Arena of Valor (AoV) - Easy to Understand Damage Tables (Pierce, Critical, etc.)

Easy to Understand Damage Tables

It can sometimes be difficult to understand all the numbers being thrown at you when you’re playing Arena of Valor. One might think, for example, that an item with +100 armor will negate an item with +100 attack when this is hardly the case. We’ve gone over how to calculate damage in AoV before, but just a quick reminder:

• Increasing your armor number increases your armor percentage
• That armor percentage is multiplied by the opponent’s attack damage and subtracted from the total
• Pierce reduces the armor number, not the armor percentage
• Critical hits double the damage dealt unless you have Slikk’s Sting (250%) or specific Arcana equipped.

Calculating how much damage you’ll do based on every situation can be a pain in the neck, so we’ve created some handy tables for you to look over when you’re deciding whether to buy an item with pierce, critical %, or straight attack damage.

Armor Pierce

The table below displays how much damage you’ll inflict on an opponent given your attack value and their armor value. The numbers in the red background represent a character’s total attack damage, ie. their base attack plus the attack damage from any items. The numbers in the dark background represent the total armor and the armor percentage. Note that all damage in Arena of Valor is rounded down to the nearest 1.

Armor suffers from diminishing returns the more armor you accumulate (without getting into concepts like Effective HP). However, the extra armor can have a big impact if your opponent starts buying items with pierce. For example, a level 15 hero with Rankbreaker equipped can make a huge dent (armor starts at 200 in this case because armor can’t drop below 0 in Arena of Valor):

*The +100 attack of Rankbreaker is included in these numbers and not added after the fact (the same is true for any items listed from now on)

The value of Rankbreaker is pretty apparent here: a hero with 600 attack, Rankbreaker included, deals the same amount of damage to an opponent with 400 armor as a hero with 800 attack and no effects. However, the value of Rankbreaker’s pierce effect drops as the opponent’s armor increases. Therefore, Rankbreaker has the most value when your opponent has a lot of squishies or heroes who haven’t chosen any armor-increasing items.

But what about Muramasa, whose pierce effect is percentage-based? Well, let’s take a look:

First things first: Muramara’s effect doesn’t subtract 40% from the Armor% value. Instead, it subtracts 40% of the total armor number of the defender, making it much more effective against players who have accumulated a lot of armor. Still, Muramasa’s value as a tank-buster is clear: an opponent at 1200 armor will suffer a roughly 12% decrease in armor against Muramasa, versus just 5% against Rankbreaker. A bit of math will show that the cutoff point where the two pierce for the same amount is at (250 / 0.4) = 625 armor.

TL;DR: Buy Muramasa against opponents with high armor counts, and Rankbreaker against opponents with low armor counts.

Just for fun, let’s see what happens when we combine the two:

Unfortunately, the Rankbreaker effect is calculated first, followed by the Muramasa effect, because all percentages are calculated last in Arena of Valor. Something pretty interesting happens here: if you compare the Muramasa table to the “both” table, Rankbreaker’s 250 armor pierce drops to 150 across the board. Some simple math verifies this outcome: 60% x (armor amount – 250) = 60% x armor amount – 150. So you’re essentially losing out on 100 armor pierce if you combine the two, meaning you’re better off buying one and thinking of a better alternative for the other.

(Update: there are some cases where you’ll want Muramasa if you already have Rankbreaker, if the opposing team is really stacking armor. In that situation, we recommend buying Muramasa and pre-ordering Fenrir’s Tooth to replace Rankbreaker once you have enough gold)

Critical Damage

Let’s move on to critical damage, starting off with the darling of marksmen, Claves Sancti. The left red column is the player’s attack damage, while the right red column is the average damage dealt given 30% critical chance and 200% damage on critical hits:

Here we see the power of critical hits. Though the values above can never be achieved (you either get a critical hit or you don’t), these averages compare very well to that of Rankbreaker and Muramasa. Setting other effects aside, the 30% critical chance on a normal critical hit gives more average damage at higher armor counts than Rankbreaker, and more average damage at lower armor counts than Muramasa.

