% increased Skill Effect Duration1% more Damage required to TriggerTrigger Supported Spells when you take a total of (528-3272) Damage
Supported Skills deal (-70-6)% more Damage
This Gem can only Support Skill Gems requiring Level (38-70) or lower
You cannot Cast Supported Triggerable Spells directlyThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket..

Items which deal damage to you will also trigger the explosion:

• Scold's BridleScold's Bridle
  Mind CageQuality: +20%
  Energy Shield: 82Requires Level 65, 138 Int(80-100)% increased Spell Damage
  15% reduced Cast Speed
  +(30-60) to maximum Mana
  Your Skills deal you 400% of Mana Spent on Skill Mana Costs as Physical Damage"The sharper the pain, the sharper the mind.
  A curious paradox."
  - Shavronne of Umbra when using any skill
• Eye of Innocence when igniting an enemy

Gem level progression

Level			Armour	Damage Reflection	Exp.	Total Exp.
1	4	16	N/A	300%	0	0
2	6	20	N/A	390%	841	841
3	9	27	N/A	540%	3,099	3,940
4	12	33	N/A	750%	7,433	11,373
5	16	41	N/A	990%	22,895	34,268
6	20	50	N/A	1260%	49,725	83,993
7	24	58	N/A	1590%	95,714	179,707
8	28	67	N/A	1950%	169,595	349,302
9	32	75	N/A	2340%	283,759	633,061
10	36	83	N/A	2760%	453,996	1,087,057
11	40	92	N/A	3240%	703,128	1,790,185
12	44	100	N/A	3750%	1,061,223	2,851,408
13	48	109	N/A	4290%	2,065,870	4,917,278
14	52	117	N/A	4860%	2,507,110	7,424,388
15	55	123	N/A	5460%	2,573,731	9,998,119
16	58	130	N/A	6120%	7,611,351	17,609,470
17	61	136	N/A	6780%	13,437,908	31,047,378
18	64	142	N/A	7500%	25,052,147	56,099,525
19	67	148	N/A	8220%	43,869,436	99,968,961
20	70	155	N/A	9000%	242,081,178	342,050,139
21	72	159	N/A	9810%	N/A	N/A
22	74	N/A	N/A	10650%	N/A	N/A
23	76	N/A	N/A	11490%	N/A	N/A
24	78	N/A	N/A	12390%	N/A	N/A
25	80	N/A	N/A	13320%	N/A	N/A
26	82	N/A	N/A	14280%	N/A	N/A
27	84	N/A	N/A	15270%	N/A	N/A
28	86	N/A	N/A	16290%	N/A	N/A
29	88	N/A	N/A	17310%	N/A	N/A
30	90	N/A	N/A	18390%	N/A	N/A
31	91	N/A	N/A	19500%	N/A	N/A
32	92	N/A	N/A	20640%	N/A	N/A
33	93	N/A	N/A	21780%	N/A	N/A
34	94	N/A	N/A	22980%	N/A	N/A
35	95	N/A	N/A	24180%	N/A	N/A
36	96	N/A	N/A	25440%	N/A	N/A
37	97	N/A	N/A	26700%	N/A	N/A
38	98	N/A	N/A	28020%	N/A	N/A
39	99	N/A	N/A	29340%	N/A	N/A
40	100	N/A	N/A	30690%	N/A	N/A

Item acquisition

Upgrade paths

This item can be acquired through the following upgrade paths or vendor recipes:

Amount	Ingredient	General Notes	Type
9	Volatile PowerVolatile Power9Superior Vaal Gem Quality: +20% CorruptedUnlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.	random corrupted superior Vaal gem (Q20)	Automatic
6	The FoxThe Fox6Level 20 Gem"Masters of wit, strength and cunning. To survive the harsh winters, you must be like the fox." - Ezomyte Proverb	random level 20 gem	Automatic
13	The CataclysmThe Cataclysm13Level 21 Spell Gem CorruptedThe mighty warriors traded in blows, the nimble archers in arrows, yet it was the brazen thaumaturgists who would bring catastrophe to all.	random corrupted level 21 Spell gem	Automatic
3	Gemcutter's PromiseGemcutter's Promise3Superior Gem Quality: +20%"I swore to use my position to help the people. What good is power when it just accumulates on the already-powerful?" - Erasmus, Imperial Gemcutter	random superior gem (Q20)	Automatic

Alternate skill effects

Vaal Molten Shell has the following alternate skill effects:

