Boards›Gameplay

The True Value of Infernal Drake - A Nuanced Damage Analysis

Aqua Dragon··157 votes·10,350 views

Aqua Dragon here, ready to show that 8% isn't necessarily 8%.

After slaying the Infernal Drake, the team receives the following buff.

> Infernal Tribute

> Grants 8 / 16 / 24% increased attack damage and ability power.

It's tempting to say that this increases a team's damage output by 8%, but this is evidently false. What about champions like Veigar, who rack up monstrous amounts of AP? How about Darius, who builds a little AD afterward but not a ton? Will an ADC benefit more or an AD Assassin?

##In this post, I'm going to go over the big conclusions, then go through each individual champion calculated, and finally discuss the methodology.

#The Results

I discuss the methodology at the end of the post. The short summary is that I used this calculator I created for each of the champions and tested their estimated builds at Level 8, Level 14, and Level 18. Then, I applied an Infernal Drake to their build to get the relative damage increase.

The Relative Damage Increase means that if say, Ashe has 100 DPS at Level 8 with two items before the Infernal, and has 107.3 DPS after the Infernal, then Ashe's damage has relatively increased by 7.3%.

The relative benefit is linear with each drake. If the first drake gives 4% more damage, the second will give 8% total more damage, and the third will give 12%.

##Graphic of the Worst to Best Users of Infernal Drake

Champion | Relative Damage Bonus Gragas: 1% Darius: 2.5%, down to 1.5% **Lux: ** 1% - 3.1% **Jax: ** 2.6% - 3.6% **Fizz: ** 2.4% - 3.8% **Ryze: ** 4% (Level 18)~ Veigar: 3.5% - 4.3% Kha'zix: 2.1% - 5.4% Fiora: 4.4% - 6.3% Vayne: 5.4% - 6% Ashe: 7.3% Lucian: 6.6% - 7.5% Draven: 8% Jhin: 12%

~Ryze's calculator would have been complex, and so I instead opted to estimate from an assistant's video of Ryze at Level 18. The amount may be less at lower levels, likely similar to Veigar.

#Discussion

AP Champions get the short end of the Infernal stick. The absolute highest AP monstrosity around, Veigar, can't even compete against an AD Caster in relative benefit. AP Assassins get less than AD Assassins, and AP Bruisers get less than AD Bruisers. Note though that getting less from Infernal may not necessarily be unfair; there's an argument that AP champions burst benefits more from relative increases more than DPS, and that the poking pattern of APs makes up for it. I leave that as an exercise to the reader.

Standard AP Casters like Lux and Orianna get an especially weak benefit, far less than might be expected. Even at maximum build, Standard AP Casters get only a 3% damage bonus.

Bruisers actually become worse with Infernal as the game goes on, since they tend to build tanky after an initial damage item. Even then, the benefit they get is extremely small.

Even one of the weakest-AD-scaling ADCs (Vayne) gets a larger benefit than one of the highest AD scaling casters (Kha'zix). The bonus damage ADCs receive from critical chance, combined with their autoattack-reliant fighting pattern (which itself is a 1.0 AD scaling) means that ADCs always get the largest benefit from Infernal. Kog'maw is likely the only exception, due to the next point:

The benefits given to hybrid damage champions, like Jax and some versions of Teemo, are vastly overstated. After getting lackluster results from Jax's full build, I even forced a Guinsoos as their last item and it still wasn't enough to get a huge benefit from Infernal. However, note that very few true hybrids exist anymore; Kayle and Teemo generally build raw AP instead, and while champions like Kog'maw and Corki deal hybrid damage, they don't tend to build hybrid per se (mix of AP and AD).

Speaking of benefits, the relative damage bonus of the Infernal Drake does not always get better as the game goes on. Draven will always get 8% extra DPS from the Infernal, whether taken at Level 8 with two items or at Level 18 with all six items. Same with Ashe, Gragas, Jhin, and Lucian. Check the data below if curious how it changes with the levels and items!

Though not shown in the table above, take my word for it: the amount of armor / MR of the target is irrelevant to the bonus given by the drake. Even with items like Lord Dominiks and Cleaver, the relative bonus was very close to identical (at worst, being about 0.3% of a difference).

The Champion Data

Jhin

The monster outlier incarnate, Jhin's passive, in conjunction with Infernal, provides absolutely insane amounts of relative damage from the Infernal Drake, more than the Infernal Drake's percentage even gives! The process to find the Infernal benefit was not easy, but you can read all about -x^2 / 22500 + (7x / 90) + (56/9) over here

One more thing to note about Jhin: it was mentioned that the Infernal benefit scales linearly per drake (First is 5%, Second is 10%, Third is 15%). Jhin doesn't play by these rules; Jhin actually get more than three times the benefit with three drakes. (up to 37.3% more DPS)

Note though that the %missing HP damage on the fourth shot could not be accounted for in these calculations; it would put Jhin's true percentages a little lower, but not by much.

|

All magic damage and %missing HP effects are excluded fom these calculations.

