Does Decay stack? Evidence may show it does...

[Zeromus]

Hello there, my guildmate Akylies and I decided we wanted to figure out how certain Engineer skills actually functioned, so we took some time to go and study whether or not the armor debuff from Decay stacks since neither of us had heard or read anything on the subject. If such a study exists, let me know so I can gladly beat myself over the head with a book for wasting so much time

Here's what we found:

The experiment:
2 engineers, max level.
Both in end game gear (Platinum gear and Custom Atomite)
**6 skill points in Decay** [-60 armor for 10 seconds with debuff]
**Numa Prime, Big o' Black Vular**
Pistol set for Round 1 (Plat pistol, both)

The Experiment procedure is as follows:
Both engis would run in and auto attack the Vular without using any other damage skills. Once vular was close to death, we retreated and recorded the damage range (Minimum-Maximum range values), repeating each step several times on the same Vular:

---With *NO* Decays cast [Same test done several times to record accurate values]
Pistols: 14-27 (Minimum-Maximum values)

---With **1** Decay: [Same test done several times to record accurate values]
Pistols: 14-30 (Min-Max)

HMMMM... Observed effects of the -60 armor working. But what about -120 armor, if its possible..

---With ****2**** Decays cast at the same time: [Same test done several times to record accurate values]
Pistols: 16-37 (Min-Max)

WHOA! pretty badass right? The Minimum and Maximum damage ranges definitely increased, and the Maximum rather dramatically. I think it's pretty safe to say that Decay definitely does seem to stack. Now if we could test a 5 man engi group to see if theres a stack limit.... we'll get into that later. We're going to try different weapon sets and different gear sets with more players as time goes on, so stay with us

So, what are your thoughts guys? All i can think is sick PVP spike...



Thanks to all of our guildies who hung out in our instances and kept us company while we mindnumbingly stared at numbers!!

Engineer Researchers:
AKYLIES, 31
ANGELIC, 30


PS: We discovered that TRANSFERENCE works on 2 separate damage rolls, i.e., the damage range was around 40 while the average heal range was around 60 per a mob effected by the skill. What does this mean? It means that the damage from Trans isnt converted over into 100% healing, you actually get healed MORE because it's a different roll. We haven't seen a posting on this either, and we'd be interested in posting our findings if a study hasn't already been put out there.

[JazzBlue]

I'm game to help playtest this. lvl 30 engi with all custom & full selection of purple weapons if needed.

Just catch me online, or PM me here. I'm on most evenings 7-12 EST

[Zeromus]

id use my own full custom gear but i need to borrow it back from my GM for the moment... i gave it to her to give as a prize in a future guild warming contest :P

[Teddyache]

This is great stuff and I am pretty sure it hasn't been posted anywhere on this forum. Yet another reason to max decay ASAP, no matter what engineer build one wants. This is damage, DPS, and supports the team! Keep up the good work!

[Zeromus]

Thanks, it definitely does show that Decay is a viable skill choice. if there is no stack limit, 5 engineers in a group could reduce a target's armor by 300 if they coordinate... i want to test this out. could be extremely fun.

[SuperNas]

Thanks, it definitely does show that Decay is a viable skill choice. if there is no stack limit, 5 engineers in a group could reduce a target's armor by 300 if they coordinate... i want to test this out. could be extremely fun.

Ofc me and aky also tested this out, yes it does stack up...more research in our guild should be done more often

[ArtStar]

id use my own full custom gear but i need to borrow it back from my GM for the moment... i gave it to her to give as a prize in a future guild warming contest :P

Woot, I got mentioned, and I finally made an sts account to comment on this thread.
good job!