Evade

Evade, a part of the Evade/Block/Parry defensive system against physical and bolt attacks, is a form of defense that will activate before a character makes a combat roll. With a successful evasion the attack will completely miss the target. Even if an attack is successful, evade still contributes to a character's overall defensive strength which acts to reduce damage from an attack. The possibility of evading an attack is increased through training in the dodge and agility skills, a character's intuition stat , and maintaining low encumbrance, among other factors. Shields and most armor make it more difficult to evade an attack, especially larger shields and heavier armor.

The Dodge skill is a primary factor in avoiding an attack entirely. While in stance offensive, a character, singled (1 rank per level) in dodge, has approximately a 5% chance of evading an attack against a like-level foe. A character double trained (2 ranks per level) has a 10% chance and a character triple trained (3 ranks per level) has a 15% chance for an outright evasion. These percentages increase as a character moves to more defensive stances. The chance of an outright evasion also depends on a character's agility/intuition skill bonuses, encumbrance. Certain spells such as Mass Blur (911), Mobility (618), Song of Mirrors (1019), and the combat maneuvers Evade Mastery (available to warriors, rogues and monks) and Duck and Weave (available to rogues and monks) will also improve the chance to evade an attack.

There is no available formula to determine the exact chance that an attack will be evaded, but level of the defender vs level of the attacker is an important factor. Also, weapons and bolts are harder to evade than melee attacks, even though there's a DS bonus against such attacks.

Dodge DS Formula

The first step in determining the Dodge DS bonus is to calculate the Base Value.

Dodge Ranks + (AGI Bonus) + trunc(INT Bonus ÷ 4) = Base Value

The second step is to enter the Base Value into the Dodge DS formula and the values of the other factors (see lists below).

Base Value × Armor Hindrance × Shield Factor × Stance Modifier = Dodge DS

Note 1: Truncate results to integer values after each operation in the formula.
Note 2: There is a 50% bonus vs ranged attacks. (Dodge DS × 1.5)

Example

Dodge DS for a character with:

• Dodge Ranks: 60
• Agility Bonus: 20
• Intuition Bonus: 18
• Armor: Brigandine Armor (.94 factor)
• Shield size: Medium (.70 factor)
• Stance: Advanced (.80 factor)

Step 1 (Base Value) Calculations:

60 + 20 + trunc(18 ÷ 4) =  84 Base Value

Step 2 (Dodge DS) Calculations:

84(Base Value) × .94(Armor Hindrance) × .70(Shield Factor) × .80(ADV Stance) =  43 DS 

Without truncating after each operation there would be an incorrect result of 44 DS.

Armor Hindrance Factors

The Armor Hindrance values to be used in the formula are:

ASG	Name	Hindrance Factor		ASG	Name	Hindrance Factor
1	Normal Clothing	1.00		12	Brigandine armor	0.94
2	Robes	1.00		13	Chain mail	0.94
5	Light leather	1.00		14	Double chain	0.93
6	full leather	1.00		15	Augmented chain	0.92
7	Reinforced leather	0.98		16	Chain hauberk	0.91
8	Double leather	0.97		17	Metal breastplate	0.90
9	Leather breastplate	0.97		18	Augmented breastplate	0.88
10	Cuirbouilli leather	0.96		19	Half plate	0.85
11	Studded leather	0.95		20	Full plate	0.83

Note: Armor hindrance is equal to half the armor's action penalty.

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Shield Factor

The Shield Factor values to be used in the formula are:

Size	Shield Factor
Small	0.78
Medium	0.70
Large	0.62
Tower	0.54

Note: The shield factors are derived from the following shield penalties: 22% (small), 30% (medium), 38% (large) and 46% (tower).

Stance Modifiers

The Stance Modifier values to be used in the formula are:

Stance	Modifier
Offensive	0.75
Advanced	0.80
Forward	0.85
Neutral	0.90
Guarded	0.95
Defensive	1.00

See Also

• Dodge
• Evade Mastery
• Armored Evasion
• Assume Aspect (650)

References

• http://www.play.net/gs4/info/combatguide.asp#factors
• http://www.play.net/gs4/info/skills.asp#dodging