Combat

Damage formulas, armor mitigation, and crowd control rules

Combat

A quick reference for how damage, mitigation, and crowd control interact during engagements.

Damage Resolution

Outgoing damage is calculated from a hero’s Attack stat, modified by talents, runes, and any active buffs or debuffs, then reduced by the target’s Defense stat before being applied to Health.

  • Critical hits apply a damage multiplier (commonly 150–200% depending on Critical Damage runes) on top of the base hit.
  • Armor shred effects (such as Theia’s Celestial Volley) reduce a target’s effective Defense for a duration, increasing damage taken from all sources — not just the hero who applied it.

Crowd Control

Crowd control (CC) effects — stuns, freezes, chills, and roots — interrupt actions and movement. Most CC effects have diminishing returns against the same target in quick succession, preventing permanent lockdown chains.

  • Chill reduces movement and attack speed without preventing actions.
  • Freeze fully immobilizes a target and can be detonated for bonus damage by effects like Elara’s Shatterstorm.
  • Stuns (e.g. Garwood’s Earthshatter) prevent all actions for their duration.

Execute & Burst Mechanics

Several heroes have execute-style talents that scale damage against low-health targets (e.g. Kregg’s Executioner’s Call). These thresholds typically trigger below 30–40% target health and reward focus-fire on priority targets rather than spreading damage.

Stealth & Detection

Stealth (such as Bakir’s Veil of the Mirage) grants true invisibility for a limited duration. True sight effects and detection auras can reveal stealthed units — Garwood’s aura is a notable example referenced in hero counter tables across our guides.