Burst is one single-person Dancing Grenade and a Deadly Flourish

The lower end of the DPS is the DPS over the first three shots, while the higher end is the DPS over all four shots.

Total Damage is the total damage from all four shots. Total DPS is the DPS over all four shots in addition to the reload time of 2.5 seconds.

The numbers in parenthesis are with Ghostblade active.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Ghostblade, Boots of Swiftness

Type | Damage Pre-Drake Burst: 319 (332) Pre-Drake DPS: 108 – 122 (118 – 133) Pre-Drake Four Total: 665 over 2.93 Seconds (723) Pre-Drake Final DPS: 84 (91)

Post-Drake Burst: 336 (350) Post-Drake DPS: 121 – 137 (132 – 149) Post-Drake Four Total: 745 over 5.45 Seconds (811) Post-Drake Final DPS: 94 (102)

Burst Percentage Change: 5.3% DPS Percentage Change: 12%

|

Level 14 Duskblade, Rapid Firecannon

Type | Damage Pre-Drake Burst: 441 (457) Pre-Drake DPS: 228 – 256 (243 – 273) Pre-Drake Four Total: 1203 over 4.7 Seconds (1284) Pre-Drake Final DPS: 167 (178)

Post-Drake Burst: 469 (486) Post-Drake DPS: 255 – 287 (272 – 306) Post-Drake Four Total: 1346 over 4.7 Seconds (1435) Post-Drake Final DPS: 187 (199)

Burst Percentage Change: 6.3% DPS Percentage Change: 11.7%

|

Level 18 Infinity Edge, Lord Dominik’s Regards

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 593 (615) Pre-Drake DPS: 541 – 660 (571 – 696) Pre-Drake Four Total: 2797 over 4.24 Seconds (2950) Pre-Drake Final DPS: 415 (438)

Post-Drake Burst: 641 (665) Post-Drake DPS: 606 – 738 (639 – 779) Post-Drake Four Total: 3130 over 4.24 Seconds (3302) Post-Drake Final DPS: 464 (490)

Burst Percentage Change: 8.1%

DPS Percentage Change: 11.8%

|

Triple-Drake | Damage

Total AD: 961 Triple Post-Drake Burst: 742 (773) Triple Post-Drake DPS: 744 – 907 (785 – 957) Triple Post-Drake Four Total: 3843 over 4.24 Seconds (4055) Triple Post-Drake Final DPS: 570 (602)

Burst Percentage Change: 25% DPS Percentage Change: 37.3%

##Draven

I always had high hopes for Draven in this analysis and they did not disappoint. Even with only half the axes being caught, they get some insane benefits from Infernal, even early on.

|

Burst is one Stand Aside and Half of Whirling Death

DPS assumes half of the axes are being caught. Higher DPS has Youmuu’s activated.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Ghostblade, Zerks

Type | Damage

**Pre-Drake Burst:**314 Pre-Drake DPS: 230 - 277

Post-Drake Burst: 322 Post-Drake DPS: 248 - 300

Burst Percentage Change: 2.5% DPS Percentage Change: 7.8% - 8.3%

|

Level 14 Mercurial, Phantom Dancer

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 356 Pre-Drake DPS: 426 - 489

Post-Drake Burst: 367 Post-Drake DPS: 460 - 528

Burst Percentage Change: 3.0% DPS Percentage Change: 7.9%

|

Level 18 Infinity Edge, Lord Dominiks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 567 Pre-Drake DPS: 835 - 953

Post-Drake Burst: 585 Post-Drake DPS: 902 - 1029

Burst Percentage Change: 3.2% DPS Percentage Change: 8.0%

##Lucian

Lucian is a very interesting case. As the Cleaver stacks add up and Fervor of Battle begins reaching maximum power, the relative benefit that Lucian gets from the Drake starts to decrease. Even with this reduction however, Lucian's DPS increase is functionally higher than nearly everyone else.

|

Ardent Censer’s Damage is excluded, but the spell is still cast.

