Just putting this out there to note that I think that Blessed Blades (Templar specialisation active skill) has been fixed, although this wasn't mentioned in any patch notes. Tested this out with Cassandra in the Fallow Mire against Corpses - noticing significant boost in damage, even when outside of the circle. I think the vs. demon boost is only within the circle.
Anyone else notice this?
Great, I just replied to a post telling someone not to bother with Blessed Blades unless against demons.Just putting this out there to note that I think that Blessed Blades (Templar specialisation active skill) has been fixed, although this wasn't mentioned in any patch notes. Tested this out with Cassandra in the Fallow Mire against Corpses - noticing significant boost in damage, even when outside of the circle. I think the vs. demon boost is only within the circle.
Anyone else notice this?
Damn, my Female Human Battlemaster Templar is happy to have a reason to use Blessed Blades now.
15% Damage Boost from Blessed Blades + 35% Damage Boost from upgraded Horn of Valor is delicious.
Hmm... possibly undead count as demons. Certainly the demon-slaying rune affects undead as well as demons, and it's consistent with the lore.
So I guess it's still unconfirmed whether Blessed Blades buffs damage against non-demons. Still, it was previously thought that Blessed Blades was completely broken as a skill, and now I can at least be sure that it's working against demons. I also know that it USED to be broken, so my general feeling is that if they fixed it vis-a-vis demons, they probably fixed it in general.
I might sit down at some point and test it vs. non-demons... Western Approach maybe.
Undead should count as demons (they do for demon-slaying runes).
I thought Blessed Blades has always worked (the buff radius is just really small)? The description was just never clear that it only worked against demons.
I have more evidence that undead count as demons. Rifts. Some rare rifts here and there in select areas of the game actually spawn undead as part of their mob, and they must be defeated like everything else to close the rift. If a rift is spawning them, I'd say that counts them as a demon.
Meh. It's on my to-do list to take Cass down to the Storm Coast where bears reliably spawn and do some tests. I'll have to remember to strip all of the buffed gear off of Cass and just have her use some plain old weapon and armor. I'll report back here after I get that done.
Ive had to disable this ability because.. all cass does is stand in one place spamming it, never goes into combat.
Undead sometimes count as demons. Wrath of Heavens doesn't damage them nor does it stun them. It is the one thorn in the templar's heel IMHO and should be fixed (if it hasn't already).
Retour en hautfinal_damage = (base_damage * rand(0.95 to 1.05) - armor * (1 - armor_penetration))
* (ability_multiplier)
* (1 + critical_damage_bonus + flanking_bonus)
* (1 + attack_bonus + damage_multiplier + type_bonus)
* (1 - magic_resistance)
Base damage range, unmodified by BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.30)
= (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.3
= (14.378 to 22.035)
Base damage range, assuming 7.5% buff from BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.075) * (1 + 0.30)
= (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.3975
= (15.46 to 23.69)
Base damage range, assuming 15% buff from BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.15) * (1 + 0.30)
= (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.495
= (16.53 to 25.34)
All damage values are for auto-attacks with the sword. I did at least 20 hits per test setup.
Does Wrath of Heaven have any effect upon the undead in exalted plains?
Okay, I finally had some time to test out Blessed Blades with Cass vs a bear, decidedly not a demon.
TL;DR, I didn't see any difference in damage done with BB on or off, inside or outside of the circle, attacking as "caster" or companion. So I don't think anything was changed.
Patch 8, on PC
I stripped 26th level Cass down to plain, low-level armor and weapons, Templar Shield and Fereldan Captain Longsword (59 base damage). Cass's Attack% was 30. Cass also had 5% crit chance, so I ignored any damage numbers that were big and bold in the battle.
Accessories: Superb Amulet of Constitution (+10), Master Guard Belt (+40), Superb Ring of Attack +10%, Superb Ring of Life Drain (N/A). I went to the Storm Coast, near the mouth of the river, where bears reliably spawn. Bears were level 11, armor 45. I disabled the AI on my inquisitor (Rift Mage) and controlled Cass only.
Description of BB and expected effect
You rally all of your nearby allies to fight with greater strength, especially when facing demons.
Damage Bonus: 15%
Duration: 24 seconds
Cooldown Time: 24 seconds
Cost: 10 stamina
Upgraded to Lights in the Shadow
Attacking enemies while you're affected by Blessed Blades reduces the cooldown times of Spell Purge and Wrath of Heaven.
Expected effect - if BB works on all enemies, perhaps at half buff if not demons, there should be an increase to the range of damage done. Either 15% or 7.5% (theory) would apply. The actual damage would depend on other factors, as per the damage formula:
final_damage = (base_damage * rand(0.95 to 1.05) - armor * (1 - armor_penetration)) * (ability_multiplier) * (1 + critical_damage_bonus + flanking_bonus) * (1 + attack_bonus + damage_multiplier + type_bonus) * (1 - magic_resistance)Base damage range, unmodified by BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.30) = (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.3 = (14.378 to 22.035)Base damage range, assuming 7.5% buff from BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.075) * (1 + 0.30) = (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.3975 = (15.46 to 23.69)Base damage range, assuming 15% buff from BBfinal_damage = ((59 * rand(0.95 to 1.05)) - 45) * (1 + 0.15) * (1 + 0.30) = (11.06 to 16.95) * 1.495 = (16.53 to 25.34)All damage values are for auto-attacks with the sword. I did at least 20 hits per test setup.
Results: BB not active
Damage range: 14-22, median 20
Results: BB active, both bear and Cass in circle
Damage range: 14-22, median 20
Results: BB active, both bear and Cass outside the circle
Damage range: 14-22, median 20
All of those damage numbers are in line with predicted base damage.
Conclusion: BB has no effect on non-demons. Or at least, on bears.
I also tried my Rift Mage IQ with a level 1 fire staff, in and out of the circle, but didn't see any difference there either.
The one thing I did notice is that different blue status icons would show for Cass, depending on whether she was inside or outside the circle.
Inside, three icons would show: Blessed Blades, Wrath of Heaven, and one that looks like Maker's Will??
Outside the circle, only the BB icon was shown for Cass. That to me is a pretty clear indication that against demons, you don't have to be inside the circle to get the buff.
For the IQ (other party member), only the Maker's Will icon displayed while in the circle, nothing outside the circle. So the BB buff doesn't apply at all for party members? Or maybe does not apply outside the circle for party members? I did see that, about one out of every 20 hits, the bear would get WEAKENED status, so that seems to track.
Well, Champion for me, I guess (was planning on going Champion anyways, as went and got mages, not templars).
