Balancing positive auras and negative auras

[sethmachine]

Hi,

What is the standard approach when making dual auras, e.g.

Positive Devotion Aura - Give armor bonus to allied units

Negative Devotion Aura - Gives negative armor bonus to enemy units


Do I give both of these auras the same strength, e.g. at level 1 they both add/subtract 1 armor, or do I make the amount for Negative Devotion aura slightly less, since it increases the damage output of the hero (negative armor --> more DPS against enemy units).

 

[Death Adder]

Each point of armor yields different amount of DamageReduction but the increase in EffectiveHitPoints is linear. In other words each point of armor +/- is of equal value (there might be breakpoints still) so 3 more armor would increase a units strenght as much as 3 armor would reduce it.

 

[sethmachine]

I see.

But a negative armor aura is probably more advantageous for grinding/killing enemies if their damage output is not too overwhelming, where as a positive armor aura wouldn't really be helpful in this regard.

 

[Death Adder]

It's situational, if you have units of equal strenght. One side with +2 armor the other with -2 enemy then it's +/- 0.

Healing a unit for 100hp that have 6% increased EHP means you healed equivalent of 106 damage.

If you have a unit with 100hp and another that deals 50 dmg per attack then at 1 armor the damage absorbed would increase by another 50 (33% more) and at 9 armor a 4th attack because of the break point(s).

If you have two clone races then either one of the auras will be superior because you'd play the same style with both races and it would benefit more from one aura than another.

That's where Blizzard balance comes in with their unique races with unique playstyle.

With that said you should think about which is more fitting to whatever you're doing

 

[Solu9]

I see.

But a negative armor aura is probably more advantageous for grinding/killing enemies if their damage output is not too overwhelming, where as a positive armor aura wouldn't really be helpful in this regard.

Yes.
If the player hero deals more damage than he receives, and the enemies are your normal thug type, then increased killing speed is best. Because you don't have to worry all that much about getting killed.

So it comes down to.
Increased killing speed, or survival length. Whichever you prefer.

 

[noob]

The positive one is stronger that the negative one when the heroes with those aura fight because the positive one will fully cancel the negative one and apply its buff.
But the negative one is more useful the rest of the time when you have an damage dealing hero.
And the negative one is more original.