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New question about pure skill

@Kabam Miike

Thank you for the update on ps, I'm certainly happy with at least some commentary about it.

I would like one quick question answered, I believe I'm confused about something. I'm reposting one of your comments with my question:

Quote Originally Posted by Kabam Miike View Post
Before, it used to reduce the Armor rating by a percentage, now it ignores a flat percentage amount. So, for example let's use a Champion with 10% Armor. Before 12.0, it would be:

Pre-12.0 Pure Skill reduced armor by the stated %

Rank 1: 4% of 10% armor = -0.4% armor = 9.6% opponent armor left
Rank 2: 8% = 0.8% = 9.2% armor left
Rank 3: 16% = 1.6% = 8.4% armor left
Rank 4: 32% = 3.2% = 6.8% armor left
Rank 5: 64% = 6.4% = 4.6% armor left

Post 12.0, Pure Skill Ignores a flat percentage of Armor:

Rank 1: 4% of 10% ignored = 10% - 4% = 6% armor left
Rank 2: 8% = 10% - 8% = 2% left
Rank 3: 16% = 10% - 16% = 0% left (Since we do not go into negative Armor)
Rank 4: 32% = 0% armor left
Rank 5: 64% = 0% armor left

As for how they'll make it better... Well, we're not sure yet, but if you guys have ideas, shout em out!


This poses the question: What is causing us to do less damage after 12.1 to an opponent with 0% armor left (no flat value left at all) vs. previously an opponent who had 4.6% armor left (some arbitrary value, I'm not sure this formula is true: % value = flat value/(5×Opponent CR + 1500 + Flat value))?

Using the table above, you should be able to do more damage with a critical hit on an opponent who has 0% armor left compared to one that has 4.6%. So why is this not the case now? Holding all factors ceteris paribus (considering cruelty and precision are less potent maxed because of dr) except for pure skill and armor values, what is specifically making ps less potent at rank 5? This doesn't make any sense.

Comments

  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    Tronc wrote: »
    @Kabam Miike

    Thank you for the update on ps, I'm certainly happy with at least some commentary about it.

    I would like one quick question answered, I believe I'm confused about something. I'm reposting one of your comments with my question:

    Quote Originally Posted by Kabam Miike View Post
    Before, it used to reduce the Armor rating by a percentage, now it ignores a flat percentage amount. So, for example let's use a Champion with 10% Armor. Before 12.0, it would be:

    Pre-12.0 Pure Skill reduced armor by the stated %

    Rank 1: 4% of 10% armor = -0.4% armor = 9.6% opponent armor left
    Rank 2: 8% = 0.8% = 9.2% armor left
    Rank 3: 16% = 1.6% = 8.4% armor left
    Rank 4: 32% = 3.2% = 6.8% armor left
    Rank 5: 64% = 6.4% = 4.6% armor left

    Post 12.0, Pure Skill Ignores a flat percentage of Armor:

    Rank 1: 4% of 10% ignored = 10% - 4% = 6% armor left
    Rank 2: 8% = 10% - 8% = 2% left
    Rank 3: 16% = 10% - 16% = 0% left (Since we do not go into negative Armor)
    Rank 4: 32% = 0% armor left
    Rank 5: 64% = 0% armor left

    As for how they'll make it better... Well, we're not sure yet, but if you guys have ideas, shout em out!


    This poses the question: What is causing us to do less damage after 12.1 to an opponent with 0% armor left (no flat value left at all) vs. previously an opponent who had 4.6% armor left (some arbitrary value, I'm not sure this formula is true: % value = flat value/(5×Opponent CR + 1500 + Flat value))?

    Using the table above, you should be able to do more damage with a critical hit on an opponent who has 0% armor left compared to one that has 4.6%. So why is this not the case now? Holding all factors ceteris paribus (considering cruelty and precision are less potent maxed because of dr) except for pure skill and armor values, what is specifically making ps less potent at rank 5? This doesn't make any sense.

    Basically, you can't ignore negative Armor, so the value doesn't pass 0.
  • Options
    DNA3000DNA3000 Posts: 19,018 Guardian
    Given how they also changed armor ratings for champions between 11.x and 12.0, is there a valid way to compare Pure Skill rank 5 in 11.x verses an *identical* situation in 13.x? How would you construct a verified identical situation and test today?

