Spell bar | Mechanics Wiki

November 15, 2026604 words4 min read

In Build 22, spell-bar indicators distinguish cooldowns, charges, tanks and held moves.

Spell bar

In Build 22, spell-bar indicators distinguish cooldowns, charges, tanks and held moves.

Evidence: 4 official · Last verified: 2026-11-15 · Sources: 1

The Spell bar in Flowbound uses different indicators to distinguish cooldowns, charges, tanks, and held moves. In Build 22 · November 12, 2026, the Shift slot shows its cooldown, while water and earth also have arrows showing which Shift directions are ready.

How to Read the Spell Bar

1. Identify the indicator on each slot

Start by checking the indicator attached to the spell slot you want to use. Each slot shows its kind of limit, so the shape of the display tells you what information to look for.

Indicator	What it represents	How to read it
A sweep with seconds	A cooldown	Read the displayed seconds to check the cooldown.
Small blocks	Charges	Recognize the blocks as a charge-based limit rather than a cooldown timer.
A bar	A tank or held move	Treat the bar as the indicator for one of these two limit types.

The important distinction is that not every slot uses a cooldown. Look at the indicator first rather than expecting every spell to show a timer.

A bar alone does not distinguish a tank from a held move: both use that indicator type. The supplied patch notes do not explain their individual bar behavior, so they do not support a more detailed reading of those displays.

2. Check the Shift slot’s cooldown

Find the Shift slot and check its cooldown display. This slot explicitly shows its cooldown in Build 22, making it the place to look when checking Shift’s timing.

Keep this check separate from identifying the limit type on your other slots. The spell bar supports several kinds of limits, but the Shift slot specifically provides cooldown information.

3. Check direction readiness for water and earth

When using water or earth, look for the three arrows associated with Shift. These arrows indicate which Shift directions are ready.

Use the arrows to check directional readiness alongside the Shift cooldown display. The two indicators communicate different information: the cooldown concerns timing, while the arrows identify ready directions.

The documented three-arrow feature applies to water and earth. The available information does not describe an equivalent directional display for other elements.

Tips for Checking Charges

Charge information also appears at the crosshair. Build 22 describes these indicators as small marks in your element’s colour, with different appearances for ready and spent charges.

To read those crosshair marks:

Look for a filled mark, which means the charge is ready.
Recognize an outline as a spent charge.
Watch the next mark fill; it pulses when the charge is back.

Keep the two displays distinct: small blocks on the spell bar identify a charge-based limit, while the documented filled, outlined, and pulsing states describe the crosshair marks.

Quick Check Before Using a Move

Identify whether its slot shows a cooldown, charges, or a tank/held-move bar.
For a cooldown, read the sweep and seconds.
For Shift, check the slot’s cooldown.
For water or earth Shift, also check which directional arrows show readiness.
For crosshair charges, use the filled and outlined marks to distinguish ready from spent charges.

Details

shift_slot

The Shift slot shows its cooldown.

limit_indicators

Slots show a sweep with seconds for a cooldown, small blocks for charges, or a bar for a tank or held move.

direction_indicators

Water and earth get three arrows for the Shift directions that are ready.

build

Build 22 · November 12, 2026

Sources

Flowbound — Patch notes · Flowbound