Arena of Valor (AoV) - How Damage is Calculated in Arena of Valor

March 5, 2018 Taku Bou Arena of Valor (AoV) 7

An explanation of the formulas used to calculate damage values in Arena of Valor, including descriptions and exceptions to the rules for pierce, critical hits, and ability damage.

Update 3/3/2018: added items section and true damage/damage reduction section.
Update 2/13/2018: added counterargument to diminishing returns on armor, 3rd example on pierce, and the abilities section

Arena of Valor’s Damage Reduction Formula

Damage Reduction Formula

An understanding of how damage is calculated in game can give players a better sense of their capabilities in battle as well as the effectiveness of different items. We will use Violet to demonstrate some of the formulae Arena of Valor uses to calculate damage.

Damage is calculated by subtracting the enemy’s resistance from the attacker’s base damage. Armor and Magic resistance use the following formula:
Damage Reduction = Armor/(Armor + 600) or Magic Defense/(Magic Defense + 600)

Example

By looking at the stats section, you can see all heroes’ current stats. The second stat from the right is armor. The enemy Thane is currently at 259 armor. Violet’s Attack Damage is 172, attack being the second stat from the left and indicated by a sword icon. Using the previously mentioned formula, we can find exactly how much damage we will do when attacking.

Armor Value = 259/(259 + 600) = 0.3015 (30.15%)
Damage Reduction = 172 x 0.3015 = 51.86
Actual Damage = 172 – 51.86 = 120.14 (note: damage numbers are rounded down to the nearest 1)

We can see that this is correct in the image below.

Diminishing Returns?

The formula ensures that armor and magic defense have diminishing returns, as can be seen with the following examples.

If the defensive stat is 300:
Damage Reduction = 300/(300 + 600) = 33.33%

If the defensive stat is 600:
Damage Reduction = 600/(600 + 600) = 50%

If the defensive stat is 900:
Damage Reduction = 900/(900 + 600) = 60%

Since the amount of damage blocked per point drops as the point total increases, it’s better to have a mix of resistance items and HP boosts than focusing completely on a single thing.

Update: Though the percentage displayed shows diminishing returns, the effective HP of the hero goes up linearly when buying armor items, so take that into consideration as well when buying defense items.

Calculating Armor and Magic Defense Pierce

Armor and Magic Pierce

If the enemy hero has high Armor or Magic Defense, buy items that increase Armor Pierce or Magic Pierce.
For example, if you attack an enemy with 259 Armor (Damage Reduction: 30.1%) after buying an item that increases Armor Pierce by 60:

Enemy’s Armor = 259 – 60 = 199
New Damage Reduction = 199/(199 + 600) = 24.91%

And if you buy an item with +45% Armor Pierce:

Enemy’s Armor = 259 – 259 x 45% = 142.45
New Damage Reduction = 142.45/(142.45 + 600) = 19.19%

This formula also corresponds to damage dealt to towers and neutral monsters, each having their own defense stats.

If you buy two items, one with 60 raw damage pierce, and one with 45% pierce, the percentage is calculated from the reduced armor amount:

Enemy’s Armor = 259 – 60 – ((259 – 60) x 45%) = 109.45
New Damage Reduction = 109.45/(109.45+600) = 15.4%

Calculating Critical Damage

Calculation of critical damage:
Critical Damage = Actual Damage Dealt x 2

Some items and Arcana increase the amount of critical damage dealt. Using the item Slikk’s Sting as an example:
Critical Damage = Actual Damage Dealt x 2.5

Critical damage applies to buffs related to the attacker’s base AD, like Fenrir’s Tooth, but does not apply to damage buffs based on the opponent’s health, like Fafnir’s Talon.

Critical Damage does not apply to towers.

True Damage and Damage Reduction

True damage will ignore all armor or magic defense and deal the exact amount of damage listed in the description (unless you’re Maloch and you land a critical hit; see below). True damage will also penetrate any shields the opponent has, reducing their HP and not the shield amount.

The only exception to the true damage rule is when an ability or item description states that it reduces incoming damage. For example, Omen gains 50%-70% damage reduction with Untouchable, meaning even the amount of true damage taken is reduced. Similarly, Asterion’s Buckler reduces the damage from all sources, including true damage.

What About Abilities? Does Pierce Apply? Critical?

Normal (armor) pierce applies to all abilities that deal physical damage, while magic pierce obviously applies to abilities that deal magic damage. Critical damage, however, only applies to abilities that enhance attacks. Yorn, for instance, can crit on all of the attacks from his Fierce Shot passive (albeit at 70% normal damage) so investing in items and Arcana that enhance his critical chance and damage is a wise choice.

