>I want to hit like a truck! How do I hit like a truck?

In an earlier post I briefly talked about damage. In this one I will go over every detail and hopefully shine some light on the different damage sources and how they each contribute to the eventual damage number you see when you tickle an enemy.

Word of caution: **Math** will be involved..

# The order of things

Before going into the details, I first want to delineate the order in which damage is calculated.

**1.** Your **base damage**;

**2.** Your **critical hit damage;**

**3.** (In case of skills) Your **skill damage**;

**4.** (If in effect) The **Mysterious Liquid** multiplier;

**5.** (When wearing *Death's Touch)* Your **Death Blow** damage.



Simple, right? I'll add some examples later to help clarify. But first..

# Base Damage

I'll try and keep this as readable as possible..

`(10 + (flat damage from bow) + (flat damage from trial skill))`

`multiplied by`

`(1 + 0.01 x (dexterity + 0.5 x strength + Sadist damage bonus))`

`multiplied by`

`(1 + 0.01 x ((% damage from trial skill) + (% damage from achievements)))`



I expect an example is in order..

# Some Examples

Unless you're a math-nerd like me, this has probably left you confused, so here are some examples.

# > Larry's Direct (arrow) Damage

* Enemy: 1000 life;
* Death blow applied on hit;
* Mysterious Liquid applied;
* Stats: 40 strength, 100 dexterity, 100% critical chance, 300% critical damage;
* Short bow rank 10 (10 base damage);
* Flat damage from trial skill: 2;
* Percentage damage from trial skill: 50%;
* Sadist damage bonus: 15%;
* Achievement damage bonus: 25%;

1. **Base damage** = `(10 + 10 + 2) x (1 + 0.01 x (100 + 20 + 15)) x (1 + 0.01 x (50 + 25)) = 227.392` 

2. Applying **critical**: `227.392 x 300% = 682.176`

3. (Not applicable)

4. **Mysterious Liquid** applied: `682.176 + 25% = 852.720`

5. **Death Blow** applied: `852.720 + (1000 x 12.5%) = 977.720`

So there you have it: The enemy (having 1000 life) will take **978** damage from your arrow, leaving just 22 life. Poor enemy.

# > Exploding Potato Damage

* Stats from the previous example stay in place;
* Exploding potato rank 20 (252% damage).

1. **Base damage** = `227.392`

2. Applying **critical**: `682.176`

3. Applying **skill damage**: `682.176 x 252% = 1719`

4. **Mysterious Liquid** applied: `1719 + 25% = 2148.75`

5. (Not applicable)

And that's how skill damage is calculated. 

# Dexterity vs Luck

If you really want to optimise this, you'll need to plug in your numbers for **base damage** and **critical damage**. There's a **tipping point\*** where adding more dexterity will have diminishing returns.

So ask yourself the question: "Will adding 5 dexterity have more impact than adding 5 luck?"

Also ask yourself the question: "Do I care enough?"

Add 1 dexterity and 1 luck. Which gave you the biggest damage increase? Dump points into that attribute for a while.

\*Without the **Ninja ascension skill**, any critical hit chance over 100% is ignored, so the tipping point would be at that limit and all remaining points should go elsewhere.

# Questions?

(Yes, this took me a long time to write)

The 'How' of Damage