Sublight Status Effects Guide: Ignite, Cold, Freeze, and Stacking
Current Sublight status-effect rules from patch 0.18: Ignite stacking, Cold stacks, freeze threshold, bonus frozen-target damage, and elemental build implications.
Patch 0.18 changed status effects into real stacking build paths. Ignite can stack applications, while Cold stacks to 20; reaching 20 freezes the target and makes it take bonus damage while frozen. That means status duration, application rate, and weapon-family synergy can now be core build decisions instead of incidental effects.
Cold and freeze
The current official rule is simple: Cold can stack to 20 applications. At that threshold, the target freezes and takes bonus damage while frozen. Fast application matters because a slow elemental weapon may never reach the threshold before a normal enemy dies.
Ignite
Ignite now stacks applications and 0.18 added passive buffs that further augment it. The exact optimal stack math is not published in the sources used here, so this guide does not invent a burn-DPS formula.
When to commit
Status builds are strongest when multiple picks reinforce application rate or payoff. A single Cold source on an otherwise unrelated build may be utility; several compatible sources can turn freeze into a damage window.