Ignite and Cold in Sublight
Turn status effects into a real damage identity — not incidental chip damage.
Demo patch 0.18.0 turned Sublight statuses into build-defining systems. Ignite and Cold are no longer flavor text on a tooltip — they are the difference between a coherent Early Access run and a pile of unrelated passives that collapse on bosses. This page is the status manual that sits beside Best Builds and How to Play.
If you still mix random burn and chill upgrades every level-up, stop. Pick a primary identity, learn its stack caps, and only then experiment with hybrids.
Ignite — burn plans that reward dwell time
Ignite stacks applications toward a burn identity. Community and patch framing treat the meaningful cap around five stacks, with passives that amplify staying on target once the burn is live.
What Ignite wants from you
- Weapons that dwell on a hull or pack rather than one-off poke.
- Facings that keep the burn source online after a boost-turn.
- Salvage discipline: scoop after stacks are applied, not while you are still climbing.
- Passives that multiply burn application, duration, or damage — not unrelated economy first.
Explosive autocannon packages often pair naturally with Ignite because splash helps light clumps while you hold a broadside. That is a template, not a law — confirm with the weapons tier list after patches.
Common Ignite failures
- Taking Ignite passives while your guns cannot stay on target for more than a second.
- Breaking stacks every time you greed-salvage through a wreck field.
- Hybridizing into Cold mid-run until neither status is online for a boss window.
Cold — volume, freeze, and bonus windows
Cold stacks up to twenty applications, then freezes the target and enables bonus damage while frozen. Cold is a control identity as much as a damage identity.
What Cold wants from you
- High volume or multi-hit tools that climb stacks under pressure.
- Pierce lanes (chaingun-style) that keep applying while enemies funnel.
- Clear freeze windows for salvage and facing resets — especially before Hunter pressure.
- Passives that keep streams online rather than single big hits that miss.
Cold shines when weekly modifiers create clumps or lanes. It struggles if you constantly spin the hull and interrupt application.
Common Cold failures
- Expecting freeze from a trickle of stacks while fighting for your life on a blind arc.
- Scooping during the climb instead of during the freeze.
- Ignoring side coverage so wraps strip your volume before twenty stacks land.
Choosing a primary identity
| Question | Prefer Ignite | Prefer Cold |
|---|---|---|
| Can I dwell on targets? | Yes | Sometimes |
| Do enemies clump into lanes? | Splash helps | Pierce + stacks excel |
| Do I need scoop windows? | Burn finish windows | Freeze windows |
| Is the week hyper-mobile? | Need fast reapply | Need volume that survives boosts |
Raw projectile DPS without status remains valid when a weapon family already carries the run — but even then, avoid random status passives that never fire.
Status + arcs + Hunter
Statuses do not remove Sublight’s arc rule. A frozen pack on your stern still kills you if no gun faces it. Practice present-fire-adjust positioning from How to Play, then use freeze or burn finishes as the safe moment to scoop.
When the Hunter flagship arrives, reorder priorities: survive, keep identity online, control adds, salvage only on windows. Lost stacks during panic boosts are a leading cause of late-run collapse.
Passives and level-up filters
Use the same filters as Best Builds:
- Multiplies my Ignite or Cold sentence — take it.
- Fixes a repeated death pattern (coverage, sustain) — take it.
- Unrelated shiny — skip.
Demo 0.18.0 also capped several passives numerically and stopped offering capped options again. If a status passive disappears from rewards, you may have hit its cap — that is intentional.
Sample run sentences
Say these out loud mid-run:
- “Ignite explosive broadside — scoop after burns light.”
- “Cold pierce stream — freeze, then salvage, then re-aim.”
If you cannot say one sentence, your build is not ready for bosses.
Cross-links
- Best Builds — weapon family templates
- Weekly Modifiers — when to swap identity
- Build planner — pre-undock checklist
- Guides Hub — sibling walkthroughs
Status literacy is Early Access power. Stack on purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common Sublight questions.
How many Ignite stacks matter in Sublight?
Ignite is built around a compact burn plan commonly framed around up to five stacks, supported by passives that reward sustained application.
How does Cold freeze work?
Cold stacks up to twenty applications, then freezes the target and enables bonus damage while frozen — use that window to salvage or delete priorities.
Should I run Ignite and Cold together?
Hybrids are fine for learning. Serious clears pick a primary identity so passives multiply one plan instead of diluting both.
Which weapons support each status?
Dwell and splash tools often feed Ignite; high-volume pierce streams often feed Cold. Confirm current ranks on the weapons tier list after patches.
Do statuses replace firing arcs?
Never. Stacks only help guns that actually face the threat. Fix arcs first, then specialize status.