Attack Resolution
All attacks in Pillars of Eternity - no matter whether they're made with weapons, spells, or other abilities - go through the same attack resolution system. Each attack can result in a Critical Hit, Hit, Graze or Miss. The likelihood of each outcome is based on the difference between the attacker's accuracy vs the target's defense values and can be affected by various abilities.
Contents
Attack Roll[edit | edit source]
An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent resolved by a single d100 roll (a number between 1 and 100). The attacker chance to roll Critical Hit, Hit, Graze or Miss is determined by the difference between his Accuracy value and the relevant defender's defense.
Target Defense[edit | edit source]
The Defense used against attack accuracy is determined by the type of attack:
- Deflection against direct melee and ranged attacks
- Fortitude against body system attacks like poison and disease
- Reflexes against area of effect damage attacks
- Will against mental attacks
Attack Outcomes[edit | edit source]
According to attack roll value one of four attack outcomes willl take effect:
- Miss meaning attack has no effect
- Graze meaning -50% damage or duration
- Hit meaning standard damage and duration
- Critical Hit meaning +50% damage or duration
The Default ranges for an attack roll are:
- 01-15 = Miss
- 16-50 = Graze
- 51-100 = Hit
- 100+ = Critical Hit
Attack Result[edit | edit source]
As can be seen, Critical Hit is not possible at all (the attack roll is a number between 1 and 100). However, these are only default ranges used when accuracy and target defense values are exactly the same. Each point of difference between accuracy and target defense "shifts" all ranges by one point.
Therefore, if the Accuracy and defense values are balanced, the majority of attacks wind up being Hits or Grazes. On the other hand, when the difference is extremely high, possibility of a Miss or a Critical Hit can sometimes be negated entirely (while always allowing the possibility of a Graze or a Hit at the extreme ends of the spectrum.Verify[1][2]).
See Chart: (credits to Theurgist from forums, see post)
When damage is an element of an attack, it is always the thing that is modified. If it's a "flat" status attack(like a Stun), duration is modified.[3]
Examples[edit | edit source]
Examples for different accuracy and target defense values (without abilities that modifies default ranges):
(Accuracy - Defense) + Attack Roll = Result
| Accuracy vs Defense | Miss | Graze | Hit | Critical Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Accuracy vs 40 Deflection | 01-35 | 36-70 | 71-100 | not possible |
| 20 Accuracy vs 25 Reflexes | 01-20 | 21-55 | 56-100 | not possible |
| 20 Accuracy vs 20 Deflection | 01-15 | 16-50 | 51-100 | not possible |
| 25 Accuracy vs 20 Fortitude | 01-10 | 11-45 | 46-95 | 96-100 |
| 40 Accuracy vs 20 Will | not possible | 01-30 | 31-80 | 81-100 |
Class Influence[edit | edit source]
Certain classes have abilities that shift the default ranges for attack roll (e.g. rogues Dirty Fighting),[4] have inherent Accuracy bonuses (fighters had an inherent Accuracy bonus with all melee weapons early in development, was cut) and/or start out with an advantage in certain defenses (e.g. barbarians have higher starting Fortitude defense and rogues have higher starting Reflexes defense).[5]
Accuracy and defenses increase as you gain levels. The character defense is advancing uniformly every level for every class.[6] If you advance a level all defenses will increase by 3 points, regardless of what your class is.[7] On top of all this, both Accuracy and defenses can be boosted with Attributes, Abilities, Talents, spells and items.
Conversion of an attack Outcome[edit | edit source]
Certain weapons, Abilities and Talents grant an additional roll after the accuracy roll that allows for the Outcome of an attack to be converted to a better one. Only ONE conversion can occur per attack, per "direction" (aggressive/defensive), meaning that it is NOT possible for a Graze to be converted to a Hit and then to a Critical.[8] Multiple bonuses to the same conversion type are additive, e.g. using a Flail with Confident Aim results in a 50% Chance to convert a Graze to a Hit. Conversion rolls also can be defensive, converting an incoming Attacks Outcome to the respective lower Tier.
