Different levels of detail for a system with a bivalent flexible linker. (a) division of the phase space into states where each pair of the binding sites marked A, B, X and L (cf. Figure 3) may be unbound (e.g. A+B), in an encounter complex (e.g. A-B) or in a bound complex (e.g. AB). The three axes describe the binding process of each pair of reactants. Dashed circles highlight the proximal binding site in the encounter complex. Solid lines connect between states that would be connected in a corresponding kinetic scheme. (b) Many such systems may form condensates, where chain or rings of several subunits form. (c) The same system is depicted without the encounter complexes. This is equivalent to a system where the reaction-limited rates are very fast. (d) The subsystem where the complex AL is constitutively bound, compared to a system where a linker is not present. The focus of this work is to compare the behavior of these two systems. To the right, the same system is depicted without the encounter complexes.