    That's not a rhetorical question: I spent the units to be able to test every tier of Pure Skill, and now I'm thinking about all the possible ways to test not just for differences, but to determine what the precise numerical differences are to see if there are reasonable explanations for those differences that might suggest a bug, if it exists. How would you test to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that if Pure Skill still worked the way it did in 11.x, the damage increase it granted would have been higher. If it actually makes logical sense and its a test I can perform, I can try to actually conduct it when I have time to do so.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    DNA3000 wrote: »
    Given how they also changed armor ratings for champions between 11.x and 12.0, is there a valid way to compare Pure Skill rank 5 in 11.x verses an *identical* situation in 13.x? How would you construct a verified identical situation and test today?

    That's not a rhetorical question: I spent the units to be able to test every tier of Pure Skill, and now I'm thinking about all the possible ways to test not just for differences, but to determine what the precise numerical differences are to see if there are reasonable explanations for those differences that might suggest a bug, if it exists. How would you test to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that if Pure Skill still worked the way it did in 11.x, the damage increase it granted would have been higher. If it actually makes logical sense and its a test I can perform, I can try to actually conduct it when I have time to do so.

    That's why I asked this question. It's obvious that it's the new armor values that are causing the disparity between pre 12.0 and 12.1. It's why I explicitly stated the question holding additional mastery setups constant. I've said since day one it's how armor values are assigned that's causing the effectiveness of pure skill to diminish.

    The significantly lower damage from ps is not a bug, it's a response from kabam not factoring in how ps would function with the new system. I asked the question broadly because I don't believe the new armor values are the only source causing the damage to be significantly lower. I don't believe kabam intended for ps to function like this in 13.0, and the lower damage has nothing to do with effectiveness of ps individually.
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    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    The table above only explains why ps damage doesn't scale up, it doesn't explain why the damage is significantly lower at comparable ranks under the new system. The disparity is significantly larger than the overall damage differences from other masteries.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    Tronc wrote: »
    The table above only explains why ps damage doesn't scale up, it doesn't explain why the damage is significantly lower at comparable ranks under the new system. The disparity is significantly larger than the overall damage differences from other masteries.

    Diminishing Returns.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    @Kabam Miike

    Thank you for the update on ps, I'm certainly happy with at least some commentary about it.

    I would like one quick question answered, I believe I'm confused about something. I'm reposting one of your comments with my question:

    Quote Originally Posted by Kabam Miike View Post
    Before, it used to reduce the Armor rating by a percentage, now it ignores a flat percentage amount. So, for example let's use a Champion with 10% Armor. Before 12.0, it would be:

    Pre-12.0 Pure Skill reduced armor by the stated %

    Rank 1: 4% of 10% armor = -0.4% armor = 9.6% opponent armor left
    Rank 2: 8% = 0.8% = 9.2% armor left
    Rank 3: 16% = 1.6% = 8.4% armor left
    Rank 4: 32% = 3.2% = 6.8% armor left
    Rank 5: 64% = 6.4% = 4.6% armor left

    Post 12.0, Pure Skill Ignores a flat percentage of Armor:

    Rank 1: 4% of 10% ignored = 10% - 4% = 6% armor left
    Rank 2: 8% = 10% - 8% = 2% left
    Rank 3: 16% = 10% - 16% = 0% left (Since we do not go into negative Armor)
    Rank 4: 32% = 0% armor left
    Rank 5: 64% = 0% armor left

    As for how they'll make it better... Well, we're not sure yet, but if you guys have ideas, shout em out!


    This poses the question: What is causing us to do less damage after 12.1 to an opponent with 0% armor left (no flat value left at all) vs. previously an opponent who had 4.6% armor left (some arbitrary value, I'm not sure this formula is true: % value = flat value/(5×Opponent CR + 1500 + Flat value))?

    Using the table above, you should be able to do more damage with a critical hit on an opponent who has 0% armor left compared to one that has 4.6%. So why is this not the case now? Holding all factors ceteris paribus (considering cruelty and precision are less potent maxed because of dr) except for pure skill and armor values, what is specifically making ps less potent at rank 5? This doesn't make any sense.

    Basically, you can't ignore negative Armor, so the value doesn't pass 0.

