Melee Damage Avoidance and Mitigation

Introduction

Each time a mob swings at a player, the server answers three questions:

1. Does the player riposte, block, parry or dodge the swing?
2. If not, does the swing miss?
3. If not, how much damage does the swing do?

The first answer depends on the player's skill-based evasion. The second depends on the mob's accuracy and the player's avoidance. The third depends on the mob's offense and the player's mitigation.

This page is under construction. (6/12/16)

Sources

The primary source for the information on this page is the file attack.cpp in the last open TAKP source version. That code was written by the EQEmu team and heavily modified by Torven in order to match his parses and to reflect this detailed explanation of AC shared by Dzarn, an EQ developer. This TAKP thread has some additional discussion.

Skill-based evasion

A player's chance to evade a swing depends only on their riposte, block, parry and dodge skills. The only way to evade more is to increase these skills, either by gaining levels or by wearing one of the handful of items in the game that have evasion skill modifiers.

Avoidance

A mob's chance to miss a player depends on the mob's to_hit rating and the player's avoidance. To_hit is a function of the mob's level and accuracy. Avoidance is a function of defense skill, agility, and the combat agility/lightning reflexes/physical enhancement AAs.

Mitigation

If a mob hits a player, the damage taken depends on the mob's offense and the player's mitigation. Offense is a function of the mob's level and attack. Mitigation is a function of the player's class, level, defense skill, worn AC, AC from spells, shield AC, agility, and the combat stability/innate defense/physical enhancement AAs.