Most heroes who have an ability that enhance a basic attack only have the AD portion of their attack doubled. If the ability multiplier is greater than 1, then only the portion of AD up to 1 is multiplied. As an example, let’s take a look at Violet’s Tactical Fire:

Though Violet’s attack damage is multiplied by 1.15 when she uses Tactical Fire, a normal (200% damage) critical hit would only double up 100% of her AD, and not the remaining 15%. So a normal critical hit on Violet’s Tactical Fire at level 15 would deal AD x 2 + AD x .15 + 475 = 2.15 x AD + 475 damage, as opposed to doubling the AD multiplier or the entire damage amount.

Exceptions

Exceptions to the rule just mentioned are Jinnar (though his AD isn’t part of the ability that’s multiplied), Moren (just 25 damage extra), Slimz (passive and 2nd ability) and Wukong (passive). It is a particularly big deal for Wukong and Slimz: Wukong naturally picks up 540 extra crit damage at level 15 just off of his base kit, while Slimz’ critical damage stacks off both his passive and 2nd ability to deal 2.6AD + 260 damage on third attacks after using Leap of Vitality.

Crit and Deal Magic Damage

Currently, the only heroes who can crit and deal magic damage are Valhein (with his 3rd attack), Kahlii, and Jinnar (on his fourth spirit orb). Each of their passives have some peculiar nuances to them, which we’ve tested and listed on their attributes pages.

Crit and Deal True Damage

The only hero who can crit and deal true damage is Maloch, when Plunder is activated. Zanis is an example of a hero whose true damage portion does not multiply on a critical hit. A general (but not steadfast) rule is if the description says “additional damage,” then that damage does not multiply on a crit, while increasing the hero’s attack damage (eg. Tel’Annas or Slimz) allows for the full damage to multiply.

The same rule applies for life steal – any “additional” damage is not included in the calculation for life steal, while effects like critical hits and pierce are included.

Damage Rules For Items

Similar to abilities, any “additional damage” listed in items is not considered when calculating the damage from critical hits or including damage from attack-enhancing effects. For example, Fafnir’s Talon‘s passive is not included when calculating critical damage, and is also not part of the true damage Maloch deals when Plunder is active. In addition, the 8% damage is reduced by the opponent’s armor, meaning pierce will increase the additional damage dealt by Dragon’s Breath. Everything just mentioned applies to the unique passives of Shuriken, Omni Arms, Trick Blade, Apocalypse, and Frost Cape.

In contrast, Fenrir’s Tooth reads “Increases all damage,” meaning that the 30% bonus is included in all critical damage multipliers as well as Maloch’s Plunder. Hercules’ Madness functions in the same manner.

The one item whose functionality rests between the items above is Blitz Blade. The damage from Chain Lightning is treated as an entirely separate attack, meaning it can benefit from critical hits (and additional critical damage from Slikk’s Sting). Chain Lightning is subject to reduction due to the opponent’s armor, even when Plunder is active. It is possible to deal a critical hit with Chain Lightning and not with your normal attack, and vice versa.

Arena of Valor (AoV) Recommended Article List

▼ Popular Articles
Beginner's Guide	Hero Tier List
Hero Class Guide	Armory (Item List)

▼ Popular Articles
Beginner's Guide	Hero Tier List	Hero Class Guide	Armory (Item List)

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Leave a Reply Cancel reply

[)mytr(]
April 2, 2019 at 7:44 AM

Well, it’s a lot about damage per hit. But how is calculating damage per second (dps)?! I am searching internet second hour and cannot find base attack speed numbers (hits per second). Does heroes have the same or no? What about Elsu? Obviously, he has lower base attack speed, but how much lower?

Reply
Alan
September 29, 2018 at 2:29 AM

Does armor Pierce apply to shield..eg.like malochs,cresht n all have a shield in their abilities so if I buy spear of longivnus will the shatter passive apply to the shield they get also?

Reply
- dtwo
  September 30, 2018 at 11:05 PM
  
  Shields have the same armor amount as the hero it’s on, so yes.
  
  Reply
Sidiq NS
August 18, 2018 at 4:48 PM

liliana can crit magic damage

Reply
Sidiq NS
August 5, 2018 at 10:15 PM

gildur can crit magic damage

Reply
Domi
February 11, 2018 at 7:48 PM

“Armor Value = 259/(259 + 600) = 0.3015 (30.15%)”
where do you get this “600” from?

Reply
- dtwo
  February 14, 2018 at 10:00 PM
  
  It’s just the formula that Arena of Valor uses (read the above paragraph).
  
