Mark

Marked is a unique status effect. No character or monster can resist it(it still can miss) but it does nothing on its own. However, there are many hero and enemy skills that will deal extra damage to any character bearing a Mark.

List of marking Heroes

 * Arbalest - mark applies DODGE debuff, Sniper Shot has increased damage and crit vs. marked;
 * Bounty Hunter - mark applies PROT debuff, Collect Bounty has increased damage vs. marked;
 * Hound Master - mark applies PROT debuff, Hound's Rush has increased damage vs. marked;
 * Occultist mark applies DODGE debuff;
 * Grave Robber - Thrown Dagger has increased damage vs. marked;
 * Highwayman - Pistol Shot has increased damage vs. marked;
 * Crusader, Man-at-Arms, Leper and Flagellant can mark themselves, making some enemies focus their attacks on them;
 * Arbalest can clear any marks from her teammates with Rallying Flare.

Making use of marking
Usually, it's better to straight up attack the enemy, as marking by itself does nothing and you have to wait until next turn to take advantage of it. Mark works well against a high health enemy that takes a few turns to kill, like Large monsters and some bosses. For marking to be used effectively, it is recommended to have a few Heroes in the party who have synergies with marking. Some popular combos are fast Occultist and Bounty Hunter, Occultist and Arbalest, Arbalest and marking Hound Master. Hound Master's mark also comes with a PROT debuff, which makes it very useful even in the party without synergies. Best use of marking comes from The Marking Party: Arbalest, Occultist, Hound Master, Bounty Hunter. Self-marking abilities usually come with added benefits such as activating riposte or increasing PROT. Some monsters (such as the mushroom types in Weald) have moves that deal extra damage vs Marked enemies and thus will prioritize attacking your marked heroes, but monsters without mark-related attacks will attack normally and will not prioritize marked heroes any more than they normally would.

Because the turn duration of debuffs tick down by 1 at the start of the afflicted character's turn, it can be more difficult to make use of Mark vs some boss-type creatures with 2-3 actions per round, as the Mark will expire relatively faster than normal. For example, if at the start of Round 1 you were to mark a boss that has 3 actions per round, then by the start of Round 2 the mark will have expired.

Lowering Defenses
While marking itself does nothing unless certain skills are used, marking abilities can still be quite useful if not simply for the defense-reducing debuffs they come paired with. Some enemies such as Pelagic Guardian and Ghoul have high PROT, while others such as Rabid Gnasher and Webber have high DODGE. As Mark abilities reduce either of these (Dodge or PROT), a well-placed Mark on an annoyingly beefy or evasive enemy can turn what was once a difficult fight into an easy target.

List of marking enemies

 * Cultist Acolyte's Stressful Incantation (Veteran and Champion levels only);
 * Webber's Web
 * Collector's Life Steal (sometimes)
 * Swine Drummer's Drum of Debilitation
 * Large Carrion Eater's Weaken Pray
 * Fungal Artillery's Mark Prey
 * Wilbur's End This One/End These Two

List of enemies utilising marks

 * Cultist Brawler's Rend for The Old God
 * Webber's Bite
 * Spitter's Spit/Bite
 * Bone Arbalist's Quarrel
 * Carrion Eater's Munch
 * Large Carrion Eater's Tentacle Devour
 * Swine Prince's Obliterate Body/Obliterate Masses
 * Fungal Scratcher's Rend The Marked

Dealing with being marked
Being marked when facing an enemy which can utilize mark is a real danger. Increased (often doubled) damage is not the biggest threat - focused attacks on a single party member is. The simplest solution is to dispatch marking enemies before they have a chance to apply it. Other solutions include:
 * guarding;
 * removing mark with Arbalest's Rallying Flare;
 * moving marked members in the back ranks where they can't be reached;
 * buffing a marked party member's resistances, protection or healing to counteract damage;
 * sometimes it's simply faster to kill enemies who benefit from the mark first.