Damage Calculation

This page is an overview of how the damage amount of a damage instance is calculated. It covers armor and attack types, damage types, armor rating, ethereal units, minimum damage and abilities, that directly modify damage.

Damage Instances

Damage instances are all instances that deal damage. Each damage istance consists of the damage source, the damage target and the damage amount. This page covers how the real damage is calculated from the damage amount of the damage instance. Damage Instances are usually created by:

• Attack instances and their attack damage
• Damaging effects of abilities

Armor and Attack types

Main Article: armor and attack types

Every damage instance (created by an attack instance) has exact one attack type and every unit has exact one armor type. The combination of the attack type of the damage instance and the armor type of the damaged unit evaluates to a damage modificator.

Damage Types

In warcraft there are a lot damage types, but only very few people actually know them. Damage types affect, if a unit is damaged by a damage instance and if the damage is reduced by armor and some abilities. The most important damage types are:

• Normal (Physical)
• Magic
• Universal

The combination of attack type and damage type determines, if ethereal units are damaged. For more information read: Ethereal

Normal

All attacks in warcraft 3 have damage type normal. Even attacks with attack type magic have damage type normal. Normal (damage type) damage is reduced by armor rating. This damage type is also referred to as physical damage.

Enhanced Physical

Enhanced physical damage is similar to normal damage, but it is not reduced by armor.

Magic

Most spells in warcraft 3 have damage type magic. Magic damage (damage type) is not reduced by armor rating. Spell immune units take no damage from magic damage (damage type).

Universal

Universal damage is not reduced by armor rating and also affects spell immune units. Most damaging ultimates have damage type universal.

Armor

Main Article: Armor

Armor reduces damage taken from physical damage.

Ethereal

Main Article: Ethereal

Ethereal units are immune against physical attacks and abilities, but are more vulnerable to magic and spell damage.

Minimum Damage

Damage cannot be reduced below 1. However this will not increase damage that is originally below 1 damage.
This is important for Disease Cloud, as it will also deal 1 damage to heroes, even though hero armor would usually reduce the damage to 0.7.

Abilities

There are some abilities, that modify damage:

• Spirit Link
• Mana Shield
• Defend
• Elune's Grace
• Hardened Skin

Hit Point Reduction

Main Article: Hit Points

After the damage is calculated it is substracted from the current amount of hit points of the attacked unit. If a unit has less then 0.405 hit points, it will die.