    I don't think you get what I'm asking.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    You asked what specifically makes it less potent at Rank 5. The answer is how PS applies the damage. At Rank 3, it is already Ignoring all the Armor it can.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    The table above only explains why ps damage doesn't scale up, it doesn't explain why the damage is significantly lower at comparable ranks under the new system. The disparity is significantly larger than the overall damage differences from other masteries.

    Diminishing Returns.
    Tronc wrote: »
    The table above only explains why ps damage doesn't scale up, it doesn't explain why the damage is significantly lower at comparable ranks under the new system. The disparity is significantly larger than the overall damage differences from other masteries.

    Diminishing Returns.

    Diminishing returns doesn't account for the huge disparity in resulting damage. It's something else.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    edited May 2017
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Because I mean the armor values should be pretty dang close to what they were before. Diminishing returns doesn't account for how large the difference is at all. This means there is a major flaw with how ps operates under the news system.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    edited May 2017
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that is affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that us affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.

    Im repeating myself here websnatcher, but the effects from dr did not cause this large of enough of a difference to other masteries. It doesn't fully explain it. You really only hit the major dr flattening after you max cruelty and then apply a crit damage team. It's clear that something else is significantly limiting ps effectiveness under the new system. Dr doesnt limit resulting damage, it limits the applications that cause the resulting damage.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that us affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.

    Im repeating myself here websnatcher, but the effects from dr did not cause this large of enough of a difference to other masteries. It doesn't fully explain it. You really only hit the major dr flattening after you max cruelty and then apply a crit damage team. It's clear that something else is significantly limiting ps effectiveness under the new system. Dr doesnt limit resulting damage, it limits the applications that cause the resulting damage.

    My name is GroundedWisdom. If you wanted to argue, then why are you asking for answers?
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that us affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.

    Im repeating myself here websnatcher, but the effects from dr did not cause this large of enough of a difference to other masteries. It doesn't fully explain it. You really only hit the major dr flattening after you max cruelty and then apply a crit damage team. It's clear that something else is significantly limiting ps effectiveness under the new system. Dr doesnt limit resulting damage, it limits the applications that cause the resulting damage.

    My name is GroundedWisdom. If you wanted to argue, then why are you asking for answers?

    I asked for an answer from a moderator, not you.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that us affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.

    Im repeating myself here websnatcher, but the effects from dr did not cause this large of enough of a difference to other masteries. It doesn't fully explain it. You really only hit the major dr flattening after you max cruelty and then apply a crit damage team. It's clear that something else is significantly limiting ps effectiveness under the new system. Dr doesnt limit resulting damage, it limits the applications that cause the resulting damage.

    My name is GroundedWisdom. If you wanted to argue, then why are you asking for answers?

    I asked for an answer from a moderator, not you.

    They've provided answers. How you interpret them is up to you.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    It could be a combination of dr and the new armor values but I still feel there is something else at play.

    That's exactly what it is. At least that's my theory.

    The disparity is still so large. I want to know what that other variable is at play from Miike. We can't make solid suggestions for a fix unless we're informed!

    That's what it is. The DR/Flat Value System does not allow the high amount of Damage that we were able to achieve in 11.0x. It's not just the Mastery that us affected by this. It's all across the board. It seems to be a regulatory system that keeps Damage within a balanced limit. With the exception of Buff/Debuff Stacks and a few that were relatively unchanged due to their Abilities, (SL, Rocket), the system will not allow for the extreme amount of increase in Damage.
    Add the mechanic of Armor and how it applies the Damage, and that explains why it's significantly less than it was, and why it won't increase much past R3. Again, that's my theory.

    Im repeating myself here websnatcher, but the effects from dr did not cause this large of enough of a difference to other masteries. It doesn't fully explain it. You really only hit the major dr flattening after you max cruelty and then apply a crit damage team. It's clear that something else is significantly limiting ps effectiveness under the new system. Dr doesnt limit resulting damage, it limits the applications that cause the resulting damage.

    My name is GroundedWisdom. If you wanted to argue, then why are you asking for answers?

    I asked for an answer from a moderator, not you.

    They've provided answers. How you interpret them is up to you.

    The table wasn't an answer to my specific question. I respectfully ask you to allow a mod to address my question. Thank you.
  • Options
    CoatHang3rCoatHang3r Posts: 4,965 ★★★★★
    edited May 2017
    From my possibly flawed observations, but being an avid fan of Karnak who crits constantly and can ignore all armor. After 12.0 it appeared that crits were ignoring even more armor than previously. Could it just be that PS has even less armor to ignore giving the perception that it is less effective because crits themselves are more effective?

