Bash

Powerful blow that increases the damage done to enemies and knocks them back.

Bash is the Barbarian's first Combat Skill (level 1, no prerequisites; it unlocks Double Swing and Stun). It is a single melee attack with a melee weapon: one swing, more damage, more attack rating, and a knockback on every hit that lands. Two numbers decide it: the damage bonus, +50% at level 1 and +145% at level 20, and the fact that it costs 2 mana at every level.

The numbers

The damage bonus is skills.txt Param1 (50) plus Param2 (5) a level, so +50% at level 1, +145% at level 20 and +195% at level 30; the calc reads lvl, so +skills from items raise it. On top of that every hard point in Stun adds 5% (Param8; the calc reads blvl, so only points you placed count).

The flat line is Param3 (1) plus Param4 (1) a level: +1 at level 1, +20 at level 20. The attack-rating bonus is 15 + 5 × level, plus 5% for every hard point in Concentrate (Param7): +20% at level 1, +115% at level 20. Mana is a flat 2 at every level (mana 2, lvlmana 0).

How it works

Bash is a normal attack: it rolls Chance to Hit with your attack rating and Bash's bonus, and on a hit deals your weapon's physical damage with the +% damage added to your other Enhanced Damage. A successful hit knocks back any eligible target; the Basin notes the overlay is the one Leap Attack, Charge and Crushing Blow use. Leech, Crushing Blow, Deadly Strike and Open Wounds all apply as they do to any weapon hit.

The Basin's page says the flat "+ Damage" line is applied only after the damage has been dealt to the target, so it never raises the damage you do. It is still counted when Life Leech, Mana Leech and Life Tap work out what to return, which is how a Bash can leech off a target that is immune to physical damage and takes no damage at all.

Synergies and +skills

• Stun: +5% damage per hard point (Param8). Twenty points make a level 20 Bash +245%.
• Concentrate: +5% attack rating per hard point (Param7).

Both synergy lines read blvl, so +skills do not feed them; the damage and attack-rating lines of Bash itself read lvl and do. Bash feeds back the other way: it gives damage to Double Swing (10% a point), Stun (8%) and Concentrate (5%). A weapon mastery adds its own attack rating, damage and critical-hit chance on top.

Against players

A player's hit on another player is cut to 17% of its value (difficultylevels.txt PlayerDamagePercentVSPlayer) before anything else, see Player versus Player. Nothing else about Bash changes: the knockback still lands on a hit.

Build notes

• Level 20 is +145% damage and +115% attack rating for 2 mana; every +skill adds 5% damage and 5% attack rating.
• A hard point in Stun buys Bash +5% damage and buys Stun its own duration; a hard point in Bash buys Double Swing +10%, Stun +8% and Concentrate +5%, which is why Bash is usually the point sink on a Concentrate build.
• The flat +Damage line is worth nothing to your damage; do not count it.