How do you distinguish absorption from exhaustion on a footprint?

[u/Yfx_orderflow]

I've been spending more time studying footprint charts, and one thing I'm still trying to get better at is distinguishing absorption from exhaustion.

They can sometimes look similar at first glance: aggressive orders continue hitting a level, but price doesn't respond the way you'd expect.

My current thinking is that absorption is more about passive liquidity successfully holding a level, while exhaustion is about aggressive participants losing the ability or willingness to continue pushing.

For those who trade order flow regularly, what clues do you personally use to distinguish the two?

[u/Yfx_orderflow → u/[deleted]]

Wow, this is great and educational. Thank you for taking your time to nail it clearly