There are several ways to affect the final value of a damage instance. Damage can be manipulated on both ends, from the dealing unit (outgoing damage) and the receiving unit (incoming damage). Armor and magic resistance are the most common damage manipulators, affecting incoming physical and magical damage respectively (no similar trait exists for pure damage). They usually reduce damage, but can also amplify it if their values are negative. Spell damage amplification is the main trait for amplifying (but not for reducing) outgoing spell damage (no similar trait exists for attack damage). Besides these, there are some other ways to manipulate damage, ranging from amplifying damage, reducing damage and even negating damage completely.
Sources of damage manipulation
Amplifying incoming damage
Damage amplification causes afflicted units to take additional damage.
Besides these, other ways to amplify damage is by reducing armor for physical damage or magic resistance for magical damage.
- Close Damage Amplification: 25%/30%/35%/40%
Far Damage Amplification: 12.5%/15%/17.5%/20%
Duration: 9/10/11/12
Amplifies for half the value when the dealer and receiver are more than 2200 units apart from each other. - Damage Amplification: 18%/24%/30%/36%
Duration: 8 - Illusions - [[Illusions#|]]Based on the ability the illusion is created by, it may take more damage than the hero it is based on.
- Shadow Demon - [[Shadow Demon#|]]Max Damage Amplification: 20%/30%/40%/50%
Duration: 12 - Damage Amplification: 15%
Duration: 12 - Max Damage Amplification: 20%/25%/30%
Min Damage Amplification: 1%
Max Radius: 200
Min Radius: 700
Amplification gets linearly stronger based on distance to Undying, reaching max amplification within a 200 radius.
Amplifying outgoing damage
These abilities amplify outgoing damage.
- Damage Amplification: 6%/8%/10%/12%
Duration: 10
Amplifies all damage from Beastmaster and units under his control for each axe hit. - Close Damage Amplification: 25%/30%/35%/40%
Far Damage Amplification: 12.5%/15%/17.5%/20%
Duration: 9/10/11/12
Amplifies for half the value when the dealer and receiver are more than 2200 units apart from each other.
Reducing incoming damage
Just like how damage can be amplified, it can also be reduced.
Besides these, other ways to reduce damage is by increasing armor against physical damage or magic resistance against magical damage.
- Damage Reduction: 100%
Duration: 2.5 - Rear Damage Reduction: 16%/24%/32%/40%
Side Damage Reduction: 8%/12%/16%/20%
Reduces damage for Bristleback when taking damage from his rear or sides. - Damage Reduction: 40%
Illusion Damage Reduction: 75%
Reduces damage from all sources (more from illusions) while under Backdoor Protection. Also reduces damage from illusions by 50% while not protected. - Illusions - [[Illusions#|]]Based on the ability the illusion is created by, it may take less damage than the hero it is based on.
- Io - OverchargeDamage Reduction: 5%/10%/15%/20%
Reduces damage for Io and a Tethered ally. - Damage Reduction: 40%/45%/50%
Duration: 10
Reduces damage for all buffed allies, making them take that portion of damage later. - Damage Reduction: 60%
Damage Absorbed per Mana: 1.6/1.9/2.2/2.5 - Damage Reduction: 40%
- Damage Reduction per hero: 12%/14%/16%/18%
Duration: 10 - Ursa - [[Ursa#|]]
- Max Layers: 4
Damage Reduction per Layer: 8%/12%/16%/20%
Layer Recharge Time: 6/5/4/3 ( 4/3/2/1)
Passive, loses 1 layer when taking player-based damage. Layers recharge after a short time. Also affects Visage's Familiars within range.
Reducing outgoing damage
These abilities are able to reduce outgoing damage.
- Damage Reduction: 100%
Duration: 2.5
Stacking damage reduction & amplification
Armor and magic resistance work separately from other damage manipulators. This means they always stack multiplicatively with any other listed ability.
Besides Borrowed Time's aura, Ghostship's rum and Mana Shield, all damage reducing and damage amplifying effects stack additively with each other. Borrowed Time, Ghostship and Mana Shield stack multiplicatively with them. Mana Shield also stacks multiplicatively with Borrowed Time and Ghostship. However, the damage reductions of Borrowed Time and Ghostship do not stack with each other, although both still react on the damage (Borrowed Time still heals Abaddon, and Ghostship's rum wear-off still counts the damage). The damage amplification which illusions usually have stacks multiplicatively with all other damage amplifying and reducing effects (considering they are able to affect illusions).
