Guild Wars 2

I thought damage scaled up with more clones? In my recent testing, the more clones out you have, the less damage of each mind wrack, the highest damage coming from a mind wrack without a clone (illusionary persona).

On the tooltip it will say something like (depending on your stats):

1 Illusion: 570 =570 total
2 Illusions(2x): 760 =1520
3 Illusions(3x): 1000 =3000

Meaning, the more clones out, the more damage each will do, right? According to the tooltip, total damage will nearly double from adding another clone. Well I I’ve been doing some farming recently and watching the numbers.

These are crits, without any Might or Vulnerability. These are very consistent numbers, all on the same mobs:

0 clones = ~1600
1 clone = ~1400 x2
2 clones = ~1200 x3
3 clones = ~1000 x4

This is completely backwards from what the tooltip says. It should be the other way around? With 3 clones out, they should be doing the most damage, and with 0 clones out, the least damage.

Is this known? am I losing my mind? Is the tooltip wrong? Am I reading it wrong?

This one doesnt even make sense.

4 clone MW: 1000, 1000, 200, 200, what???

Darx.9842:

This one doesnt even make sense.

4 clone MW: 1000, 1000, 200, 200, what???

you had weakness inflicted on you for the last 2 wracks. karka’s spam that on you

as far as the doing less than for more clones shattered, the scaling is designed in such a way that the total damage is increased for more clones, but each clone does less.

0 clones = ~1600
1 clone = ~1400 x2
2 clones = ~1200 x3
3 clones = ~1000 x4

this amounts to

0 clones = ~1600
1 clone = ~1400 x2 2800 total damage
2 clones = ~1200 x3 3600 total damage
3 clones = ~1000 x4 4000 total damage

working as intended.

and the damage in the skill description is for TOTAL damage, not per clone.

The damage is the total damage. Aka
1 Illusion: 570 =570 per illusion
2 Illusions(2x): 760 =380 per illusion
3 Illusions(3x): 1000 =333 per illusion

Is the correct table. The reason why you saw 1k, 1k, 200, 200 is because the last two weren’t crits while the first two were. I’m assuming you’re running Berserker’s so you have ~100% crit damage, making your crits do ~2.5x damage.

333 * 2.5 = 832.5

Assuming you’re also running the +3% damage for each active illusion (yes, this also applies to illusions as they’re shattering, making it more effective to shatter 3 at the same time then to have 1 explode while 2 run in), the equation will be
333 * 2.5 = 832.5 + 9% = 907.blahblahblah

Of course, that doesn’t account for armor nor does it apply Might/Vulnerability to the equation. You are running iPersona, so I’m assuming you shattered with one clone next to you while 2 ran forward to shatter after. This makes the math seemingly accurate to say that the damage is justifiably correct.

Oh, and in regards to getting the most damage on Mind Wrack, I’ll have to do some math tests, but since I don’t have all the variables, I’m going out on a limb and going to say it MIGHT (don’t quote me on this, please) be more effective to 1shatter with iPersona and ONE clone AS you’re using Mirror Images to get a shatter of 1 clone and yourself while having 3 clones out. The timing on that is quite erratic, but it can be done.

Good luck.

Esplen.3940:

The damage is the total damage. Aka
1 Illusion: 570 =570 per illusion
2 Illusions(2x): 760 =380 per illusion
3 Illusions(3x): 1000 =333 per illusion

Okay, that makes a lot more sense. I wish the tooltip was more clear.

Thank you all that replied.

It would be broken if it compounded any other way, because it would essentially be a near exponential damage growth curve if it was done the implied way. The current way makes it very balanced. If you trait into it, it’s still better to shatter with 3 than with 1, of course.

Esplen.3940:

It would be broken if it compounded any other way, because it would essentially be a near exponential damage growth curve if it was done the implied way. The current way makes it very balanced. If you trait into it, it’s still better to shatter with 3 than with 1, of course.

Unless you have 3 out, and 2 die before they reach the target causing you to do less damage with 1 than you would have done if you simply shattered with 1 to start with.

But how often does that happen?

XelNigma.6315:

Esplen.3940:

It would be broken if it compounded any other way, because it would essentially be a near exponential damage growth curve if it was done the implied way. The current way makes it very balanced. If you trait into it, it’s still better to shatter with 3 than with 1, of course.

Unless you have 3 out, and 2 die before they reach the target causing you to do less damage with 1 than you would have done if you simply shattered with 1 to start with.

But how often does that happen?

Infrequently, if you are shattering properly. You know that clones can be killed, and so effective shatters are instantaneous point blank attacks.

Pyroatheist.9031:

XelNigma.6315:

Esplen.3940:

It would be broken if it compounded any other way, because it would essentially be a near exponential damage growth curve if it was done the implied way. The current way makes it very balanced. If you trait into it, it’s still better to shatter with 3 than with 1, of course.

Unless you have 3 out, and 2 die before they reach the target causing you to do less damage with 1 than you would have done if you simply shattered with 1 to start with.

But how often does that happen?

Infrequently, if you are shattering properly. You know that clones can be killed, and so effective shatters are instantaneous point blank attacks.

Poor shatters do happen, also AoE fields and random aoe attacks. Of course in most cases the damage loss can just be counted as soak damage and a player can assume the enemy is tankier instead of realizing the attack was improperly executed without losing any sweat in most fights.