Real Life Highscore

So I’ve decided to create a new series which will consist of a few short videos that explain the theory behind the various game mechanics in Diablo 3.

The goal of these videos is to explain (using words, not math) the ins and outs of how your character interacts with the game world. It will be simple and enlightening.

 Today’s video is all about Damage reduction.

A lot of people have asked me, “Hwaygo, whats the difference between physical resistance and armor?”. Well the short answer is; nothing. The long answer is; they are completely different!

As you get further into Diablo 3 damage mitigation becomes more and more important. By getting more armor and resistances you increase your chances of survival. Once you reach inferno difficulty damage mitigation becomes your highest priority. If you don’t build a decent amount of armor and resistance you’ll find yourself re-spawning every 5 minutes.

Armor has changed.

Everyone I’ve spoken to seems to be confused about why physical resistance is in the game. If you built a warrior with lots of armor he would be susceptible to magic attacks, but able to take any physical punishment. If you want your character to be able to handle elemental attacks you would have to get elemental resistance. However in Diablo 3 we have this new thing called “physical resistance”. Whats the point of having essentially the same stat with two different names?

Well in actual fact armor works a lot differently in Diablo 3 than it does in almost every other RPG game. Your armor and resistance stack onto each other. When you get down into the details it can become quite complicated.

In this video I explain (and attempt to simplify) how armor and resistances interact with your character.

If you’d like to learn more about the math of damage reduction here is a really good thread on Armada gaming that explains everything.

If anything is unclear please feel free to ask in the comments.

 – John “Hwaygo” Pansini