Examples of additive stacking (all values consider highest possible value, examples ignore armor and magic resistance, 100% is the base value):
- A hero affected by Bloodrage, Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Soul Catcher". and Overcharge takes:
100 + + - = Expression error: Missing operand for +.% damage
- Spectre affected by Flesh Golem, Dispersion and Stampede () takes:
100 + - - {{#show:Centaur Warrunner#Stampede|?value3 aghs#}} = Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% damage
- Ursa affected by Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Enrage". and Overcharge takes:
100 - {{#show:Ursa#Enrage|?value1#}} - = Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% damage
- A hero affected by Winter's Curse, Bloodrage, Penitence, Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Soul Catcher". and Flesh Golem takes:
100 - {{#show:Winter Wyvern#Winter's Curse|?value3#}} + + + + = Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% damage
Examples of multiplicative stacking:
- Medusa affected by Overcharge, Lua error in Module:Ability_ID at line 61: Could not find Cargo data for "Soul Catcher". and Mana Shield takes:
(100 - + ) * Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% = Expression error: Missing operand for -.% damage
- Medusa affected by the same as above, but also additionally by Ghostship takes:
(100 - + ) * Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% * Expression error: Missing operand for -.% = Expression error: Missing operand for -.% damage
- A Conjure Image illusion (taking 400% damage) affected by Overcharge and Stampede () takes:
(100 - - {{#show:Centaur Warrunner#Stampede|?value3 aghs#}}) * {{#show:Terrorblade#Conjure Image|?value3#}}% = Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "{".% damage
Stacking outgoing damage manipulation stacks in the same way as incoming damage manipulation, i.e. additively. However, since incoming and outgoing manipulations happen at different times (outgoing happens first), they stack multiplicatively with each other.
Damage negation
Damage negation causes entire instances of damage to deal no damage to its target, however, the instance is still registered. This means, if something reacts on damage without having a minimum damage threshold, it still reacts on the negated damage.
- Chance: 25%
- Infused Raindrop - [[Infused Raindrop#|]]Negated Damage: 120
Charges: 5
Can only negate magical damage. Can only negate a certain amount of damage per charge. Goes on cooldown upon negating an instance. Ignores damage lower than 50. - Duration: 2.25
Can only negate 1 instance of damage from each player. - Duration: 4
Can only negate physical damage.
Preventing on-damage effects
Many abilities react on damage a unit receives. In some cases, fully negating the damage causes them to not proc. However, some on-damage effects also react on 0 damage so they still may proc even when the proccing damage got negated.
The following abilities and effects do not react on damage when it gets fully negated (reduced to 0):
- Aegis of the Immortal – Expire Restore
- Ancient Black Dragon – Splash Attack2
- Blink Dagger – Blink
- Bloodthorn – Soul Rend
- Bottle – Regenerate
- Bristleback – Bristleback3
- Clarity – Replenish
- Healing Salve – Salve
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Heart of Tarrasque - Health Regeneration".
- Lifesteal – All sources1 2
- Lifestealer – Open Wounds
- Mjollnir – Static Charge
- Monkey King – Tree Dance
- Lua error: Found no Cargo data for "Octarine Core - Spell Lifesteal".
- Orchid Malevolence – Soul Burn
- Pugna – Life Drain
- Regeneration Rune – Regeneration
- Spirit Vessel – Soul Release
- Templar Assassin – Psi Blades2
- Tidehunter – Kraken Shell3
- Treant Protector – Living Armor4
- Urn of Shadows – Soul Release
- Visage – Soul Assumption3
1 Includes all sources of lifesteal, except Feast, Open Wounds and Octarine Core's Spell Lifesteal, which are listed separately.
2 These work when the damage gets negated by Aphotic Shield.
3 These abilities have damage counters, which do not work when the damage gets negated.
5 Despite Living Armor not reacting on damage which was already blocked by another source of damage negation, it still loses a charge per damage instance when the other source of damage negation was Aphotic Shield.
The following abilities still do react on fully negated damage:
- Bane – Nightmare
- Batrider – Sticky Napalm
- Battle Fury – Cleave
- Blade Mail – Damage Return
- Death Prophet – Exorcism
- Dragon Knight – Elder Dragon Form (splash damage)
- Elder Titan – Echo Stomp
- Keeper of the Light – Recall
- Kunkka – Tidebringer
- Lifestealer – Feast
- Lone Druid – Summon Spirit Bear
- Magnus – Empower1
- Spectre – Dispersion2
- Spirit Bear – Return
- Sven – Great Cleave
- Tiny – Grow (cleave damage)
- Viper – Corrosive Skin
- Warlock – Fatal Bonds2
1 Both cleave and splash damage from Empower react on fully negated damage.
2 The damage of Dispersion and the damage spread of Fatal Bonds are fully unaffected by any form of reduction, except for magic resistance and armor.
Min Health
Min Health, just like regular damage negation, prevents a unit from dying. However, the way in which that is achieved is completely different. Instead of directly reducing or negating damage, this mechanic rather manipulates the health of the unit. This property (MODIFIER_PROPERTY_MIN_HEALTH) prevents a unit's health from dropping below the value it is set to. It does not affect the damage itself, meaning on-damage effects react on the full damage, and not how much damage was dealt effectively, so they can be triggered normally.
The following abilities use the Min Health mechanic:
- Duration: 5
Min Health: 1