Frequently Asked Questions ~ Game Mechanics
How does Additional Damage work?
Additional Damage increases damage of skills and attacks according to this formula:
0.5 * Attack * Additional_Damage * Skill
Attack = Physical or Magical Attack stat of your character without any +X% Attack bonuses from equipment. Permanent Passives increasing/decreasing Attack still apply.
Additional_Damage = Additional Damage stat of your character
Skill = Damage of the used skill/attack. Increased by Skill Tier Damage and Specific Skill Damage
Additional Damage portion of damage can crit and is affected by Critical Damage. Additional Damage is affected by Defense. Additional Damage is not affected by pretty much anything else. That includes Maximize (Add. Damage uses your average Attack), All Skill Damage, Attack/Attacked Damage, Boss Damage or any Buffs that are not specifically for Critical/Additional Damage.
How do different sources of Skill Damage work?
Skill Damage sources are separated into different pools. The values inside these pools are stacking additively and the pools themselves are stacking multiplicatively.
All Skill Damage = Only the "All Skill Damage" stat from equipment/other permanent sources.
Skill Tier Damage = Skill Damage specific to a single Skill Tier (Bravery, Strength, Tenacity, Flexibility, Hyperactive) and Skill Damage specific to a single Skill. "All Skill Damage" ERP is also included here.
May also include some passives that increase damage of specific skill.
Skill Tier Stacking Damage = Stacking Buff from currently unobtainable effect "Upon Using a [Bravery/Strength/Tenacity/Flexibility] Skill, increase [Bravery/Strength/Tenacity/Flexibility] Skill's damage for [10/15] sec. by X%".
Command Attack Damage = Stat specifically increasing the damage of commands. If a skill also counts as a command, Command Damage gets its own pool.
Any other source of Skill Damage, like class specific buffs, would get their own pool. The resulting multiplier of all these pools is then used to multiply the damage of the affected attacks.
Example: 40% All Skill Damage,70% Skill Tier Damage,40% Specific Skill Damage,5 Stacks of 10% Skill Tier Stacking Damage
Solution: (1 + 0.4) * (1 + 0.7 + 0.4) * (1 + 5 * 0.1) = 4.41 ≡ 341% increase
How does Critical Damage work?
There are several sources of Critical Damage that stack together differently. Unless you have 100% Critical Chance, the average damage increase from Critical Damage will be reduced, because not all of your attacks are going to be criticals. To calculate your average damage multiplier with Critical Chance and Damage, you want to use this formula:
1 - Crit_Ch + Crit_Ch * ((1.5 + Crit_D_Base) * (1 + Crit_D_Mult) + Crit_D_Add + Crit_D_Equip) * Crit_D_Debuff
Crit_Ch = Critical Chance stat of your character
Crit_D_Base = Critical Damage passives and buffs that change Base Critical Damage from 150%
Crit_D_Add = Critical Damage passives and buffs that stack additively
Crit_D_Mult = Critical Damage passives and buffs that stack multiplicatively
Crit_D_Equip = Critical Damage from gear that shows in the stat window
Crit_D_Debuff = Debuffs that increase received Critical Damage
Most passives and buffs are currently additive. There were some multiplicative ones in the past, but recently all, that i know, got changed to additive too. The only debuffs increasing Critical Damage, that i know of, are Stigma Shot and Remaining Stigma.
Example: 90% Critical Chance,40% Critical Damage from gear,10% buff to Base Critical Damage,20% multiplicative Critical Damage buff
Solution: 1 - 0.9 + 0.9 * ((1.5 + 0.1) * (1 + 0.2)) + 0.4) = 2.188 ≡ 118.8% increase
What is Normalization?
Normalization means that the more of a stat you have, the harder it is to get. Currently there are 10 stats that are getting normalized. These stats are: Critical Chance, Maximize, Additional Damage, Damage Reduction, Awakening Charge, MP Recovery when Attacking, MP Recovery when Attacked, Attack Speed, Moving Speed and Jump Speed.
Different stats are normalized in different ways. Each stat has Efficiency stages that show how many percents of that stat you will get while in the corresponding range of values. All the efficiency stages are in the table below and visualised in the graph. For easy calculations with normalized stats, you can use also use my calculator.
