See Death Penalty for details about dying and leaving corpses.
Dropping Items Upon Death
Non-Player Killer Deaths
| Level | Pyreals Dropped | Items Dropped |
|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6-10 | 50% | 0 |
| 11-20 | 50% | 1* |
| 21-35 | 50% | ?* |
| 35+ | 50% | (level/10 [rounded down]) + 0 to 2
OR (level/20 [rounded down]) + 0 to 2 |
* Non-wielded items only.
- The number of items you lose from level 21 and up is your level, divided by 10 or 20 (rounded down), plus a random number from 0 to 2.
- Accounts with the Throne of Destiny expansion received a new formula for death items to prevent losing a pack per death at high levels. The formula was changed to divide by 20 levels instead of 10, thereby making the maximum dropped items the same.
- Rares will always drop and do not count toward your death item count, so store them in a safe place.
Player Killer Deaths
PK deaths use the same system as above for 35+. Below 35, you lose a number of items based on your level using the above formula. Wielded items are not excluded from dropping, and you will always lose 50% of your pyreals and all your Rares.
Player Killer Lite Deaths
No items or pyreals are lost in PKL death.
Items Dropped
The first item to drop will be the highest value item regardless of type. All items of the same type will now be counted at half their face value. This process repeats (next highest value item, if an item of the same type has already dropped, the face value is halved). Note: The halving-mechanism appears to no longer be in effect. If you have a number of Massive Mana Charges, and they are your most expensive items, they will always drop first no matter how many you drop.
The number of items you drop can be reduced with the Clutch of the Miser augmentation. If you get the augmentation three times you will no longer drop any items (except half of your Pyreals and all Rares). If you drop no items you will not leave a corpse.
Purpose of Death Items
You can protect important items like your armor and weapons by carrying death items. These are items that are ideally light weight as well as high in value. You can tinker loot items with bags of Salvaged Gold to raise their face value. Although tinkering special items can remove some of the benefit, as you feel obligated to recover them. Items that can be purchased can just be left if the corpse would be too difficult to recover.
Popular items to use as Death Items:
- Massive Mana Charges (most common death item)
- Crowns (tinkered with gold)
- Nanner Island Portal Gems (somewhat difficult to obtain)
Notes
- When you die there is a notification in your chat dialog stating what items you dropped, and your corpse location (if on the landscape). If you do not leave a corpse the notification will state so.
- Rares will always drop and do not count toward your death item count.
- Trade Notes and any item that has the Special Property of Bonded will never drop.
For more details, see the Zone article Recovering from Death.