Final Section -- The Maths (Part 1)

This is the part most players never learn, and it is why they get stuck. People stack the wrong numbers and then wonder why they still die instantly or cannot kill anyone.

1) Resistances = Damage Reduction

Your Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance reduce incoming damage.

In PvP, a good baseline is: 32,000+ resist fully buffed.

Resist reduces damage, but it does not stop burst combos, ult dumps, procs, executes, or being hit by multiple people.

2) Penetration = Removing Their Resist

Penetration is basically: "how much of their armor I ignore."

Penetration comes from your pen stats, CP, set bonuses, skills, and debuffs (Breach, etc.).

3) Debuffs = The Hidden Damage Multiplier

Debuffs reduce the enemy's defenses before your damage is calculated.

This is why PvP builds feel "unfair" to new players: the experienced player is stacking multipliers, not just stats.

The Big Mistake: "Stack Weapon/Spell Damage = More Kills"

This is the trap. If your penetration is low, you are smashing into a wall of resist.

Simple example

Skill hits for 10,000 damage (on paper). Enemy: 32k resist, 2k crit resist, heals + mitigation up.

Case A: High damage, low pen

• 6,000 Weapon/Spell Damage
• 10,000 Penetration
• Enemy resist left: ~22,000
• Result: ~6,000-7,000 actual damage

Case B: Balanced damage, high pen

• 5,000 Weapon/Spell Damage
• 30,000 Penetration
• Enemy resist left: ~2,000
• Result: ~9,500+ actual damage

Truth: If you sacrifice penetration to stack Weapon/Spell Damage, you often lose damage overall.