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 40% | 0% ~ 40% | 100% |
| 40% ~ 80% | 40% ~ 70% | 75% |
| 80% ~ 120% | 70% ~ 90% | 50% |
| 120% ~ 160% | 90% ~ 100% | 25% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 40% | 0% ~ 40% | 100% |
| 40% ~ 75% | 40% ~ 68% | 80% |
| 75% ~ 105% | 68% ~ 86% | 60% |
| 105% ~ 140% | 86% ~ 100% | 40% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 40% | 0% ~ 40% | 100% |
| 40% ~ 80% | 40% ~ 70% | 75% |
| 80% ~ 125% | 70% ~ 92.5% | 50% |
| 125% ~ 160% | 92.5% ~ 102.5% | 25% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 20% | 0% ~ 20% | 100% |
| 20% ~ 45% | 20% ~ 32.5% | 50% |
| 45% ~ 75% | 32.5% ~ 41.25% | 35% |
| 75% ~ 95% | 41.25% ~ 45% | 15% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 20% | 0% ~ 20% | 100% |
| 20% ~ 35% | 20% ~ 32.75% | 85% |
| 35% ~ 45% | 32.75% ~ 40.25% | 75% |
| 45% ~ 60% | 40.25% ~ 50% | 65% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 30% | 0% ~ 30% | 100% |
| 30% ~ 55% | 30% ~ 38.75% | 35% |
| 55% ~ 85% | 38.75% ~ 46.25% | 25% |
| 85% ~ 110% | 46.25% ~ 50% | 15% |
| Unnormalized | Normalized | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| 0% ~ 20% | 0% ~ 20% | 100% |
| 20% ~ 35% | 20% ~ 24.5% | 30% |
| 35% ~ 55% | 24.5% ~ 28.5% | 20% |
| 55% ~ 70% | 28.5% ~ 30% | 10% |
The Unnormalized column shows the stats that you would have if there was no normalization. The Normalized column shows the actual amount of stats that you will have in the stats window.
Even tho buffs are not showed in the stats window, normalization can still affect them. If a stat bonus crosses the efficiency stage, different parts of the stat bonus is normalized differently.
How much does Head Hunter increase damage?
Because the Head Hunter not only increases Boss Damage, but also decreases Attack Power, the actual effectiveness of it is decreased. Because both the Boss Damage increase and the Attack Power decrease are additive to other bonuses, you need to know these bonuses to properly calculate the actual damage increase by using this formula:
(1 + Boss_damage + HH_Boss_damage) * (1 + Attack_bonus + HH_Attack_bonus) / ((1 + Boss_damage) * (1 + Attack_bonus))
Boss_damage = Boss Damage stat of your character
HH_Boss_damage = Boss Damage bonus of the Head Hunter (Rare = 0.4, Elite = 0.6, Unique = 0.8)
Attack_bonus = Attack Power bonuses from permanent passives and guild skills
HH_Attack_bonus = Attack Power reduction of the Head Hunter (Rare = -0.18, Elite = -0.2, Unique = -0.24)
Example: 40% Boss Damage,10% Attack Power from Transcendence passive,1.5% Attack Power from Guild passive,Elite Head Hunter
Solution: (1 + 0.4 + 0.6) * (1 + 0.1 + 0.015 - 0.2) / ((1 + 0.4) * (1 + 0.1 + 0.015)) = 1.1723 ≡ 17.23% increase
You can also use this table and graph to see the effectiveness of all Head Hunter rarities and the benefits of upgrading Head Hunter based on your Boss Damage and Attack passives.
How does Defence work?
