The Death Mark effect is applied on a unit when the Agile and Dexterous perk gets triggered!

#1

Platform, device version and operating system:
PC, Steam client, Game Version: 4.1.0.06, OS: Win 7x64 SP1 (all up-to-date)

Screenshot or image:
This screenshot only shows the Serpent card, and not Artema as well.

c23Jtku.jpg1920×1080 326 KB

What you were expecting to happen, and what actually happened:
I did not expect that the Death Mark effect (Herald of Chaos - Death Touch trait) will get triggered on a unit (Serpent - Agile trait, and Artema - Dexterous trait), meaning, that there was no damage done, but the effect was still applied to both units.

How often does this happen? When did it begin happening?
Always. I am not sure if this also issue is also triggered on other units.
I am also not sure if any similar cards with the same trait (Death Touch) can cause the same issue.
Agile and Dexterous traits are both affected by this. Tested only on the Serpent and Artema.
Dexterous trait - 40% chance to dodge skull damage.
Agile trait - 20% chance to dodge skull damage.

Steps to make it happen again
You can play the Explore mode and PvP on Normal or Warlord IV difficulty.

Videos:

Video 1: Serpents only (Time stamps: 2:02, 3:10)

Video 2: Artemas only (Time stamp: 0:53)

All negative effects may still apply if yours or the enemy's troop was entangled when dealing 0 skull damage
#2

I think this is intended, though I agree it’s weird.

In terms of video game logic, a player might think this way:

“The ability is one atomic attack: it does skull damage, and when it does that skull damage it applies an affect. This implies a story event like ‘You got stabbed with a poisoned dagger’. So, logically, if the target dodges the attack, they didn’t get hit, and shouldn’t get the effect.”

There’s nothing wrong with this. Lots of games implement it this way. But I think, instead, GoW does it this way:

The ability is a spell that triggers when you match skulls. Whether or not the skull match does damage, the affect will be applied.

So in the GoW case, it’s not “you’re stabbing someone with a poison dagger” but instead “when you try to stab people this happens”. In terms of video game logic, that’s sensible, but it doesn’t necessarily make the most sense.

#3

Thank you for your explanation.

What about this issue, when you hit protected or barriered Titan hero, you get stunned, though first talent of Titan says: enemy get stunned when i take skull damage. so, it seems that you take damage, but barrier absorbs it.

is the same mechanic here as well? Some official feedback or clarificiation would be highly appreciated, @Kafka, and @Cyrup.

#4

Yes, I agree. I’ve always felt like this is implemented inconsistently in a lot of ways.

#5

I agree.

Webspinner will still web you, even though you dodge the skull damage.
Forest Troll will entangle, Psion will drain your mana, and Kruarg can still devour you even if you dodge the actual damage.

My guess is the interaction is limited by the game code and its in fact matching skulls that triggers the corresponding event, whether the actual damage is dealt or not.

This also raises some questions for me.
The Assassination trait - 10% chance to assassinate the last target when I deal Skull damage.
Same applies to the Shadow perk from an Assassin as well. I would like to make more sense of this.

Any feedback is highly appreciated, @Kafka and @Cyrup. :slight_smile:

#6

Can we get some sort of official feedback on this? Is it an intended mechanic?

@Kafka

#7

May take another couple of days, since the Dev/Support Team holiday is from 25-27 December. As I recall, many effects that apply on skull damage were recently fixed to actually require damage to be dealt, such as Forest Troll’'s entangle, as well as several others that I can confirm. Not sure about this case (and I haven’t tested it, myself).

1 Like
#8

Hey sorry for the delayed reply, this one obviously slipped under the radar.

This is a known bug which we’ll hopefully have fixed soon.

#9

Thank you. I just want to let you know that there are several (other) units that can do this, and the effect is the same on all of them.

1 Like
#10

I need to contact you again. This issue is more widespread than I originally anticipated.

@Cyrup

So, when the Psion troop actually matches a skull match, and if your enemy dodges the skull damage, all of the negative effects in the game will be applied to it. It doesn’t matter what unit it is.

  • All the troops that cause Deathmark ability (Death Touch trait) to trigger. Example: Herald of Chaos.
  • Psion’s drain mana ability when Agile or Dexterous perk gets triggered to avoid direct skull damage.(Siphon trait on the Psion troop.)

This comes for all situations when direct skull damage actually applies a negative effect on a troop.

All listed examples so far:

  • Death Mark effect: (Death Touch trait). Examples: Nightshade, Herald of Chaos
  • Poison effect: (Venomous trait). Example: Scorpius
  • Hunter’s Mark effect: (Eagle Eye trait). Example: Crimson Arrow
  • Freeze effect: (Chill touch trait). Example. Ice Golem
  • Web effect: (Snare trait). Example: Dark Maiden
  • Bleed effect: (Razor Teeth trait). Example: Horned Asp
  • Entangle effect: (Tangle trait). Example: Green Golem
  • Silence effect: (Serenity trait). Example: Silent Sentinel
  • Burn effect: (Aflame, Sun Flare, Conflagration trait). Examples: Phoenicia, Infernus, Nightmare
  • Stun effect: (Knockout trait). Examples: Lion Prince, Rock Troll
  • Disease effect: (Plague Touch trait). Examples: Creeper, High King Irongut
  • Submerge effect: (Depth Charge trait). Example: Shocktopus (not bugged - working as intended)

I can make a video for each individual case, but the case should be clear enough by itself.
If you avoid direct skull damage, no negative effects should affect your troop at the top!

Examples to use:
Artema (Dexterous trait - 40% chance to dodge skull damage.)
Centaur Scout (Agile trait - 20% chance to dodge skull damage.)

To summarize this in a single sentence:
Just fix the issue with all the effects when doing the skull damage on a unit that dodges it.

Let me know!

1 Like
#11

Hey thanks @Koromac correct in this case it’s actually an issue with agile, not with every status effect, so it will be addressed at the root cause :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#12

Another issue has arisen. Bug report is here: