Modifier

For item properties, see Item Affix.

Modifiers change the magnitude of statistics. Some common modifiers include life, mana regeneration, weapon damage, attack/cast speed, movement speed, and attributes. Modifiers can come from the passive tree, items, and other sources.

Modifier scope and stacking

All modifiers are either local or global.

Modifiers are applied in this order:

1. Local flat modifiers
2. Local percentage modifiers
3. Global and skill flat modifiers
4. Damage conversion
5. Global and skill multiplicative modifiers
6. Global and skill percentage modifiers

Local, global, and skill

Local modifiers are found exclusively on items. They are only effective when the item itself is being used; for example, a local modifier on a weapon in one hand will not affect attacks made with a weapon in the other hand. Confusingly, a modifier may be local on one type of item but global on another. Local modifiers include the following:

Accessories (amulets, rings, belts):

• None

Armours (shields, helmets, body armours, boots, and gloves):

• Added or increased defenses
• Shield block chance
• Socketed gem levels

Flasks:

• All mods

Weapons:

• Added accuracy
• Attack speed
• Attribute requirements
• Critical strike chance
• Damage (all types)
• Socketed gem levels

All other modifiers are global and affect the entire character, subject to types. For example, increased defenses from shield would only affect the portion of defenses that come from your shield. However, it is a global modifier despite only affecting a single item.

Modifiers from skills are treated the same as global for purposes of computing a skill's effects, though they only apply to that particular skill. When support skills are linked to an active skill, all modifiers from all the linked skills apply to all aspects of the skill. For example, the increased Fire damage modifier from a quality will affect any fire damage dealt by the skill it is linked to, even the fire damage that is not added by the support itself.

Flat, percentage, and multiplicative modifiers

Flat modifiers usually (but not always) use the word adds or additional. They stack additively with other flat modifiers of the same scope. If they are applied to statistics that are expressed as a normal number, they do not have a percentage sign. If they are applied to statistics that are expressed as a percentage (e.g. additional chance to block), they have a percentage sign, and the percentage is added, not multiplied. For example, 10% additional chance to block on a base of 30% chance to block would result in a 40% chance to block, not a 33% chance to block. Confusingly, all resistance modifiers are flat, even if they say increased.

Percentage modifiers have percentage signs and use the words increased or reduced. They stack additively with other percentage modifiers of the same scope. For example, two global modifiers of 100% increased produces a total of +200% increased (3x).

Multiplicative modifiers have percentage signs and use the words More or Less. They stack multiplicatively with other multiplicative modifiers of the same scope. For example, two global modifiers of 100% More (2x each) produces a total of +300% More (4x).

Quality

Quality acts as a local increased physical damage modifier on weapon, a local increased defenses modifier on armours, and a local increased item quantity modifier on maps.

Flask

Flasks have a nonstandard modifier structure. Amount to Recover, Recovery Speed, Recovery Rate, and quality are all applied in independent steps. These are still subject to local and global scope.

Modifier applicability

Each modifier has a set of types determining which statistics it is applicable to. Some modifier types are subtypes of other modifiers. Modifiers of the supertype will affect statistics of the subtype but not vice versa. Many modifier types are associated with a skill keyword; however, the relationship between the two is not strict. For example, Molten Strike has the Melee keyword, but its projectiles do not do Melee damage, and has the Attack keyword, but the charge detonation does not do Attack damage.

Some words have special meanings:

• If only one type is used, or the word and is used, it is effective on statistics that are any of the listed types. For example, armour and energy shield would affect all armour from all sources as well as all energy shield from all sources.
• If a modifier lists several types without the word and, it is only effective on statistics that are all the listed types. For example, elemental damage with maces would not affect non-elemental damage with maces, nor elemental effects other than damage with maces, nor elemental damage not dealt with maces.
• If the word while is used in conjunction with an item type, the modifier is effective globally whether the statistic applies directly to the item or not. For example, while wielding a staff would apply to spells as well, even though spells are not cast using the staff.
• If the word with is used in conjunction with an item type, the modifier is effective only when that item is being directly used. For example, with claws would only affect attacks made with the claws themselves.

Converted statistics count as both the type converted from and converted to, but can only be affected by a particular modifier at most once.

Modifier types

These lists are non-exhaustive.

Statistic types

All modifiers specify which statistic they apply to.

• Area
• Attributes
  • Dexterity
  • Intelligence
  • Strength
• Chance to block
• Chance to dodge
• Damage
• Defenses
  • Armour
  • Evasion
  • Energy Shield
• Duration
• Life
• Mana
• Movement speed
• Speed

Damage modifier types

All damage is of exactly one damage modifier type, unless converted or added from another damage modifier type, in which they keep their previous damage modifier type(s) in addition to their new damage modifier type. Note that effects on the target, including resistances and reflect, are applied based on only the final damage type.

• Chaos
• Elemental
  • Fire
    • Burning
  • Cold
  • Lightning
• Physical

Source types

Mines, traps, and totems use skills as if the player had used them. Otherwise, all sources have exactly one source type and do not take on the source type of their creator. For example, if a Mine creates a Trap, the Trap is not affected by Mine modifiers even though it was created by one.

• (Player): Unless otherwise specified, modifiers affect the player and skills used by the player.
• Mine
• Minion
  • Specific minion type
• Totem
• Trap

Effect types

All effects have at most one effect type. Most effects are either Attacks or Spells. Damage over time is a separate effect type. Some effects are none of these three, mostly those having to do with detonations: Bear Trap, , Vaal Detonate Dead, , Infernal Blow, and monsters with Volatile Blood.

