OML black match [Match 4 and Cascade Damage Calculations]

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RyanL24
RyanL24 Posts: 54
edited April 2016 in MPQ General Discussion
I have been using OML a lot, mainly during Lightening Rounds, solely due to his incredible match damage. I noticed this thing... What's it worth? I started off a game with a black match 4. 1000+ damage, nice! The next game I got to start with another black match 4 and thought "here comes 1000+ damage!" Only it was worth 880 or something. So I started paying attention and eventually writing stuff down.

All of these numbers came from the first move of the game, to ensure that no strike or shield tiles were messing up the numbers.

Match 4 damage: 780, 999, 880, 968, 755, 1086, 877, 836, 936.

I even managed to start 2 games off with black match 5's, which were worth 987 & 1058.

When you match 3, it is consistently worth 468. UNLESS it is in a cascade. This is something I noticed more recently, and is a hard thing to watch for. I saw one worth 351 and one worth 419. I even caught a match 4 in a cascade that was worth a mere 461.

Thoughts? Is this normal for all characters and I've just never noticed?

Mod Edit: Changed subject line to accurately represent content, this topic will be moved to Tips and Guides/FAQ (eventually)

Comments

  • Orion
    Orion Posts: 1,295 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Since a black match 4 destroys the entire row, I think it tallies up the damage for all the tiles in that row. If they're red/black/yellow, then OML will do more damage than if they're off colors.
  • BlackSheep101
    BlackSheep101 Posts: 2,025 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Orion wrote:
    Since a black match 4 destroys the entire row, I think it tallies up the damage for all the tiles in that row. If they're red/black/yellow, then OML will do more damage than if they're off colors.
    This. A match 4 is more like a match 8. The character who owns the 4 tiles matched deals damage for destroying all 8.
  • Bulls
    Bulls Posts: 141 Tile Toppler
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    It's really simple - when you're doing m-4 you're destroying whole row - and you deal dmg equal to the value of all destroyed tiles. If you score more high dmg tiles - you'll deal more dmg.
  • xidragonxi
    xidragonxi Posts: 253 Mover and Shaker
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    RyanL24 wrote:
    When you match 3, it is consistently worth 468. UNLESS it is in a cascade. This is something I noticed more recently, and is a hard thing to watch for. I saw one worth 351 and one worth 419. I even caught a match 4 in a cascade that was worth a mere 461.

    Match damage declines during a cascade. I don't know what the ratio is, but every time a match happens, the damage is reduced a little. This is normal.
  • Bossblack
    Bossblack Posts: 80 Match Maker
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    xidragonxi wrote:
    RyanL24 wrote:
    When you match 3, it is consistently worth 468. UNLESS it is in a cascade. This is something I noticed more recently, and is a hard thing to watch for. I saw one worth 351 and one worth 419. I even caught a match 4 in a cascade that was worth a mere 461.

    Match damage declines during a cascade. I don't know what the ratio is, but every time a match happens, the damage is reduced a little. This is normal.

    I think it reduces by 20%.
  • Ruinate
    Ruinate Posts: 528 Critical Contributor
    edited March 2016
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    Bossblack wrote:
    xidragonxi wrote:
    RyanL24 wrote:
    When you match 3, it is consistently worth 468. UNLESS it is in a cascade. This is something I noticed more recently, and is a hard thing to watch for. I saw one worth 351 and one worth 419. I even caught a match 4 in a cascade that was worth a mere 461.

    Match damage declines during a cascade. I don't know what the ratio is, but every time a match happens, the damage is reduced a little. This is normal.

    I think it reduces by 20%.

    I've also heard 20% but testing seems to show 25%. The way you swipe matters! Say you are using OML and there's a black/yellow double match available. You want to swipe the black. That way black gets calculated first and yellow takes the 25% damage penalty.
  • Wobby
    Wobby Posts: 286 Mover and Shaker
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    Ruinate wrote:
    Bossblack wrote:
    xidragonxi wrote:
    RyanL24 wrote:
    When you match 3, it is consistently worth 468. UNLESS it is in a cascade. This is something I noticed more recently, and is a hard thing to watch for. I saw one worth 351 and one worth 419. I even caught a match 4 in a cascade that was worth a mere 461.

    Match damage declines during a cascade. I don't know what the ratio is, but every time a match happens, the damage is reduced a little. This is normal.

    I think it reduces by 20%.

    I've also heard 20%. The way you swipe matters! Say you are using OML and there's a black/yellow double match available. You want to swipe the black. That way black gets calculated first and yellow takes the 20% damage penalty.

    Pretty sure that they both do the same damage as base if you match them both at once instead of during a cascade. Swipe priority only determines who will be in front, not how much damage it'll do.
  • Ruinate
    Ruinate Posts: 528 Critical Contributor
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    Wobby wrote:
    Pretty sure that they both do the same damage as base if you match them both at once instead of during a cascade. Swipe priority only determines who will be in front, not how much damage it'll do.

    This is incorrect. Just tested and second color gets reduced by 25%.
  • mpqr7
    mpqr7 Posts: 2,642 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Funny, I never knew how match-4 damage was calculated. This makes total sense that it's the sum of all tiles in that row. Is there an official page that describes how all match damage is calculated?
  • avs962
    avs962 Posts: 319 Mover and Shaker
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    Ruinate wrote:
    Wobby wrote:
    Pretty sure that they both do the same damage as base if you match them both at once instead of during a cascade. Swipe priority only determines who will be in front, not how much damage it'll do.

    This is incorrect. Just tested and second color gets reduced by 25%.

    IceIX spoke on this on a Puzzle Warriors podcast episode. He said if this happens, you should always swipe the stronger color first to maximize damage.
  • RyanL24
    RyanL24 Posts: 54
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    Wow, thanks everyone, I didn't know any of this. I figured there was something I was missing or just didn't know, which is why I posted it in General instead of Bugs.

    Thanks again for your help!
  • BlackSheep101
    BlackSheep101 Posts: 2,025 Chairperson of the Boards
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    avs962 wrote:
    Ruinate wrote:
    Wobby wrote:
    Pretty sure that they both do the same damage as base if you match them both at once instead of during a cascade. Swipe priority only determines who will be in front, not how much damage it'll do.
    This is incorrect. Just tested and second color gets reduced by 25%.
    IceIX spoke on this on a Puzzle Warriors podcast episode. He said if this happens, you should always swipe the stronger color first to maximize damage.
    There are other factors, too, like which character you want to put out in front. I'll take slightly reduced match damage to ensure a regenerating character takes the next hit.

    Then there are corner cases, like when you can make a double match involving a protect tile. If the protect tile is destroyed in the first match, it won't apply to the second match's damage.
  • RyanL24
    RyanL24 Posts: 54
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    Which way you swipe matters. I have been checking this out the last few days, what a world of difference. Thank you so much for teaching me this. I don't know how I made it 600 days without figuring this out.

    Just wanted to say "Thanks!" again.

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