Burst is one Piercing Light, the full Culling, and four autos (three of which proc Lightslinger)

DPS rotation is two Piercing Lights, Three Lightslinger procs, and autoattacks over the duration, all divided by the duration (Piercing Light CD + 1.5)

Lower end of DPS is before Cleaver, higher end is after Cleaver and Fervor. Parenthesis on DPS is after Youmuus.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Ghostblade, Zerks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1703 Pre-Drake DPS: 212 – 258 (244 – 301)

Post-Drake Burst: 1800 Post-Drake DPS: 226 – 272 (261 – 318)

Burst Percentage Change: 5.6% DPS Percentage Change: 6.6% down to 5.4%

|

Level 14 Cleaver, Phantom Dancer

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2161 - 2576 Pre-Drake DPS: 349 – 507 (390 – 570)

Post-Drake Burst: 2284 - 2723 Post-Drake DPS: | 374 – 536 (418 – 604)

Burst Percentage Change: 5.6% DPS Percentage Change: 7.1% down to 5.7%

|

Level 18 Infinity Edge, Bloodthirster

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2745 - 3486 Pre-Drake DPS: 504 – 723 (564 – 813)

Post-Drake Burst: 2928 - 3705 Post-Drake DPS: 542 – 771 (607 – 868)

Burst Percentage Change: 6.3% DPS Percentage Change: 7.5% down to 6.6%

##Ashe

Because Ashe is a utility ADC, I fully expected their damage to have difficulty competing with the others. However, the unique way that crit chance functions on Ashe's passive does a significant job at keeping their Infernal bonus competitive with the other ADCs

|

Burst is Ult into Volley into two Flurried Autos

Low end of the DPS is without Ranger’s Focus, while the high end is with it, with both ends having Volley divided by its cooldown.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Essence Reaver, Zerks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 584 Pre-Drake DPS: 188 - 237

Post-Drake Burst: 614 Post-Drake DPS: 202 - 254

Burst Percentage Change: 5.1% DPS Percentage Change: 7.3%

|

Level 14 Dorans, Runaans, Infinity Edge

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1028 Pre-Drake DPS: 487 – 637

Post-Drake Burst: 1156 Post-Drake DPS: 523 - 685

Burst Percentage Change: 5.6% DPS Percentage Change: 7.4%

|

Level 18 Lord Dominiks, Bloodthirster

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1443 Pre-Drake DPS: 733 – 964

Post-Drake Burst: 1530 Post-Drake DPS: 789 - 1038

Burst Percentage Change: 5.7% DPS Percentage Change: 7.5%

##Vayne

Vayne has some pretty lame AD ratios on the rest of their kit, considering how Condemn can't be spammed, really only leaving Tumble. Despite this, Vayne manages to outclass every champion that's not an ADC.

Note though that the BotRK %Missing HP passive could not be accounted for in these calculations; it would put Vayne's true percentages a little lower, but not by much.

|

%missing HP from BotRK is not counted. The burst still is.

Burst is Ult active with one Tumble, a successful wall pin, and three autos (with a Silver Bolts proc)

DPS is autoattacks multiplied by attack speed, Silver Bolt damage divided by three then multiplied by attack speed, and Tumble damage divided by its cooldown.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Blade of the Ruined King, Zerks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 660 Pre-Drake DPS: | 219

Post-Drake Burst: 687 Post-Drake DPS: 231

Burst Percentage Change: 4% DPS Percentage Change: 5.4%

|

Level 14 Phantom Dancer, Infinity Edge

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1167 Pre-Drake DPS: | 599

Post-Drake Burst: 1227 Post-Drake DPS: 635

Burst Percentage Change: 5.1% DPS Percentage Change: 6%

|

Level 18 Mercurial, Lord Dominiks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1833 Pre-Drake DPS: | 973

Post-Drake Burst: 1924 Post-Drake DPS: 1031

Burst Percentage Change: 5% DPS Percentage Change: 5.9%

##Fiora

With the absolute bonkers true damage from Fiora's passive, I was looking forward to seeing an AD Caster who could possibly trump the ADCs in relative bonus from the Infernal. Sadly, even the Grand Duelist was unable to overcome it, though "2nd place" is a nice perk.

|

Small Burst is one Lunge into a Passive Proc, followed by two autos, one with enhanced damage from Bladework, and Hydra Active.

Ult Burst is all four ult passives being procd by one Lunge and three autos, one with enhanced Bladework damage, and Hydra active. After Level 9, there are two lunges instead of one.

The higher burst range is after the target has been affected by all Cleaver stacks, if applicable.

|

Level 8 Ravenous Hydra, Mercury Treads

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Small Burst: | 686 Pre-Drake Ult Burst: | 1070

Post-Drake Small Burst: | 716 Post-Drake Ult Burst: | 1120

Small Burst Percentage Change: 4.4% Ult Burst Percentage Change: 4.7%

|

Level 14 Cleaver, Bloodthirster

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Small Burst: | 983 - 1125 Pre-Drake Ult Burst: | 1938 - 2138

Post-Drake Small Burst: | 1038 - 1187 Post-Drake Ult Burst: | 2051 - 2262

Small Burst Percentage Change: 5.5% Ult Burst Percentage Change: 5.8%

|

Level 18 Randuins, Death’s Dance

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Small Burst: | 1081 - 1251 Pre-Drake Ult Burst: | 2610 - 2850

Post-Drake Small Burst: | 1147 - 1327 Post-Drake Ult Burst: | 2778 - 3032

Small Burst Percentage Change: 6.1% Ult Burst Percentage Change: 6.3%

##Kha'zix

Kha'zix is the counterpart of Veigar when it comes to raw, bristling AD might, though even their claws can't match up to the ADCs. The amount of raw damage granted by one Infernal can be pretty impressive though (180!)

|

Both Burst and DPS assume an isolated target. By Level 8, Claws are evolved.