Defence has two values, the percent value and the numeric value. The percent value shows how much it reduces received damage. The numeric value is used whenever the Defence is increased or decreased by stats or effects. To find the numeric value of Defence from the percent value, use this formula:
Def_multiplier * Def_percent / (1 - Def_percent)
To find the percent value of Defence from the numeric value, use this formula:
(Def_numeric / Def_multiplier) / (1 + Def_numeric / Def_multiplier)
Def_multiplier = Multiplier based on the level: 258.6436 + Level * 39.3526
Def_percent = Defence by which the enemy reduces the received damage
Def_numeric = Value of Defence that would be shown in the stats window
Example: 99 level,41% Defence
Solution: (258.6436 + 99 * 39.3526) * 0.41 / (1 - 0.41) = 2887.06 Defence
Example: 99 level,5000 Defence
Solution: (5000 / (258.6436 + 99 * 39.3526)) / (1 + 5000 / (258.6436 + 99 * 39.3526)) = 0.54618 ≡ 54.618% Defence
How much does Defence Ignore increase damage?
The effectiveness of Defence Ignore depends on the Defence of the enemy and the amount of Defence Ignore. Unlike most other stats, the effectiveness of Defence Ignore is not linear and actually increases with higher values of it. The Defence Ignore reduces the numeric value of the Defence, not the percent value. It is still possible to calculate the damage multiplier directly from the percent value of Defence by combining the formulas. This is the final formula to calculate the modifier:
1 / (1 - Def_percent * Def_ignore)
Def_percent = Percent Defence of the enemy
Def_ignore = Value of Defence Ignore
Defence Ignore from different sources and Defence reducing debuffs stack multiplicatively. To combine two (or more) Defence Ignore or Defence reducing sources use this formula:
1 - (1 - Def_ignore_1) * (1 - Def_ignore_2)
Example: 45% Defence,20% Defence Ignore,50% Defence reduction debuff
Solution: 1 / (1 - 0.45 * (1 - (1 - 0.2) * (1 - 0.5))) = 1.3698 ≡ 36.98% increase
You can also use this table and graph to see and compare the effectiveness of various values of Defence Ignore against various values of Defence.
Unlike Defence Ignore, Defence Pierce reduces the percentage value of Defence. If a Defence Pierce is present, the formula gets more complicated:
(1 - Def_percent * (1 - Def_pierce)) / ((1 - Def_percent) * (1 - Def_percent * Def_ignore * (1 - Def_pierce)))
Def_pierce = Value of Defence Pierce
Defence Pierce from different sources stacks the same way as Defence Ignore. Percent chance to Ignore 100% Defence behaves on average the same way as Defence Pierce.
Example 2: 45% Defence,20% Defence Ignore,10% Defence Pierce
Solution 2: (1 - 0.45 * (1 - 0.1)) / ((1 - 0.45) * (1 - 0.45 * 0.2 * (1 - 0.1))) = 1.1772 ≡ 17.72% increase
Why do stats lose effectiveness?
The effectiveness of most stats actually doesn't decrease. The most notable exception to this are the stats that undergo normalization. What actually happens, is that by increasing one stat, you increase the base damage multiplier for other stats. So it seems like the stat loses effectiveness when compared to the others. The graph shows an example of the resulting behaviour. The Variable Base uses the increasing multiplier as the standard, while the Constant Base uses the starting stat.
To compare the effectiveness of two stats with effects that multiply each other, you want to compare their full effect on damage. That way you get one of the possible stats as a multiplier of the other. Afterwards use that multiplier on the values of the possible stats and then you can easily compare the results.
Example:
Current stats: 85% Critical Chance,30% Bonus Critical Damage,40% All Skill Damage
Possible stats: 7% All Skill Damage or 10% Critical Damage
Solution:
Critical Damage modifier: 1 + 0.85 * (0.5 + 0.3) = 1.68
All Skill Damage Modifier: 1 + 0.4 = 1.4
All Skill Damage vs Critical Damage: 1.68 / 1.4 = 1.2
Possible All Skill Damage effectiveness: 7 * 1.2 = 8.4
Possible Critical Damage effectiveness: 10 * 0.85 = 8.5
Comparison: 8.5 / 8.4 = 1.0119 ≡ 10% Critical Damage is 1.19% more effective than 7% All Skill Damage
How does Adaptation work?
