Edited by Eric Fagnan, 12 March 2012 - 05:21 PM.
Gameplay Data and Mechanics
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Eric Fagnan
, Mar 12 2012 05:04 PM
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#1
Posted 12 March 2012 - 05:04 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Hey everyone, I'll try to compile all developer posts on gameplay mechanics here so it's easier to find. If you see any posts that should belong here, send me a private message.
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#2
Posted 12 March 2012 - 05:18 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Power Combos
The damage of power combo explosions depends on the rank of the source and detonator power, not the stats of the power. So if you combine a rank 6 Pull with a rank 6 Throw, you will get maximum combo damage. Whether you use Throw or Warp to detonate doesn't really matter, except when that power has special upgrades to increase the damage of combos. Even if Warp, by default, does more damage than Throw on a regular impact, this does not affect how much damage is done on power combos - only the rank of the power matters.
This applies for the other combos as well. Using a rank 6 Incinerate to set up a fire combo and detonating with a rank 6 Throw will cause maximum damage. Using a rank 1 Incinerate with a rank 6 Throw does the same damage as using a rank 6 Incinerate followed by a rank 1 Throw, which is less than having max rank in both powers.
The power upgrades for increasing combo damage (ex: Warp rank 4 bottom choice) applies to both setting up and detonating the power, but only some powers can set up combos. So for Warp, that upgrade will increase the damage when setting up and when detonating. Throw doesn't set up combos so its combo upgrade only applies to detonating. These upgrades do stack, so if you have both the Warp and Throw upgrades, setting up with Warp and detonating with Throw will apply both bonuses.
All 4 combos (Biotic, Fire, Cryo, Electric) have different radius, damage, force, and other effects. The Fire combo, for example, does the most damage, while Cryo is fairly low damage but has the added benefit of freezing nearby enemies. Biotic and Electric are in the middle for damage, but are easier to do because the target doesn't have to die when detonated.
The combo damage is done after the normal power impact. So if you detonate with Warp, Warp will do its normal damage and then the combo damage is added.
Power bonuses from gear and passive powers (like +10% power damage) do not affect power combos; however, power combos do what we call "normalized" damage, meaning they scale with enemy health. So even on the hardest difficulty where enemies have more health, the power combos still do the same % damage to the enemy.
This makes them scale really well with difficulty, which makes up for them not scaling in other ways like getting power upgrades from other sources.
Power combos do not cause other power combos. So if you create a biotic detonation near an enemy in Stasis, the detonation won't cause another power combo.
A power can only detonate a single combo every time it is cast. So if you have AoE Throw and you hit 2 targets both in a singularity, only one of them will get detonated.
Henchmen do the same amount of damage as the player when it comes to power combos, so it doesn't matter who set up or detonated the combo. The only thing that matters is what rank the powers were.
Discussion thread about power combos:
http://social.biowar...3/index/9629730
The damage of power combo explosions depends on the rank of the source and detonator power, not the stats of the power. So if you combine a rank 6 Pull with a rank 6 Throw, you will get maximum combo damage. Whether you use Throw or Warp to detonate doesn't really matter, except when that power has special upgrades to increase the damage of combos. Even if Warp, by default, does more damage than Throw on a regular impact, this does not affect how much damage is done on power combos - only the rank of the power matters.
This applies for the other combos as well. Using a rank 6 Incinerate to set up a fire combo and detonating with a rank 6 Throw will cause maximum damage. Using a rank 1 Incinerate with a rank 6 Throw does the same damage as using a rank 6 Incinerate followed by a rank 1 Throw, which is less than having max rank in both powers.
The power upgrades for increasing combo damage (ex: Warp rank 4 bottom choice) applies to both setting up and detonating the power, but only some powers can set up combos. So for Warp, that upgrade will increase the damage when setting up and when detonating. Throw doesn't set up combos so its combo upgrade only applies to detonating. These upgrades do stack, so if you have both the Warp and Throw upgrades, setting up with Warp and detonating with Throw will apply both bonuses.
All 4 combos (Biotic, Fire, Cryo, Electric) have different radius, damage, force, and other effects. The Fire combo, for example, does the most damage, while Cryo is fairly low damage but has the added benefit of freezing nearby enemies. Biotic and Electric are in the middle for damage, but are easier to do because the target doesn't have to die when detonated.
The combo damage is done after the normal power impact. So if you detonate with Warp, Warp will do its normal damage and then the combo damage is added.
