Question on stat "to hit chance"

[MythTrip]

Many better pieces of armor have the stat "-5% to hit chance". I assume this means that an enemy has -5% chance to hit me. Or does it mean that I have -5% chance to hit an enemy?

[bobsson]

The latter. Weapon-based characters should get enough +% to hit to more than make up for it, but mage spells can fail if your % to hit is too low (i.e. don't put heavy armor on your mage)

[MythTrip]

That is annoying. You want to have a sense that you're getting better equipment. Do all heavy armor items reduce hit chance??

[bobsson]

Originally posted by MythTrip:

That is annoying. You want to have a sense that you're getting better equipment. Do all heavy armor items reduce hit chance??

There's one or two exceptions, I think, but for the most part, they do. On the other hand, there's some really nice robes and light armor later on, too. So "better" doesn't mean heavier for spellcasters.

It also doesn't go beyond -20%, IIRC, and even with that, your fighters should hit most of the time anyway.

There's a full list of every armor in the game here[spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com]

[solomonhume]

Originally posted by bobsson:

The latter. Weapon-based characters should get enough +% to hit to more than make up for it, but mage spells can fail if your % to hit is too low (i.e. don't put heavy armor on your mage)

Actually, melee characters have more problem hitting than spellcasters. Because they wear heavier armor and the dual wield penalty.
Mage spells do not fail due to encumbrance. You either cast successfully, or not able to at all.

Originally posted by MythTrip:

That is annoying. You want to have a sense that you're getting better equipment. Do all heavy armor items reduce hit chance??

Most of them do. The hit penalty for body armor is worth it. For those offer a tiny more protection, like greasers, it is not.

In this game, you characters will have less than 95% (cap) hitting chance against bosses until the final third or quarter of the game.

[Berahlen]

Also the difference between your level and your target's applies a direct modifier to your hit chance (as well as most damage numbers). On higher difficulties, the level difference penalty dominates pretty much everything else that gets applied to your hit chance -- you're basically not going to be able to reliably hit anything more than a level or two above you, if that.

[bobsson]

Originally posted by solomonhume:

Originally posted by bobsson:

The latter. Weapon-based characters should get enough +% to hit to more than make up for it, but mage spells can fail if your % to hit is too low (i.e. don't put heavy armor on your mage)

Actually, melee characters have more problem hitting than spellcasters. Because they wear heavier armor and the dual wield penalty.
Mage spells do not fail due to encumbrance. You either cast successfully, or not able to at all.

Each point of Strength (for melee), Dexterity (for ranged), or Intelligence (for spells) gives you +5% chance to hit (any attack can miss). The spell failure cutoff is on top of that, although where it is depends on whether you've picked up the Swordmage trait.

[solomonhume]

Originally posted by bobsson:

Originally posted by solomonhume:

Actually, melee characters have more problem hitting than spellcasters. Because they wear heavier armor and the dual wield penalty.
Mage spells do not fail due to encumbrance. You either cast successfully, or not able to at all.

Each point of Strength (for melee), Dexterity (for ranged), or Intelligence (for spells) gives you +5% chance to hit (any attack can miss). The spell failure cutoff is on top of that, although where it is depends on whether you've picked up the Swordmage trait.

You are wrong. Swordmage does not affect your spell in any way if you can cast at all. Each level of swordmage allow additional 10% encumbrance still be able to cast mage spells.

[bobsson]

Originally posted by solomonhume:

Originally posted by bobsson:

Each point of Strength (for melee), Dexterity (for ranged), or Intelligence (for spells) gives you +5% chance to hit (any attack can miss). The spell failure cutoff is on top of that, although where it is depends on whether you've picked up the Swordmage trait.

You are wrong. Swordmage does not affect your spell in any way if you can cast at all. Each level of swordmage allow additional 10% encumbrance still be able to cast mage spells.

That's what I was saying. The level of armor you can wear before your spells just fail (which is based on Swordmage) doesn't have any impact on whether your spells hit or not. The percentage chance to miss once you've cast the spell is affected by what armor you're wearing, and Swordmage doesn't help with that.