How Does Evasion Stack in Dota 2? A Comprehensive Guide
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Evasion in Dota 2 is a crucial mechanic that allows heroes to avoid incoming physical attacks. Understanding how evasion stacks is vital for both effective gameplay and counter-play strategies. The short answer is: evasion stacks diminishingly with itself and other sources of miss chance. This means that each additional source of evasion you acquire will provide less of an overall increase to your total chance to evade compared to the previous one. The game uses a specific formula to calculate this, ensuring that building excessive evasion doesn’t lead to complete invulnerability.
The Mechanics of Evasion Stacking
The core of evasion stacking in Dota 2 relies on a multiplicative formula. Instead of simply adding together all sources of evasion (like 20% + 20% = 40%), the game calculates the chance of an attack hitting by considering the chances to miss each evasion source one after another.
Here’s how it works:
- Base Hit Chance: Start with a 100% chance for an attack to hit.
- Evasion Calculation: For each source of evasion, the game calculates the chance that the attack would miss. This chance is applied against the remaining chance to hit from the previous evasion source.
- Cumulative Miss Chance: The combined miss chances from each evasion source results in the total miss chance, or the overall effective evasion.
For example, let’s say you have two sources of evasion: 20% from a Talisman of Evasion and another 25% from a hero ability:
- First, the attack has an 80% chance to hit after encountering the 20% evasion, or a 1 – 0.2 = 0.8 chance.
- Then, this 80% chance to hit is further reduced by the 25% evasion: 0.8 * (1-0.25) = 0.8 * 0.75 = 0.6 chance to hit.
- This means there is a 40% chance to miss in total, and you have 40% effective evasion, not 45% as some might expect.
- The calculation would be (1 – ((1-0.2)*(1-0.25))) * 100 = 40% chance to miss or effective evasion.
As you can see, the effectiveness of each additional evasion source diminishes as the chances of getting hit are smaller and smaller as evasion is added. This is why stacking multiple evasion items isn’t always the most effective strategy. There are diminishing returns for more evasion.
Why Diminishing Returns?
The use of a multiplicative formula is crucial for game balance. Without it, stacking evasion would quickly become too powerful, rendering some heroes virtually untouchable. Diminishing returns ensure that there’s a limit to how effective evasion can become, promoting diversity in item builds and strategies. This also makes accuracy a relevant and needed counter.
Evasion and Pseudo-Random Distribution (PRD)
It’s also important to remember that evasion in Dota 2 is determined by Pseudo-Random Distribution (PRD). This system makes sure that there isn’t a streak of hitting every time or missing every time when relying on evasion. Instead, PRD increases the probability of an event happening if it hasn’t happened recently. In the context of evasion, it means if a hero misses their evasion checks often, then the next time, the hero is more likely to activate their evasion. This counteracts potential streaks of good or bad luck, making the system more consistent over time.
Blind vs. Evasion
It’s important to distinguish between blind effects and evasion. While both aim to cause incoming attacks to miss, they function differently and stack differently:
- Evasion – As explained above, evasion works by multiplying chances to miss, resulting in diminishing returns.
- Blind Effects – These generally stack additively with each other but multiplicatively with evasion. For example, multiple sources of blind would add 20% + 20% = 40%, unlike how 20% evasion + 20% evasion is not 40% but just 36%. When combined with evasion, blind’s added miss chances are multiplicative, also resulting in diminishing returns.
Example of Blind and Evasion Interaction
If a hero has 20% evasion and is affected by a 40% blind, the total miss chance will be calculated as follows:
- The 20% evasion reduces hit chance by 20% = 0.8 chance to hit
- The 40% blind, when applied to that 80% chance to hit, results in a 0.8 * 0.6 = 0.48 = 52% total miss chance, or 52% effective total evasion.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding evasion and related mechanics in Dota 2:
Does Marksmanship Ignore Evasion?
Marksmanship, Drow Ranger’s ultimate, does not ignore evasion. The arrows, when triggered, do fully penetrate base armor and ignore bonus armor, but not evasion.
Does Evasion Work on Spells?
Evasion does not work on spells. It only affects physical attacks. Spells are not affected by evasion at all.
Does Break Remove Evasion?
Break disables most evasion passives gained from abilities. Break does not remove evasion from items, such as Talisman of Evasion or Butterfly.
How do Blind and Evasion Stack Together?
As mentioned earlier, blind effects stack additively with each other, but both blind and evasion stack multiplicatively with each other resulting in diminishing returns.
What is True Strike?
True Strike is an effect that guarantees an attack will hit, ignoring evasion and miss chance effects. Heroes with True Strike can overcome evasion and blind effects. For example, Walrus Punch has a True Strike property.
What is the Difference Between Blur and Evasion?
Blur is a passive evasion ability used by Phantom Assassin. While Blur provides evasion, it also provides invisibility when not near an enemy. It is still countered by break.
Does Silver Edge Break Evasion?
Silver Edge does break evasion gained from abilities as well as passives. However, it will not break evasion gained from items like Talisman of Evasion.
Does Silver Edge Break Blur?
Yes, Silver Edge (and other sources of Break) will break the evasion provided by Phantom Assassin’s Blur ability.
Can You Stack Items in Dota 2?
Most items can be stacked, as long as they don’t share the same item tree or are a unique item. For example, you can have both a Glimmer Cape and a Pipe of Insight, but not two Blink Daggers.
Does Evasion Work While Stunned?
Yes, if the attack does have a Dexterity saving throw, evasion still works while the hero is stunned.
What is the Most Powerful Spell in Dota 2?
The spell that does the highest damage over time is arguably Witch Doctor’s Death Ward.
What is the Hardest Role to Play in Dota 2?
The Position 4 (Soft Support or Roamer) role is generally considered one of the most difficult, due to the required constant vision and presence on the map.
What is the Hardest Character to Play in Dota 2?
Earth Spirit is often considered the hardest hero to master due to his reliance on accurate mouse clicks and the need for good micro skills.
What is the Least Played Mode in Dota 2?
Least Played is a mode in Dota 2 where you are limited to only your least played heroes.
What Are the Punishments for Smurfing in Dota 2?
Smurfing is a bannable offense in Dota 2. The punishments range from adjustments to behavior score to outright permanent account bans.
By understanding how evasion stacks, the differences between evasion and blind, and how other mechanics interact with it, you can greatly enhance your Dota 2 gameplay. Remember that each additional source of evasion is less impactful than the last, and that there are many ways to counter evasion, such as True Strike. This knowledge will be invaluable in both selecting your heroes and formulating your strategy.