spell damage?

[Alizan]

Hello,
When I cast a fireball sometimes I see red larger numbers and other times I see white low numbers. What is happening here? Also if I crit what color will that be?

One more q. On ddo wiki it says these spells have spell resistance. Does this mean that I have to do a SR check before it will cause damage? Don't understand this either.

Tks.

[Oran_Lathor]

Red numbers means they failed their saving throw (spell does full damage).

White numbers means they passed their saving throw (spell does 1/2 damage).

If you crit the number will still be red. Also, I believe the crit numbers will be red whether the mob saves or not, though it will still take only half damage on a passed save.

Other times you'll see yellow numbers which mean the mob is resistant to that damage type, or purple numbers which mean the mob is weak against that damage type. Yellow and purple over-ride red and white.


Spell resistance in DDO only works on non-damage spells. When using direct damage spells you needn't worry about SR at all.

[Alizan]

Thanks Oran. So is it a good idea to get an evocation item since they seem to be saving lots? I have max intelligence for my level and they still save lots with fireball. Don't seem to save much with lightning.

[Snike]

With fire ball vs. lightning bolt, You should see the same amount of saves as they are both reflex saves, unless you mean lightning ball vs fire ball... the there is a difference in the saving throw because of the spell level difference.

[Oran_Lathor]

It's not a bad idea to have an evocation item. I carry foci for all schools (stormreaver's napkin is great for this). But keep in mind that some monsters will have (improved) evasion. For example, throwing any spell that has a save for half damage at a hobgoblin archer in GH will result in white numbers. That's because they have improved evasion, even if they fail their save they only take half damage, if they pass they take none. Like all spells, you have to pick your targets.

[Kaldais]

There is also a green number, if you see it, it means that monster just got healed by that amount/type of damage.