AoE Increase Calculation Error

So, I've noticed that AoE Increases are far less effective than they should be.

And so far, I'm not even talking about diminishing returns. I'm talking about a singular source of added AoE, specifically the Support Gem "Magnified Effect"

To repeat. The ONLY source for any kind of Area of Effect increase is the support gem, nothing else. No Node in the Passive tree, no stat on gear, no nothing.

The Support gem states the following:


With basic math, and the knowledge that we have no other AoE Range increase, we can safely assume that this support gem will multiple the skills radius by exactly that, a 40% increase, aka it's a simply "Base Radius" x 1.4 = New Radius. As you'll see in the following examples, none of the results, will actually be a 40$ increase though, and in most cases won't even be half of the aforementioned increase.


To List a few Skill Examples



Frost Bolt - Skill Level 7

Base Chilled Ground Radius = 0.9m | With ME = 1m, an 11.11...% increase
Base Explosion Radius = 1.6m | With ME = 1.8m, a 12.5% increase

Skill Description:


Chilled Ground before ME:


Chilled Ground after ME:


Explosion before ME:


Explosion after ME:




Ice Nova - Skill Level 7

Base Nova Radius = 3.2m | With ME = 3.7m, a 15,625% increase

Skill Description:


Before ME:


After ME:




Frost Bomb - Skill Level 7

Base Pulse/Explosion Radius = 1.9m | With ME = 2.2m, a 15,78...% increase

Skill Description:


Before ME:


After ME:




Cold Snap - Skill Level 7

Base Explosion Radius = 0.7m | With ME = 0.8m, a 14.28...% increase

Skill Description:


Before ME:


After ME:




Hypothermia - Skill Level 8

Base Curse Radius = 1.7m | With ME = 2m, a 17.64...% increase

Skill Description:


Before ME:


After ME:




Unfortunately, I don't know just how exactly you programmed AoE and what your internal math is, but just from looking at these numbers, even if there is diminishing returns now, the more AoE you get. We are looking at a SINGULAR source of AoE increase of 40%, and the average ACTUAL increase is no more than 14-15%. This has got to be a bug in the calculation. Cuz there is no way, that a single source already has less than half of it's actual effectiveness, which makes the Support gem a lot less desirable over giving a skill more dmg, more cast speed, using spell cascade for secondary aoes on the side, or using a support gem to add a gimmick to the skill, give it more projectiles, etc etc etc., We all know you have a ton of possibilities of how to build in PoE, that's why we all play it. But this calculation cannot be correct, can it?


Sincerely,

a Cold Spell Enjoyer

Very interesting find! I'll test similarly on my merc with grenade skills a tad. Have you by chance tested the interactions visually to confirm the AoE itself is only increased by a minimal amount? Just curious slightly if the tooltip math is bugged vs the ability itself.

If I find time to I'll do a couple quick recordings of a spell w ME equipped and outline the burst radius by capturing a few frames vs w/e ME equipped to confirm. My build takes advantage of a handful of increased AoE passives + ME, so I am surprised I haven't noticed if so.

Edit: Subsequent post mentioned the true nature of this interaction, as I overlooked it entirely. I was already ready to test my increased radius vs increased radius calc sizes in PoB and completely overlooked increased raw area dimension vs increased area.

Not a bug. It increases the AREA by 40%, not the radius. since area scales quadratic with radius, radius will be increased by squareroot of 40% (sqrt(1.4)). thats about 18%. I guess the remaining missing radius is rounding stuff.