Power bonuses from gear and passive powers (like +10% power damage) do not affect power combos; however, power combos do what we call "normalized" damage, meaning they scale with enemy health. So even on the hardest difficulty where enemies have more health, the power combos still do the same % damage to the enemy.
This makes them scale really well with difficulty, which makes up for them not scaling in other ways like getting power upgrades from other sources.
Power combos do not cause other power combos. So if you create a biotic detonation near an enemy in Stasis, the detonation won't cause another power combo.
A power can only detonate a single combo every time it is cast. So if you have AoE Throw and you hit 2 targets both in a singularity, only one of them will get detonated.
Henchmen do the same amount of damage as the player when it comes to power combos, so it doesn't matter who set up or detonated the combo. The only thing that matters is what rank the powers were.
Discussion thread about power combos:
http://social.biowar...3/index/9629730
Edited by Eric Fagnan, 13 March 2012 - 08:16 PM.
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#3
Posted 20 March 2012 - 04:57 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Weapon Penetration and Armor Piercing
The penetration mechanic (going through walls) has no impact by itself on the amount of damage a weapon does against armored enemies (the yellow health bar). The Javelin, for example, has a penetration value of 100 = 1 meter so it can penetrate through a total of 1 meter of solid objects but it doesn't do extra damage to the yellow armor health bar. The Javelin will, however, penetrate through other solid objects like the detachable armor plating on the Brutes, Husks, and Cannibals, and the Guardian shield. Whenever a weapon hits a target after going through a solid object, the amount of damage done is reduced by a flat amount.
The weapon mods, equipment (MP), and Armor Piercing Ammo can all increase the distance that weapons can penetrate through solid objects. So if you add a penetration mod on the Javelin, the penetration distance gets even larger, but that won't increase the damage done to enemies after penetrating through objects.
The penetration mods and Armor Piercing Ammo have another mechanic called 'piercing' which affects the damage done to armored targets. By default, enemies with the yellow armor bar will chop off a set amount of damage done to them from weapons. This makes low damage weapons less effective against armor and high damage weapons very effective against them. So even if a weapon has a really fast fire rate but each bullet does a low amount of damage it will get penalized for hitting armor since a big chunk of every bullet's damage is ignored. When equipping penetration mods and using Armor Piercing Ammo, the weapon's "armor piercing" goes up, which means a lot less damage is cut off. For example, equipping rank 1 Armor Piercing Ammo will reduce the amount of damage that armor cuts off by 50%. By default, weapons do not have any base armor "piercing."
Armor can never negate weapon damage completely. There is a minimum damage value that weapons will always do to armor.
The penetration mechanic (going through walls) has no impact by itself on the amount of damage a weapon does against armored enemies (the yellow health bar). The Javelin, for example, has a penetration value of 100 = 1 meter so it can penetrate through a total of 1 meter of solid objects but it doesn't do extra damage to the yellow armor health bar. The Javelin will, however, penetrate through other solid objects like the detachable armor plating on the Brutes, Husks, and Cannibals, and the Guardian shield. Whenever a weapon hits a target after going through a solid object, the amount of damage done is reduced by a flat amount.
The weapon mods, equipment (MP), and Armor Piercing Ammo can all increase the distance that weapons can penetrate through solid objects. So if you add a penetration mod on the Javelin, the penetration distance gets even larger, but that won't increase the damage done to enemies after penetrating through objects.
The penetration mods and Armor Piercing Ammo have another mechanic called 'piercing' which affects the damage done to armored targets. By default, enemies with the yellow armor bar will chop off a set amount of damage done to them from weapons. This makes low damage weapons less effective against armor and high damage weapons very effective against them. So even if a weapon has a really fast fire rate but each bullet does a low amount of damage it will get penalized for hitting armor since a big chunk of every bullet's damage is ignored. When equipping penetration mods and using Armor Piercing Ammo, the weapon's "armor piercing" goes up, which means a lot less damage is cut off. For example, equipping rank 1 Armor Piercing Ammo will reduce the amount of damage that armor cuts off by 50%. By default, weapons do not have any base armor "piercing."
Armor can never negate weapon damage completely. There is a minimum damage value that weapons will always do to armor.
Edited by Eric Fagnan, 20 March 2012 - 05:40 PM.
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#4
Posted 20 March 2012 - 05:36 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Shield/Barrier Damage Gates
There is a new mechanic for shields and barriers in ME3, which we call the shield gate. Whenever an enemy shield/barrier is destroyed (last point taken off), the rest of the damage that passes through to the health/armor is cut by X%, where X is:
Single Player:
There is a new mechanic for shields and barriers in ME3, which we call the shield gate. Whenever an enemy shield/barrier is destroyed (last point taken off), the rest of the damage that passes through to the health/armor is cut by X%, where X is:
Single Player:
- 50% on Normal
- 75% on Hardcore
- 100% on Insanity
- 50% on Bronze
- 75% on Silver
- 75% on Gold
- 75% on Platinum
Edited by Eric Fagnan, 21 September 2012 - 05:28 PM.