    Hopefully that makes sense...


    * And the cruelty mastery was given a buff in 12.1
    * Also what is the reference for crits doing less than pre 12.1?
  • Options
    DNA3000DNA3000 Posts: 19,018 Guardian
    Tronc wrote: »
    Because I mean the armor values should be pretty dang close to what they were before. Diminishing returns doesn't account for how large the difference is at all. This means there is a major flaw with how ps operates under the news system.

    DR *could* explain some of it, but not all of it. DR makes it much more difficult to generate high armor values. Situations that would have normally generated stacked armor values approaching 90% in 11.x would have difficulty getting past 70% past 12.0. *If* that was all that was going on, then in many cases where armor is lower than it was, Pure Skill would have little or nothing to do past a certain tier.

    But players are reporting that even in extremely high armor settings which should create high armor percentages, the higher tiers of Pure Skill are still doing little or nothing. That can't be explained by DR.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    DNA3000 wrote: »
    Tronc wrote: »
    Because I mean the armor values should be pretty dang close to what they were before. Diminishing returns doesn't account for how large the difference is at all. This means there is a major flaw with how ps operates under the news system.

    DR *could* explain some of it, but not all of it. DR makes it much more difficult to generate high armor values. Situations that would have normally generated stacked armor values approaching 90% in 11.x would have difficulty getting past 70% past 12.0. *If* that was all that was going on, then in many cases where armor is lower than it was, Pure Skill would have little or nothing to do past a certain tier.

    But players are reporting that even in extremely high armor settings which should create high armor percentages, the higher tiers of Pure Skill are still doing little or nothing. That can't be explained by DR.

    You hit the nail on the head. I do think dr and the new armor values are responsible for some of the lower damage but there is definitely something else at play.
  • Options
    CoatHang3rCoatHang3r Posts: 4,965 ★★★★★
    Okay so. Think of it like this with the math explained by Miike.

    Previously normal crits ignored 20% of 27% armor = 21.6 armor
    Now normal crits ignore 20% of 27% armor = 7% armor

    This means when comparing PS pre 12.0 it ignored more armor making its crits much larger than average crits, but now when compared the difference is much smaller because there is less armor to ignore after the normal crit. This makes 12.0 PS crits appear to be less under 12.0. Which is why it's important to compare pre 12.0 to post 12.0 and not just look at how small the increase is after 12.0.

    Are there reliable references for PS crits pre and post 12.0? What's the difference?
  • Options
    C0atHang3rC0atHang3r Posts: 78
    edited May 2017
    I hope they restore PS to its former glory. It's underwhelming after the nerf. Just my opinion.
  • Options
    DNA3000DNA3000 Posts: 19,018 Guardian
    CoatHang3r wrote: »
    Okay so. Think of it like this with the math explained by Miike.

    Previously normal crits ignored 20% of 27% armor = 21.6 armor
    Now normal crits ignore 20% of 27% armor = 7% armor

    This means when comparing PS pre 12.0 it ignored more armor making its crits much larger than average crits, but now when compared the difference is much smaller because there is less armor to ignore after the normal crit. This makes 12.0 PS crits appear to be less under 12.0. Which is why it's important to compare pre 12.0 to post 12.0 and not just look at how small the increase is after 12.0.

    Are there reliable references for PS crits pre and post 12.0? What's the difference?

    Yes, that's basically how I understand it to work. Although I also believe this math change also affected Pure Skill itself. There was a post someone dug up from Kabam Socon that implied Pure Skill used to also work proportionately:

    r996qv6n2pdm.png

    I believe that is the basis for Kabam saying Pure Skill is "stronger" in 12.X: it went from proportional to subtractive just like your example math for the normal crit armor ignore. But if there's less armor to ignore, just getting numerically stronger doesn't necessarily convert into a real benefit.

    So armor is lower. Criticals are intrinsically stronger at bypassing armor. Pure Skill bypasses more armor per tier. The net effect is often, Pure Skill "runs out of things to do."

