View source for Overcast

{{Skill sidebar}}
{{quotation|[[Tablet of Wisdom]]|Some skills cause Overcast, which temporarily lowers your maximum amount of available Energy.  Each time you cast a [[spell]] that causes Overcast, you will see a gray bar appear at the end of your [[Energy bar]].  This bar shows how much your maximum Energy has decreased.  Continual use of spells that cause Overcast can result in losing most, if not all, of your potential Energy pool.  After a short time, you will see your Energy bar begin to recover a point of Energy at a time until it returns back to normal. There are also skills which gain bonus effects when you are Overcast. Careful management of your level of Overcast with these skills can improve your effectiveness. Be warned: some foes have skills that make all of your spells cause Overcast for a short period of time.}}

{{quotation|[[Nalah]], Expert Elementalist|Later you will learn more powerful spells that cause Overcast. Overcast temporarily lowers your maximum amount of available Energy. Each time you cast a spell that causes Overcast, you will see a gray bar appear at the end of your Energy Bar. This bar shows how much your maximum Energy has decreased. Continual use of spells that cause Overcast can result in losing most, if not all, of your potential Energy pool. After a short time, you will see your Energy Bar begin to recover one point of Energy at a time until it returns back to normal. There are also some spells which gain bonus effects if you cast them when you are Overcast. Look out for these skills in your travels as they can be quite powerful when paired with a corresponding spell which causes Overcast.}}

[[File:Energy Bar.png|200px|right|thumb|Visual effect of overcast on the energy bar: the grey area cannot be used due to overcast]]

[[Overcast]] is a [[resource cost]] required by some [[elementalist]] [[skill]]s and by some [[effect]]s (usually triggered by skill usage). It is the [[energy]] equivalent of a [[Deep Wound]], reducing your maximum energy by a fixed amount (3, 5 or 10), and is cumulative with prior overcast. Overcast is displayed as grey on your [[energy bar]], and dissipates over time at the rate of 1 maximum energy regained every 3 seconds.

Repeated use of skills that cause overcast can reduce your maximum energy below zero.

Prior to the [[Feedback:Game updates/20120913|September 13, 2012 update]], overcast was called "exhaustion". Although most occurrences of the word have since been replaced, the word is still used in the name of one skill and two effects that cause overcast: [[Exhausting Assault]], [[Aspect of Exhaustion]] and [[Sheer Exhaustion]]. Skill icons can also reflect this, with characters lying on the ground for skills such as [[Arcane Languor]] and [[Equinox]]. 

==Game mechanics==
*Overcast has no effect on your available energy ''unless'' your post-overcast maximum energy is less than your current energy.
**For example, if your base energy is 30, [[Shock]]ing an opponent drops your available energy to 20, while using some other 5 energy skill would reduce it to 25.
**In contrast, after a [[weapon swap]], your available energy can change.
*Overcast can only be reduced by waiting it out; it persists even after [[death]]. It can be removed entirely by [[zone|zoning]].
**Whether dead or alive, your maximum energy restores at the same rate of 1 energy per 3 seconds, which means it takes 30 seconds to completely eliminate the impact of 10 points of overcast.
**Unlike Deep Wound, Overcast is ''not'' a [[condition]]; it does not trigger skills depending on conditions and cannot be removed by generic condition removal skills.
{{bug| While viewing a skill that costs overcast from a [[Priest of Balthazar]] or [[skill trainer]], the popup that appears when you position your cursor over the overcast icon will display ''"..."''.}}

==Skills with an overcast cost==
[[Devourer Siege]] and certain [[elementalist]] skills overcast the user. The effect is triggered at the ''start'' of activation, so the user is overcast even if the skill is [[cancel]]ed or [[interrupt]]ed.
{{Skill table
| category = Overcast skills
| notcategory = Historical content
| show attribute = y
| show campaign = y
| show profession = y
| extra cost header = [[Image:Tango-overcast.png|Overcast]]
}}
{{clear}}
==Related skills==
===Skills that cause or extend overcast on allies or foes===
The following skills can indirectly cause overcast on [[Ally|allies]] or [[foe]]s:
{{Skill table
| category = Category:Skills that cause Overcast
| notcategory = Historical content
| show profession = y
| show attribute = y
| show campaign = y
| extra cost header = [[Image:Tango-overcast.png|Overcast]]
}}

The following [[environment effect]]s can directly or indirectly cause overcast:
*[[Aspect of Exhaustion]] inflicts 10 overcast every 30 seconds.
*[[Sheer Exhaustion]] causes all spells to inflict 10 overcast.

===Skills that removes or reduces overcast on allies or foes===
{{Skill table
| category = Category:Skills that cause Overcast Removal
| notcategory = Historical content
| show profession = y
| show attribute = y
| show campaign = y
| extra cost header = [[Image:Tango-overcast.png|Overcast]]
}}

===Skills that benefit from overcast===
The following skills receive specific benefits when overcast is present:
{{Skill table
| titlematch = Arc Lightning¦Flare¦Ice Spear¦Lava Font¦Lightning Strike¦Magnetic Aura¦Magnetic Surge¦Phoenix¦Rust¦Second Wind¦Shell Shock¦Smoldering Embers¦Stone Daggers¦Swirling Aura¦Whirlwind
| show profession = y
| show attribute = y
| show campaign = y
| extra cost header = [[Image:Tango-overcast.png|Overcast]]
}}

==Trivia==
*Prior to the [[Feedback:Game updates/20120105|January 5, 2012 update]], overcast always affected 10 points of energy and this cost was included as part of the verbose and concise descriptions.
*Prior to the [[Feedback:Game updates/20120913|September 13, 2012 update]], overcast was called "exhaustion" and had no positive skill effects associated with it.
*Several non-elementalist skills caused overcast in a previous version, for example [[Xinrae's Weapon]].

{{Skill lists}}
[[Category:Game mechanics]]
[[Category:Lists of skills]]
[[Category:Overcast skills| ]]
[[Category:Skills that cause Overcast| ]]