Introduced an ignore stagger reduction to light smiter attacks (1h axe, axe-shield, elf 1h axe, and various 1h swords/falchion combo finishers). Note that dual wields are exempt from this. Should help with staggering foes across difficulties more easily.
Does this mean that light smiter attacks get the full damage boost regardless of enemy stagger count?
Do “light smiter attacks” only cover the light attacks and not the heavy (charged) attacks of 1h axe, axe-shield, and elf 1h axe?
What exactly is meant by “various 1h swords/falchion combo finishers”? What exactly are these attacks? Are these the last attack in the light attack chain only (i.e. the overhead strike)?
Also, the crowbill’s attack patterns are similar to the 1h axes of the other characters. Is it supposed to be not included here?
Yes, great question! From experimenting on keep dummies, it seems like my axe gets no bonus like the one mentioned in the patch notes. Some clarification would be nice. Is it just the dummies? And how does the axe interact with Smiter if it actually does get a bonus?
IMO from testing it means actual stagger, not damage boosts from stagger. So like on Cata, just about everything feels like it’s almost immune to stagger (which is horrible design, but that’s another conversation), but a 1h axe or other single-target weapons will ignore most enemies’ stagger resistance and stagger them anyways.