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#5
Posted 07 August 2012 - 07:30 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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Resistance Damage Multipliers
Every weapon and power has a hidden damage multiplier on the 3 resistance types (Armor, Barriers, and Shields). Most of these are 100%, meaning they do normal damage to that resistance type. A value of 50% means half damage to that resistance type, and a value of 200% means double damage. Below are the multipliers for some of our weapons and powers.
Weapons
Acolyte Pistol (Armor=100%, Barrier=500%, Shields=500%)
ADAS Assault Rifle (Armor=100%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Krysae Sniper Rifle (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
M-358 Talon Pistol (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Reegar Carbine Shotgun (Armor=50%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Spitfire Assault Rifle (Armor=100%, Barrier=175%, Shields=175%)
Collector SMG (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
All other weapons not listed here have a value of (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Powers
Annihilation Field (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Arc Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Armor Piercing Arrows (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Barrier Detonation (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Charge (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Hammer (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Orbs (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Slash (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Cain Trip Mine (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Carnage (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=50%, Shields=50%)
Cluster Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Concussive Arrows (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Concussive Shot (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=400%, Shields=100%)
Dark Channel (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
Electric Slash (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Electrical Hammer (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Energy Drain (Base against organics) (Armor=50%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Energy Drain (Base against robots) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Flamer (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Hex Shield (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Incinerate (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=50%, Shields=50%)
Inferno Grenade (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Lift Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Nova (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Overload (Base against organics) (Armor=50%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Overload (Base against robots) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Reave (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
Sabotage (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=150%)
Shockwave (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Siege Pulse (Base) (Armor=135%, Barrier=135%, Shields=135%)
Smash (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Tech Armor Detonation (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=150%)
Warp (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
All other weapons not listed here have a value of (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Power Combos
Biotic Explosion (Armor=200%, Barrier=200%, Shields=100%)
Cryo Explosion (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Fire Explosion (Armor=200%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Tech Burst (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=200%)
Every weapon and power has a hidden damage multiplier on the 3 resistance types (Armor, Barriers, and Shields). Most of these are 100%, meaning they do normal damage to that resistance type. A value of 50% means half damage to that resistance type, and a value of 200% means double damage. Below are the multipliers for some of our weapons and powers.
Weapons
Acolyte Pistol (Armor=100%, Barrier=500%, Shields=500%)
ADAS Assault Rifle (Armor=100%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Krysae Sniper Rifle (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
M-358 Talon Pistol (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
N7 Typhoon Assault Rifle (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Reegar Carbine Shotgun (Armor=50%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Spitfire Assault Rifle (Armor=100%, Barrier=175%, Shields=175%)
Collector SMG (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
All other weapons not listed here have a value of (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Powers
Annihilation Field (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Arc Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=200%, Shields=200%)
Armor Piercing Arrows (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Barrier Detonation (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Charge (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Hammer (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Orbs (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Biotic Slash (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Cain Trip Mine (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Carnage (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=50%, Shields=50%)
Cluster Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Concussive Arrows (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Concussive Shot (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=400%, Shields=100%)
Dark Channel (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
Electric Slash (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Electrical Hammer (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Energy Drain (Base against organics) (Armor=50%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Energy Drain (Base against robots) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Flamer (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Hex Shield (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Incinerate (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=50%, Shields=50%)
Inferno Grenade (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Lift Grenade (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Nova (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Overload (Base against organics) (Armor=50%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Overload (Base against robots) (Armor=100%, Barrier=300%, Shields=300%)
Reave (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
Sabotage (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=150%)
Shockwave (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=150%, Shields=100%)
Siege Pulse (Base) (Armor=135%, Barrier=135%, Shields=135%)
Smash (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=150%, Shields=150%)
Tech Armor Detonation (Base) (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=150%)
Warp (Base) (Armor=150%, Barrier=200%, Shields=50%)
All other weapons not listed here have a value of (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Power Combos
Biotic Explosion (Armor=200%, Barrier=200%, Shields=100%)
Cryo Explosion (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Fire Explosion (Armor=200%, Barrier=100%, Shields=100%)
Tech Burst (Armor=100%, Barrier=100%, Shields=200%)
Edited by Eric Fagnan, 27 February 2013 - 06:21 PM.