Adaptation directly reduces the effect of the Demon Realm debuff by the stated value, but you can't reduce the debuff below 0%. Because of this, the relative effect of Adaptation increases when the debuff has higher value (The absolute effect of Adaptation doesn't change). To calculate the relative effect of Adaptation you can use this formula:
(1 - Demon_debuff + Adapt) / (1 - Demon_debuff)
Demon_debuff = Strength of the Demon Realm debuff, depends on the dungeon
Adapt = Value of Adaptation
You can also check the relative effectiveness of the Adaptation depending on the strength of the Demon Realm debuff in a table below. (1% Adaptation still reduces the debuff by 1%)
| Debuff strength | Dungeons | Adaptation effectiveness |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 12-1, 12-2, 12-3 | 111.11% |
| 20% | 12-4 | 125% |
| 30% | 12-8, Master Road - Normal | 142.86% |
| 40% | --- | 166.67% |
| 50% | 12-5, 12-6, 12-7, 13-1, 13-2 | 200% |
| 60% | 13-3, 13-4, 13-5, 15-1, 15-2, 15-3, 15-4 | 250% |
| 70% | Master Road - Hell | 333.33% |
| 80% | 15-5, 15-6, 16-1, 16-2, 16-3 | 500% |
| 90% | 17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4, 17-5 | 1000% |
How do Buffs and Passives apply?
There are several ways to apply stats granted by passives and buffs to your character.
Passives that show directly in the stats window (Attacks, Defences and HP) apply additively to each other (other passives that show there) and multiplicatively to other effects.
Passives and Buffs that do not show in the stats window have several different possible ways of applying. To find out which buff or passive applies in which way, someone has to test it.
Stats that can be normalized have 3 possible ways of applying:
Normalized: Buff stats apply in exactly the same an item would and the granted stats are reduced by efficiency factor
Unnormalized: Buff stats apply directly to the normalized stats and ignore efficiency factor and can cause the stat to go over its cap.
Multiplicative: Buff multiplies the normalized stats and ignores efficiency factor, but will not cause the stat to go over its cap.
Critical Damage buffs have 2 possible ways of applying:
Additive: Critical Damage granted by these buffs add directly to the overall Critical Damage of the character
Multiplicative: Buff multiplies the base 150% Critical Damage and any other Critical Damage buffs and passives (but not items!)
Other buffs and passives in most cases apply multiplicatively to all other sources of the stat, but can still be additive in some cases.
How much Attack/Defense/HP will weapon/armor have?
Attack and Defense of weapons and armors are determined by the following formula:
(Fixed + (Required_lvl + Item_lvl + Bonus_lvl) * Scaling) * Slot * Enhancement + Reforge
HP of weapons and armors are determined by the following formula:
(110 + 18.7 * (Required_lvl - 1)) * Fixed * Item_lvl * Scaling * Slot * Enhancement / (Fixed + Scaling * 0.1) + Reforge * 10
Fixed_mod = Fixed modifier based on Class
Scaling = Scaling modifier based on Class
Slot = Modifier based on the Slot of the item
Enhancement = Modifier based on the Enhancement of the item
Required_lvl = Level required to equip of the item
Item_lvl = Value based on the item, El Tear level or Heroic level.
Bonus_lvl = Bonus Attack/Defense levels of the item
Reforge = Value based on the Reforge Stage
All modifiers can be viewed by opening the tables below
| Class | Fixed | Scaling | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Attack | Magical Attack | Physical Defense | Magical Defense | HP | Physical Attack | Magical Attack | Physical Defense | Magical Defense | HP | |
| Slot | Physical Attack | Magical Attack | Physical Defense | Magical Defense | HP |
|---|
| Enhancement Level | Multiplier |
|---|
| Reforge Level | Bonus |
|---|
How much does Demonic Vine Crown increase damage?
Because the Demonic Vine Crown reduces your attack power additively, but increases it multiplicatively, its overall effect in awakening depends on your Percent Attack Power bonuses from equipment. Attack Power bonuses from passives/force skills do not matter.
The overall damage increase in awakening (when compared to having nothing in the accessory slot) can be calculated by the following formula:
(1 + Percent_attack - 0.05) * 1.1 / (1 + Percent_attack)
Percent_attack = % Attack bonuses on your equipment/artifact
The graph on the right compares the buffs of Demonic Vine Crown and Soul Crown (ignoring the effect of Adaptation)
Frequently Asked Questions ~ Ara
Which Skills should I use as Apsara/Devi/Shakti?