Item	Effect(s)
Invisible Buff EffectInvisible Buff EffectSkill Gem EffectRemoves the visual effects on the player from arctic armour, tempest shield, blood rage, molten shell, phase run, any aura, any blasphemied curse, or any herald gem.	Removes the visual effects on the player from arctic armour, tempest shield, blood rage, molten shell, phase run, any aura, any blasphemied curse, or any herald gem.
Stygian Molten Shell EffectStygian Molten Shell EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Molten Shell becomes a Stygian Molten Shell Effect.	Your Molten Shell becomes a Stygian Molten Shell Effect.
Viper Molten Shell EffectViper Molten Shell EffectSkill Gem EffectYour Molten Shell becomes a Viper Molten Shell Effect.	Your Molten Shell becomes a Viper Molten Shell Effect.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.11.0	Now grants 25 additional armour at gem level 1 (from 60), up to 429 additional armour at gem level 20 (from 1030). Now grants 20% more armour at gem level 1, up to 29% more armour at gem level 20. Now causes 30% of Damage taken from hits to be taken from the buff before your life or energy shield at gem level 1, up to 35% at gem level 20 (from 80% at all levels). The buff can now take Damage equal to 30% of your armour (from 60%), up to a maximum of 30000. Now reflects 300% of Damage taken from buff as Fire Damage each second or when the buff expires or is depleted at gem level 1 (from 100%), up to 9000% at gem level 20 (from 3000%). Now removes and is removed by any other Guard skill.
3.7.0	Now has a base duration of 9 seconds at all gem levels (from 5). Now grants 60 additional armour at gem level 1 (from 17), up to 1030 at gem level 20 (from 943) Now creates a buff that can take damage equal to 60% of your armour. Now causes 80% of damage from hits to be taken from the buff before your life or energy shield. Now reflects a portion of the damage taken from the buff as fire damage every second until the buff expires or is depleted. Now reflects 100% of damage taken from the buff as fire damage when the buff expires or is depleted at gem level 1, up to 3000% at gem level 20 (previously stated 1050% at gem level 20). Now has a Vaal Soul generation cooldown of 14 seconds (from 7 seconds). No longer has an added damage effectiveness multiplier or critical strike chance, as reflected damage cannot benefit from added damage, nor can it critically strike. Shares its cooldown with other guard skills (Steelskin and Immortal Call).
3.4.0	Now has a Soul Gain Prevention duration of 7 seconds (up from 5).
2.6.0	Changed the explosion effect. The new one has better performance.
2.4.0	Vaal Molten Shell now causes an explosion when it prevents any physical damage, rather than when it takes any hit.
2.3.2	When switching between regular and Vaal Molten Shell, the shield will now visually destroy and recreate itself. Fixed a bug where Molten Shell buff effect bonuses did not apply to Vaal Molten Shell.
2.3.0	Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Souls Per Use: 50 (N) / Can Store 1 Use(s) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 0.50 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:11% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour (30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000 Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second, or when Buff expires or is depleted Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.'s duration has been reduced from 10 seconds to 5 seconds at all gem levels. Its damage has been reduced at high levels. It does the same damage at gem level 1, up to half the damage it previously did at gem level 20.
2.2.0	Cast time reduced from 1 sec to 500 ms.
2.1.0	Fixed a bug where Molten ShellMolten ShellSpell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Radius: 15 Mana Cost: (8-12) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 4.00 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that adds to your armour, and can take some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. When the buff expires or is depleted, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken from the buff. Shares a cooldown with other Guard skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% increased Skill Effect DurationBuff can take additional Damage equal to 0.25% of your ArmourReflected Damage Penetrates 1% of Enemy Fire ResistanceBase duration is 3 seconds Buff grants +(50-858) to Armour 75% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 20% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 10000 Reflects (100-3000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage when Buff expires or is depleted This Skill's Cooldown does not recover during its effectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. could be applied multiple times via Spell Echo.
1.1.0d	Vaal Skill soul counts were initially balanced for Merciless difficulty, where there are more monsters. We want them to be easier to use in Normal and Cruel difficulty. We have halved the number of souls required for each skill. In Cruel difficulty, skills require 50% more souls to uses. In Merciless difficulty, they require 100% more (which is the same as before the patch).
1.1.0b	Fixed a bug with damage feedback on Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Souls Per Use: 50 (N) / Can Store 1 Use(s) Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0.001 sec Cooldown Time: 0.50 secRequires Level 4Applies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:11% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour (30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000 Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second, or when Buff expires or is depleted Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..
1.1.0	Introduced to the game.