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#6
Posted 21 September 2012 - 05:37 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Power Bonuses
Most of our power bonuses apply to the base value. The formula is:
Base value * (1 + Total Bonus) = Final Value
For example, Incinerate at rank 3 (20% damage bonus at rank 3) with a power damage bonus of 10% from your passive power will give:
325 * (1 + 0.2 + 0.1) = 422.5
For power recharge speed, we have a different formula:
Base value / (1 + Total Bonus) = Final Value
So for Incinerate at rank 3 (25% cooldown bonus at rank 2) with a cooldown bonus of +150% from your weapon loadout would be:
8 / (1 + 0.25 + 1.5) = 2.9 seconds
Most of our power bonuses apply to the base value. The formula is:
Base value * (1 + Total Bonus) = Final Value
For example, Incinerate at rank 3 (20% damage bonus at rank 3) with a power damage bonus of 10% from your passive power will give:
325 * (1 + 0.2 + 0.1) = 422.5
For power recharge speed, we have a different formula:
Base value / (1 + Total Bonus) = Final Value
So for Incinerate at rank 3 (25% cooldown bonus at rank 2) with a cooldown bonus of +150% from your weapon loadout would be:
8 / (1 + 0.25 + 1.5) = 2.9 seconds
#7
Posted 15 October 2012 - 11:15 PM
Eric Fagnan
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- BioWare Employees
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- 561 posts
Health and Shield Gates
We have two damage gates in the game. When your shields hit zero, for a small duration you become invulnerable to damage preventing any health damage from taking place. Similarly, when your health gets below 5% you become invulnerable to damage for a short time. The duration of these gates change based on difficulty and they are listed below:
Multiplayer
- Bronze 0.5 seconds
- Silver 0.25 seconds
- Gold 0.1 seconds
- Platinum 0.01 seconds
Singleplayer
- Narrative 1.0 second
- Casual 0.75 seconds
- Normal 0.5 seconds
- Hardcore 0.25 seconds
- Insanity 0.1 seconds
There
is also a cooldown on both gate mechanics, preventing you from becoming invulnerable too often. You can only get the benefits of the shield gate once every 4 seconds, and once every 3 seconds for the health gate. This means that if your shields hit zero on Bronze, for example, you become invulnerable for 0.5 seconds, but if your shields get restored through a Geth Turret, a Volus Shield Boost, Stim Pack, or some other means, and your shields go down again after the 0.5 second window and within 4 seconds you will not get a second window of invulnerability.
None of the health and shield gate values or mechanics have changed since we shipped the game.
The following enemy attacks ignore the player health and shield gate mechanics, which means they can instantly kill you.
- Any sync kill
- Enemy grenades
- Possessed Abomination explosions
Some of our new multiplayer abilities, like the Volus Shield Boost (on the caster only), and Stim Pack, make the player invulnerable for a short duration after the cast, but this is separate from the shield gate mechanic.
We have two damage gates in the game. When your shields hit zero, for a small duration you become invulnerable to damage preventing any health damage from taking place. Similarly, when your health gets below 5% you become invulnerable to damage for a short time. The duration of these gates change based on difficulty and they are listed below:
Multiplayer
- Bronze 0.5 seconds
- Silver 0.25 seconds
- Gold 0.1 seconds
- Platinum 0.01 seconds
Singleplayer
- Narrative 1.0 second
- Casual 0.75 seconds
- Normal 0.5 seconds
- Hardcore 0.25 seconds
- Insanity 0.1 seconds
There
is also a cooldown on both gate mechanics, preventing you from becoming invulnerable too often. You can only get the benefits of the shield gate once every 4 seconds, and once every 3 seconds for the health gate. This means that if your shields hit zero on Bronze, for example, you become invulnerable for 0.5 seconds, but if your shields get restored through a Geth Turret, a Volus Shield Boost, Stim Pack, or some other means, and your shields go down again after the 0.5 second window and within 4 seconds you will not get a second window of invulnerability.
None of the health and shield gate values or mechanics have changed since we shipped the game.
The following enemy attacks ignore the player health and shield gate mechanics, which means they can instantly kill you.
- Any sync kill
- Enemy grenades
- Possessed Abomination explosions
Some of our new multiplayer abilities, like the Volus Shield Boost (on the caster only), and Stim Pack, make the player invulnerable for a short duration after the cast, but this is separate from the shield gate mechanic.
Edited by Eric Fagnan, 15 October 2012 - 11:17 PM.
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