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o--o o o o o-o-o o o o--o Damage
| | |\ | | | |\ | | Calculation Guide
| | | \ | | | | \ | o--o Version 2.o
| | | \| | | | \| | By Steve Shelton
o--o o o o--o o-o-o o o o--o AKA Chaos The Fox
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============================TABLE OF CONTENTS==================================
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I. Version History
II. Introduction
III. Damage Reduction Explained
IV. Calculating Damage
V. Damage Reducing Cards List
VI. Credits
VII. Contact Information
VIII. Legal Information
Version 2.0
Ok, Chaos (me) hasn't been playing for a very very long time, so this FAQ was
previously out of date. I've decided to give it a revamp, and an update
significant enough to merit a full version change. In reality, I am merely
updating information and replacing out of date stuff.
Version 1.1
Damage Reducing Cards List added. Minor spelling and grammatical errors
corrected. Credit now actually given where credit is due. This guide is now
featured on DLH.net as well.
Version 1.0
Initial GameFAQs release. Contains the Introduction, Damage Reduction Eplained,
Calculating Damage, Credits, Contact Information, and Legal Information
Sections.
OK, let's face it, Ragnarok Online can be tough at times, eventually you reach
a point where the only good exp is hitting you for 1000+ damage a hit. Well, as
surprising as this is, a lot of players don't even understand how damage is
dealt in RO. I hope to change that with this Guide. Furthermore, I plan to
explain the various factors that reduce damage, how the game calculates damage,
and offer some information on what each class can do to reduce damage.
Additional features include charts and databases outlining helpful related
information and references.
Oh, who am I? Well, I've been playing Ragnarok Online since it was in its Alpha
Development Stages, (with the occasional hiatus from play) and thusly, I've
dealt and recieved a whole lot of damage.
Since I'm also a professional-quality writer, I felt it would help the RO
community if I were to write FAQs and guides for the game. Now without any
further ado, let's get on with the damage reduction explanations.
There are really a whole lot of things that deal damage in the world of
Ragnarok Online, monsters in particular, but there are only three things that
actually reduce the damage in RO. Those three factors are Vitality (VIT),
Defense (DEF), and Special abilities, which are mostly found in a few special
cards. We'll go over each of these factors in detail.
VIT, or vitality, is one of the six main stats present in every character. For
each point of vit a character posesses, they will take exactly 1 point less of
damage. Very simple. Let's say a monster attacks our character, Bob, for 1000
damage. Bob has 100 VIT, so the damage is reduced by 100 points, Meaning Bob
only takes 900 damage, because 1000 - 100 = 900. If Bob had 53 VIT, he would
have taken 53 less damage, for 947. VIT is raised through spending points in it
at levelups, by bonuses at certain job levels, and by certain equipped items
and cards.
DEF, or defense is only affected by whatever armor your character is equipped
with. Each point of DEF reduces the damage your character recieves by 1%.
Trying to get as Much DEF as possible, therefore, is usually a pretty good
idea. Back to Bob. now the same monster attacks him, but he has 20 DEF this
time. Bob takes 800 damage, because 1000 - 20% = 800. If bob had 25 DEF for
example, the damage would be down to 750.
I CANNOT stress this point enough. DEF IS NOT THE SAME THING AS VIT.
1000 Damage with 50 VIT is 950 Damage.
1000 Damage with 50 DEF is 500 Damage.
So why raise VIT at all, then? Because it still lowers damage beyond the DEF
bonuses. It also raises Maximum HP, increases healing recieved from healing
items, and is outright needed for many classes, especially early on. Swordsmen,
Acolytes, Merchants (ESPECIALLY Merchants!) and Novices have a much easier time
early on with VIT.
Finally, Damage may also be reduced by Cards. Two types of cards, that reduce
damage in two different ways. Shield Cards, which Reduce damaage from a
specific monster TYPE by 30%, and Garment Cards, which reduce damage by a
specific monster ELEMENT by 30%. These are extremely effective, so get some if
possible. Let's say Bob found a Shield Card for the monster that's dealing 1000
damage. Well, with that card in his shield, Bob only takes 700 damage!
But wait a minute. Bob has some DEF and VIT too, remember? So what about them?
