Hit Points & Mana Points Guide
Posted: December 23rd, 2011, 7:15 pm
On my third play through, I finally realized the existing posts about how to calculate Hit Points & Mana Points weren't entirely accurate. I don't know if formals have changed in 1.05 patch or what, but here's what I've learned so far.
I. STARTING HIT POINTS:
As posted by others, the formula for starting HP is based on Strength & Endurance and is independent of class:
Starting HP = STR + 2*END
Eg. 1. A fighter with 20 STR and 20 END will have,
Starting HP = 20 + (2*20) = 60 HPs
II. LEVEL UP HIT POINTS:
When leveling up, the formula changes to +1 point for every 10 STR and +1 for every 5 END (we'll call this the BASE level up HP) but gets complicated by class (this part I've never seen mentioned before). Melee classes (Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues) get an additional +1 HP while non-melee classes (Magick Users, Healers) get -1 HP.
Level Up HP (Melee) = (STR/10) + (END/5) + 1
Level Up HP (Non-Melee) = (STR/10) + (END/5) - 1
Eg. 2. A fighter and a magic user both with 20 STR and 20 END and assuming no points are added to either stat during level up would get,
Level Up HP (Fighter) = 2 + 4 + 1 = 7
Level Up HP (Magick User) = 2 + 4 - 1 = 5
Here's the catch, the +1/-1 modifier only applies once for each time the level up icon is clicked. A person that saves their XP until they have enough to go from L1 to L6 with just one click will see just one +1/-1 modifier applied. This can be good or bad depending on which class you're playing!
Consider the common maxxing case with both a fighter and a magick user with identical 20 STR and 20 END leveling from 1 to 6 and add every gained stat point into END at every level via two different methods, either clicking level up at every opportunity (5 times) or clicking level up only once to go from 1 to 6 in one step. Both fighter and mage will end with 35 END by level 6,
Eg. 3. Starting HP Fighter L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 20 + 2*20 = 60 HP
L2 (20 STR, 23 END) = (20/10) + (23/5) + 1 = 2 + 4 + 1 = +7 HP
L3 (20 STR, 26 END) = (20/10) + (26/5) + 1 = 2 + 5 + 1 = +8 HP
L4 (20 STR, 29 END) = (20/10) + (29/5) + 1 = 2 + 5 + 1 = +8 HP
L5 (20 STR, 32 END) = (20/10) + (32/5) + 1 = 2 + 6 + 1 = +9 HP
L6 (20 STR, 35 END) = (20/10) + (35/5) + 1 = 2 + 7 + 1 = +10 HP
Final Fighter HP at L6 = 60 + 42 = 102
Eg. 4. Starting HP Fighter L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 60
L1 -> L6 in one click = 5*[(20/10) + (35/5)] + 1 = +46 HP
Final Fighter HP at L6 = 60 + 46 = 106
The maxxing fighter that jumps from 1 to 6 has only a paltry 4 HP gain over the normal leveling fighter. The advantage of using the higher base HP is nearly eliminated by missing the +1 bonus from clicking level up at every opportunity! Maxxi Leveling has been nerfed!
But now lets examine a poor mage with the exact same starting stats using the exact same techniques,
Eg. 5. Starting HP Magick User L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 20 + 2*20 = 60 HP
L2 (20 STR, 23 END) = (20/10) + (23/5) - 1 = 2 + 4 - 1 = +5 HP
L3 (20 STR, 26 END) = (20/10) + (26/5) - 1 = 2 + 5 - 1 = +6 HP
L4 (20 STR, 29 END) = (20/10) + (29/5) - 1 = 2 + 5 - 1 = +6 HP
L5 (20 STR, 32 END) = (20/10) + (32/5) - 1 = 2 + 6 - 1 = +7 HP
L6 (20 STR, 35 END) = (20/10) + (35/5) - 1 = 2 + 7 - 1 = +8 HP
Final Magick User HP at L6 = 60 + 32 = 92
Eg. 6. Starting HP Magick User L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 60
L1 -> L6 in one click = 5*[(20/10) + (35/5)] - 1 = +44 HP
Final Magick User HP at L6 = 60 + 44 = 104
In the Magick User case, the -1 penalty combined with the non-maxxing END at each level makes a whopping 12 HP difference!
