Pierce Question

[Realpandemonium]

Pierce Question

After a cursory combing of the stickies and a forum search, I failed to find the answer to my question:

Do skills like immolation arrow trigger if the missile goes through the target due to pierce?

 

[LiftedUp]

Re: Pierce Question

I'm answering off the top of my head here, but as long as the arrow pierces and then passes the chance to hit check on the next target, I'd assume all effects would carry over. In effect, it's as if a new arrow/bolt/jav/knife were fired at the next target.

The only issue would really be the chance to hit check, but as long as your AR's solid, I guess it'd be fine.

 

[Realpandemonium]

Re: Pierce Question

To clarify: will, say the poison nova from plague javelin or the pyre from immolation arrow trigger on each enemy that the missile passes through or will it trigger only if the missile stops on the target?

 

[droid]

Re: Pierce Question

There's no functional difference between a piercing hit and a non-piercing hit, so it should trigger every time. Thats how it works for LF, after all.

 

[VoX Dei]

Re: Pierce Question

There's no functional difference between a piercing hit and a non-piercing hit, so it should trigger every time. Thats how it works for LF, after all.

It works the way LiftedUp described. LF and bow skills do not work exactly the same way. LF has autohit, whereas arrows have AR based cth.

Explosion damage is always applied on impact, regardless of whether or not the arrow that delivers it hits or not. However, the arrow needs to hit in order to pierce so that it can go on to collide with another target and apply explosion damage on impact again.

An Amazon with 95% chance-to-hit and 100% pierce has approximately 81.5% chance of hitting and piercing four times, potentially applying explosion damage five times.

 

[NASE]

Re: Pierce Question

There's no functional difference between a piercing hit and a non-piercing hit, so it should trigger every time. Thats how it works for LF, after all.

That true.

However, there can be some confusion as it used to be bugged. Probably somewhere around 1.09, yet we all know how good some people are at digging up old stuff.


P.S. Has it ever been confirmed that you need a physical hit. I can't remember any of the frost maiden/megazon guides mention this, so it doesn't seem like a problem.

 

[onderduiker]

Re: Pierce Question

The explosions of Exploding and Freezing Arrow and the explosion and fire of Immolation Arrow are always applied on impact, regardless of whether or not the arrow that delivers them hits or not. However, the arrow needs to hit in order to pierce so that it can go on to collide with another target and apply explosion damage and fire on impact again. Explosions and fires will be applied to every target with which the arrow collides i.e. if the arrow successfully hits and pierces four times, explosions and fires can be applied up to five times.

There's a display bug whereby if the arrow's chance-to-hit fails but its chance to pierce succeeds, the arrow will appear to pierce and apply explosions and fires. However, these arrows, explosions and fires are purely graphical and apply no damage or modifiers, something that's most apparent with Freezing Arrow: targets beyond the radius of the explosion applied by the failed hit won't be damaged or frozen (assuming the targets aren't Immune to Cold and they don't have 0% chill effectiveness, of course), even if they appear to be hit by a 'piercing' arrow and its explosion(s).

The only auto-hit Bow and Crossbow Skill is Guided Arrow, which doesn't pierce. Lightning Bolt and Fury are also auto-hit, and Lightning Bolt cannot be blocked (although an Amazon's Avoid or Evade and an Assassin's Weapon Block are still effective in duels). The poison clouds of Poison and Plague Javelins don't require a hit to apply their poison damage, but the javelins themselves still need to hit in order to apply their damage and modifiers, and pierce.

Note that there's also a bug with the +% to Attack Rating of the Bow and Crossbow Skills and Poison and Plague Javelins, which isn't applied to the arrows, bolts and javelins (even though the character screen calculates AR and chance-to-hit as though they were). Fortunately, +% AR from other sources (e.g. Penetrate) is applied.

 

[catsmeow]

Re: Pierce Question

Note that there's also a bug with the +% to Attack Rating of the Bow and Crossbow Skills and Poison and Plague Javelins, which isn't applied to the arrows, bolts and javelins (even though the character screen calculates AR and chance-to-hit as though they were). Fortunately, +% AR from other sources (e.g. Penetrate) is applied.

Oh crap. Is this bug in Diablo 2 Classic as well?

I am in the process of making a FA zon in hc, and was planning to only have 103 dex and only 1 pt. in penetrate. But if the +%AR from FA doesn't work, then I am screwed, as I can't really afford to give up a bunch of stat/skill points in dex/penetrate .

 

[Horsy]

Re: Pierce Question

Oh crap. Is this bug in Diablo 2 Classic as well?

Yes it is, for some time yet, but if you have high CTH (90-95%) you'll almost neglect it as it will then ''wanna pierce'' only some 5-10% of the time (assuming 100% pierce)

 

[catsmeow]

Re: Pierce Question

Yes it is, for some time yet, but if you have high CTH (90-95%) you'll almost neglect it as it will then ''wanna pierce'' only some 5-10% of the time (assuming 100% pierce)

Thanks for the response Horsy, but I'm not sure I understand.

The issue is that I *won't* have a high chance to hit with my Frozen Arrow because of the AR bug, no?

 

[Thirteenth]

Re: Pierce Question

Shortly: Yes

try it ingame

 

[Horsy]

Re: Pierce Question

Quote:
Originally Posted by Horsy View Post
Yes it is, for some time yet, but if you have high CTH (90-95%) you'll almost neglect it as it will then ''wanna pierce'' only some 5-10% of the time (assuming 100% pierce)
Thanks for the response Horsy, but I'm not sure I understand.

The issue is that I *won't* have a high chance to hit with my Frozen Arrow because of the AR bug, no?

Yes and No. The ''frozen'' part of frozen arrow will hit always (that is the cold splash) only the ''arrow'' part needs AR (important for final-pierce-chance). It could be better but it still is good enough.

I added to onderduiker regarding ''wanna pierce bug'' where you see graphical pierces all over the place but the game performs different action. This display bug can be neglected in so much that if you have really high AR above 90% CTH (regardles of what is displayed in LCS, manually calculated) you will then pierce really -server side-
A negligible amount of some 5-10% of all the arrows will always be displayed like they have pierced through even though they didn't but then you won't just think how you pierce very well but will -truly- pierce most of the time. (assuming you have 100% pierce chance) And i thought that nice to notice

Luckily, Amazons have been given penetrate skills naturally ; )

 

[phor]

Re: Pierce Question

Since the OP's question has already been answered, this is just an aside to the rest of the discussion:

On the topic of plague javelin, since poison cannot stack is there really any advantage to piercing with it other than to slightly widen the poison area?