Arcane Dampening Modifier is one of the most tricky rules in Splinterlands for me. Arcane Dampening Modifier gives all units the Void ability which reduces Magic damage taken. Because of this many players think Magic units are useless but that is not always true. This Modifier reduces the advantage of magic damage making players lean more on melee and range damage. This should be what happens but the strength of magic damage type can overcome this disadvantage without too much repercussion.
Modifiers
Arcane Dampening - All units have the Void ability.
- Shield works very well together with Arcane Dampening Modifier. Since all units already have Void, adding Shield means the unit now reduces both Magic damage and also Melee damage and Ranged damage. This makes that unit very hard to take down. A tank with Void and Shield can survive for many rounds and buy time for the rest of the team especially if you add healing and repair on top of it.
5 Combos You Can Do with Arcane Dampening Modifier
| Modifier | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Shield | Reduced damage from Melee and Ranged attacks |
| - Shield works very well together with Arcane Dampening Modifier. Since all units already have Void, adding Shield means the unit now reduces both Magic damage and also Melee damage and Ranged damage. This makes that unit very hard to take down. A tank with Void and Shield can survive for many rounds and buy time for the rest of the team especially if you add healing and repair on top of it. | ||
 | Silence | Reduces the Magic damage of all enemy Units |
| - Even with Arcane Dampening Modifier some Magic units still deal strong damage especially high level ones. Silence lowers the Magic damage of all enemy units by 1. If a Magic unit hits for 3 damage it becomes 2 with Silence then reduced again by Void which makes it much 1 damage instead of 2. This double reduction can make Magic teams struggle to secure kills. Silence can also stack making this more effective. | ||
 | Expose | 80% chance to remove Forcefield, Lookout, Deflect, Shield, Void, Void Armor, or Immunity after a successful attack. Expose will always remove Immunity first. |
| - Expose has a chance to remove abilities like Void after a successful attack. In Arcane Dampening Modifier, every unit has Void so Expose becomes very valuable. If you remove Void from an enemy unit, your Magic units can deal full damage to that target. This can surprise the enemy and win you the match with your full damage magic damage. | ||
 | Relentless Strike | Attacks deal true damage. +1 damage if the target has Void, Shield or Forcefield. |
| - Relentless Strike deals true damage and gains extra damage if the target has Void, Shield or Forcefield. In Arcane Dampening Modifier, every unit has Void so this bonus will always activate. It also ignores the reduction from Void which makes it very strong. If your unit already has high base damage, Relentless Strike can melt enemy units fast. | ||
 | Demoralize | Reduces the Melee attack of all enemy Units |
| - Demoralize reduces the Melee damage of all enemy units. Since many players move away from Magic in Arcane Dampening Modifier, they will likely use more Melee damage or Ranged damage. Lowering Melee damage helps your frontline survive longer. This is a simple but effective way to handle the enemy lineup if they focused on other attack types and don't push for magic damage. You can also do the same thing with range damage using Headwinds instead of Demoralize. |
Battle Breakdown
Early Game:
I was thinking of either using full magic damage despite being in Arcane Dampening modifier. I was thinking that Marlai Singariel would help offset the halved damage and I should've really done that instead of going around the Arcane Dampening modifier and used melee units in this battle. Using only melee units was the right answer but my units aren't strong enough to be used alone. So, in this battle, I should've went with a full magic damage instead similar to my enemy's lineup. Their Blue Wyrm Travesty on my Djinn Rebel was exceptionally scary. If not because the of extra 1 armor from my archon, he could've been one-shot by that unit.
Mid Game:
My units are surprisingly fighting back. I feel like I misplaced Djinn Rebel and should've put her in second or third unit instead so I would preserve the Inspire ability. Even though my units are pushing back quite well, they are still on a pretty bad situation especially since the enemy unit's magic damage are quite high. Even if you halve them, they still hit 2-3 damage and that is consistent and bypass armor. Those small advantages adds up making my situation more perilous by the second.
Late Game:
While my team was able to strike back a little, the difference were still huge. The consistent damage hitting my unit's health is one and the difference in level is the other. I have 2 units standing, red and damaged while they have three healthy magic damage units ready to fire. This was a one-sided win and shows that sometimes, even if I have the advantage in the modifier, the quality of the units still matter more for the result of the battle.
Full Battle can be found here: https://splinterlands.com/battle/sl_ec9370afd4288f7132bf2f4dd077236a
Closing Thoughts
Arcane Dampening Modifier teaches that even when a rule seems clear, there are still many ways to approach it. In my own battle, I tried to avoid Magic damage and use only Melee damage but my units were not strong enough to win the trade. The enemy still used strong Magic units and even when their units have halved their damage, it still was enough to win over my team because the damage was consistent and bypass armor. This shows how strong magic damage is even with those disadvantages from the modifier. Combining the right abilities instead of just avoiding Magic damage completely can win you the game if done right.