What causes durability loss?

[Obi2Kenobi]

I tried Ask Jeeves and How Stuff Works to no avail.

/edit: I should have put that in the secondary topic part, so I could use an NT tag...

[adeyke]

For the weapon, hitting things.

For the armour, getting hit.

Er, that sounds overly simple, but it really isn't a complex issue. When you successfully hit things, there's a chance the weapon gets damaged. When you get hit, it picks an armour slot and there's a chance that the item in that slot gets damaged.

EDIT: Of course, there'd also be the exceptions for which skills lower durability and which don't. For example, blade fury doesn't affect weapon durability while blade shield does.

[Taem]

So if you make a successful blocking attempt, you loose block durability?

Also, is there a specified amount of durability you loose per incident, such as based on damage% or just 1 durability per incident?

[myrdinn]

AFAIK when you block, you don't loose any durability (At least fot the patch 1.09B)

[Caaroid]

For dual claws, you loose durability when hitting things AND when blocking with claws. Makes ethereal a no-go for dual claw kicksins.

[Obi2Kenobi]

I was wondering what the % is, and if all types of damage trigger it. Is it just physical, or would a Fireball also work? Frame-based attacks? An Iron Man wants to know.

[Wyrm]

No idea what the % is, any weapon attack triggers it (not sure if the attack needs to hit or if misses count too), physical only, magic types don't technically "hit" you (well, they hit you, but they don't hit you.

If you want to see something interesting, lure a monster into chasing you all the way back to the steps of the Pandemonium Fortress so that you're still in range of their attack, but are standing inside the Fortress. They'll hit you and you won't take damage, but your armor can still lose durability.

[IKKE]

It is also a bit different with the Smiter paladin
When he smites, his WEAPON durability goes down, instead of his shield.

[librarian]

Heiho,

I have some elderly file here, and I don't know exactly who was the first author :-P

Let's assume a defender is wearing complete equipment.

Every successful attack results in 10% chance of loosing some armorish itemdurability.

Helmet: 15.4%
Armor: 23.1%
Shield: 23.1%
Gloves: 15.4%
Belt: 11.5%
Boots: 11.5%

I don't have a clue what happens to the percentages if a player is _not_ in full gear.

Also testing results had shown a loss of durability depending on monster size (the little cockroach thingies spawning from Sand-/Rockworm eggs only damaged player's boots).

That's 1.09 Info, vaguely as it is.

[Obi2Kenobi]

the little cockroach thingies spawning from Sand-/Rockworm eggs only damaged player's boots

Incredible foresight on Blizzard's part if this wasn't just a stastical anomaly. :)

P.S. If you block, is it 10% your shield loses durability, and 0% for others?

[librarian]

Heiho,

it says 'successful attack' in the notes, so I think blocking doesn't affect durability.
But I could also be dead wrong here ...
OTOH with Smite you don't loose shield's durability but weapon's, so maybe there is some crazy logic behind this :-)

... at least I began some months ago to archive notes _including_ the source ...