How does "+% damage" work on non-weapons?

Question

I have a non-weapon item with a property like "+10% cold damage". How does that work?

• Does it add 10% to every damage I apply, and that damage will be cold?
• Does it add 10% damage every time I apply cold damage?
• Does it work the same if it's on a weapon, and if so, is it included in the DPS?
• When it improves damage, does it add 10% to the damage dealt, or does it add 10% to my base weapon damage?

Answer 1

Base damage is a weapon's listed damage rating. A damage bonus is additive atop that base damage for the specified modifier.

So in the case of "+10% cold damage", there would be a 10% bonus of the base damage as that elemental type. The base damage remains its initial type unless changed by another affix or skill.

The final damage rating is the base plus any bonuses then multipled by the skill/passive ability's percentage (visible in its advanced skill tooltip).