BugalugsNugget Thanks! Don't get me started on this... The forums being unmoderated is just not a good sight, I will only visit every once in a while, to post funny clips and maybe share my insight with a person or two. 😅
It's the same with Ichiban, yes. HP + KO State + gassed space. If you are knocked out, you receive more damage. The gas covers progressively more space as the timer goes (but does not become more severe in damage from my observations).
The devs definitely shadow tweak things here and there without announcing them anywhere in changelog (mostly damage values of things). At some point gas wasn't as severe as it is now, and you could climb out even from pretty bad situations. Now they made it harsh again (which I welcome personally).
Many people complain they die faster than their enemies, the truth is they just have less hit points. Again, it has to do with the damage you receive from both gas and players. Sometimes (mostly in the earlier stages because low gas levels) you can survive a pretty bad situation by being in the gas for quite a long time, but you don't see that you have little hitpoints left as a result. From then on you will die almost instantly if you make contact with the gas again. or you can even die from headbutting a wall or the floor.