  Reply

HERO

GUIDES

SG Rating

Name	Effect	Unique Passive (Special Ability)
Short Sword	Attack Damage +20	None
Dagger	Attack Speed +10%	None
Gloves	Critical Chance +12%	None
Bloodied Club	Attack Damage +10 Life Steal +8%	None
Chain hammer	Attack Damage +40	None
Cleaving Claymore	Attack Damage +80	None
Arcane hammer	Attack Damage +25 Attack Speed +15%	Speed Up: Normal attacks increase movement speed by 10%.
Tempest Blades	Attack Speed +25% Movement Speed +5%	None
Astral Spear	Attack Damage +50	Armor Pierce +60
Shuriken	Attack Speed +25%	Vital Point: Normal attacks deal additional 20 physical damage (+1 per hero level) for melee heroes and 40 physical damage (+2 per hero level) for ranged heroes.
Uriel’s Brand	Attack Damage +100 Max HP +600	Magic Guardian: When hero’s HP falls below 40%, Uriel’s Brand grants +200 magic defense and summons a Shield that absorbs (500+hero’s level*100) magic damage for 5 seconds. 75-second cooldown.
Curse of Death	Attack Damage +100 Life Steal +10%	Soul Prison: On dealing damage, reduces target’s HP regeneration by 50% for 1.5 seconds. If this is triggered by normal attacks, the duration is extended to 3 seconds.
Death Sickle	Attack Damage +60 Cooldown Speed +5%	Divine Intervention: Prevents damage from a potential killing blow, then increases movement speed by 20% for 1 second. 90-second cooldown.
Spear of Longinus	Attack Damage +80 Cooldown Speed +15% Max HP +400	Shatter: Decreases target armor by 50 on hit for 5 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.
Fafnir’s Talon	Attack Damage +60 Attack Speed +30% Life Steal +10%	Dragon’s Breath: Normal attacks deal additional damage equal to 8% of target’s current HP.
Claves Sancti	Attack Damage +90	Upon landing a critical attack, grants bonus (30 + Level*2) movement speed for 2 seconds (only for Ranged). Critical Chance +25% , Increase critical damage by 50%
Muramasa	Attack Damage +75 Cooldown Speed +10%	Armor Pierce +45%
The Beast	Attack Damage +100 Life Steal +25 (physical and magic)	None
Omni Arms	Attack Damage +70 Attack Speed +15% Life Steal +10% Cooldown Speed +10% Max HP +500	Pentapower: After using an ability, the next normal attack within 5 seconds deals 100% more physical damage. 2-second cooldown.
Slikk’s Sting	Attack Speed +35% Critical Chance +25% Movement Speed +7%	Blessing of the Wind: Increase own resistance by 35 for 2 seconds after a critical hit
Fenrir’s Tooth	Attack Damage +200	Fenrir’s Tooth: Increases all damage dealt with 30% when the target’s HP is below 50%.
Blitz Blade	Attack Damage +50 Attack Speed +35% Life Steal +10% Movement Speed +5%	Chain Lightning: Every 4 seconds, the next normal attack triggers a chain lightning that deals 102 (+7 per level) magic damage. Each normal attack also carries Life Steal and reduces cooldown by 1 second on hit.
Devil’s Handshake	Attack Speed +30% Critical Chance +20% Movement Speed +5%	Flame Wrath: Normal attacks increase attack speed by 10% for 2 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times.
Rankbreaker	Attack Damage +110 Cooldown Speed +10%	Windwalk: Increases movement speed by 10% after exiting battle. Break: Increases armor pierce by 100 (+10 per level).
Spell Tome	Ability Power +40	None
Lapis Ring	Max Mana +300	None
Pendant of Faith	Mana +10 / 5 sec	None
Ancient Scriptures	Ability Power +80	None
Magic Ring	Cooldown Speed +10%	None
Enchanted Scroll	Ability Power +120	None
Trick Blade	Ability Power +60 Cooldown Speed +10%	Elemental Power: After using an ability, the next normal attack deals additional magic damage. 3-second cooldown.
Spoopy Mask	Ability Power +100	Magic Pierce +75
Phoenix Tear	Ability Power +60	From the Ashes: When the hero gains a level, 20% of HP and mana are restored over 3 seconds.
Virtue’s Bracelet	Ability Power +60 Cooldown Speed +5% Mana +20 / 5 sec	Soaring Spirit: Restores 20% mana after earning a kill or assist.
Vlad’s Impaler	Ability Power +90	Magic Life Steal +15%
Staff of Nuul	Ability Power +180 Cooldown Speed +10%	Magic Pierce +45%
Virtue’s Necklace	Ability Power +160 Cooldown Speed +10% Max Mana +300 Mana +30 / 5 sec	Soaring Spirit: Restores 20% mana after earning a kill or assist. Magic Pierce +75
Tome of the Reaper	Ability Power +240 Max HP +500	Soul Prison: On dealing damage, reduces target’s HP regeneration by 50% for 1.5 seconds. If this is triggered by normal attacks, the duration is extended to 3 seconds.
Boomstick	Ability Power +240	Explosion: Ability hits trigger a small-area explosion that deals 50 (+50% ability power) magic damage. 5-second cooldown.
Hecate’s Diadem	Ability Power +240	Warlock: Ability Power +35%