"Temporarily steal the power of slain elites. Gain the power of any killed elite monster for 8s (+5s per stack)." Kill an elite, gain its passive power for 8 seconds. Multiple elite buffs stack simultaneously. Stacks extend duration only. Overloading and Malachite buffs temporarily affect healing. Artifact of Honor makes every kill grant a buff. Forgive Me Please does NOT trigger it.
Buffs
Stack simultaneously
Best With
Artifact of Honor
All Elite Buffs You Can Steal
Buffs are grouped by elite tier. Tier 1 elites appear from Stage 1. Tier 2 elites appear later and are rarer but more powerful.
Tier 1 - Common Elites
BlazingTier 1
Leave a fire trail behind you. Hits apply 50% total damage burn.
Strong with Ignition Tank (quadruples burn damage). Good general damage buff.
GlacialTier 1
Hits apply a slow to enemies. On death: freeze explosion that damages and freezes nearby enemies.
Reliable crowd control on every hit. Excellent for kiting.
OverloadingTier 1
Hits fire electric bombs that explode after a short delay. On buff gain: 50% of HP temporarily converts to shields.
Warning: Shields cannot be healed. Healing items are blocked while this buff is active. HP restores when buff expires.
Net HP is neutral. Avoid on healing-dependent builds or near-death situations.
MendingTier 1 (SotV)
Passively heal nearby non-mending allies for 40% base damage 4x per second within 30m.
Useful healing aura in multiplayer. Less impactful solo.
GildedTier 1 (SotS)
Drain gold from nearby enemies on hit.
Weak offensive value. Gold drain has limited combat utility.
Tier 2 - Rarer Elites
CelestineTier 2
Cloak nearby allies (invaluable in multiplayer). Apply 80% movement slow on every hit.
Best offensive buff. 80% slow on hit controls everything on screen.
MalachiteTier 2
Periodically shoot malachite urchins. Apply Healing Disabled on every hit.
Warning: Healing Disabled applies to you during the buff duration - your own healing is blocked.
Powerful debuff on enemies. Dangerous on healing builds - time around it.
VoidtouchedTier 2 (SotV)
Hits apply Collapse (void damage over time). Block one incoming hit every 15 seconds.
Decent damage over time application. The block is a nice bonus.
TwistedTier 2 (SotS)
Grant +300 armor to nearby allies. Charge a powerful projectile when taking damage.
+300 armor is near-invulnerability on turrets and allies in multiplayer.
PerfectedTier 2
Converts 100% of HP to shields on buff gain. Provides 100% shield immediately.
Warning: All HP becomes shields temporarily. HP fully restored when buff expires.
Combine with Transcendence (already full shields) for zero downside.
Overloading and Malachite - Healing Interruption
Both the Overloading buff (50% HP to shields) and Malachite buff (Healing Disabled on hit) temporarily block healing while active. The Overloading conversion restores your HP when it expires - it is not permanent damage. If you are running a heavy healing build like N'kuhana's + Rejuvenation Rack, be prepared for brief healing gaps when these elites appear.
Key Synergies
Artifact of Honor is the best pairing. Every enemy spawns as an elite. Every kill grants a random buff. Wake of Vultures becomes nearly permanent through normal combat - buffs are cycling continuously rather than depending on specific elite spawns.
Brainstalks compounds with WoV. Elite kills grant both a Brainstalks CDR window AND a WoV buff. With Artifact of Honor both effects fire on every kill - you get near-zero cooldowns AND a random elite power simultaneously.
Ignition Tank quadruples Blazing burn damage. When you have the Blazing buff active, your fire trail and on-hit burns deal +300% more damage via Ignition Tank. Strong in stages with high Blazing elite density.
Transcendence removes Overloading downside. If you already have Transcendence (all HP is shields), the Overloading buff converting HP to shields has zero effect - you are already 100% shields. The shield conversion is redundant.
Forgive Me Please dolls do NOT trigger Wake of Vultures. The doll simulates on-kill effects but WoV is not an on-kill effect in the traditional sense. Even with Artifact of Honor active, dolls will not grant elite buffs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Wake of Vultures do in Risk of Rain 2?
Wake of Vultures grants you the passive power of any elite monster you kill for 8 seconds (+5 per stack). Kill a Blazing elite and you leave fire trails and apply burns. Kill a Glacial elite and your hits slow enemies. Kill a Celestine and you apply 80% slow on hit. Multiple elite buffs can be active simultaneously and each has its own independent timer.
Does Wake of Vultures stack?
Additional stacks of Wake of Vultures increase the duration of each stolen buff by 5 seconds per stack - the base 8 seconds becomes 13s with 2 stacks, 18s with 3, etc. The effects themselves don't multiply. In high-elite-density situations more stacks mean buffs last longer between kills, increasing uptime.
What happens when you get the Overloading buff from Wake of Vultures?
Getting the Overloading buff temporarily converts 50% of your HP to shields. Shields cannot be healed through normal means, so this interrupts healing-based builds for the buff duration. When the Overloading buff expires, you are healed back for the amount of HP that was converted to shields. The net HP is neutral - just a healing interruption during the buff.
Does Wake of Vultures work with Artifact of Honor?
Yes, and it's the best synergy. Artifact of Honor makes all enemies spawn as elites. With Wake of Vultures, every single kill grants a random elite buff. This means Wake of Vultures is active almost permanently during combat. Note that Forgive Me Please dolls do not trigger Wake of Vultures even with Artifact of Honor active.
Is Wake of Vultures good in Risk of Rain 2?
It's inconsistent but potentially strong. The value depends entirely on which elite types spawn. Celestine (80% slow) and Blazing (DoT burn) are powerful offensive buffs. Malachite and Overloading can temporarily hurt healing builds. It excels with Artifact of Honor where buffs fire constantly, and on maps with high Tier 2 elite density late game.
What is the best elite buff from Wake of Vultures?
Celestine is arguably the best - applying 80% movement slow on every hit while also cloaking nearby allies in multiplayer. Blazing is excellent for DoT builds with Ignition Tank. Malachite applies Healing Disabled to enemies, strong for preventing enemy regen. Overloading provides useful on-hit explosions but has the shield conversion downside.
More RoR2 Item Guides
More Rogue Ranker Guides
