Health

Health determines how much damage characters can sustain after their shields are depleted.

Overview
In general terms, health is represented as a value that is proportionate to the level of a character, gradually increasing as the character progresses in level. Enemies also have similar health values, although these can vary widely from small, weak creatures with low health, to more robust end bosses with greatly enhanced pools of health. Damage inflicted by enemies, or harmful interactions with the environment, will subtract from a character's health value until the point of death. In the case of player characters, reducing the health level to zero merely inflicts the crippled condition, which offers a small window of opportunity to survive.

A player character's own health level is displayed on the HUD in the bottom left of the screen. When this level drops below 50%, the unfilled part of the health-bar will flash. After it drops below 40%, a red exclamation mark will flash above the health bar. The health level of allies and enemies can be viewed when they are bracketed in the HUD's targeting reticle. The status of allies' remaining health is also displayed in the top left corner of the HUD, and will provide a similar low health warning when they sustain significant harm.

Maximum health
New characters begin the game with 100 health. Each time the character levels up, it gains another 15 points to its total health. This allows the character to achieve a total of 1000 health at level 61, for characters with access to DLC3.

Furthermore, some classes have a class mod and/or one or more skills that can add extra health.
 * Mordecai's only way of increasing his maximum health is through the use of a Truxican Wrestler Class Mod obtained from one of the Loot Midgets from DLC3.
 * Roland can increase his health through Fitness.
 * Brick has a number of ways to increase his health. Aside from his Hardened skill, he can use either a Berserker or Titan class mods to improve on his own health, or a Centurion or Skirmisher class mod to increase the whole party's health.

Health regeneration
Aside from having a high health, it's also important to ensure it isn't lost completely. There are many ways to restore lost health.

Healing Kits and Insta-Health Vials can be either found, or bought from a Medical Vending Machine. Healing Kits can be carried and used in between battles, while Insta-Health Vials are consumed immediately when they are obtained. In Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, there is a larger variant of the Insta-Health Vial, that heals for more.

Shields made by Tediore usually have a health-regenerating function, the exception being the shield that can be bought during the Fix'er Upper mission. Furthermore, Wee Wee's Super Booster has very fast health regeneration, and the Rose regenerates health when depleted.

Transfusion Grenade Mods have a vampiric effect, stealing health from enemies and gifting it back to the character who threw the grenade, or closest allies to the grenade's target.

Additionally, all classes have skills and/or class mods to regenerate health.
 * Mordecai can gain health from enemies using Out For Blood, or he can get health on kill with Riotous Remedy. Scavenger class mods have a chance of having team health regeneration, while a Survivor class mod will always do so.
 * Roland can apply healing with his turret through the use of Aid Station, or he can heal himself and others near him with a kill with Stat. When using Cauterize, he can heal allies by shooting them, but not himself. A Tactician class mod may have team health regeneration.
 * Lilith's only way of healing is by using Phasewalk while having points invested in Inner Glow.
 * Brick will gain strong health regeneration while Berserk, and can increase that by killing enemies during Berserk and having points in Blood Sport. Also, both the Centurion and Titan class mod have a chance of gaining team health regeneration and standard health regeneration respectively.

Death


If a character is crippled but unable to get a second wind, this will result in death. When this occurs, the character is teleported to the most recent New-U Station and restored for seven percent of its money as a reconstruction fee. If his or her remaining wealth is less than seven dollars however, the fee is waived.

Exiting a map, by falling off the known map or entering a kill-zone, will result in an instant death, bypassing all normal considerations of health depletion. Such kill-zones may be as little as a step down onto a lower elevation in some cases. Death by falling incurs the usual reconstruction fee although T-Bone Junction noticeably presents an exception to this rule. A Phasewalking character who dies from a map exit in this manner will also have her fee waived.