• Attack
  • Weapon
    • One-handed melee weapons
      • Specific weapon
    • Two-handed melee weapons
      • Specific weapon
  • Melee (note that this is not a supertype of melee weapons)
    • Unarmed
• Cast
  • Spell
    • Curse
• Damage over time
  • Burning

Other types

• Buff
  • Aura
• Projectile
  • Bow
• Skill effect
• Status effect
  • Ignite
  • Freeze
  • Chill
  • Shock
• Stun
  • Block (recovery)

Diminishing marginal utility of “increased” modifiers

Because increased modifiers are additive, the increase of total value by adding more and more 8% increased nodes becomes less effective. If you have 100 base Life, adding 8% increased life is worth a total of 8 health points or 8% of your total life. If you have 100 base life and 250% increased life, adding 8% increased life is still worth a total of 8 health points, but this only accounts for 2.3% of your total life.

Case 1

Total Life before 8% node = 100

Total Life after 8% node = 100 * (100 + 8 )/100 = 108

Increase in flat HP = 108 -100 = 8

Increase in % = 8/100 = 8%

Case 2

Total Life before 8% node = 100 * (100 + 250)/100 = 350

Total Life after 8% node = 100 * (100 + 250+8 )/100 = 358

Increase in flat HP = 358 - 350 = 8

Increase in % = 8/350 = 2.3%

Multiple “Less” and “More” modifiers

“less” and “more” modifiers are applied multiplicatively as shown above. 30% “Less” Damage and 30% “more” Damage does not equal 100% Damage, but rather 91% Damage. To Counteract 30% Less Damage you need 42,8% “more” Damage.

apply 30% LESS dmg to a value of 100

100 * (100-30)/100 = 70

apply 30% MORE dmg to the result of the reduction

100 * (100-30)/100 * (100+30)/100 = 91

find MORE multiplier to result in no dmg loss after a LESS multiplier is applied

100 * (100-30)/100 * (100+x)/100=100

100 * 70/100 *(100+x)/100 = 100

70* (100+x)/100 = 100

70/100*x = 100 - 70

x = 30/70*100

x = 42.8

However, multiple sources of „more“ multipliers greatly improve the damage.

50% “more” damage from level 1 concentrated effect, and 30% “more” damage from level 1 remote mine add up to:

100 * (100+50)/100 * (100+30)/100= 195

That is a 95% increase of the base damage.

Example

Imagine I have 100 life, and two passive skills that give "15% increased Maximum Life". These stack additively, so the result is

100 + (100 * .15) + (100 * .15), or

100 * (1 + .15 + .15) = 130 life

Now I equip an item that gives +40 life, and choose a passive skill that grants +20 life. The integer bonuses are applied first, so I end up with

(100 + 40 + 20) * (1 + .15 + .15) = 160 * 1.3 = 208 life

Now I choose two passive skills that gives "10% more Maximum Life". These are multiplicative, so they are applied separately.

(100 + 40 + 20) * (1 + .15 + .15) * 1.10 * 1.10 = 251.68 life

Note that if they were additive, the result would be

(100 + 40 + 20) * (1 + .15 + .15 + .1 + .1) = 240 life

Advanced Example

Showcasing increased modifiers from different sources and the effect of multiplicative modifiers. You are Witch using a level 10 Fireball Spell linked with a level 7 faster projectiles

Passive skills:

20% increased Elemental Damage with Spells

21% Increased Spell Damage

22% Increased Fire Damage

23% Increased Projectile Damage

24% Increased Fire Damage

8% Increased Elemental Damage

6% Increased AOE Damage

Modifiers from Equipment

15% Increased Spell Damage

16% Increased Fire Damage

Modifiers from linked Skills

13% Increased Projectile Damage

Case 1: Fireball + Faster Projectiles

Base average Damage: 85 – 128 = 106.5

Total Damage:

106.5 * (100 + “Passives”(20 + 21 +22 +23 +24 +8 +6) + “Items”(15 +16) + “Skills”(13)) /100 = 285.42

Case 2: Fireball + Faster Projectiles + a 12% Spell Damage Node

Total Damage:

106.5 * (100 + “Passives”(20 + 21 +22 +23 +24 +8 +6 +12) + “Items”(15 +16) + “Skills”(13)) /100 = 298.2

(That is a 4.5 % increase in total Damage: 298.2/285.42-1)

Case 3: Fireball + Faster Projectiles + lvl1 Concentrated Effect (50% More Damage)

106.5 * (100 + “Passives”(20 + 21 +22 +23 +24 +8 +6) + “Items”(15 +16) + “Skills”(13)) /100 * “Conc.Effect”(100+50)/100 = 428.13

(That is a 50 % increase in total Damage: 428.13/285.42-1)

Case 4: Fireball + Faster Projectiles + lvl20 LMP (30% Less Damage 38% increased Damage)

106.5 * (100 + “Passives”(20 + 21 +22 +23 +24 +8 +6) + “Items”(15 +16) + “Skills”(13+38)) /100 * “LMP”( (100-30)/100 = 228.12

(That is a 20.1 % decrease in total Damage: 228.12/285.42-1)

Case 5: Fireball + Faster Projectiles + lvl20 LMP + lvl1 Concentrated Effect (30% Less Damage 50% More Damage 38% increased Damage)

106.5 * (100 + “Passives”(20 + 21 +22 +23 +24 +8 +6) + “Items”(15 +16) + “Skills”(13+38)) /100 * “LMP”( (100-30)/100 * “Conc.Effect”(100+50)/100 = 342.18

(That is a 19.9 % increase in total Damage: 342.18/285.42-1)