Flanking

Flanking
Flanking is an important concept in DA:O combat system that encourages tactical positioning on the battlefield.

Whenever a combatant is located in within 120 degrees of an opponent's back, he receives a flanking bonus. With Combat Movement talent, available only to Rogue, the flanking angle increases to full back 180 degrees of the target. Flanking in DA:O is only personally active, i. e. it only grants benefits to the combatant in the flanking position, not to anyone else fighting the target.

The magnitude of the flanking bonus is calculated off the relative positions of the attacker and the target: attackers that are directly behind their target will receive the full flanking bonus; the flanking bonus is proportionally reduced the more the attacker moves towards the side of the target. Flanking bonus is applied to both ranged and melee attacks.

The following diagrams illustrate different flanking conditions:

Normal flanking Flanking angle: 120 degrees Flanking bonus: up to +15.0

[[File:Flanking_combat_movement.png] [[Combat Movement]]-enhanced flanking (Rogue only) Flanking angle: 180 degrees Flanking bonus: up to +20.0

Effects
Receiving a flanking bonus triggers the following benefits for the attacker:
 * The flanking bonus is added to character's attack rating. Please note only rogues receive full flanking bonus, all other classes get half the value.
 * 20% of the flanking bonus is applied as a bonus to critical chance.
 * A rogue that receives a flanking bonus while attacking will always backstab.

These benefits emphasize the importance of tactical positioning in combat. A full flanking bonus of +15.0 to attack negates the equivalent of 15 attribute points invested into dexterity by the target -- that is, 5 full levels.

Mitigation and Negation
Letting enemies move into a flanking position will increase their chance to hit and to inflict critical hits significantly, especially early- to mid-game. A number of ways exist in the game to mitigate vulnerability from being flanked:
 * Shield Block modal ability grants flanking immunity on the left side.
 * Shield Tactics passive ability grants full flanking immunity.
 * Griffon's Ensemble set grants full flanking immunity.

Backstabbing
A rogue in a position to receive a flanking bonus with a melee weapon will execute a backstab. A backstab attack has a unique attack animation and deals damage equivalent to a critical hit. Rogues with Lethality talent will receive additional damage bonus to backstabs based on their cunning attribute value. Note that while various Weapon Talents can cause critical hits, they will never trigger a backstab.


 * Coup De Grace talent allows the rogue a 360 degree flanking angle on paralyzed or stunned opponents. This effect, however, will be mitigated or negated by flanking immunity talents and gear listed above.