Which Force Mods should I use as Apsara/Devi/Shakti?
You can see the mods that I recommend on the Skills page of Apsara/Devi/Shakti respectively. Keep in mind that different content favours different skills and your skill setup should reflect that.
Apsara
Dragon Stance 3: Eight Trigram Palm: No reason not to use this mod, makes the skill objectively better and the skill itself will always be used thanks to its place in the Dragon chain.
Fire Lotus: Especially good against large enemies, enemies that cannot be debuffed or whenever the push of normal Fire Lotus is undesirable. Bad if you want the push and/or debuff of regular Fire Lotus.
Fall: No reason to use this skill in PvE, Mod or Regular.
Dragon Stance 4: Moonlight Slash: Theoretically does more damage than Regular against large enemies or as a clearing skill. Makes Dragon Secret Art always miss against pushable enemies. Usually better to not use this.
Counter Switch: Pure preference whether you want to use Mod or Regular.
Matchless Truth: Drastically increases hitbox of the skill while decreasing the damage a little. Makes getting Energy by cancelling the skill much easier.
Spiritual Dragon: Decreases potential damage, but makes the skill easier to hit and curve. Also helps with charging awakening thanks to the provided buff.
Devi
Infernal Circle: No reason to use the Mod in PvE.
Energy Wave: Makes the skill deal more damage and curve in exchange for hitbox. Recommended when the height of Regular skill is not needed.
Life Swap: Recovers huge amount of Energy in exchange for HP. Especially good in combination with Indomitable Will.
Rakshasa Stance 3: Spear Prison: makes the skill deal less damage in exchange for dealing only one hit.
Energy Void: Makes the skill deal more damage against large bosses, but removes the option to use it without consuming Energy.
Bind: Energy: No reason to use this skill in PvE, Mod or Regular.
Rakshasa Inferno: Really good at clearing and against certain very large bosses.
Shakti
Spell: Thunder: Removes the buff in exchange for much more upfront damage and different animation. Regular Thunder should pretty much never be used.
Mana Drain: No reason to use the Mod in PvE.
Fox Fire: Always freezes and makes the skill spawn 9 foxfires around you, deals very heavy damage if you can stand in range.
Spell: Necromancy: Mod increases Strength damage, while regular increases Bravery damage. Both by 20%.
Shadow Blast: No reason to use this skill in PvE, Mod or Regular.
Fox Spirit: No reason to use the Mod in PvE.
Spell: Ellipse of Blades: No reason to use the Mod in PvE.
How much Critical/Maximize should I have as Apsara/Devi/Shakti?
The ideal amount of any stat depends on all of your stats. To get a precise answer depending on your gear and applied buffs, use this calculator.
If you want to hit a certain value of Critical/Maximize with buffs, use this calculator. The Ara specific buffs affecting Critical/Maximize are:
All Aras
Power of Eun: 20% Normalized Critical Chance.
Apsara
Fierce Tiger Strike: 10% Normalized Critical Chance.
Tiger Power: 20% Normalized Critical Chance.
Valor Devotion: 20% Normalized Maximize.
Flow of Chi: 20% Unnormalized Critical Chance.
Devi
None
Shakti
Awakened Specter Power: 30% Normalized Maximize.
Some Specific values with usual combination of Buffs:
Apsara
100% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + Tiger Power + Flow of Chi + Fierce Tiger Strike + 44% Critical Chance
100% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + Tiger Power + Flow of Chi + 52% Critical Chance
100% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + Flow of Chi + 68% Critical Chance
90% Maximize: Valor Devotion + 80% Maximize
70% Maximize: Valor Devotion + 55% Maximize
Devi
100% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + 92% Critical Chance
86% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + 74% Critical Chance
Shakti
100% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + 92% Critical Chance
86% Critical Chance: Power of Eun + 74% Critical Chance
90% Maximize: Awakened Specter Power + 75% Maximize
70% Maximize: Awakened Specter Power + 47.5% Maximize
Frequently Asked Questions ~ Personal
Who are you?
A Fox.
