Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Do sneak bonus damage modifiers effect elemental and poison damage?

Question

If I sneak and get a double damage strike on a target with:

  • A sword with 10 fire damage
  • A sword with an applied poison of 15 damage

Does only the base damage have the bonus, or does every damage type receive it too?

Answer

Only the base damage; although with bows, arrow damage is affected as well.

Source: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Sneak (the sentence you want is under the second table)

All tests performed on Devin Mallory in The Ragged Flagon (by the miracle of quicksave, no Devin Mallorys were permanently harmed by these tests):

Poison Tests

Test I: Control

Glass Bow, base damage = 29

Steel Arrow, base damage = 10

Sneak attack x2.0 damage = 72.04 damage (I assume reduced from 78 by armor, I have no idea what the math on that looks like)

Test II: Poison

Glass Bow, base damage = 29

Steel Arrow, base damage = 10 Weak Poison, damage = 15

Sneak attack x2.0 damage = 85.69 damage (again, I assume damage was reduced by armor, but since the poison didn't even do its full damage, it's definitely not doubled by the sneak attack)

Enchantment Tests (as suggested by Fizz):

Test I: Control

Hunter's Bow, base damage = 8

Ancient Nord Arrow, base damage = 10

Sneak attack x2.0 damage = 15.46 damage

Test II: Enchantment

Hunter's Bow of Chills, base damage = 8, frost damage = 6

Ancient Nord Arrow, base damage = 10

Sneak attack x2.0 damage = 35.6 damage

Based on that, I'd say shock/ice/fire enchantments are affected by the sneak attack bonus. If someone feels like figuring out Devin's armor and doing some math, feel free!

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