Helpless

A helpless character or creature is held, bound, sleeping, has any of its abilities reduced to zero, or otherwise completely at an opponent's mercy.

Being helpless

A helpless character or creature cannot attack, cast spells or SLAs, drink potions, activate items or class abilities. Depending on the source of helplessness, you might be able to move. You can (and should) block to reduce incoming damage.

A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (-5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a prone target). Ranged attacks gets the same bonus. Rogues and characters with Backstabbing items can always sneak attack helpless targets if they are subject to sneak attacks regardless of aggro.

Extra damage

Both players and monsters take extra damage while helpless.

For players, damage varies depending on dungeon difficulty:

• Solo/Casual: +5% damage
• Normal: +15% damage
• Hard: +20% damage
• Elite/Reaper: +25% damage

Helpless monsters always take an extra 50% damage from all sources - including sneak attack damage, spells, etc.

Not all sources of crowd control effects cause creatures to become helpless (and therefore take extra damage), however it may still render them vulnerable to Sneak Attacks.

Crowd control effects that do or don't make the target helpless

Target is Helpless and takes extra damage

Target is not Helpless and extra damage does not apply

Ability Damage Helplessness Cowering type Fear effects Greater Color Spray Earthgrab Petrification Frozen Various Warchanter freeze attacks Freezing Ice Jaws of Winter Hold Creature Effects Idyllic Touch Paralysis induced by Ghoul Touch Occult Slayer's Ear Smash + Knock Out Sleep - for one hit Stuns Dire Charge Dragon Lord Greater Roar Power Word: Stun KotC Censure Demons Salt Ray Renegade Mastermaker's Mighty Slam Soundburst Stunning Fist Stunning Blow Severe Stunning Blow (Monster only feat) Stunning Weaponry Unyielding Sentinel's Knight's Challenge and Throw the Boom Halt Undead/Turn Undead Stun (Only versus non-intelligent undead) Various Vanguard stuns

Knockdown Cometfall Knockover Command/Greater Command Cyclonic Blast Knockdown Trip (Note: An exception is Improved Trip if you take Sundering Swings in Legendary Dreadnought) Dance Effects Fascination Effects Paralyzed with Fear type Fear effects Hypnotism Nauseated Paralysis (inc. from a paralyzing weapon or Arcane Archer imbue) Ray of Enfeeblement Blindness Dazes induced from Daze Monster Electric Loop Sonic Blast (spell) Symbol of Stunning Savage Roar Greater Shout Web

Increasing extra damage vs helpless opponents

Few rare abilities exist that increase your helpless damage:

Heroic abilities

• Brutality: +20% with melee attacks
• Bully: up to +15%
• No Mercy (Acrobat / Ninja Spy): up to +30% (Note: taking "No Mercy" from one of these trees locks out the enhancement in the other.)
• No Mercy (Falconry): up to +30% (Note: this bonus stacks with the bonus from Thief Acrobat/Ninja Spy.)
• Prey on the Weak (Nature's Warrior): up to +15%

Epic abilities

• Sense Weakness: up to +9% while in Mantle of Fury (stacking with the Mantle itself, for a maximum of +18%)
• Kick While They're Down: +5%/10%/15% while in Legendary Dreadnought Destiny Mantle
• Dark Mercy: +5%/10%/15% while in Shadowdancer Mantle
• Cruelty of the Hunt: +10% while in Shiradi Champion Destiny Mantle
• Serene Mercy: +5%/10%/15% while in Grandmaster of Flowers Mantle

Epic Destiny Feats

• Crush Weakness +15% damage versus the Helpless

Items

• Silent Avenger set: 5% / 10% (3 pieces)
• Part of the Family: 5% / 15% (3 pieces)
• Perfected Wrath: 15% (3 pieces)
• Eminence of Spring: 15% (3 pieces)
• Eminence of Summer: 15% (5 pieces)
• Desert's Starless Nights: 5% /10% / 15% (2 pieces)
• Kundarak Delving Equipment: 5% /10% / 15% (3 pieces)
• Huntmaster's Favor: 15% (4 pieces)
• The Labyrinthian Inferno: 15% (2 pieces, kamas)
• Dread Stalker: 15% (3 pieces)
• Temple's Inferno: 5% / 15% (2 pieces)
• The Fury's Rage: 5% / 15% (3 pieces, Lost Purpose)
• Delight of the Devourer: 5% / 15% (3 pieces, Lost Purpose)
• The Traveler's Guidance: 5% / 15% (3 pieces, Lost Purpose)
• Curse of Cruelty (Deck of Many Curses): 2%

Augments

• Solar Gem of Cruelty (Heroic) 5%
• Solar Gem of Cruelty (Legendary) 15%
• Cruel Cut: 15% (3 piece augment set)

Overcoming helplessness

For abilities lowered to 0, some will, over time (a minute or more?) start to recover, +1 at a time. However, this depends on the cause, and some do not recover. A rest at a shrine, or 60 seconds in a Tavern (outside a quest) will fully recover any such damage.

Few rare effects exist that can help you "instantly" overcome some of the sources of helplessness.

• Harper Pin, Lesser
• Harper Pin, Greater
• Legendary Rally
• Forced Escape
• Radiance (paralysis, stunned, tripped or ability damage)

Decreasing damage taken while helpless

There are few ways to reduce damage dealt to yourself while helpless. Bonuses are Additive, and with enough, can actually cause the player to take less damage while Helpless than not. However it is a better choice to become immune or have saves high enough to not worry about failing.

In most cases, blocking can slightly reduce incoming physical damage taken, and should be considered if you are unable to flee (such as being stunned or paralyzed).

Because helpless increases all damage dealt to creatures, these enhancements will also reduce damage from all sources. This includes bane or untyped.

Reductions only apply to damage dealt while Helpless and not Crowd Controlled. See table above on examples of what CC effects do and do not cause Helplessness.

• Bath House: -10%
• Sacred Defender enhancements: -5%/10%/15%
• Stalwart Defender enhancements: -5%/10%/15%
• Sacred Fist enhancements: -5%/10%/15%
• Shintao enhancements: -5%/10%/15%
• Grandmaster of Flowers: -15%. Doubled in Ocean Stance.

Miscellaneous information

Note that paralysis from a paralyzing weapon will prevent action but not cause this condition, contrary to one of the loading screens.

Helplessness is often caused by a spell such as Hold Person or Sleep. In the case of a Hold Person spell, casting Freedom of Movement will NOT end this condition, but will prevent future Hold Person spells while it lasts. To remove hold spells, use the spell Remove Paralysis. In the case of Sleep - you'll only get a single hit with the +25% damage, as attacking a sleeping target will wake it up.

If helplessness is caused by ability score attribute damage, it can be cured by any Restoration spell or Heal. Attribute damage also recovers with time.

History

Before Update 9, helpless opponents did not take extra damage. Instead, every hit was a crit.

Coup De Grace

Coup De Grace is a related Pen and Paper DnD feature that does not directly exist in DDO. Instead for things which would qualify for a Coup De Grace in Pen and Paper, qualify for helpless +50% damage bonus in DDO. Devpost on reasoning for this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by (former developer) Eladrin on May 13, 2008 Auto-criticals when struck while helpless are intended to simulate the coup de grace rule, without requiring a one round wind-up or a forced death check. We also don't do the "make a DC 15 Fort Save or die" for massive damage. Adding a death check in either circumstance would greatly increase the amount of random player deaths - getting held is often bad enough.

Note: Auto-crits were later replaced with the +50% damage bonus.