Posting this per a conversation with Kain today in Discord. I see that Perrythepig made a similar post in Suggestions/Feedback (Lack of Conversion Tags, Multiple Skills), but I didn’t see anything in Bug Reports.
Per Kain, added flat/base damage from skill trees should NOT change the scaling tags of a skill. However, in practice, things don’t appear to be quite so simple. I didn’t look at any skills for Rogue, but I did look at nearly every non-minion skill for Sentinel, Mage, Acolyte and Primalist. What I found is that there are very few (about 4) skills that meet the following criteria:
- The skill tree contains at least one node that adds flat or base damage of a type that is not the same type as the existing base damage of the skill.
AND
- The skill tree does not contain a node that specifically states it converts the skill to that type, OR that it adds the appropriate scaling tag.
For example, Upheaval does not meet this criteria. It has a node that adds flat Melee Cold damage, but that node is locked behind the node that converts the skill to Cold. Rive has Weapon Specialist, but it’s conditional added damage based on attribute and equipped weapon type, so it could go either way. Swipe has a node that adds Lightning damage, but that node specifies it adds the tag, and also has a node behind it that allows full conversion to Lightning.
As far as I can tell, whether the scaling tag is added or not depends on how the specific node is worded:
Sacrifice>Altar of Flames - This node states “Sacrifice deals additional fire damage”. This node adds the Fire scaling tag to Sacrifice. The node makes no mention of this fact.
Forge Strike>Temper - This node states “Forge Strike hits deal additional melee fire damage”. This node adds the Fire scaling tag to Forge Strike, last time I checked (pre-0.9, I haven’t rolled a new Forge Guard yet, and I deleted my offline characters when 0.9 went live, don’t ask why). The node makes no mention of the fact it adds the tag.
Here’s where things start getting weird…
Rebuke>Dark Thoughts - This node states “Rebuke hits deal additional base Void damage”. This node does not add the Void scaling tag to Rebuke. Note that Rebuke’s existing base damage is Physical, and there is no method (that I am aware of) to convert this base damage to Void.
Hang on, we’re getting weirder.
Shield Rush>Dark Rush - This node states “Shield Rush no longer requires a shield and hits deal additional base Void damage, but Shield Rush costs more mana”. This node does not add the Void scaling tag to Shield Rush. Again, note that Shield Rush’s existing base damage is Physical, and there is no method (again, that I am aware of) to convert this base damage to Void.
Not done yet, still getting weirder.
Shield Rush>Void Breaker - This node states “Shield Rush’s final hit deals additional melee void damage”. This node adds the Void scaling tag to Shield Rush. Note that this node is locked behind the Dark Rush node, and also does not mention the fact that it adds the tag.
Shield Rush>Temporal Strike - This node states “Shield Rush hits deal additional void damage, but this damage is reduced by your increased attack speed”. This node adds the Void scaling tag to Shield Rush. This node is also locked behind the Dark Rush node, and also does not mention that it adds the tag.
Almost done…
Shield Rush>Descent of the Void - This node states “When you cast Shield Rush, you create a Void Beam that travels with you, which is a spell that deals void damage over time in an area. Shield Rush costs more mana”. This node also adds the Void scaling tag to Shield Rush, despite the fact that it doesn’t actually add any Void damage to Shield Rush itself, only a sub-skill that happens to be Void. According to Kain, this is the only node in this list that is actually intended to add the scaling tag to the skill. It also makes no mention of the fact that it adds the tag.
Outside of nodes that cast sub-skills (which are apparently the only ones intended to add the scaling tags), every instance I can find of added flat damage also adds the scaling tag, except for the two instances that for whatever reason specify “base” damage, when the base damage of the skill is a different element and can’t be converted. There’s apparently at least one bug here, but… Where? The four (five?) nodes that add the tag? Or the two nodes that don’t add the tag? Or both? Or neither?