+skills and synergies
#1
Lately I found a nice little Tarnhelm with my Bartender (FB assassin) and noticed that the small +1 skill increased my Fire Blast's damage by more than 30 points whereas a point into one of the synergies would give me around 10 points of dmg.

I then found a skill shrine and checked my damage, it jumped by around 100 damage points from 3xx to 44x.

I guess that even though the actual synergies do not work from +skills the synergies' bonus effects the skill's damage WITH the +skills from it which can result in extremely powerful skills some times (150 damage for just 3 points, imagine if I'll get it to 10 more points...)
"Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards, and seal the hushed casket of my soul" - John Keats, "To Sleep"
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#2
+Skills DO add to base skills.
+Skills DO add to base skills that grant Synergy bonuses to other skills.
+Skills do NOT add to Synergy bonuses.
Synergy bonuses work on the base skill's TOTAL level, not just the base level.

That is why the +skills ramped the damage so much. If a synergy is granting +5% damage per level, and the synergy skill has a BASE slvl of 10, then you're getting +50% damage. If you have slvl 10 Fireball, for example, the base damage would be 84 - 104. With the synergy bonus, that's 126 - 156. With +5 skills, that would boost Fireball's BASE damage to 150 - 175, and with the 50% damage synergy bonus, that makes the total damage 225 - 262.5 - a very hefty increase.

So, +skills work on base skills, and thus affect the base values for those skills. They do NOT work on Synergies, but since Synergies work on the base values (which ARE affected by +skills), you get a partial and indirect synergy bonus from +skills.
Roland *The Gunslinger*
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#3
After skill level 28, a single point in Fire Blast increases the damage by 30 before the synergy bonus is calculated. So, yeah, +skills are huge for Fire Blast characters.

- Dagni
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#4
Dagni,Jul 24 2003, 06:19 AM Wrote:After skill level 28, a single point in Fire Blast increases the damage by 30 before the synergy bonus is calculated. So, yeah, +skills are huge for Fire Blast characters.

- Dagni
Ohhh and as of now, my Fire Blast synergies count for 225% and I'm going to max Lightning Sentry as well (Actually cover up fire trap is Charged Bolt Sentry but since lightning sentry gives synergy bonus AND a shot 1 per 4 levels I prefer that over another synergy or SW [1 bolt per 3 levels]).

Oh and as of now, my trapper rocks, with Fire Blast (level 21) doing 300-400 damage and my Charged Bolt Sentry doing 1-217 (6 bolts released 5 shots) and my Death Sentry has 11 shots (I like FB-DS synergy :D ) I can handle almost anything, although I do have problems against Magic Resistant melee bosses (Mainly Fire enchant and LE) but since I'm always playing with Hermit's Shursin I don't got much problems :).

On a side note: Pierce doesn't seem to work with Blade Fury (thank god).
"Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards, and seal the hushed casket of my soul" - John Keats, "To Sleep"
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#5
So this is a (display) bug? Though, it might be something special because the bonus doesn't even show up on meditation if you don't have any points in Prayer itself.

Base levels:
Level 1 Prayer
Meditation

With a skill shrine, +2 skills (I'd give you the whole screenshot, but I'm afraid that would suck up what little bandwidth I have at boomspeed):
Prayer with +2 from Skill Shrine
Meditation
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#6
...I will say this:
Skill displays and actual values are COMPLETELY SEPERATE. They used to be hardcoded, in the .dlls, through a specific matching system. Now, they use patchstring.tbl, or the table file that stores 99% of all displayed text in the game. This is incredible news for modders, but it also opens up a big problem for the careless - making sure the DISPLAYED formula(s) matches the ACTUAL formula(s). Not a big deal for those who know what they are doing, and actually PAY ATTENTION. But, this IS Blizzard. ;) They've ALWAYS had display error issues in the past, and given the gargantuan size of the new files, related to Skills alone, I'd say we're in for a heap of display errors. Particularly regarding synergies. Trying to read those files is like trying to read Greek at the age of 2, at least at first. With practice, it gets to be a snap, but believe me, it's still no cakewalk trying to pick through all the different formulas, and keep track of every one so that they are all accurate.

Example:
I could make Fireball say "Steals 50% life per swing" if I wanted to, but we all know that it won't do that, unless I "code" it to (which should be possible, BTW ;)). So, before you go trusting that screen, ask someone who's truly in the know. ;)

There are a few Synergies that work based on TOTAL level, instead of BASE level, but I believe most, if not all, are relegated to the Necromancer. I forget off-hand just what they are, but in my picking through the files I do remember a scant few synergies that used total level. As a general rule, though, they do NOT work with +skills.

Now, to actually view the links in your post. ;)

AH! Yes, let me explain about Prayer, and it's synergy bonus. Prayer is a special case. Because of the way it is coded, Prayer does not GRANT +x healing, but instead uses its ACTUAL VALUES. I.e. slvl 1 Prayer grants +2 healing to Cleansing & Meditation, but slvl 10 Prayer would grant an slvl 10 healing value. Because it is based on Prayer's ACTUAL values, instead of creating a new formula (like most synergies), Prayer is one of the only skills whose synergy bonus is based on total level, instead of base level. :) You found the loophole - congratulations. :D

Hope that explains it.
Roland *The Gunslinger*
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#7
...And that is why I love the Lurker Lounge Forums.

I think those Necromancer skills would be Skeleton/Golem Mastery and Summon Resist.
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