Strike Order

From DDwiki
Revision as of 09:21, 19 February 2014 by Flap (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

The strike order defines the sequence in which the player and its opponent will hit each other. That order is mainly important the final blow (the blow that will kill the monster), to determine whether he will have the chance to hit the player before dying.

Normal strike order

The basic rules are :

  • Higher or same level opponents strike the player first, unless the player has first strike
  • Lower level opponents strike after the player (so they won't be allowed to hit the player for the blow that will kill them)
  • A player with first strike will hit an opponent first, unless that opponent has first strike too (such as goblins and gorgons)

Detailed order

Many parameters do impact the strike order is. Here is the sequence from the highest priority to the lowest :

  1. Gorgon (player class) death gaze ability, Assassin swift hands, and reflex potion
  2. Monster with First Strike (including monster death gaze)
  3. Player with First Strike
  4. Normal Attacks
  5. Monster Slowed
  6. Player Slowed (this is a rare edge case)

As a result :

  • If one combatant has a higher attack speed than the other, that combatant strikes first. A player with both a bonus and a penalty to attack speed has a normal attack speed; a monster with both has a slow attack speed.
  • If both combatants have a fast attack speed or both have a slow attack speed, the monster attacks first.
  • If both combatants have a normal strike speed, then the combatant with the higher level attacks first, or in the case of a tie, the monster attacks first.

Special cases

Effect combinations

The slowing and accelerating effects can be combined, altering the strike order. The platemail, which slows the player is good example. Such a player should in theory allways strike last, however :

  • First strike ability (either from the GETINDARE glyph or Rogue class feature) cancels out player slow, resulting in normal striking speed. (he only takes a one-step drop (first strike to regular strike) rather than a two step drop (first strike to slow strike))
  • Swift hands always preempts monsters even if the Assassin is slowed
  • The question with the combination of slowed player using GETINDARE against an higher level slowed monster is still opened..

Reflex potion

The Reflexes trait (obtained as a temporary buff from a Reflexes potion) improves the player's attack speed in the same way as First Strike. However, if the player attacks first, then three attacks occur: first the player, then the monster, then finally the player again. If the monster attacks first, then only two attacks occur: first the monster, then the player.

Retaliation

Effects that depend on the player being hit take effect after the monster hits. For instance, if a Sorcerer has the first attack against a monster, then the sequence is as follows: the Sorcerer hits the monster normally, then the monster hits, then the monster takes damage from Mana Shield. So, if you are relying on the Mana Shield damage to finish off the monster, remember that he will hit you...

In the case you are casting Glyph: BURNDAYRAZ BURNDAYRAZ on a monster that has Trait: Retaliate: Fireball Retaliate: Fireball), if you strike first and kill the monster, the monster has no chance to retaliate.