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The Multiplicative Spell Stack

Why mage outscales every other archetype in the late game.

The core fact​

Almost every spell stat in your pack uses MULTIPLY_BASE operations. Mage damage is not additive like melee — it's multiplicative, meaning each piece of gear multiplies your existing damage.

A 10% crit dmg ring + 10% crit dmg amulet + 25% Archmage + 75% Critical Thinking is NOT 120%. It's:

1 × 1.10 × 1.10 × 1.25 × 1.75 = 2.65 = +165% crit damage

And that's before staff, before enchants, before the Mythic affix.

The proof — Spell Power scaling​

File: config/spell_power/attributes.json

"spell_power_effect": { "bonus_per_stack": 0.1 },
"secondary_effects": {
  "critical_damage": { "bonus_per_stack": 0.1 },
  "haste": { "bonus_per_stack": 0.05 },
  "critical_chance": { "bonus_per_stack": 0.05 }
},
"resistance_reduction_cap": 0.75

Each spell power point = +10% spell damage. Capstoned at 75% resist reduction.

The proof — bypass_iframes​

File: config/spell_engine/server.json5

"bypass_iframes": true,                   // ← THIS IS HUGE
"add_spell_casting_to_swords": true,      // any sword can cast
"haste_affects_cooldown": true            // haste = faster spell spam

bypass_iframes: true means spells ignore invulnerability frames. Melee attacks can't do this. Result: spells hit bosses every tick during sustained casts.

The damage math​

Late-game arcane mage with full stack:

SourceMultiplier
Base Spell Power +6 (Arcane Archmage Fate)× 1.60
Critical Thinking Fate (-25% power, +75% crit dmg)× 1.75 crit dmg
Runes & Stars Fate (+15% crit dmg)× 1.15 crit dmg
Arcane Archmage capstone (+25% crit dmg)× 1.25 crit dmg
4× Jewelry rings @ +10% crit dmg× 1.46 crit dmg
Mythic Staff affix (+10% crit dmg)× 1.10 crit dmg
Mythic Staff affix (+15% crit chance)guaranteed crits
bypass_iframes: truehits every tick

Combined crit dmg multiplier: ≈ ×6.5 over base — every spell hit, multiple times per second, against a boss with no iframe escape.

Why melee can't catch up​

Melee's biggest talent is Warrior's Devotion: +10 flat damage. That's powerful early, but additive.

Sword base 8 + 10 = 18 dmg per swing. One swing per ~1 second after Sharpness/haste.

Mage's worst spell is doing equivalent or higher damage per tick, in AoE, at range, with crit multipliers stacking. Mid-game forward, mage wins on raw DPS, range, AoE, and boss-kill speed.

What the dev intended vs reality​

The talent tree's Critical Thinking node (-25% power for +75% crit dmg) is designed as a tradeoff. But the dev didn't account for it stacking multiplicatively with:

  • Tiered Mythic staff affix (extra +10% crit dmg multiplier)
  • Jewelry rings (each +10% crit dmg)
  • Multiple Fates' crit dmg bonuses

The "tradeoff" is illusory. You always take Critical Thinking.