Weapon Affixes that grant a conversion roll modifier
- Reliable: +20% Graze to Hit
- Predatory: +10% Hit to Crit
- Durgan-Refined: +20% Hit to Crit
Weapons with above mentioned Affixes:
| Weapon | Type |
|---|---|
| All Flails | Reliable |
| Unique Hunting Bow Persistence | Reliable |
| Unique Sabre Resolution | Reliable |
| Unique Sword Whispers of Yenwood | Reliable |
| Unique Pike Jêna's Lance | Reliable |
| Unique Blunderbuss Scon Mica's Roar | Reliable |
| Unique Arquebus Long-Feller | Reliable |
| Unique Dagger Aattuuk | Predatory |
| Unique Hatchet Rêghar Konnek | Predatory |
| Unique Pike Tall Grass | Predatory |
| Unique Pollaxe Traitors' Merit | Predatory |
| Unique Stiletto Vent Pick | Durgan-Refined |
| All Durgan-Refined Weapons | Durgan-Refined |
Items with an aggressive conversion roll modifier:
| Item Name | Slot | Conversion Type | Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potion of Merciless Gaze | Potion | Hit->Crit | +15% |
Items with a defensive conversion roll modifier:
| Item Name | Slot | Conversion Type | Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thy Clef | Shield | Crit->Hit | +10% |
| Old Gerun's Wall | Shield | Hit->Graze | +10% |
| Hirbel's Protective Skin | Body | Crit->Hit | +10% |
| All Durgan-Reinforced Shields | Shield | Hit->Graze | +15% |
| All Durgan-Reinforced Armors | Body | Crit->Hit | +15% |
Abilities that apply an aggressive buff with a conversion roll modifier:
| Ability | Conversion Type | Percentage | Class | Spell level/Learnable at level | Ability type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dire Blessing | Hit->Crit | +20% | Priest | 3rd | AoE on allies for 30 sec base |
| Confident Aim | Graze->Hit | +20% | Fighter | 3+ | Passive |
| Dirty Fighting | Hit->Crit | +10%, +20% with Vicious Fighting | Rogue | 3+ | Passive |
| Merciless Gaze | Hit->Crit | +15% | Wizard | 3nd | Buff on Caster for 45 sec base |
| Zealous Focus | Graze->Hit | +15% | Paladin | 3+ | Modal Aura to allies |
Abilities that apply a defensive buff/debuff with a conversion roll modifier
| Ability | Conversion Type | Percentage | Class | Spell level/Learnable at level | Ability type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Despondent Blows | Crit->Hit | +15% | Priest | 3rd | AoE on enemies for 30 sec base |
| Critical Defense | Crit->Hit | +20% | Fighter | 9+ | Passive |
| Adept Evasion | Graze->Miss | +75% | Rogue | 7+ | Passive (Reflex) |
| Adept Evasion | Hit->Graze | +50% | Rogue | 7+ | Passive (Reflex) |
| Zealous Endurance | Hit->Graze | +15% | Paladin | 3+ | Modal Aura to Allies |
Talents that grant a Passive conversion roll modifier (all aggressive):
| Talent | Conversion Type | Percentage | Requirement | Learnable at level | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vicious Fighting | Hit->Crit | +10% | Rogue | 4+ | Modifies Dirty Fighting |
| Critical Focus | Hit->Crit | +5% | Paladin | 4+ | Modifies Zealous Focus |
| Minor Threat | Hit->Crit | +10% | Hearth Orlan | 1 | When attacking same target as an ally. |
| One-Handed Style | Hit->Crit | +15% | All | 2+ | When using a one-handed weapon and nothing in the offhand. |
Critical Hit Multiplier[edit | edit source]
Weapons that modify the critical hit multiplier
| Weapon | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| All Battle Axes | +0.5 |
| All Firearms | -0.3 |
| Unique Sabre Resolution | +0.5 |
| Unique Pistol Dulcanale | +0.5 (total of + 0.2) |
| Unique War hammer Shatterstar | +0.5 |
Items that modify the critical hit multiplier
| Item Name | Slot | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit Fur Gloves | Hands | +0.1 |
| Azalin's Helmet | Head | +0.1 |
Talents that modify the critical hit multiplier
- The Merciless Hand +0.3
- Dungeon Delver +0.1
References[edit source]
