Basics of Combat, Volume 6, Dealing Damage

Since we have taken a look at the math behind the chance to hit with a physical attack, let us take a look at the damage dealt.

So the Scar-Eye Goblin Whelp managed to hit our poor first level warrior. Fir now, let's assume that the hit was neither a glancing blow nor a critical hit. The goblin is wielding a Copper Dagger, which is a piercing weapon, and has a the Strength score of 16.

First thing we need to do is determine the goblins Attack Power, or AP. Attack Power is bonus damage from your level and your attributes that are applied to your hit. Now our goblin is a level 1 MOB and therefore has the base attack power of level times 0.8. So the AP numbers look like this.

Level Bonus: 1 * 0.8 = 0.8
Strength Bonus: 16 / 5 = 3.2

Now you simply add these two values together and drop the fractions to determine how much damage is added to the weapons' damage range. In this case, the AP for the goblin would be:

0.8 + 3.2 = 4

If you have spell effects, feats, or item properties that increase damage by a static amount, those values are directly added to the AP.

Now we need to determine the damage dealt by the weapon. In this case our goblin is using a Copper Dagger which has the damage range of 1 to 4 points of damage base. So the script would then determine a random number between 1 to 4 and then add the AP to that attack. In this case the goblin got a massive 4 on this damage roll, so the total damage dealt to the warrior is 8 points. The next step is to apply the damage multiplier.

Since the goblin is not a mini boss or a boss MOB, nor is he able switch to different combat modes, he has the total damage multiplier of 1.0. So he deals full damage. For some MOBs and player characters this value can be increases or decreased based on combat modes or buffs applied to them. Critical hits increase the damage multiplier by 0.5 and Glancing Blows decrease the damage multiplier by 0.5. If you acquire a weapon that has the Increases Damage by X% ability, this is also included in the damage multiplier.

So in the end, the damage from the attack is 8 points of Piercing damage.

Now, the warrior is currently wearing armour that mitigates some of the damage being dealt by the goblin's attack. Since he is a new first level warrior, he only has his starting equipment, a Copper Breastplate. This chest armour provides him with the Armour Value, or AV, of 140. Since he has the Dexterity score of 14, he gains the total of 70 more AV form this attribute. This gives our warrior the total AV score of 210. This value can be further modified by your combat mode, spells, feats, or items.

Now this AV value is then divided by the level denominator which is determined using the following formula:

500 + ((75 + (Attacker's Level * 10)) * Attacker's Level)

Since the goblin is level 1, the AV divisor is 585.

The warriors Armour Value is then divided by this value to determine the percentage of the damage negated by his armour. So the final damage mitigation would be:

210 / 585 = 0.358 (or rough 35% when we drop the fractions)

We then determine that 35% of the damage done is:

8 * 0.35 = 2.8 (2 when we drop fractions)

So the final damage done to the warrior is 6 points or Piercing damage.

Next post we will touch on shield blocks and the chance that they will occur. Until then, see you in the game!