Burst is One Leap and Void Spikes, and two Taste Their Fears, Passives, and Autos. Hydra, if applicable.

DPS Rotation is over 2.5 seconds. One Taste Their Fear, and Two Autos, but no passive applications. Higher end of the DPS assumes Void Assault is ready, adding one passive application per damage rotation.

The Duskblade passive %Missing HP damage is not counted.

|

Level 8 Warrior, Lucidity

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1772 Pre-Drake DPS: 290 - 335

Post-Drake Burst: 1810 Post-Drake DPS: 299 - 343

Burst Percentage Change: 2.1% DPS Percentage Change: 3.1% down to 2.4%

|

Level 14 Ghostblade, Duskblade

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2003 Pre-Drake DPS: 372 - 407

Post-Drake Burst: 2090 Post-Drake DPS: 391 - 426

Burst Percentage Change: 4.3% DPS Percentage Change: 5.1% down to 4.6%

|

Level 18 Ravenous Hydra, Lord Dominiks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2693 Pre-Drake DPS: | 473 - 509

Post-Drake Burst: 2841 Post-Drake DPS: | 501 - 537

Burst Percentage Change: 5.4% DPS Percentage Change: 5.9% down to 5.5%

##Veigar

I had such high hopes for Veigar. It's not like they even lacking in AP; at level 18, they have a whopping 1078 AP! With Infernal, that goes all the way up to 1143!

...that's still only a 4.3% damage increase. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a nice chunk of damage, but 160 extra burst feels kind of lame considering the initial burst already is doing 3750 damage.

|

Burst is one of each spell, with a full power ult; the relative bonus from the Infernal was the same regardless of the ult's power.

And before some smart aleck asks: the passive stacks are counted. They're right next to the item names.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Morello, Sorcs, 50 Stacks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1256 Post Drake Burst: 1300

Percentage Change: 3.5%

|

Level 14 Void Staff, Rabadons, 150 Stacks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2932 Post Drake Burst: 3045

Percentage Change: 3.8%

|

Level 18 Zhonyas, Ludens, 300 Stacks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 3749 (1079 AP) Post Drake Burst: 3913 (1143 AP)

Percentage Change: 4.3%

##Ryze

As mentioned earlier, I was pretty tired of making calculators, and Ryze would have been a fairly complicated one to make. Instead, a gracious viewer of mine, jetio4, made a video showcasing Ryze's bonus Infernal damage at level 18.

4% Increase at Level 18, Full Build

Note that this means Ryze probably has less increases at lower levels. Frankly though, it likely just follows a similar pattern as Veigar, going from 3% to 4%.

##Fizz

Fizz is fairly popular and seemed like a perfect candidate for the quintessential AP Assassin. The only caveat is that their %Missing HP damage could not be accounted for, but the picture painted by these numbers is fairly accurate even when I brute forced some experimental amounts.

|

%Missing HP is ignored.

Burst is one of each spell and one Lichbane proc.

DPS is Urchin Strike and Playful divided by their cooldowns, with the DoT of Seastone trident, with enhanced Trident autos multiplied by attack speed, and Lich Bane procs assumed every three seconds.

The higher end of the DPS assumes the Ult was just applied for the higher magic damage.

|

Level 8 Doran, Abyssal Scepter, Sorcerer Shoes

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1079 Pre-Drake DPS: 100 - 119

Post-Drake Burst: 1105 Post-Drake DPS: 104 - 123

Burst Percentage Change: 2.4% DPS Percentage Change: 4% down to 3.3%

|

Level 14 Lich Bane, Zhonyas

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1825 Pre-Drake DPS: 258 - 308

Post-Drake Burst: 1892 Post-Drake DPS: 270 - 323

Burst Percentage Change: 3.6% DPS Percentage Change: 4.7%

|

Level 18 Doran, Abyssal Scepter, Sorcerer Shoes

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 3061 Pre-Drake DPS: 525 - 628

Post-Drake Burst: 3179 Post-Drake DPS: 549 - 657

Burst Percentage Change: 3.8% DPS Percentage Change: 4.6%

##Lux

I feel Lux is perhaps the most interesting part of this list. If I had to guess before, I would have never expected that the benefit they get (and by extension, most other Standard AP Mids) would be so little. Not only that, but it's not even constant; it's a measly 1% at Level 8 and takes a long time to ramp up higher.