They aren't overridden, they'll reduce damage too. But how exactly? Well, we
understand WHAT reduces damage in RO; to understand this, however, we need to
discover exactly HOW damage is reduced in RO.
***NOTICE***
Basic Armor DEF still reduces a full 1% per point, however it would seem that
added armor DEF, such as from upgrading, does not reduce damage by a full 1%
(It seems to be about 0.7% a point, actually). Thus, my Guide is no longer a
foolproof hard code of damage determination. Rather think of it as a ballpark
figure, to help you estimate your recieved damage.
Now let's backtrack for a moment. What exactly do we know? We know now that 3
factors reduce Damage; Cards, DEF, and VIT. But we do not know in what order
they function. So in order to determine this, we must look at the six possible
paths damage reduction may take. They are:
Ok, we have an interesting pattern beginning to form. Does it really matter
where the Card, or the DEF are, if VIT factors in last? Doesn't seem to. Let's
try ONE more. 3000 damage, only dealt by the nastiest of RO Monsters.
It's true. As log as VIT is not in between them, DEF and Card's positions are
irrelevant. And since it's easy to test VIT, I went ahead and did. All it
requires is getting a nice round DEF of 20 or so, and then adding in a few
points of VIT; 5 in my test. I found that my damage I took was always a rough
5 points less. If it didn't factor in last, then the DEF and Card % would have
affected how much my VIT was reducing. So now we have determined an additional
fact. VIT is factored in LAST in damage reduction. this rules out several of
the possibilites, leaving us with only two.
Card/DEF/VIT
DEF/Card/VIT
And that's all. We are through calculating damage. If you recall, the charts
above indicate that as long as VIT is not in the middle, the position of DEF
and Card are irrelevant. With these 'order of operations' fot the three damage
reduction factors, it is now possible to accurately guess at your individual
damages.
***NOTICE***
As previously stated, this is no longer a hard figure, but an estimate. It is
still accurate enough for armor shoppers and new players to get a firm
understanding of what to look for though.
NOTE: Only the specialized 30% cards are listed here, simply because
there is no reason I can think of to include the others.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: Some Cards may claim to reduce damage by 50%, this is no
longer true unless it was changed yet again. They now to the best of my
knowledge,reduce by 30%.Please also note that a monster's element is not always
the damage element for that monster. A Peco Peco may be fire element, but it
will only use a fire elemental attack every once in a while. Most monsters
attack with neutral almost all the time.
GARMENT:
Card Name: Effect: Additional Notes:
Dustiness Card (30% less Damage from Wind)
Hode Card (30% less Damage from Earth)
Isis Card (30% less Damage from Holy)
Jakk Card (30% less Damage from Fire)
Marionette Card (30% less Damage from Dark)
Marse Card (30% less Damage from Water)
Myst Card (30% less Damage from Poison)
Orc Zombie Card (30% less Damage from Undead)
Raydric Card (30% less Damage from Neutral)
SHIELD:
Card Name: Effect: Additional Notes:
Bigfoot Card (30% Damage from Insects)
Horn Card (30% Damage from Projectiles)
Khalitzburg Card (30% Damage from Demons)
Orc Warrior Card (30% Damage from Brutes)
Rafflesia Card (30% Damage from Fish) ***NOT YET IN GAME? UNSURE***
Sky Petit Card (30% Damage from Dragons)
Soldier Andre Card (30% Damage from Plants) ***NOT YET IN GAME? UNSURE***
Thara Frog Card (30% Damage from Demi-Humans)
Chaos The Fox is a 21-year-old Writer, Furry, Gamer, and College Student
living in Owensboro, third largest city in Kentucky. He posesses an irrational
attraction to foxes, the color green, and green foxes. if you have any
questions, comments, flames, requests, or information regarding myself, or this
guide, you may reach me at chaostfox@msn.com for a fairly fast reply, or on
AOL Instant Messenger at Chaos T Fox for an even faster one. I love to hear
from anyone.
This Guide is copyright 2003-2004 Steve Shelton. Permission has been granted to
host this FAQ only to www.gamefaqs.com and DLH.net. This may be not be
reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not
be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance
written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any
public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
