Poxium

Poxium Blight is a progressive status effect designed to punish prolonged combat rather than burst damage.

Poxium Blight does not expire normally. When its timer runs out, it instead increments by one level, continuing to stack up to level 15. On its own, the effect is harmless until it reaches level 10.

Starting at Poxium Blight X (10), the afflicted player begins to lose ½ a maximum heart per level.
This reduction continues until the player is left with 5 maximum hearts, at which point it stops scaling.

Examples:

Level 10 → 9.5 max hearts

Level 13 → 8 max hearts

Level 15 → 5 max hearts (cap)

Weapon Interaction

The associated sword is intentionally weak on first contact, dealing 3–4 base attack damage with 1.8 attack speed. Its strength comes from escalation.

Every successful hit applies Poxium Blight or increases its level by 1

For each existing level of Poxium Blight on the target, the sword gains +1 damage, up to level 4

Damage scaling caps at Blight IV, but the effect itself can continue stacking to level 15

Examples:

Target at Blight I → 4–5 damage, Blight increases to II

Target at Blight IV → 7–8 damage, Blight increases to V

Target at Blight X+ → damage no longer increases, but heart reduction applies

This creates a pressure-based weapon that rewards repeated engagements and long fights rather than quick kills.

Brewing

Poxium Blight can also be obtained through brewing.

Brewed using Mycelium Blocks

Provides an alternative to weapon-only application

Intended for indirect spreading, setup, and environmental control

Design Intent

Poxium Blight is not meant to kill quickly. It is a slow, inevitable decay effect that turns extended survival into a liability. Ignoring it early allows it to snowball into a severe handicap later, especially in repeated PvP encounters.