I just have a few questions as to some mechanics that have been brought to my attention lately:
How do DoTs interact with % Weapon Damage? If I have 100 Burn damage over 2 seconds from my gear, and hit an enemy with skill x for 50%WD and then skill y for 100%WD, will it do 150 Burn damage? Or will the first 50 apply, then be overridden by the 100?
How about with different weapons, or weapon/shield?
I’ve heard some skills, like Shadow Strike, use both weapons even though they don’t say they do. Does the DoT from the skill apply twice? Or do both DoTs from the %WD apply? Or both of these?
For skill modifiers like Nightfall, does it apply all its effects to the original active skill, thus causing it to be entirely AoE? Or does only the skill modifier have an effect in an area?
I’ve seen enemies recoil before from standard attacks, but I can’t remember when. Is this an old mechanic that doesn’t really exist any more? If not, how can we apply it?
How does Fumble stack with Avoid Melee?
From memory, skills like Phantasmal Blades can shotgun. If this is still the case, is it possible to cause the projectiles to spread more/less like in Path of Exile?
Thank you! I’ll answer my own questions here for my/others’ future reference:
1. How do DoTs interact with % Weapon Damage? If I have 100 Burn damage over 2 seconds from my gear, and hit an enemy with skill x for 50%WD and then skill y for 100%WD, will it do 150 Burn damage? Or will the first 50 apply, then be overridden by the 100?
Also, %WD on skills multiplies DoTs from sources other than itself. So a 300% WD skill will cause your Lv12 Star Pact to do 306 base Frostburn damage over 3 seconds instead of 102. This can be extremely useful for upping general DPS, while also allowing hit-and-run tactics against bosses you’re struggling against.
2. How about with different weapons, or weapon/shield?
%WD is its own “source” of DoT that doesn’t stack with other applications of itself. This applies for any/all attacks and weapons; treat any source of %WD you see as one source, discounting extra sources that may come from the skill that’s applying it.
3. I’ve heard some skills, like Shadow Strike, use both weapons even though they don’t say they do. Does the DoT from the skill apply twice? Or do both DoTs from the %WD apply? Or both of these?
These will “apply” twice, but only the highest damage one will deal its damage. Thus, if one rolls a higher damage, or crits, that one will be the one dealing the damage.
4. For skill modifiers like Nightfall, does it apply all its effects to the original active skill, thus causing it to be entirely AoE? Or does only the skill modifier have an effect in an area?
From what I’ve seen after playing a Spellbreaker through most of the game, Nightfall causes Shadow Strike to apply everything in an AoE. Though this may be different for other skills.
5. I’ve seen enemies recoil before from standard attacks, but I can’t remember when. Is this an old mechanic that doesn’t really exist any more? If not, how can we apply it?
Still not sure about this, but it seems that if you hit small enemies with a big attack, they recoil. Might be dependent on % of health lost, size, resistances, stun resistance, or just be random.
If anyone has answers to the below, or a link to a thread that provides answer, please let me know:
6. How does Fumble stack with Avoid Melee?
7. From memory, skills like Phantasmal Blades can shotgun. If this is still the case, is it possible to cause the projectiles to spread more/less like in Path of Exile?
I wouldn’t automatically disregard alternative weapon damage sources for DoTs. Even if they don’t stack, two high wd sources (like for example ABB and Execution for poison) are better than one. This is because applying DoTs twice as frequently “doubles” your crit chance. And crits “stay” on the ticks.
Thanks! For #5, when you hit some enemies they kind of recoil backward, like when you smack someone in the face in real life. Doesn’t always happen, and they don’t slide backwards or anything; it’s just like a short stun.
Ahh yes that makes sense. It also explains how those old Trickster Bleed builds could hit hundreds of thousands per DoT tick with no Legendary gear.
Zombies are quite prone to it. Pretty noticable. Probably a mechanic similar to D2 where iirc when you get hit for more than 12% of your max HP you are forced into a recovery animation. Think it is similar here, could be wrong though.
It works only for certain (usually - weak and pretty harmless) enemies. Most enemies dont stop even if you hit them for 40% of their max HP.
I know, that in D2 and PoE there is “stagger/stun” mechanics, but GD doesnt have it for players.
It must be to introduce new players to the game more smoothly. I swear I’ve seen much stronger dudes recoil though. I’ll have to look more closely next time I play.