III. STARTING MANA POINTS
Now, lets talk mana points where things get even more complicated. MP is similar to HP in that they both are based on two stats, but different stats are used for different classes.
Whether a BUG or by design, ALL CLASSES use Intelligence and Perception for starting MP. (It's commonly believed that Healers use Wisdom instead of Intelligence, but that only applies for MP on level up, not during character creation!! *gasp*)
Starting MP (all classes) = INT + 2*PER
IV. LEVEL UP MP
Level Up MP is similar to Level Up HP where one class gets +1 bonus at each level while other classes get -1 penalty. As expected, it's magic casting classes (Magick User and Healer) who get the +1 for MP and non-magic classes (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue) who get the -1. But here's the tricky part. Level Up MP uses INT for Magick User, Fighter, and Rogue but WIS for Healer and Ranger creating FOUR unique equations.
Level Up MP (Magic User) = (INT/10) + (PER/5) + 1
Level Up MP (Healer) = (WIS/10) + (PER/5) + 1
Level Up MP (Fighter, Rogue) = (INT/10) + (PER/5) - 1
Level Up MP (Ranger) = (WIS/10) + (PER/5) - 1
We can run calculations similar to the ones for HP only this time boosting PER and we'll see similar results. Those benefiting from the +1 bonus (Mage & Healer) gain a modest boost from maxxing levels (jumping from 1 to 6 with one click) but the big impact is to those suffering the -1 penalty (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue) taking a big hit when NOT maxxing levels.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Several things surprised me about this analysis,
A) I'm surprised the +1/-1 modifier hasn't been mentioned in any of the FAQs so far. I can only assume it must be part of a more recent patch.
B) Maxxing levels (jumping 1 to 6+) is not nearly as effective as it used to be for the important cases (maxxing HP for melee and/or maxxing MP for spell casters)
C) Healers/Rangers are being robbed at character creation... they essentially must consider INT to start then switch to WIS to achieve MP/Spell Casting levels after creation.
That is all!
I. STARTING HIT POINTS:
As posted by others, the formula for starting HP is based on Strength & Endurance and is independent of class:
Starting HP = STR + 2*END
Eg. 1. A fighter with 20 STR and 20 END will have,
Starting HP = 20 + (2*20) = 60 HPs
II. LEVEL UP HIT POINTS:
When leveling up, the formula changes to +1 point for every 10 STR and +1 for every 5 END (we'll call this the BASE level up HP) but gets complicated by class (this part I've never seen mentioned before). Melee classes (Fighters, Rangers, and Rogues) get an additional +1 HP while non-melee classes (Magick Users, Healers) get -1 HP.
Level Up HP (Melee) = (STR/10) + (END/5) + 1
Level Up HP (Non-Melee) = (STR/10) + (END/5) - 1
Eg. 2. A fighter and a magic user both with 20 STR and 20 END and assuming no points are added to either stat during level up would get,
Level Up HP (Fighter) = 2 + 4 + 1 = 7
Level Up HP (Magick User) = 2 + 4 - 1 = 5
Here's the catch, the +1/-1 modifier only applies once for each time the level up icon is clicked. A person that saves their XP until they have enough to go from L1 to L6 with just one click will see just one +1/-1 modifier applied. This can be good or bad depending on which class you're playing!