Additionally, increasing the number of passive procs does nothing to increase the relative dragon damage, so I know it's not just a matter of lacking some super great burst combo. What a strange result.

|

Burst is one of each spell, two passive procs.

|

Level 8 Dorans, Morello, Sorcs

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1084 Post-Drake Burst: 1109

Percentage Change: 0.93%

|

Level 14 Void Staff, Rabadons

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2166 Post-Drake Burst: 2226

Percentage Change: 2.7%

|

Level 18 Zhonyas, Ludens

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 2487 Post-Drake Burst: 2565

Percentage Change: 3.1%

##Jax

From the beginning, I knew I wanted a hybrid damage champion to test the Drake's power on. Unfortunately, the traditional hybrid champions pretty much all just build raw AP (Teemo, Kayle, Akali). Jax is the last remaining true hybrid. The theory is that having both AP and AD allows for double dipping into the stats for an even larger bonus.

In reality, the scalings for both are underwhelming to account for this, and so Jax is barely floating above the Standard AP Mages in terms of relative damage. I even tossed a Guinsoos to really force the hybrid nature (Jax doesn't even build Guinsoos anymore!) but it still wasn't enough.

Still, Jax does better than the AP champions, though that's likely more attributable to the AD rather than a result of double dipping as a hybrid.

|

Burst is one of each spell, three autos, and two triforce apps (if applicable)

DPS rotation is Leap Strike and Empowered divided by cooldowns, Triforce divided by Empower’s cooldown, and passive damage from Grandmaster’s Might multiplied by AS but divided by 3.

DPS refers to the initial combat. High DPS is after Fervor of Battle, Relentless Assault, and Guinsoos kick in, if applicable.

|

Level 8 Triforce, Mercury Treads

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 866 Pre-Drake DPS: | 206 - 360

Post-Drake Burst: 890 Post-Drake DPS: | 214 - 370

Burst Percentage Change: 3.4% DPS Percentage Change: 3.8%

|

Level 14 Gunblade, Steraks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1301 Pre-Drake DPS: 336 - 508

Post-Drake Burst: 1340 Post-Drake DPS: 349 - 526

Burst Percentage Change: 3.0% DPS Percentage Change: 3.6%

|

Level 18 Randuins, Guardian Angel

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1085 Pre-Drake DPS: | 287 - 431

Post-Drake Burst: 1114 Post-Drake DPS: 298 - 446

Burst Percentage Change: 2.6% DPS Percentage Change: 3.6%

|

Level 18 Randuins, Guinsoos!

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1197 Pre-Drake DPS: 323 - 630

Post-Drake Burst: 1235 Post-Drake DPS: 337 - 655

High DPS Percentage Change: 4.0%

##Darius

We've finally reached the bruisers. I chose Darius since they seemed to be a bit on the AD heavier side of the bruiser builds with nicer scalings. The innate armor pen is pretty good too!

Sadly, even with all these advantages, Darius actually loses more relative damage from the Infernal as the game goes on, in direct contrast with the others.

|

Burst is one of each spell, one second of five passive stacks, and a fully powered ultimate

DPS rotation is Decimate and Crippling Strike damage divided by cooldowns, five passive stacks per second, and autoattacks multiplied by attack speed.

In either case, passive pen of Apprehend is considered (and is maxed second).

|

Level 8 Cleaver, Mercury Treads

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 788 - 830 Pre-Drake DPS: 193 - 210

Pre-Drake Burst: 810 - 853 Pre-Drake DPS: 198 - 215

Percentage Change: 2.5%

|

Level 14 Deadmans, Spirit Visage

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1017 - 1094 Pre-Drake DPS: 222 - 255

Pre-Drake Burst: 1037 - 1115 Pre-Drake DPS: 226 - 260

Percentage Change: 2%

|

Level 18 Randuins, Steraks

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1127 – 1221 Pre-Drake DPS: 193 - 235

Pre-Drake Burst: 1143 - 1239 Pre-Drake DPS: 196 - 239

Percentage Change: 1.5%

##Gragas

Gragas sits in last place, fulfilling the observations noted (AP pretty much always gets worse benefits than AD, and bruisers do worse than everyone else). Part of the trouble that Gragas has is the physical damage from Iceborne and Deadmans doesn't scale with the Infernal, making it difficult to truly gather dank drake dabs.

|

Full Power Barrel Burst. Accounts for Deadmans.

