Let's keep this thread on topic and please forgive the addition of information most of us already know since not everyone does. I will be referring to +Spell Damage (both the mechanic and gear) as SD in this thread. Spell Damage is also referred to as BoE or Bolt of Energy (as this is the name of the effect on gear pieces).
For those of you who don't know, items or buffs that add X amount of damage to spells (can be for all damage types or for specific types only) currently fall under the law of normalization. Without going into serious detail, normalization means that Mages who have quick cast times, DoT's and/or AE/AOE's don't receive a large benefit even from massive amounts of +SD items. We are one of those Mages, and for us Normalization = Suck.
Announced at FanFaire and re-posted by Manyak is a
thread entailing changes to the SD normalization mechanic with a lengthy discussion, some of which I will be quoting for this post.
Now, we break it down:
Quote:
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- Normalization is removed. So +50 damage means +50 damage to almost any spell. Certain spells (such as instant-cast ones) do not get the bonus.
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Okay, sounds good, but I must point out that normalization may still exist in some fashion with AE/AOE spells (including ones with DoT components like Shattered Terrain). Awaiting Testing on Open Test Server.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinski
Remember, they're just applying damage straight up to the initial tic with only normalization for AEs.
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Quote:
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- Damage is no longer spread out over DoT ticks. Instead, the entire bonus is applied only to the first tick.
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Again this sounds good for us and our Necromancer brethren as we posses a fair amount of DoT's. The question I pose to the Devs is how will this affect A.) Fiery Annihilation which deals a large initial hit before the DoT component starts and B.) Shattered Terrain as it's a AE DoT (assuming AE's will still be normalized in some fashion).
An unsatisfying answer comes next:
Quote:
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- Damage on AEs is still spread out over the number of targets.
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So fighting four targets with Shattered Terrain it will add 25 damage on the initial DoT tick per mob with +100 SD as an example? If so, then this is a pleasing change.
Now for a few questions
What is the cap on Spell Damage? We know the cap is 100% of a spells damage. Base+INT+Damage % Modifier
Where does the extra damage of +SD items apply in the grand scheme of things?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manyak
- It gets added on after all other spell modifiers. So it goes base+INT+%damage+BoE. This ends up with less damage overall. However, the cap itself is also calculated at the end, meaning that it gets increased through INT and the Plasma Wand etc...
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Truly an exciting change for us, but I'm ever skeptical (as I'm sure many of you are too) and would like to get some hands on Testing when/if SOE releases this change to Open Test and we are allowed to use character copies. With any luck this may make using +SD gear a more viable option (being optimistic here!) and weapons such as Dark Wand of the Chosen (proc, adds 100 spell damage to the Mage pet for a short duration) more viable as well (not saying it will replace items such as the Staff of Light etc).
Please point out my mistakes if I've made any, remember I'm working off quotes, fanfaire information, word of mouth and a lot of idea hashing with other Summoners. Please also add things / ideas you would like tested (such as my Fiery Annihilation question) on Open Test if those of us who play over there when available are able to try out these changes. Would be great to have a checklist of things to look at while testing.
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Kahna - T2 Disciple of Khaine, Dark Cragg, Warhammer Online
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Spell Damage Normalization Changes
