Visual Guide to All Ability Classifications

Provides a comprehensive visual guide to all champions' ability classifications by champion class. The guide includes all abilities (ability damage and bonus damage), damage types, damage classes, and any noteworthy details.

Due to the inconsistencies in terminology used in Paladins, I have relabeled certain terms to help better classify and explain in-game results. Some of the terms used in this guide are not universal or officially-kept by Hirez, but used commonly enough to be self-evident.

All information from this guide is taken from in-game testing ONLY (Shooting Range, Custom Matches, 3000 hours of gameplay experience). As a result, I have found a number of mistakes/inconsistencies in the Paladins gamepedia + in-game Paladins champion descriptions--all of which I have noted under the Notes sections.

Image credits:
All images from Paladins resource bank: http://forums.paladins.com/showthread.php?27963-Paladins-Resource-Bank, either taken as is or edited in Photoshop.

guide v1.3, updated for patch 1.8

Classifications and Key

Perhaps the most integral aspect to Paladins as a hero shooter, damage is a metric that determines how lethal champions are and how fights are won. It's important to learn all the ability classifications, as this is the dominant way in which damage is dealt.

Ability Damage Types

Damaging abilities can be grouped into types that all interact with in-game damage mitigation (shields, other abilities) differently. The damage type is determined by the form or instance in which that damage is calculated, rather than how the ability or damage is delivered. (Eg. Skye's Smoke Screen w/ Smoke and Daggers, while delievered via an arcing projectile, damages based on an area)

• Ranged Hitscan
  Successful hits depend on whether the player's cursor lines up with the enemy's hitbox. (Eg. Viktor's Assault Rifle)
  
  
• Ranged Projectile
  Successful hits depend on whether the ability-spawned projectile's hitbox collides with the enemy's. (Eg. Drogoz' Rocket Launcher)
  
  
• Melee
  Successful hits depend on whether the champion's own hitbox or weapon's hitbox collides with the enemy's. (Terminus's Massacre Axe)
  
  
• Area of Effect Damage
  Successful hits depend on whether the enemy's hitbox enters the damaging zone summoned by an ability. This also includes "spray" abilities. (Inara's Warder's Field, Fernando's Flamethrower)
  
  
• Continuous Damage
  Damage that continues to be dealt after an initial attack successfully lands, dealt either through a Damage Over Time effect or from a channeled ability. (Fernando's Flamethrower's Burn)
  
  
• Bonus
  Damage that increases any already existing source of damage. Bonus damage adopts the type of damage that it boosts and cannot be dealt without a successful hit. (Eg. Drogoz's Fullisade on Rocket Launcher)

Damage Classes/Counters

Most damage can be mitigated--the two readily accessible forms of mitigation being Haven or Blast Shields. As such, damaging abilties can be further classified by their counters. Due to game engine limitations, damage from one ability can only be classfied once (either Haven or Blast, not both), and as such, there will be rare instances in which the below definitions do not apply. These instances will be noted in the Notes section.

• Direct Damage
  Damage that can only affect one target per projectile, bullet, or attack--NOT per ability. Abilities such as Barik's Blunderbuss, though activated once, may generate multiple attacks or bullets--each attack affecting their own individual targets.
  
  
• Blast Damage
  Damage that can affect multiple targets per projectile, bullet, or attack.
  
  
  
  
  
• Neutral Damage
  A very rare type of damage that cannot be mitigated by Haven or Blast Shields, but is mitigated by pure Damage Reduction such as Inara's Earthern Guard. During Paladins OB stages, most deployables (Eg. Barik's Turret attacks) did Neutral Damage.
  
  
• True Damage
  Damage that cannot be mitigated by any sort of damage reduction.
  
  
  
  
  
• Executes
  Executes are special instances of "damage" in which the champion dies regardless of remaining health. Executes happen only on successful hits, so it is possible to "mitigate" executes by preventing them from landing in the first place. (Eg. Zhin's Counter vs Lex's The Law)
  
  
• Scripted Damage
  A very niche type of damage that exists only in game mechanics. This cannot be stopped regardless of damage negation or prevention. (Eg. Falling off of map, touching enemy spawn room doors)

Other Icons Used in Guide

• "By-Ability" Damage
  Not a damage class, but I will use this icon in the guide to indicate that Bonus Damage's damage class will depend on the ability that it is boosting.
  
  
  
  
• Ally
  Not a damage class, but I will use this icon in the guide to indicate that an ability affects allies.

Quick Reference Sheet

For a comprehensive look at ALL abilities, refer to the rest of the guide below.

All Damage Champions

All Flank Champions

All Front Line Champions

All Support Champions

Afterword

Thanks for checking out my 2nd Paladins guide! :)

Unfortunately, this guide is no longer being updated. If someone else wants to take over, they are free to!

[СЕРГЕЕВ МЕСЯЦ БЕЗ ДБД]

jesus christ, dude! this is awesome! idk how much time u spent on this shiet, but it's great.

[Jayus Jaan]

Excelente guía, muy bien estructurada y detallada nomas que está en inglés xD

[Tonin]

Good job m8, accurate, simple and cool designs btw :)

[unfettered]

These are pretty lit. And accurate.

[DaddyMouse]

Man if all the info in this guide is accurate then you deserve HUGE kudos!