The biggest takeaway here (in my opinion), though, is the importance of effects like critical chance and armor pierce. Before even considering the extra stats of these items, their effects alone allow damage dealers to up their damage oftentimes by hundreds, depending on the armor counts. Once you start combining the effects (which we’ll do at the end of this article), it really starts to hurt.

Abilities

Let’s take a look at a couple abilities now, starting with Violet’s Tactical Fire. A level 6 Tactical Fire deals 475 damage plus 1.15 times Violet’s AD, meaning the damage of Tactical Fire ramps up greatly with damage-enhancing items and Arcana:

Keep in mind that this table excludes the second shot – which also has greater range – so the damage is a bit underestimated. Still, at an easily-achievable 600 AD, Violet deals 699 damage to an enemy with 400 armor, which is pretty painful.

Next, we’ll switch over to magic damage to see what Krixi can do with one hit on a level 6 Mischief, which deals 696 + 1.0 AP damage (numbers in red background are ability power):

Magic-based items deliver a lot more ability power than attack-based items provide attack damage (to make up for not affecting normal attacks or being able to crit, among other reasons). Therefore, the “1422” figure in the bottom left is a reasonable amount of damage you could deal to opposing squishies from 1200 units away.

For fun, let’s take a look at what kind of damage Krixi can do with every mage’s best friend, Hecate’s Diadem. The minimum amount of ability power you’ll possess with this delicious item is 270, because again, percentages are calculated at the end. Further, Hecate’s Diadem gives 75 pierce, which is why this table looks so convoluted. Initial ability power is the left red column, the new ability power (+35%) is the right red column, and the four dark columns show how the magic defense is reduced:

That 1422 from before is now 1866, roughly one third the HP of many marksmen and mages at level 15. Ouch.

Putting it Together (Tactical Fire Really Hurts)

Finally, let’s equip Violet with a few items at level 15 and see how much damage she can do with a single Tactical Fire plus the subsequent normal attack since she retains the same enhanced range. I’ve gone with the classic pairing of Claves Sancti and Slikk’s Sting, for that juicy 50% critical chance dealing 250% damage, then added Rankbreaker to clear some of that armor off. Total price: 6110 gold. With no Arcana, that puts Violet at 611 attack damage, displayed in the left red column. The first row displays the damage for 0 crits, the 2nd row 2 crits, and the third row the average damage dealt with two attacks.

(Remember that critical damage on a Tactical Fire-enhanced attack is calculated by multiplying critical damage% by Violet’s AD up to 1.0. So a critical hit on Tactical Fire in this case is 475 + 2.5 * AD + 0.15 * AD = 475 + 2.65AD. More information on how to calculate critical damage on specific heroes’ abilities.)

That’s an average of roughly 2200 damage on your average squishy target, all from 1100 units away on a 4.5 seconds-or-lower cooldown. Oof. No wonder she’s Tier S.

Conclusion

I’ve laid out these points throughout the article, but just to reiterate:

• Rankbreaker is best until 625 armor, at which point Muramasa pierces more
  • It’s not a good idea to buy both, as you’ll lose out on 100 armor pierce (though purchasing Muramasa when you already own Rankbreaker can sometimes be necessary. The opposite – buying Rankbreaker after you already have Muramasa – is almost never advised)
• The 30% critical chance from Claves Sancti provides comparable damage to the armor pierce from Rankbreaker and Muramasa at all armor levels
• Mages who build for ability power rather than survivability really hurt if you don’t have magic defense
• Heroes with abilities that enhance basic attacks can choose both armor pierce and critical chance items to boost their abilities (and not just attack damage). Violet can abuse this more than most, as she can crit twice off a single Tactical Fire, but here are more examples of heroes with crazy crit possibilities:
  • Crits on Wukong’s abilities multiplies the full damage, including the amount listed in God of War (330-540 depending on level)
  • All the damage from Slimz‘ passive and 2nd ability is included in his crit damage, meaning that with Slikk’s Sting he can do 3.25 AD + 325 splash damage on third attacks after Leap of Vitality
  • Valhein’s 3rd attacks deal magic damage, which means he crits off his AD for magic damage
  • Every arrow from Yorn’s Burst Shot can crit (albeit at .7 AD)

This is likely just part 1 of our table-based teaching on Arena of Valor damage, so check back often for updates, or follow our Twitter or Facebook accounts!

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