Losing and gaining hearts is the heart of Lifesteal's PvP loop: dying costs you a heart, and killing another player gives you one back.
Losing hearts#
You lose 1 heart every time you die. The cause does not matter.
| Cause of death | Hearts lost | Killer rewarded |
|---|---|---|
| Killed by another player | 1 | Yes |
| Killed by a mob | 1 | No |
| Fall damage, fire, lava, drowning, void, suffocation | 1 | No |
| Dying to the environment after a player hit you | 1 | Only if the game credits that player with the kill (normally a player who damaged you in the few seconds before you died) |
| Your combat logger is killed while you are offline | 1 | Yes |
- The heart is removed at the moment of death, before you respawn. Your maximum health on respawn already reflects it.
- You cannot lose more than one heart in a single death.
- Hearts never drop below 0. At 0 hearts you are eliminated. See Elimination.
Gaining hearts#
When you kill another player you receive 1 Heart item. It lands in your inventory; if your inventory is full it drops at your feet. The kill gives you the item, not an instant heart: you have to right-click it to add the heart to your total. See Heart.
- Only the player credited with the kill is rewarded.
- Because the reward is an item, you keep the choice of when to redeem it or whether to trade it.
- A Heart cannot take you above your maximum. At the maximum the item is not consumed and stays in your inventory. See Prestige for raising the maximum.
Other ways to get Heart items are listed on the Heart page: the shop, crafting, kits, and crate rewards.
Combat logging#
Leaving the game while in combat leaves a stand-in (the combat logger) in the world. If that stand-in is killed:
- The player who logged out loses 1 heart. Their hearts are saved offline and never go below 0.
- The killer receives 1 Heart item, the same as a normal kill.
- If that loss takes the logged-out player to 0 hearts, they are eliminated the next time they log in. See Elimination.
Details of the combat tag are on Combat Tag.
Starting point and limits#
| Value | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starting hearts | 10 |
| Hearts after elimination | 10 |
| Maximum hearts | 25 (+1 per prestige level, up to 30) |
| Lowest hearts you can withdraw to | 10 |
| Health per heart | 2 HP |