Damage is ubiquitous in the game. Without damage, nobody will have to ever repair their ships; the point of combat is lost. Everyone has experienced damage in VEGA Conflict. But do you know how damage is calculated in the game?
This section is for those who have basic knowledge of the game and are interested in understanding the underlying game mechanics regarding damage. Repair times will also be discussed here.
Dealing Damage
What deals damage?
In VEGA Conflict, the vast majority of damage is dealt by weapons. These can be mounted on a hull or a base module. If you want to understand how weapons work, there is an entire article dedicated to it here.
The secondary damage source includes squadrons and wings, for hulls and base modules respectively. These are arguably also classified as weapons. However, squadrons/wings are more than just weapon projectiles: they are basically mini-ships. Each squadron/wing has its own health and fuel bar, and can deal damage over time as long as it is active. The DPS (Damage Per Second) dealt during combat is equal to
Combat DPS = Listed DPS * Current Health / Max. Health
Once the squadron/wing uses up all its fuel or is destroyed, it returns to the hangar and is discharged again after a brief period.
The tertiary damage source is damage fields. As of current, only Terminus Mines and other minefields produce such a damage field. When an enemy enters this field, it starts taking damage over time equal to the DPS of the field.
The final damage source is one-off damage dealers. Upon the destruction of any base module, a fixed amount of collateral damage is dealt to nearby structures. Also meet the Unstable Reactor, which deals splash damage upon the death of a ship. The Surge Core used by Harvesters inflicts moderate damage with a large AoE when certain health percentages are reached.
Applying Damage
Damage can be applied instantly or over time. Instant damage is measured in terms of damage per shot, while damage over time is measured in terms of DPS (Damage Per Second).
This damage is subject to many modifiers, which may increase or decrease the overall damage.
Shield Defense
Shields protect their targets by absorbing a portion of the damage dealt. The remainder bypasses the shield and damages the health of the target instead. The percentage of the damage absorbed by the shield is governed by its "Defense" stat. "Shield Bypass" effects reduce the shield defense multiplicatively, as follows:
Effective Shield Defense = Normal Shield Defense * (1 - Shield Bypass Effect 1) * (1 - Shield Bypass Effect 2) * ...
For example, a Metaphase Shield (90% defense) is struck by a Wave Driver (+25% shield bypass) boosted by Phased Projectiles V (+50% shield bypass). The effective defense of the shield is then 90% * (1-25%) * (1-50%) = 33.75%, i.e. the shield absorbs 33.75% of the damage, while the remaining 66.25% becomes health damage.
Some effects can increase Normal Shield Defense, such as the carrier field provided by the Riposte Overdrive. These effects are applied additively, so a Metaphase Shield affected by the Riposte carrier field would have a total of 90% + 10% = 100% shield defense, without considering shield bypass.
Damage Reduction
The damage taken by the shield and health can be reduced by their respective resistances. Since Metaphase Shield has 50% Kinetic resistance, the shield only takes 33.75% * (1-50%) = 16.88% of the Wave Driver's damage. The formula for damage reduction is
Damage Taken = Original Damage * (1 - Reduction Effect 1) * (1 - Reduction Effect 2) * ...
Damage Amplification
On the other hand, the damage taken can be increased through innate bonuses and harmonic bonuses. For example, if the enemy fleet has 10 points of Harmonic Warfare, the damage to ships is increased by 12.5%, therefore the aforementioned shield would take 16.88% * (1+15%) = 18.99% of the Wave Driver's original damage instead. The formula for damage amplification is
Damage Taken = Original Damage * (1 + Amplification Effect 1) * (1 + Amplification Effect 2) * ...
Point to Note
It is important to note that "Shield Damage" and "Health Damage" stats may also influence the shield and health damage respectively. For example, being supported by an Ion Field increases shield damage by 30% but reduces health damage by 7%.