Damage Avoidance

Template:Under Construction Template:Infobox Effect Damage Avoidance is a percentage combat attribute that changes the chance of using your Dodge skill during an an attack OR receiving a Glancing Blow. It can be modified by magic, items, and innate abilities.

Detailed Explanation of Damage Avoidance

Higher damage avoidance increases your chance of getting a glancing blow during a physical attack. If you receive a glancing blow, you take 1/3 of the usual damage (in other words, it reduces the damage you take by 66%). For Damage Resistance, the reduced damage applies to every physical attack you receive. Whereas for damage avoidance, the reduced damage only applies only if you are able to achieve a glancing blow.

Example: lets say you have a high damage avoidance, and an enemy generates 400 points of damage, but you get the glancing blow. You will take 133 points of damage (400 x 1/3). So, for creatures that hit for 100's or 1000's of damage, it may be better to maximize damage avoidance (rather than Damage Resistance). In the examples using a 400 point hit, the player who prioritized damage resist took 375 points of damage, whereas the player that prioritized damage avoidance took only 133 points of damage (assuming the player got the glancing blow).

Since Damage Resistance applies to every physical attack you receive, it can greatly reduce the damage you take over time, and is especially helpful when you receive many attacks that are doing low damage (such as attacks doing 50 damage or less). For creatures that hit for hundreds or thousands of points of damage per attack, damage resist tends to reduce the damage you take by a small fraction of the overall damage. So, when fighting bosses, it may be better to concentrate on raising Damage Avoidance & dodge. Template:Query effect grid listing