I’m looking for games where I can build around damage-over-time or debuffs spreading between enemies, especially when a target dies. Turn-based games are welcome, but I’m pretty fond of deckbuilders too.
Path of Exile is probably the closest match for the exact death-spread loop. Contagion spreads its damage-over-time effect when an affected enemy dies, and Essence Drain can add another debuff that gets carried along. It takes some build planning, but the chain reaction is the point of the setup.
Path of Exile 2 is also already on your list, so the original game is worth a look if you haven’t tried it.
Warframe has Saryn, whose Spores spread between enemies and can turn a group into one big damage chain. It’s real-time combat rather than a deckbuilder, but it does nail the feeling of starting an infection and watching it move through a crowd.
If you’re open to a specific build rather than a whole new game, Silent’s Corpse Explosion in Slay the Spire is worth checking out. It turns a poisoned enemy’s death into damage for the rest of the group, though it’s more of a death-triggered burst than spreading poison itself.
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