This guide is focused on Gladiator builds and it’s written in a form of requirement list.
You must have this, you must have that to have a chance to beat Gladiator.
But yes, it’s suitable for MC builds as well. Maybe slight rework is needed
I don’t think any reworking is needed at all.
With the exception of a small handful of excessively energy intensive builds which rely on buffs to work, I can’t think of a single glad build which cannot successfully take MC on.
Not to come across as cocky or arrogant, but even I found this guide super helpful. It certainly helped me further refine my theorycrafts.
I just don’t get why people aren’t interested in it.
I think people read this guide but don’t post their thoughts here
I don’t play (or even own) crucible, but this is a very well written and thorough guide.
Good job!
The information here is applicable to all interested GD players if only because the crafting needed to make a crucy spec work often translates very well into MC.
The OP left out Tortoise Constellation in regards to flat damage absorption.
Indeed.
Fixed now, thanks
Something else to add/extend upon which requires a little more elaboration is ‘reduced target’s damage’.
I started a thread a few days ago here: http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78262 trying to get a better understanding of the mechanics of this stat when it comes to stacking & interation with other forms of reduced targets damage. However, the thread is a little quiet at the moment.
My initial thoughts were it behaved in a similar fashion to res reduction but there appears to be confusion over this. Whether it’s multiplicative, additive or highest takes precedence, it should be explained in a little more detail so players can better gear for it. Perhaps when a little more information comes forward you could expand on this section.
Anyhow, an excellent guide overall! Well thought out.
Cheers.
Highest value takes precedence iirc. Otherwise it makes no sense.
Thanks! Will squeeze it in if possible.
It does behave like RR. This game is pretty consistent when it comes wording in debuffs. Everything that starts in the - sign is stackable (stackable RR). x reduced y for z seconds is not stackable and highest takes precedence (flat RR). x % reduced y for z seconds is not stackable and highest takes precedence (Viper RR). Also it’s multiplied after all other reductions has been done. This is applicable to all debuffs, be it RR, DA, damage reduction. RR is just the more well-known one because we stack it all the time.
Do note, however, that skill modifiers granting Flat damage reduction to the same skill will stack.
Regarding your math on cadence:
“Cadence with that math will hit for ((500 flat * 500% Weapon Damage) + 300 flat) = 2800 flat damage”
CMIIW, I feel like that 300 flat is added to weapon damage, so it should be 800 flat * 500% weapon damage = 4000 flat damage. I think this should be the case because my character that has 100% armor piercing deals pure Pierce damage without physical damage based on the damage tooltip breakdown.
This should also be true to other auto-attack replacer and WPSes granting flat damage when their procs. They infuse the flat damage to total %WD.
I haven’t check it with WD based spells like forcewave though. One can always check it with dermapteran slicer + sword of nadaan devo + shield, to see the physical damage from forcewave added to %WD or not.
Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
No, they really don’t ‘infuse the flat damage into %weapon damage’
The reason you see no physical damage with 100% armor piercing is that the armor piercing stat is carried in the %weapon damage and affects the entire skill, much like how lifesteal applied to a skill with both %weapon damage and flat damage will steal life with ALL the damage of the skill, not just the weapon damage component.
Oh, that’s a revelation. So you mean that armor piercing apply to all leftover physical damage in the weapon and skill then? Be it from skill or weapon damage?
Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
If you achieve 100% armor piercing somehow, all physical damage on char (except converted from elemental etc) becomes pierce. This affects weapon damage, any physical damage, celestial powers, gear procs and so on.
Unless its changed sense the last time i tested piercing mechanics it does require a %weapon damage component for the skill to receive your armor piercing ratio.
As a good example grenado physical damage will stay physical even with 100% armor piercing swords unless you convert it or add %weapon damage from an item mod.
I tested this behavior and you’re completely right. Even with 100% AP Granado’s physical damage remains physical.
Really valuable information, thanks guys.
One think that maybe only the modder can answer, what about devotion and item procs that has %WD and physical damage. Does it also converted to Pierce?
Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
So long as the weapon in question has %armor piercing it’ll be used. This also means for dw builds a mace + derm slicer will have half their hits as pure physical and half as pure pierce.
Only thing I’m unclear on is if the % of weapon damage affects your piercing ratio when less than 100% (to my knowledge there are no good skills to test with, and it’d only matter for 2 or 3 devotion procs and explosive strike…)
Use annihilation relic. The granted skill (meteor) deals 55% WD and a lot of physical damage.
Let us know how the result goes…
Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk