Understand Vicious Bond
Useful when…
- Use with a Companion that attacks in melee, especially when abilities hit groups of enemies.
Armor strip and spread conditions
Companion melee attacks strip armor: 2.5% at rank 0, 10% at rank 3, and 15% at rank 5. Enemies recently damaged by abilities can spread the effect to other enemies; that radius grows from 1.5 m at rank 0 to 6 m at rank 3 and 9 m at rank 5. The description does not specify how long the 'recently damaged' condition lasts.
Practical use
The mod combines two sources of activity: Companion melee attacks apply the armor strip, while ability-damaged enemies provide the stated spread condition. It is most relevant when both parts can occur in the same fight. Without ability damage, the melee armor strip remains the specified effect, but the spread condition is not met.
Rank investment
It is a standard Companion mod with Madurai polarity, base drain 4, and maximum rank 5. Both the armor-strip percentage and spread radius improve with rank. Rank 3 is a notable midpoint at 10% strip and 6 m spread; ranks 4–5 require progressively higher fusion costs, with the listed rank 4 to 5 step costing 480 Endo and 23,184 Credits.
Other Bond effects
Contagious Bond spreads status effects when the Companion kills an enemy already afflicted with one. Seismic Bond instead adds shockwaves while a channeled ability is active and grants Ability Efficiency stacks from Companion damage. Aerial Bond has airborne-kill and airborne-field conditions. These have distinct triggers and are not interchangeable descriptions of armor stripping.
Limitations and tradeoffs
- The spread requires enemies recently damaged by abilities; melee attacks alone are not described as triggering that spread.
- Rank investment improves both radius and strip amount, with higher ranks costing more Endo and Credits.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming ability damage itself performs the listed melee armor strip.
- Assuming the spread happens without recently ability-damaged enemies.