Summon Resist and its effect on Skeleton Damage

[Lord Nyax]

A friend of mine recently requested help building a Skelliemancer, which happens to be one of my specialties (long time fan of NightFish). However, after achieving level 85 with, shall we say, very good equipment (quite an understatement), he is convinced that Summon Resist affects Skeleton damage. I have tested this to a certain extent in Single Player, and, surprisingly, it seems to hold true. I was wondering if this is commonly known, or if it is even true at all. Any input would be appreciated.

[nickedoff]

Summon Resist shouldn't affect damage at all. Perhaps when you were testing it you alternated your character between normal and nightmare or hell. Skeletons have higher life and higher damage in higher difficulties.

[jag]

Possibly what you are seeing is your skelly's surviving longer with summon resist - hence causing more damage

Note - summon resist has a huge diminishing returns in putting alot of points in it. One hard point plus all the skiller points is usually enough to get them up over 60% easily

[Necrochild313]

This would be an interesting develpment if it was true, can you please post your individual testing methods/results?

[Lord Nyax]

Well, when presented with this, I came up with the same basic theories that you have. However, when I tested it, the damage didn't go up in the ways you have mentioned, but rather the actual damage per hit went up (indeed, I never actually went out to hit a monster at all). I used a level 33 Necromancer with no stats or skills placed (there is a glitch to achieve this) and maxed Raise Skeleton. I checked their damages (61-63 per hit), then proceeded to put as many points into Summon Resist as I had available. When Summon Resist was at level 12 or so, my Skeletons' damages had moved up to 67-69. Just to repeat myself, I have not actually tested this by attacking any monsters; I am simply taking what my skill tree says and repeating it ver batum.

EDIT: No, I did not move into Nightmare or Hell. This was strictly Normal.

[Mad Mantis]

I used a level 33 Necromancer with no stats or skills placed (there is a glitch to achieve this) and maxed Raise Skeleton. I checked their damages (61-63 per hit), then proceeded to put as many points into Summon Resist as I had available. When Summon Resist was at level 12 or so, my Skeletons' damages had moved up to 67-69.

First of all the LCS is not exactly known for its tendency to display the correct information.
Second, there is a known issue with unplaced skill points. If you have unplaced skill points the LCS and Skill Tree both show lower damage than the Skellies actually have.

[Lord Nyax]

I guess i'll have to test it in-game. I'm not quite sure as to how this could be accomplished though. Do the unplaced skill points affect the skeletons actual damage? I'd assume this wouldn't be a problem, and it would make the testing easier.

[Mad Mantis]

Do the unplaced skill points affect the skeletons actual damage?

They don't. All the unplaced skill points do is affect the LCS and Skill Tree screen. It doesn't alter their damage.

[Lord Nyax]

Okay. What I'll do is take my glitched level 33 Necromancer with no Skill Points placed and see how many hits it takes one skeleton to kill an Enslaved right outside of Harrogath. Then I'll place the remaining skill points into Summon Resist and see if it makes a difference. Maybe sometime I'll test it on Shenk because he has more life, so it would be a more accurate test.

Just one more question: Can Skeletons achieve a deadly-strike type of attack where they do double damage? That might affect my tests.

EDIT: I'm not quite sure what just happened there, but I think my computer somehow implemented an octuple click. Please delete all the extra posts if you don't mind, Mad Mantis.

[Mad Mantis]

Just one more question: Can Skeletons achieve a deadly-strike type of attack where they do double damage? That might affect my tests.

EDIT: I'm not quite sure what just happened there, but I think my computer somehow implemented an octuple click. Please delete all the extra posts if you don't mind, Mad Mantis.


That was a record. You posted the same message 14 times. Most people don’t get beyond a triple post. :clap:

Skellies do not get any kind of DS or CB attack. Just their normal damage.

[AnimeCraze]

14 times!? I thought the forum has something that does away with identical posts or something like that. Congraduations for making a record. :thumbsup:

[Lord Nyax]

Thanks for being understanding about the multi-post, and also for the input. I'm going to test this out tonight. I'll post my results later.

[Mad Mantis]

14 times!? I thought the forum has something that does away with identical posts or something like that. Congraduations for making a record. :thumbsup:

Normally we do have a kind of "flood protection" but there are cases of bad lag that will allow the simultaneous posting of several posts.

[Lord Nyax]

Normally we do have a kind of "flood protection" but there are cases of bad lag that will allow the simultaneous posting of several posts.

Which is exactly what happened. I haven't gotten around to testing this In-Game, but I plan to soon (my Winter Break is approaching quickly).

[Lord Nyax]

Ok, my test results are long overdue. Without further delay:
I've been testing the effects of Summon Resist on Skeleton Damage.
The Procedure:
1. Get a level 33 Necromancer with no Skill Points placed.
2. Max Raise Skeleton
3. Place a point into Clay Golem and Golem Mastery
4. Test how many hits it takes for one Skeleton to kill one Enslaved.
5. Place the remaining 10 points into Summon Resist.
6. Repeat Step 4.

My results are as follows: No, it doesn't make a difference.

However, before we dismiss this, I'd like to ask a question regarding this statement:Skellies do not get any kind of DS or CB attack. Just their normal damage.
I'd like to ask if you're utterly sure about this. To me it seems that right after I placed the points into Summon Resist, my Skeleton's damage doubled. However, after about five trials, I discovered that this "double damage" only happened about once in six hits or so. This seemed to me to be exactly what Critical Strike is, and I'm just wondering if: A) I'm mistaken; B) Skeletons can achieve a Critical Strike; or C) Placing points into Summon Resist allows them to achieve a Critical Strike.

Both A and C would seem similar if my test procedure were not copied, for the Chance to achive a Critical Strike would be 0% or very low. However, if they can achive a Critical Strike, then I need to repeat my tests and allow for that variable. Nonetheless, I do think that I will run a few more trials to see if my Conclusions are correct. Until then, I appreciate any input regarding my question.

[RTB]

Necroskellies do have a 5% chance for Critical Strike, just like any other monster or minion.

[Mad Mantis]

Necroskellies do have a 5% chance for Critical Strike, just like any other monster or minion.

Thought only the Golems got that.

[RTB]

Well, not all minions get Critical Strike, only these:
Necroskellie
Necromage
Clay Golem
Blood Golem
Iron Golem
Fire Golem

Decoy
Valkyrie

Ravens
Spirit Wolves
Fenris

Carrion Vine
Solar Creeper
Grizzly

Act5 Hireling

5% chance of course. For the valk the chances add.

[Necrochild313]

Interesting. Give the Necromage and Decoy Crit Strike but leave out the act 1 and act 2 mercs.

[Lord Nyax]

Ok, that explains it. I'll have to do a couple more tests then, adding that in as a variable.

It's more difficult than I thought it would be, because my glitched level 33 Necromancer cannot use the Frigid Highlands Waypoint, so Shenk isn't the useful testing object I thought he would be. Also, the Enslaved have too low life to really make a useful test. And finally, the Skeletons are more fragile than I would like, and I only want to use one so I can be sure I can count correctly.

All in all, an annoying way to test, but I really can't see getting a Ladder character to level 30+ with that many extra Skill points. However, it may come to that. I just hope not...

[nickedoff]

...

Why do decoy and solar creeper have crit strike?

They don't even do damage.

[lCE]

because its a Blizzard game. They seem to love doing illogical things.