DPS rotation is 7 seconds, One 50% Barrel, Two Drunken Rage, One Body Slam, and Runic Echoes

|

Level 8 Runic, Lucidity

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 943 Pre-Drake DPS: 140

Pre-Drake Burst: 946 Pre-Drake DPS: 141

Percentage Change: Not even 1%

|

Level 14 Iceborne, Spirit Visage

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 1142 Pre-Drake DPS: 172

Pre-Drake Burst: 1153 Pre-Drake DPS: 174

Percentage Change: Barely 1%

|

Level 18 Zhonyas, Ludens

Type | Damage

Pre-Drake Burst: 996 Pre-Drake DPS: 147

Pre-Drake Burst: 1006 Pre-Drake DPS: 148

Percentage Change: 1.01%

#Methodology

All calculations were done using my calculator. This calculator was created for my personal use, so I apologize for the unintuitive aspects of it.

First, a caveat: the Armor / MR of the target does not change the Infernal bonus, since it is a constant. Even in cases with Lord Dominiks or Cleaver, the relative bonus from the Infernal was approximately the same regardless of the target's armor.

That being said, for the sake of authenticity, I've adjusted the MR, Armor, and Maximum Health of the target being attacked.

  • Level 8 - 40 MR, 40 Armor, 1400 Health

  • Level 14 - 70 MR, 100 Armor, 2000 Health

  • Level 18 - 100 MR, 200 Armor, 3000 Health

The builds and ability orders were chosen based on the most popular builds on Champion.gg. The only exceptions are the ones noted, such as Darius maximizing Apprehend second, Jax building Guinsoos, Fiora having Death's Dance as a sixth item, etc.

No %Missing HP could be accounted for. The calculator is not a simulator; I would not be able to reliably tell how much life a target has after each autoattack, and frankly most combat situations are going to involve a target being damaged by other sources at the same time.

If you enjoy methodology, you may enjoy my tale of madness while trying to understand Jhin's relation with Infernal.

#Thanks for Reading!

94 Comments

xSwimmx46 votes

Thanks for this informative information. Blew my mind.

Velzard of Koz12 votes

The amount of information in his information just.. Informs me!

IronicGentleman2 votes

{quoted}

Thanks for this informative information. Blew my mind.

Not as much as Veigar's burst. That blows everything.

forresto3 votes

you mean janna. janna blows everything... I was talking about her wind perv ;)

IronicGentleman2 votes

{quoted}

you mean janna. janna blows everything... I was talking about her wind perv ;)

For only $2.95 a minute ... Oh, sorry, my bad.

Ritesh30 votes

So much going on in this post. Very informative and well organized. 10/10

Very Hard Engage19 votes

hhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg data +1

buff ap pl0x

GigglesO12 votes

I just like wind dragon the most, but no one asked the immobile tank player...

Spoofghoul9 votes

Damn you explained in 3 years worth of reading why i always encourage my team to go for oceans

free firedrakes aside, a team is often better off trading a tower for it and gain an immediate advantage. i guess its teamcomp dependant

But oceans are always sweet, especially earlygame it solves everyone's mana problems even with just 1 ocean drake which allows more spellcasting which also increases damage & pressure and allows the mages to sacrifice mana for damage items which will also increase damage

Furthermore being able to trade and recover will allow you to stay longer then your opponent grinding them down making them leave and then grab some advantages

whilst firedrake never truly falls off i find myself doing better with ocean and wind drakes provided we get them early enough simply because they allow to outpressure your opponent making ti harder for them to contest stuff down the line

Evewynn8 votes

I can't even pretend to have read all of your post, but +1 anyways

It Hertz When IP2 votes

I fizzled out around Veigar's nitty gritty. Thank God the tl;dr was at the top.

DrugsForRobots6 votes

You ever thought about doing a nuanced analysis of stealth and vision systems in MOBAs and RTSs in general?

Aqua Dragon14 votes

I don't feel I've thought about the topic enough to do a justified writeup, but I will definitely keep it in mind. I'm a bit conflicted about it.

DrugsForRobots2 votes

Conflicted? Why? How so? If you don't mind me asking...

:o

Aqua Dragon2 votes

Heroes of the Storm has a stealth system where the cloaked units have a very soft silhouette at their location. They can't be targeted but any damage negates the stealth. I feel this is kind of a cop-out stealth system because of how variable the terrain underneath can affect it.

Evelynn has the stealth which reveals when in range of others. Good for Evelynn, not sure about how that should translate to others.

Ideally there shouldn't be a single 75 g item that counters stealth entirely from champions like Akali. But at the same time, there needs to be some degree of counterplay.

What if an outline showed which could be hit by incidental damage, but just couldn't be targeted by single-target spells? That could be interesting. But what are the ramifications of that? Would that still make stealth feel really bad? How much loss of outplay potential does that create, especially for people like Shaco?

There's more, but those are just my initial thoughts, and I don't fully know how I feel about them all.

