What is the Difference Between the Various Damage Types?

When you damage a unit through a trigger you can select an Attack and Damage type.


Unknown, Enhanced, Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Disease, Divine, Magic, Sonic, Acid, Force, Death, Mind, Plant, Defensive, Slow Poison, Demolition, Spirit Link, Shadow Strike and Universal

there are so many Damage Types and i've tested various types and i notice no differences except with Normal damage verses most others. Like i had a function that did attack type Chaos and damage type "cold" and using an anti-magic potion seemed to block this damage.. yet simply switching the "cold" to "normal" allowed it to pass through the anti-magic spell.

i've tried using cold verses mind or shadow strike and various others and i see no differences.

is there some guide that explains, in detail, each one and what to expect from them?

Most of them don't change anything. They are assumed to be a relic from something blizzard might have been considering. I recall a couple of them having certain special differences, but on the whole there isn't any point in using them.

DAMAGE_TYPE_UNIVERSAL causes your damage to bypass armor, DAMAGE_TYPE_NORMAL factors armor (Even if used in conjunction with spell damage).
That is the only quirk.

Can't each damage type be detectable through the game? For instance, if you have a trigger which detects if someone has been damaged specifically by frost but not by fire, you can have that unit trigger an effect?

No, there is no means to detect the damagetype of any given damage.
You could simulate such a system if you triggered and monitored ALL damage in the map, but that's really not worth it if you ask me.

so what you are saying is that if i had the spell "Firebolt" that deals 100 damage it will do it's regular spell damage with, of course, a 25% loss to heros.. and if i made my own triggered spell to be just like that "firebolt" i'd have to damage the unit by 100 and set the attack type to Spell and damage type Universal for it to be exactly the same?


all this time i've been using normal in my custom spells because i didn't know. heh

No, let me explain.

You have a firebolt hitting a hero.
It deals 100 damage base minus the reduction from hero armor.
Done.

You trigger the effect and use DAMAGE_TYPE_NORMAL.
It deals 100 damage base minus the reduction from armor damage reduction AND THEN minus the reduction from hero armor.
This yields less damage that intended.
Done.

You trigger the effect and use DAMAGE_TYPE_UNIVERSAL.
It deals 100 damage minus the reduction from hero armor. (Just like normal firebolt does)
Done.

That clarify it a bit?

yeah i understand now, thanks. so the Spell + Normal would actually factor in the defense and adding rings of protection would reduce dmg and Universal would just overlook that number and always treat it as 0.

Yes, exactly.

> DAMAGE_TYPE_UNIVERSAL causes your damage to bypass armor
From what I remember just about every damage type (apart from Normal) does this.
So Normal would be the only one that makes a difference when used.