Consider the common maxxing case with both a fighter and a magick user with identical 20 STR and 20 END leveling from 1 to 6 and add every gained stat point into END at every level via two different methods, either clicking level up at every opportunity (5 times) or clicking level up only once to go from 1 to 6 in one step. Both fighter and mage will end with 35 END by level 6,
Eg. 3. Starting HP Fighter L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 20 + 2*20 = 60 HP
L2 (20 STR, 23 END) = (20/10) + (23/5) + 1 = 2 + 4 + 1 = +7 HP
L3 (20 STR, 26 END) = (20/10) + (26/5) + 1 = 2 + 5 + 1 = +8 HP
L4 (20 STR, 29 END) = (20/10) + (29/5) + 1 = 2 + 5 + 1 = +8 HP
L5 (20 STR, 32 END) = (20/10) + (32/5) + 1 = 2 + 6 + 1 = +9 HP
L6 (20 STR, 35 END) = (20/10) + (35/5) + 1 = 2 + 7 + 1 = +10 HP
Final Fighter HP at L6 = 60 + 42 = 102
Eg. 4. Starting HP Fighter L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 60
L1 -> L6 in one click = 5*[(20/10) + (35/5)] + 1 = +46 HP
Final Fighter HP at L6 = 60 + 46 = 106
The maxxing fighter that jumps from 1 to 6 has only a paltry 4 HP gain over the normal leveling fighter. The advantage of using the higher base HP is nearly eliminated by missing the +1 bonus from clicking level up at every opportunity! Maxxi Leveling has been nerfed!
But now lets examine a poor mage with the exact same starting stats using the exact same techniques,
Eg. 5. Starting HP Magick User L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 20 + 2*20 = 60 HP
L2 (20 STR, 23 END) = (20/10) + (23/5) - 1 = 2 + 4 - 1 = +5 HP
L3 (20 STR, 26 END) = (20/10) + (26/5) - 1 = 2 + 5 - 1 = +6 HP
L4 (20 STR, 29 END) = (20/10) + (29/5) - 1 = 2 + 5 - 1 = +6 HP
L5 (20 STR, 32 END) = (20/10) + (32/5) - 1 = 2 + 6 - 1 = +7 HP
L6 (20 STR, 35 END) = (20/10) + (35/5) - 1 = 2 + 7 - 1 = +8 HP
Final Magick User HP at L6 = 60 + 32 = 92
Eg. 6. Starting HP Magick User L1 (20 STR, 20 END) = 60
L1 -> L6 in one click = 5*[(20/10) + (35/5)] - 1 = +44 HP
Final Magick User HP at L6 = 60 + 44 = 104
In the Magick User case, the -1 penalty combined with the non-maxxing END at each level makes a whopping 12 HP difference!
III. STARTING MANA POINTS
Now, lets talk mana points where things get even more complicated. MP is similar to HP in that they both are based on two stats, but different stats are used for different classes.
Whether a BUG or by design, ALL CLASSES use Intelligence and Perception for starting MP. (It's commonly believed that Healers use Wisdom instead of Intelligence, but that only applies for MP on level up, not during character creation!! *gasp*)
Starting MP (all classes) = INT + 2*PER
IV. LEVEL UP MP
Level Up MP is similar to Level Up HP where one class gets +1 bonus at each level while other classes get -1 penalty. As expected, it's magic casting classes (Magick User and Healer) who get the +1 for MP and non-magic classes (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue) who get the -1. But here's the tricky part. Level Up MP uses INT for Magick User, Fighter, and Rogue but WIS for Healer and Ranger creating FOUR unique equations.
Level Up MP (Magic User) = (INT/10) + (PER/5) + 1
Level Up MP (Healer) = (WIS/10) + (PER/5) + 1
Level Up MP (Fighter, Rogue) = (INT/10) + (PER/5) - 1
Level Up MP (Ranger) = (WIS/10) + (PER/5) - 1
We can run calculations similar to the ones for HP only this time boosting PER and we'll see similar results. Those benefiting from the +1 bonus (Mage & Healer) gain a modest boost from maxxing levels (jumping from 1 to 6 with one click) but the big impact is to those suffering the -1 penalty (Fighter, Ranger, Rogue) taking a big hit when NOT maxxing levels.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Several things surprised me about this analysis,
A) I'm surprised the +1/-1 modifier hasn't been mentioned in any of the FAQs so far. I can only assume it must be part of a more recent patch.
B) Maxxing levels (jumping 1 to 6+) is not nearly as effective as it used to be for the important cases (maxxing HP for melee and/or maxxing MP for spell casters)
C) Healers/Rangers are being robbed at character creation... they essentially must consider INT to start then switch to WIS to achieve MP/Spell Casting levels after creation.
That is all!