GrimoireM2 votes

A good example of stealth with counterplay would be Slark's Ultimate from DotA 2. It's similar to Vladimir's pool in execution, only without the invulnerability aspect. You can still use AoE nukes to damage him, but the stealth doesn't break till the duration's over. I imagine any stealth mechanic would still ignore ward coverage, however.

Akali honestly has the best stealth mechanic. The problem everything around it. Pink wards counter it too well, her shadow dash makes it hard to react to, and potentially the shroud size is too big once she has the dash. You can play around her effective zone as long as it's clear where the shroud is. If her dash was limited around her shroud somehow (only being able to dash out of her shroud if she's in it, but always being able to dash into her shroud), it wouldn't be a problem either, I think.

All other temporary stealth mechanics are fine, aside from visibility. Another clear way to indicate it is Footprints. If you make those champions leave a trail for a long period, they're easier to react to and plan around. The ability to bypass ward/minimap vision is invaluable, as is the untargetable state for breaking auto-attacks and certain nukes. Those effects should stay, but the footprint trail is a good compromise to that on the minimap level and serves the same purpose as the outline. Making people check the areas they ward isn't a bad thing, either, though it would be easier to do if there was a way to save a position on your map with ctrl plus an f-key, then quickly check it with said f-key. That would make general map awareness and lane assessment easier for players too, if they chose to use it.

Permanent stealth like Eve has needs to be more visible than footprints, though, so she should get an outline effect. The other counterplay option she needs is a way for players to break it. Not for all damage, but at least for skill shots, since they have to be aimed at her intentionally.

Maximum Morde5 votes

TL:DR - The more you rely on abilities (and their base damage), the less you benefit from Fire Drake.

There, I could have saved you all that typing, its a pretty obvious conclusion even without doing any math at all.

Dolasaur17 votes

A good scientist can explain why the world is round in 20 seconds, but people thought the world was flat for thousands of years. Why? Because they made the assumption based on easily available data.

Don't underestimate the value of people doing in-depth analysis of previously unexplored issues.

Velzard of Koz3 votes

A good scientist can explain why the world is round in 20 seconds, but people thought the world was flat for thousands of years. Why? Because they made the assumption based on easily available data.

No, people didn't believe world was flat. That's historical inaccuracy. There is just one record of educated book stating world is flat from some random dude from middle east. Most scholars assumed world was similar to the shape of yellow part of egg, with universe being possibly flat. Ordinary folk gave merely one damn as they didn't need to ask these questions while tending to harvests.

That's for medieval times, as for something older, in atique times they already had concept of atoms, hard to believe many thought earth was flat, as for long before, I wouldn't give that thousands of years.

HateDaddy4 votes

That's actually really interesting

Let me ask you this, how much benefit does Infernal Drake give for champions with steroids during the steroids actives

Think like Riven Ult, Nasus ult (assuming capped out since the ad he receives is capped at 300 I believe, don't quote me) etc

Dicerson4 votes

While i didn't much care for the details of most of it. Its good to know that Infernal's true bonus is different for each champion, and is particularly strong on my favorite one :D

One detailed bit I did care enough about to read was Jhin! Truly the spaghetti is strong with that one. One hell of a way to handle the drake bonus XD

TFBaam3 votes

imagine the amount of custom games you had to go through, in and out oh no infernal restart waste of 20 minutes

Tis a nice day7 votes

I think he just used math instead.

Saianna3 votes

SO... In super-mega-very-short TL;DR we can assume that:

"ADCs use Infernal Drake buff to more than fullest, while rest is meh"

right?

Shadow Hazard3 votes

AKA it may not be as worth as you thought it was, which is especially shown on champs that almost never build bonus damage stats or has piss poor scalings.

Trap or a Trick3 votes

TL;DR I failed math

Dealth3 votes

Heimerdinger One step closer to greater understanding!

rtbf2256182413 votes

By the mere amount of information and work put into this post, it's rather intimidating to even argue..

Nice math skills.

Cheese Pope3 votes

SO... MANY... NUMBERS!!! https://i.imgur.com/1JdLiGS.png?1

Great post btw

Stars Shaper3 votes

http://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/t_article_image/pnznkqgsrgw4tx0qdpxr.jpg

Yi Bencheikh2 votes

How much time did it took you to write this ?

Aqua Dragon2 votes

To format the post, gather the data, or do the little writeups?

Yi Bencheikh3 votes

everything

Jungle Lux God2 votes

Keep in mind that some AP champions have a fair bit of non-damage sources of utility or defenses that scale with ability power to not get nearly as much damage from Infernal Drake. It makes sense for someone like Ryze or Swain to get less damage out of Infernal Drake because they also get some defensive stats from the extra AP they get due to AP scaling shields/heals. Likewise, it makes sense for someone like Lux or Orianna to get less damage out of Infernal Drake because they get more powerful shields for their allies.

