Damage types and reoccuring mechanics
Lastly a short section on Damage Types and their symbols. The game does not know elemental damage types like fire, ice, lightning and so on, but it has several categories. A few on them have symbols attached which are good to know for tanking:
Yellow numbers represent your attacks that did not land a crit.
Your attacks that were performed from a position with Combat Advantage have a sword symbol. Attacks from a position with Combat Advantage deal more damage. Additional Effects sometimes can not be affected by Combat Advantage. These attacks do not have a sword symbol even if you have Combat Advantage!
Orange numbers represent your attacks that did land a crit. They have additionally an orange flash symbol next to the number. If the crit was performed from a position with Combat Advantage then the sword symbol is unfortunately only overwritten with the flash symbol.
Your deflected attacks have a reflected arrow as a symbol instead. Deflect attacks deal less damage.
These are the basic symbols. They may appear in various forms together:
Combat Advantage + Critical Strike
Combat Advantage + Deflected
Critical Strike + Deflected
Combat Advantage + Critical Strike + Deflected
Incoming damage uses the same convention. However their color changes to forms of red.
and so on.
Attacks that do unavoidable damage have a skull image instead. Unavoidable damage can not be dodged or in any other way avoided. They can be blocked though. The skull symbol overwrites the Combat Advantage symbol, the Crit Symbol and the deflected symbol.
Blocked hits (or shielded hits by a barrier) have a blue color and shield symbol instead. The shield symbol overwrites all other symbols!
Blocked hits that break your shield (and deal additional damage shown in another value) have an orange color and a broken shield symbol instead.
For completeness: Healing values are represented in green numbers. Critical heals have a flash symbol.
These were the categories which have a symbol attached. There are other additional properties an attack can have. Here is a short uncomplete list:
Attacks categorized in the category of Melee or Ranged Damage attacks
Physical, Magical and Projectile Damage attacks
attacks that deal damage based on your Maximum Hit Points (Crown of Keldegonn ...)
attacks that ignore all your defensive stats (Crown of Keldegonn)
...
Worth to note are the following four recurring mechanics also teached in the advanced training:
The Soak mechanic represented by a circle with 5 arrows on a player: This means that the damage is shared among all people. Group up and if you have it do not run away from the party unless you want to die.
The Tracking mechanic shows a red double arrow above the head with a red filled circle below the feets of a player: This means that no damage is shared and all people in the red circle will take the damage. If you have it, run away from the other people.
The Gaze mechanic represented by an eye. You don not want to look into it unless you want to clean Nostura's curse.
The Shattered Armor mechanic shows a red double arrow above the head with a red filled circle below the feets of a player: This means that no damage is shared and all people in the red circle will take the damage. If you have it, run away from the other people.
Last updated