How do you determine your true AL? - Guild Wars Forums

pdurand36 · Sep 04, 2007, 07:24 PM // 19:24

Are armor attributes cumulative? What I mean is this: If you have a full set of max armor for, say, a ranger, each piece of armor has an AL of 70. Does that mean with no runes or insignias of any kind your total armor is 70 or 350? What if one piece is max and the rest is of lesser quality? How does that affect your over all AL?

The bigger question I have is does the same rule apply to upgrades and insignias? Obviously, those that are labeled ???non-stacking??? do not add up but what of the upgrades that offer, for example, +10 (vs. elemental damage) and so forth? If you add one each to your armor do you boost by 10 or by 50?

All this time I have been applying such upgrades to each piece of armor (mask, vest, leggings, etc.) with the idea of increasing my total overall AL. My assumption is based on the fact that if I add 3 (stacking) runes of vitae at +10 health each (one each to 3 separate pieces of armor), I add a total of 30 health to my character. The affect of adding them is cumulative and immediately visible on your health bar.

Unfortunately, there is no such bar for viewing your existing maximum armor level (with the addition of ???cracked armor??? and skills like "weaken armor" there really should be).

It would also be nice to know how much damage gets absorbed by armor and what gets through to "hit points" (D&D reference

). If you've ever played the GURPS role playing system, often times damage doesn't even get past your armor and piercing damage is far worse than slashing (which I believe GW acknowledges).

I've noticed the above to some extent while playing GW. I recently started a new Paragon but outfitted her in max armor at level 3 (love that storage). The level 2 and 3 Ibogas weren't doing any damage to her at all. But my level 20 ranger has taken hits of around 120 damage (wearing max ranger armor) that have dramatically reduced her health. Theoretically, if her AL is 350 (plus her upgrades), a lot of that should get absorbed.

I have observed that if I rotate between her four bows mid attack, I immediatedly see a difference in damage done to the target. But how much of that is the type of damage I'm inflicting, how much is the bow's other attributes (e.g. damage +15%) and how much is my foe's armor type, I have no idea.

I have been completely unable to find any detailed information on this issue. Even at this stage in the Guild Wars life span, I think players could always benefit from a detailed reference on the subject.

Thanks.

tijo · Sep 04, 2007, 07:36 PM // 19:36

1. If all your armor pieces have 70Al, then your AL is 70 without modifiers. Armor doesn't stack in GW. You have a certain chance of being hit on each piece of armor and the AL of that piece then applies.

2. Same with insignas, the bonus applies to the armor piece to which it is applied in case of additionnal armor bonus. For radiant and survivor insignas, it stacks.

3. If it says non-stackable on a rune or insigna, then only one rune will give you a bonus. Good examples are vigor runes and bloodstained insignas.

4. Cracked armor will lower your AL to 60.

5. For damage calculations: www.guildwiki.org

6. Were the hits taken from the same foes, what skills did the foes use on you?

7. As for bow attacks, the damage range, the mods, your marksmanship attributes, your foe's AL all have their effect as does the skills you use. Critical hits also have an influence, again for mor einformation on those, the wiki will help you.

7. I gave you a link to the unofficial wiki, there's also the official wiki: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page. Those are your references.

pdurand36 · Sep 04, 2007, 08:47 PM // 20:47

Thanks for the links Tijo. I'll check them out when I get home. Interesting that the game has "headshots" vs. "torso" vs "leg" etc. Basically, it's like saying for each upgrade you apply there is a 1 in 5 chance (head, arms, torso, legs, feet) it will get a chance to protect you. GURPS works that way too. Part of the dice roll determines where you are hit as much as how badly so I guess I can live with that.

It was one foe btw and he was using fire spells which I imagine have a lot of armor penetration. Oddly enough, my ranger's armor's upgrades are all against ell damage. Something like searing heat but I think the elite version. Charr Shaman Boss in EotN. Charr Effigies annhilated me.

Thanks again.

HawkofStorms · Sep 05, 2007, 01:16 AM // 01:16

Well fire spells don't have armor penetration (only air spells have that). But yeah, fire spells do a lot of damage. You probablly ran into Savannah's Heat, which does hurt if you stay in it (note, it does more damage every second it is active, best to move out of it as soon as possible).

Antheus · Sep 05, 2007, 02:15 AM // 02:15

Bosses usually have extra damage multipliers.

Effigies like to use armor ignoring damage.

Other than that, damage on armor is evaluated for the individual piece that was hit. If you want more protection against elemental damage, you need to add proper insignie to all pieces of armor, not just one.

Armor buffs are added on top of that when determining damage regardless of which area was hit. You cannot affect where you get hit, but chest gets hit most often.

The cumulative AL doesn't exist.