I'm also surprised you didn't use someone like Karthus or Cassiopeia in this list. I'd think that high DPS AP champions would get a lot more value out of the buff than some of the burstier champions.

Aqua Dragon3 votes

Karthus actually has even worse AP ratios than Lux all around (0.3 to 0.6 on Lay Waste, 0.25 on Defile, and 0.7 on Requiem)

Karthus does hit more spells per second, but that just means the base damage is applied more often too along with the scaling. They probably would do even worse than Lux ultimately.

Cass is interesting because of their six items. I may have to give them a spin sometime when I'm not tired of calculating things ha

Jungle Lux God2 votes

Looking back Cass doesn't make too much sense considering you'd need to recalculate every AP champ you tested to not use sorc shoes (since Cass can't buy boots and you need consistent damage calculations unless magic pen isn't being taken into account).

Part of why Karthus might have been better is because he's such a DPS-oriented caster, and it only makes sense to mix DPS-oriented mages with the burst mages you put in there to show the kind of difference it makes.

Arakadia2 votes

I scrolled so long looking for the bottom my mouse nearly broke lol.

TD:LR?

Aqua Dragon2 votes

tl;dr Image at the top. Better scroll back up!

Akali is SO HOT2 votes

Yeah cloud drake is easily the best now

Spaceman5pff2 votes

Really wonderful evaluation that I don't have time to fully read at the moment. Bookmarked so I can get back to it :)

Dessem2 votes

ready to show that 8% isn't necessarily 8%.

Only in maths can we say that 8% isn't necessarily 8%.

Very interesting read. Jealous of people who can maths so well.

DeFy Logics2 votes

damn all the numbers, more burning less talk Brand

Junkο1 votes

It's tempting to say that this increases a team's damage output by 8%, but this is evidently false. What about champions like Veigar, who rack up monstrous amounts of AP? How about Darius, who builds a little AD afterward but not a ton? Will an ADC benefit more or an AD Assassin?

Technically their bonus damage output is increased by 8% regardless outside of interactions with Rabadons (they stack infinitely until the number is too small).

InsanitysTheName23 votes

Not true. The buff does not buff straight damage. It buffs %AP and AD so if you have more AD like an ADC, you will receive a greater impact from the infernal drake than say a AD bruiser who builds mostly tank.

DrCyanide11 votes

Spelled out another way, every auto attack deals 100% AD, while relatively few spells deals 100% AP. The "missing" damage is due to the spells scaling.

Dr Poro13 votes

It's not about the scaling it's about how much % of your damage is due to base damages. Bruisers will deal a lot of their damage through base damage of skills that don't come from ad or ap stats.

forresto1 votes

in other words ap-wise only blitz gets the full 8% scaling from infernal. after all, both of his ap spells have 1-1 ap scaling, and his other 2 spells modify his basic attacks.

Dr Poro3 votes

No he doesn't, because he has base damage as well in his Q and R. If blitz goes support with little AP, he will gain little from the infernal drake buff. It's about base damages / total damage. A full AP champ with 60% scalings on their abilities will gain more % of effect from infernal than blitz who builds 0 AP (as he will gain close to nothing, except for his E which will deal +8%).

Tis a nice day4 votes

A champion that has 0 AP or bonus AD (some supports and tanks) will have their damage increased by 0%.

edit: Infernal affects base AD so supports and tanks actually do have some benefits.

Aazzlano4 votes

Infernal does grant bonus AD based on your total AD though, not your bonus AD. It's far, far superior for AD champions, especially early game.

More from Gameplay

3 Refunds per season, upvote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay764 comments
7,167
votes
3 Refunds per season, upvote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay156 comments
3,510
votes
UPVOTE FOR URF
Gameplay606 comments
2,440
votes
Yes plz.
Gameplay456 comments
1,721
votes
3 Refunds per season, up vote if you want 3 refunds per season.
Gameplay114 comments
1,716
votes
When is ANYONE at riot going to address the awful new player experience?
Gameplay634 comments
1,383
votes

More by Aqua Dragon

A Nuanced Look at Dragons, Randomness, and Competitiveness
Gameplay191 comments
399
votes
Comprehensive Summary of the Mid-Year Mage Rework (Brand, Cass, Malz, Vel, Vlad, Zyra)
Gameplay182 comments
154
votes
Grievous Wounds is Reverted, Soraka is Slain, but Should it Exist? - A Nuanced Look
Gameplay128 comments
132
votes
How often does off-meta get reported? - Results from my last 90 days
Gameplay165 comments
93
votes
Best Bans by Tier in Each Region (Patch 6.8): A Statistical Analysis - Taric Edition
Gameplay107 comments
74
votes
Best Bans by Tier in Each Region (Patch 6.9): A Statistical Analysis - Malz Edition
Gameplay18 comments
35
votes