02-05-2004, 11:25 PM
Also, people have observed that Pierce doesn't pierce if the arrow/bolt/javelin doesn't hit. This becomes apparent with Lightning Fury and low AR: the lightning bolt keeps going but doesn't trigger the chain lightning effect on subsequent targets.
Logically, this makes sense if you think of the "to hit" calculation as "to damage." Chuck a spear into a tight crowd of demonic bovines, and of course you are going to "hit" one of them, but did you hit it in a way that will actually cause some damage, not just give it a strange-but-fasionable body piercing? That's what the "to hit" calculation is for. That is why armor increases one's defense rating and lowers the likelihood "to hit". If you've ever actually worn armor (or protective gear for sports like football or hockey), you know that armor doesn't remotely reduce your likelihood to be struck, just the likelihood of getting damaged by the strike.
So what's my point? The missile has to successfully "hit" to Pierce. Otherwise, the missile was either absorbed without damage by the target or deflected. So one reason why you won't see infinite Piercing even with 153% Pierce is that some of the monsters you are shooting at will not be successfully hit, and thus the Pierce train will stop.
Logically, this makes sense if you think of the "to hit" calculation as "to damage." Chuck a spear into a tight crowd of demonic bovines, and of course you are going to "hit" one of them, but did you hit it in a way that will actually cause some damage, not just give it a strange-but-fasionable body piercing? That's what the "to hit" calculation is for. That is why armor increases one's defense rating and lowers the likelihood "to hit". If you've ever actually worn armor (or protective gear for sports like football or hockey), you know that armor doesn't remotely reduce your likelihood to be struck, just the likelihood of getting damaged by the strike.
So what's my point? The missile has to successfully "hit" to Pierce. Otherwise, the missile was either absorbed without damage by the target or deflected. So one reason why you won't see infinite Piercing even with 153% Pierce is that some of the monsters you are shooting at will not be successfully hit, and thus the Pierce train will stop.