    However, some players have stated that even in super-high armor situations where effective armor is in the range of 70%, Pure skill still does incrementally small damage at high tiers. That's a separate problem I cannot explain without detailed testing.
  • Options
    GroundedWisdomGroundedWisdom Posts: 36,380 ★★★★★
    edited May 2017
    DNA3000 wrote: »
    CoatHang3r wrote: »
    Okay so. Think of it like this with the math explained by Miike.

    Previously normal crits ignored 20% of 27% armor = 21.6 armor
    Now normal crits ignore 20% of 27% armor = 7% armor

    This means when comparing PS pre 12.0 it ignored more armor making its crits much larger than average crits, but now when compared the difference is much smaller because there is less armor to ignore after the normal crit. This makes 12.0 PS crits appear to be less under 12.0. Which is why it's important to compare pre 12.0 to post 12.0 and not just look at how small the increase is after 12.0.

    Are there reliable references for PS crits pre and post 12.0? What's the difference?

    Yes, that's basically how I understand it to work. Although I also believe this math change also affected Pure Skill itself. There was a post someone dug up from Kabam Socon that implied Pure Skill used to also work proportionately:

    r996qv6n2pdm.png

    I believe that is the basis for Kabam saying Pure Skill is "stronger" in 12.X: it went from proportional to subtractive just like your example math for the normal crit armor ignore. But if there's less armor to ignore, just getting numerically stronger doesn't necessarily convert into a real benefit.

    So armor is lower. Criticals are intrinsically stronger at bypassing armor. Pure Skill bypasses more armor per tier. The net effect is often, Pure Skill "runs out of things to do."

    However, some players have stated that even in super-high armor situations where effective armor is in the range of 70%, Pure skill still does incrementally small damage at high tiers. That's a separate problem I cannot explain without detailed testing.

    My question is, could it be in comparison to how it used to perform? If the perception is that it is doing small Damage, is that relative to what it should be doing now, or what it used to do. Without seeing specifics, it's hard to tell. Not that I discredit the feedback. Just have no data to base it on.
  • Options
    TroncTronc Posts: 25
    DNA3000 wrote: »
    CoatHang3r wrote: »
    Okay so. Think of it like this with the math explained by Miike.

    Previously normal crits ignored 20% of 27% armor = 21.6 armor
    Now normal crits ignore 20% of 27% armor = 7% armor

    This means when comparing PS pre 12.0 it ignored more armor making its crits much larger than average crits, but now when compared the difference is much smaller because there is less armor to ignore after the normal crit. This makes 12.0 PS crits appear to be less under 12.0. Which is why it's important to compare pre 12.0 to post 12.0 and not just look at how small the increase is after 12.0.

    Are there reliable references for PS crits pre and post 12.0? What's the difference?

    Yes, that's basically how I understand it to work. Although I also believe this math change also affected Pure Skill itself. There was a post someone dug up from Kabam Socon that implied Pure Skill used to also work proportionately:

    r996qv6n2pdm.png

    I believe that is the basis for Kabam saying Pure Skill is "stronger" in 12.X: it went from proportional to subtractive just like your example math for the normal crit armor ignore. But if there's less armor to ignore, just getting numerically stronger doesn't necessarily convert into a real benefit.

    So armor is lower. Criticals are intrinsically stronger at bypassing armor. Pure Skill bypasses more armor per tier. The net effect is often, Pure Skill "runs out of things to do."

    However, some players have stated that even in super-high armor situations where effective armor is in the range of 70%, Pure skill still does incrementally small damage at high tiers. That's a separate problem I cannot explain without detailed testing.

    All of this still doesn't explain the gigantic difference in damage holding all other masteries constant. There is something that is not being explained to us.
  • Options
    CoatHang3rCoatHang3r Posts: 4,965 ★★★★★
    There is a gigantic difference? I thought the absence of a gigantic difference was why people saw a problem...
  • Options
    C0atHang3rC0atHang3r Posts: 78
    The damage difference is hugely noticeable. I hope kabam does right by those who spent to get r5 ps.
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    DrZolaDrZola Posts: 8,762 ★★★★★
    If armor reduction is max at 3/5, then just make it a 3 point mastery. Otherwise, add something else at points 4 and 5--sustained armor reduction...armor loss...heavy bruising and soreness. Anything.

    DZ
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    RiegelRiegel Posts: 1,088 ★★★★
    R4 & 5 are the majority of the cost for the mastery. That cost would need to be compensated.
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