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Context:

Take three players as example (call them: "Buffer", "Attacker", and "Defender").

In a very brutal battle Attacker jumps with his hammer towards Defender, but part way through the attack animation, Buffer helps Attacker out by giving him 12 Stacks of Might.

What will happen here?

Two Different Moments:

The damage for the attack can be calculated in two moments, at the beginning of the attack animation or on the contact with the enemy player (or target).

The first option, would lead to ignored Boons upon strike, if the boons are activated after the beginning of the skill animation.

The second option, would be the optimal one, leading to boons actually working even if activated in "mid-air" or after the skill animation starts.

Question:

Which approach is being used for calculating skill damage?

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Not sure, but if for example I change pet (Ranger) during rapid fire, I gain quickness which takes effect half way through the rapid fire cast. – kalina Dec 28 '12 at 11:56
You mean that, the second half of the animation timeslice of your skill, is affected by quickness or that skill itself is affected even if you gain quickness in the middle of it's animation ? – Marcello Grechi Lins Dec 28 '12 at 12:00
I mean that I begin immediately firing faster as quickness is applied, both the animation and the number of damage numbers appearing on the screen get noticeably quicker, but since this is attack speed and not weapon damage I can't guarantee they work the same way – kalina Dec 28 '12 at 12:01
+1 for a Great Question ! haha – Marcello Grechi Lins Dec 28 '12 at 12:07

1 Answer

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Answer:

The damage is calculated as soon as the character actually hits the target

Test Method Used:

I've played a Guardian. Tons of Dumies got killed in the process.

As a Guardian, i've calculated the Average of my Mighty Blow skill on the dumies, after using the skill, with no armor, and no boons for 50 times

After getting to the "raw" / "unbuffed" damage average, i've repeated the test for another 50 times, but, in the middle of the "leap" generated by the Mighty Blow skill (Animation), i've shouted Save Yourselves and activated my Virtue of Justice, that gives me 3 stacks of might, because of Inspired Virtue Trait.

The second test result is an higher average damage (around 12% higher), caused by the "boons" that were taken in account even after the animation start, since i've shouted and activated the virtue always in the middle of the atack animation.

Just to double-check it, i've repeated the test, but on the third time i've used the Mighty Blow skill right before the boon ends, leading the boon to actually end in the middle of the Animation strike.

The result for the third test worked as expected, leading to an average very close to the one obtained in the first test.

Conclusion:

  1. Boons are taken in account even after the animation starts
  2. If a Boon ends in the middle of a atack animation, it will not be taken in account
  3. The damage of a strike, is calculated as soon as it hits the target, not before, not during the animation.
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