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    ArchivumCombat Mechanics
    Combat Mechanics

    Resistances & Penetration

    Understand resistance caps, negative resistance, map-tier penalties, overcap, and penetration.

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    Fire, cold, lightning, and chaos damage are reduced by their matching resistance.

    Resistance formula

    Reffective=min⁡(Rcap,Runcapped)−PpenetrationR_{\text{effective}} = \min\left(R_{\text{cap}}, R_{\text{uncapped}}\right) - P_{\text{penetration}} Dtaken=Draw(1−Reffective)D_{\text{taken}} = D_{\text{raw}} \left(1 - R_{\text{effective}}\right)

    The normal cap is 75% for every resistance. Elemental maximum-resistance effects can raise the fire, cold, and lightning caps as high as 90%. Chaos remains capped at 75%.

    Penetration is subtracted after the normal cap is applied. Penetration cannot be negative.

    Negative resistance

    Map penalties can push resistance below zero. Negative resistance amplifies damage:

    Effective resistanceDamage taken from a 100 hit
    75%25
    50%50
    0%100
    -25%125
    -100%200

    Map-effective resistance is floored at -100%.

    Map-tier resistance penalty

    Tier 1 has no penalty. Every tier above 1 subtracts 4.5 percentage points from all four uncapped resistance totals:

    Pmap=min⁡(75%,4.5%(Tmap−1))P_{\text{map}} = \min\left(75\%, 4.5\%(T_{\text{map}} - 1)\right) Rmap=clamp⁡(Runcapped−Pmap,−100%,Rcap)R_{\text{map}} = \operatorname{clamp}\left( R_{\text{uncapped}} - P_{\text{map}}, -100\%, R_{\text{cap}} \right)
    TierPenalty
    10%
    5-18%
    10-40.5%
    15-63%

    Why overcap matters

    The penalty applies to the uncapped total before the cap is re-applied. Suppose the sheet shows 75% fire resistance:

    • with exactly 75% uncapped resistance, tier 10 produces 34.5%;
    • with 120% uncapped resistance, tier 10 still reaches the 75% cap;
    • with 100% uncapped resistance, tier 15 produces 37%.

    The hub sheet shows capped resistance. Deep-map survival depends on the hidden uncapped total behind that display.

    Penetration example

    A target has 90% fire resistance but a 75% cap. The attacker has 20% fire penetration:

    Rcapped=min⁡(75%,90%)=75%Reffective=75%−20%=55%Dtaken=Dfire(1−0.55)=0.45Dfire\begin{aligned} R_{\text{capped}} &= \min(75\%, 90\%) = 75\% \\ R_{\text{effective}} &= 75\% - 20\% = 55\% \\ D_{\text{taken}} &= D_{\text{fire}}(1 - 0.55) = 0.45D_{\text{fire}} \end{aligned}

    Penetration does not help defend against map penalties. It is an offensive stat applied to the target during damage resolution.