As I have noted on some occasions, I am in the process of writing a series of articles on battle mechanics, buffs and debuffs, diminishing returns (DR), and gear choices. Although most of the topics have been touched upon in other articles, sometimes partially, questions about how buffs, debuffs and DR work are still coming in almost daily. So to give you some idea of what the articles are gonna be about, here is a small preview:

• I. The basic Battle Formula

In this article I will start off with the most basic maths and theory behind combat mechanics, specifically the basic battle formula, dealing with the relation between life and attack, buffs and debuffs.

• II. Separating the Buffs

In the second article we are gonna go further and look a little bit into how the different buffs interact, multiplicative versus additive buffs, and how they effect our gear choices.

• III. Why your opponent does not matter

In the third article we will look at the common misconception that you need to take into account your opponent’s gear, and see why this is wrong. This will in the end give us the formulas needed to see how your gear scores.

• IV. Diminishing returns and how to deal with it

With the basic formula(s) established in the previous articles, we can look into diminishing returns, what exactly it is and how it impacts your gear choices. Math will be provided to make things very clear once and for all, as this topic keeps returning in questions and comments.

• V. Wrap-up (optional)

This article is still optional at the moment. If written, it will be a conclusion to the previous articles, and sum up how you ultimately chose your gear and calculate its effectiveness.

All in all, the individual articles might not be that long, but neatly separated into individual parts I think this should answer any and all questions concerning gear, buffs and debuffs, and diminishing returns. Stay tuned and I hope you will enjoy them.