Mechanical Questions Thread

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NessOnett8 wrote:

Ngamahu, Flame's Advance, the notable from the Chieftain ascendancy(though it applies to many things).

% of physical added as extra elemental damage. If you have an attack, this elemental damage is added to your attacks. If you have a physical spell, the elemental damage helps your spells. I am wondering if there is any interaction with secondary damage. MOST secondary damage is fire based. So if this worked, it would be a major boost to the damage of these secondary skills.

IIRC there is a special note in Hatred saying that it DOESN'T work on secondary damage, only applying to Spells and Attacks(correct me if I'm wrong or working on old information). So on the one hand Hatred and Ngamahu operate on a similar mathematical principle, so it may be the same. But on the other, Hatred may be an exception which is why it's expressly stated(somewhere).

You need to differentiate between Spells and Attacks (types of Skills) and Spell damage and Attack damage (damage sources; along with Secondary damage and Damage over Time). Attacks typically deal Attack damage and sometimes Secondary or Damage over Time. Spells typically deal Spell, Secondary, or Damage over Time.

Almost all skills that deal damage are either Spells or Attacks (there are very few exceptions). Hatred is not specific in what it applies to, so let's talk about Anger. A level 20 Anger adds 83 - 138 damage to Attacks, and 69 - 110 damage to Spells. Thus a Hit by an Attack will have 83 - 138 Fire damage added to it, and a Hit by a Spell will have 69 - 110 damage added. Whether the skill deals any secondary or DoT damage does not matter; the only relevant thing is the type of the skill. (Although if the skill does not Hit, there is nothing to add the damage to in the first place, and Anger will not actually have any effect.)

Hatred or Ngamahu convert Physical damage to Cold (or Fire). It does not matter which skill or which source the physical damage comes from; whether it is Attack damage, Spell damage, or Secondary damage. (Damage over Time can never be converted though.)

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adghar wrote:

*I like to include this point because I like to pretend I'm a lawyer and ward against nitpicks, but for most players this one is obvious and goes without saying.

Nitpicking your nitpick, all auras and such say "You and your allies gain X". Your minions are your allies. Thus if you amend your point one to say "things that specifically say 'minions' or 'allies'", you would be correct.

For example, Victario's Charity is one case where this wording comes up and is not an aura or the like.

In the description of Eldritch Battery, what exactly is the difference between the modifiers "Energy Shield protects Mana instead of Life" and "Spend Energy Shield before Mana for Skill Costs"? If each of them was available separately, what would be the effect of having one but not the other?