09-08-2003, 08:10 AM
A great, immersing story! Even at this length I read it from the beginning to the end without skipping a paragraph. :) One small technical point caught my eye, though:
AFAIK, it is not simple as this, at least in 1.09d. Battle Cry adds a (negative) percentage bonus to monsters' total damage, which is similar to those of might, fanaticism, masteries, strength bonuses, etc. Therefore, if a monster has a damage increasing aura, mastery bonuses, skill bonuses (e.g. whirlwind, leap attack), or strength bonuses, the reduction in damage is far less than with normal monsters. Note that effects that change base damage or weapon damage are calculated before total damage, and therefore they have no effect here. I don't know what is the case exactly with the Ancients, but I believe that they gain pretty hefty percentage bonuses to total damage.
Secondly, I don't follow how you concluded that Amp Dmg + BC => "+100%-47%=+53%." Amplify damage reduces your physical resistance by 100%, and therefore its relative effect depends on your original physical resistance. For example, if it is 50%, it is reduced to -50%, which effectively triples all physical damage you receive. Battle Cry is calculated when the attack damage is determined, i.e. before any damage modification mechanics are applied. For example, if BC had a normal -47% effect (i.e. no total damage bonuses on the monster) and you had 0% physical resistance, BC would first reduce damage to 53% of the original and then amplify damage would double it to 106% of the original damage.
Further info about these mechanics (based on 1.09d) is available at:
http://www.hut.fi/~tgustafs/damagereduction.html
http://www.hut.fi/~tgustafs/weapondamage.html
Cheers,
Tommi
Quote:In addition, Battle Cry is additive and I figured at least one of the three Ancients would be amp cursed. A lvl 23 Battle Cry normally reduces damage by 47%, but if you're amped, that means that damage is increased by +100%-47%=+53%. So, in effect, if you're amped, Battle Cry only reduces the damage by about a quarter. That's nice, but I preferred keeping my merc alive with Life Tap.
AFAIK, it is not simple as this, at least in 1.09d. Battle Cry adds a (negative) percentage bonus to monsters' total damage, which is similar to those of might, fanaticism, masteries, strength bonuses, etc. Therefore, if a monster has a damage increasing aura, mastery bonuses, skill bonuses (e.g. whirlwind, leap attack), or strength bonuses, the reduction in damage is far less than with normal monsters. Note that effects that change base damage or weapon damage are calculated before total damage, and therefore they have no effect here. I don't know what is the case exactly with the Ancients, but I believe that they gain pretty hefty percentage bonuses to total damage.
Secondly, I don't follow how you concluded that Amp Dmg + BC => "+100%-47%=+53%." Amplify damage reduces your physical resistance by 100%, and therefore its relative effect depends on your original physical resistance. For example, if it is 50%, it is reduced to -50%, which effectively triples all physical damage you receive. Battle Cry is calculated when the attack damage is determined, i.e. before any damage modification mechanics are applied. For example, if BC had a normal -47% effect (i.e. no total damage bonuses on the monster) and you had 0% physical resistance, BC would first reduce damage to 53% of the original and then amplify damage would double it to 106% of the original damage.
Further info about these mechanics (based on 1.09d) is available at:
http://www.hut.fi/~tgustafs/damagereduction.html
http://www.hut.fi/~tgustafs/weapondamage.html
Cheers,
Tommi
Hammer of Atur
PvE/RP World of Warcraft Guild
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Awarded Custom Campaign for Warcraft III
Tommi's Diablo II information and guides
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PvE/RP World of Warcraft Guild
Argent Dawn (European RP server), Alliance side
Dwarf Campaign
Awarded Custom Campaign for Warcraft III
Tommi's Diablo II information and guides
The de facto source of Diablo II game mechanics