Sep 04, 2007, 07:24 PM // 19:24	#1
pdurand36 Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Dec 2006 Guild: Dragon Lords of Melnibone Profession: E/Me	How do you determine your true AL? Are armor attributes cumulative? What I mean is this: If you have a full set of max armor for, say, a ranger, each piece of armor has an AL of 70. Does that mean with no runes or insignias of any kind your total armor is 70 or 350? What if one piece is max and the rest is of lesser quality? How does that affect your over all AL? The bigger question I have is does the same rule apply to upgrades and insignias? Obviously, those that are labeled ???non-stacking??? do not add up but what of the upgrades that offer, for example, +10 (vs. elemental damage) and so forth? If you add one each to your armor do you boost by 10 or by 50? All this time I have been applying such upgrades to each piece of armor (mask, vest, leggings, etc.) with the idea of increasing my total overall AL. My assumption is based on the fact that if I add 3 (stacking) runes of vitae at +10 health each (one each to 3 separate pieces of armor), I add a total of 30 health to my character. The affect of adding them is cumulative and immediately visible on your health bar. Unfortunately, there is no such bar for viewing your existing maximum armor level (with the addition of ???cracked armor??? and skills like "weaken armor" there really should be). It would also be nice to know how much damage gets absorbed by armor and what gets through to "hit points" (D&D reference ). If you've ever played the GURPS role playing system, often times damage doesn't even get past your armor and piercing damage is far worse than slashing (which I believe GW acknowledges). I've noticed the above to some extent while playing GW. I recently started a new Paragon but outfitted her in max armor at level 3 (love that storage). The level 2 and 3 Ibogas weren't doing any damage to her at all. But my level 20 ranger has taken hits of around 120 damage (wearing max ranger armor) that have dramatically reduced her health. Theoretically, if her AL is 350 (plus her upgrades), a lot of that should get absorbed. I have observed that if I rotate between her four bows mid attack, I immediatedly see a difference in damage done to the target. But how much of that is the type of damage I'm inflicting, how much is the bow's other attributes (e.g. damage +15%) and how much is my foe's armor type, I have no idea. I have been completely unable to find any detailed information on this issue. Even at this stage in the Guild Wars life span, I think players could always benefit from a detailed reference on the subject. Thanks.

Sep 04, 2007, 08:47 PM // 20:47	#3
pdurand36 Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Dec 2006 Guild: Dragon Lords of Melnibone Profession: E/Me	Thanks for the links Tijo. I'll check them out when I get home. Interesting that the game has "headshots" vs. "torso" vs "leg" etc. Basically, it's like saying for each upgrade you apply there is a 1 in 5 chance (head, arms, torso, legs, feet) it will get a chance to protect you. GURPS works that way too. Part of the dice roll determines where you are hit as much as how badly so I guess I can live with that. It was one foe btw and he was using fire spells which I imagine have a lot of armor penetration. Oddly enough, my ranger's armor's upgrades are all against ell damage. Something like searing heat but I think the elite version. Charr Shaman Boss in EotN. Charr Effigies annhilated me. Thanks again. Last edited by pdurand36; Sep 04, 2007 at 08:54 PM // 20:54.. Reason: typos

Sep 04, 2007, 07:36 PM // 19:36	#2
tijo Jungle Guide Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Montreal Guild: [CDDR] Profession: R/	1. If all your armor pieces have 70Al, then your AL is 70 without modifiers. Armor doesn't stack in GW. You have a certain chance of being hit on each piece of armor and the AL of that piece then applies. 2. Same with insignas, the bonus applies to the armor piece to which it is applied in case of additionnal armor bonus. For radiant and survivor insignas, it stacks. 3. If it says non-stackable on a rune or insigna, then only one rune will give you a bonus. Good examples are vigor runes and bloodstained insignas. 4. Cracked armor will lower your AL to 60. 5. For damage calculations: www.guildwiki.org 6. Were the hits taken from the same foes, what skills did the foes use on you? 7. As for bow attacks, the damage range, the mods, your marksmanship attributes, your foe's AL all have their effect as does the skills you use. Critical hits also have an influence, again for mor einformation on those, the wiki will help you. 7. I gave you a link to the unofficial wiki, there's also the official wiki: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page. Those are your references.

Sep 05, 2007, 01:16 AM // 01:16	#4
HawkofStorms Hall Hero Join Date: Aug 2005 Profession: E/	Well fire spells don't have armor penetration (only air spells have that). But yeah, fire spells do a lot of damage. You probablly ran into Savannah's Heat, which does hurt if you stay in it (note, it does more damage every second it is active, best to move out of it as soon as possible).

Sep 05, 2007, 02:15 AM // 02:15	#5
Antheus Forge Runner Join Date: Jan 2006	Bosses usually have extra damage multipliers. Effigies like to use armor ignoring damage. Other than that, damage on armor is evaluated for the individual piece that was hit. If you want more protection against elemental damage, you need to add proper insignie to all pieces of armor, not just one. Armor buffs are added on top of that when determining damage regardless of which area was hit. You cannot affect where you get hit, but chest gets hit most often. The cumulative AL doesn't exist.