Damage Reduction -- how is it calculated, how does it work?

[WHIPperSNAPper]

Seven of 69 and I are debating the value of Damage Reduction versus Health. How exactly is Damage Reduction calculated?

If each Damage Reduction stat point gives you an additional 0.5% damage reduction, then at 200 DR points wouldn't you have 100% damage reduction, making you impervious to all damage? It doesn't work that way, obviously, so how exactly does it work?

[Seven_of_69]

If 200 DR made us invulnerable, we wouldn't need globes. :ssmile: With 350 DR our damage is reduced 175% which makes us "invulnerable" from at least one hit from most monsters. However our health is decreased so some monsters either must be doing more than 100% damage or some monsters ignore damage reduction (with the monster's version of a piercing weapon).

As for DR versus health, I assume that when you're hit, your DR is applied before your health is reduced, thus IMO it makes more sense to increase DR before health. That is exactly how I played my AM. I had to get some health and DR to buy ghost but I got just enough to get ghost and no more. Eventually I maxed my DR without increasing health (which is still 350 or 500 with medic's healing) and I'm fine. Invulnerable, no. Mostly invulnerable, yes.

[DW_BrainPan]

You must remember that monsters also have damage bonus which offsets the players DR. So, in general, if the players DR is greater than the monsters DB they will get reduced damage (and possibly be invulnerable) from that monsters attack while the player with higher health and no DR will not.

Consider also that you are getting hit many times while playing. As a player raises their DR they are reducing the damage from all of those hits (gradually becoming impervious to many lower wave monsters), but the player who raises their health is just creating a buffer for a few of those hits.

Consider also that to regain health you must heal (or vamp). So is it not better to not take damage in the first place as opposed to being able to sustain more damage until you must heal.

So, DR is more valuable than health.

[DW_WailofSuicide]

Keep in mind that monsters have Damage Bonus.

Monster level is determined by the lowest living player on the server. Monsters receive the same points per level (10) that players do and the points are split evenly among Damage Bonus and Damage Reduction.

AFAIK Damage Bonus and Damage Reduction directly cancel each other out. Assuming a level 25 character is alive, a Monster will have 125 DB. If you have 250 DR you can subtract the monster's 125 DB directly and you basically have 125 DR to apply to the damage.

[DW_ACY]

Thank you Brain and Wail for this explanation. Many people make a false assumption about DR and believe it should make them invulnerable.

[WHIPperSNAPper]

AFAIK Damage Bonus and Damage Reduction directly cancel each other out. Assuming a level 25 character is alive, a Monster will have 125 DB. If you have 250 DR you can subtract the monster's 125 DB directly and you basically have 125 DR to apply to the damage.

Thank you for explaining it to me. Now it makes a little more sense. It still seems to me that both Damage Reduction and Health are valuable; you need some health to absorb what gets through your DR.

[DW_BrainPan]

Thank you for explaining it to me. Now it makes a little more sense. It still seems to me that both Damage Reduction and Health are valuable; you need some health to absorb what gets through your DR.

You're definitely right, you need some health to make sure you're not killed in one or two hits from most monsters. But as Seven stated, once you get enough health for the prerequisites of the other skills you're much better off concentrating on maxing DR than on continuing to build up health.