In Game Update 4, damage over time effects (DoTs) will "stack" for certain abilities. Commandos and officers can pile the damage on their opponents with this new damage over time stacking.

Stack the Damage

Commandos and officers can stack certain abilities up to 10 levels; some abilities, like Core Bomb, can be stacked up to five.

Rather than displaying each stack of the DoT ability separately, the bottom right of the ability's icon on the opponent's target window displays the current number of stacks applied to the enemy.

The duration is "refreshed" by each increment to the stack. Once a DoT reaches an increment of 5 or 10 (depending on the DoT), each application refreshes the duration of that DoT.

Stacking the DoT only begins during the battle again if the target uses an ability to remove a DoT, if the opponent resists new applications enough during the existing duration to stop a refresh, or if the commando or officer doesn't continue to refresh the stack.

DoT damage is determined mainly by player level and fixed by weapon type. For example, Flame Throwers produce heat, the Heavy Acid Rifle produces acid, and so on. There are six stackable damage over time effects in Game Update 4:

The seventh type, Energy, will be added in a later update.

In Game Update 4, DoT removal abilities only remove portions of stacks rather than eliminate the entire DoT effect outright. Abilities with an immunity effect only affect further application while the immunity is active, but anything already on the target will stay for the remaining duration.

For example, if a Jedi has a 10 stack of acid ticking away at his health, the Jedi uses Hermetic Touch. The ability reduces the increment of 10 to 5, and no new acid can be placed on the Jedi until the immunity runs out -- however, the 5 stack is still ticking! The max absorption value anyone can protect against is 50% of a DoT's value.

Feel the Burn

In Game Update 4, all commandos have a 10% base chance to inflict damage over time on an enemy while using a heavy weapon, based on that weapon's damage type.

There are also two new commando abilities that apply damage over time effects while using a heavy weapon: It Burns, which affects a single target, and Burn Down, an area of effect attack.

These abilities have a 100% chance of applying the DoT based on the character's level and the elemental type of the heavy weapon the commando is holding. Both attacks cost a small amount of action and cause a small amount of damage up front.

Both skills are on a shared cooldown timer of two seconds and apply a DoT with a duration of fifteen seconds. These new abilities are granted to a commando through the profession wheel at level 58.

Each commando can only have one stack of a type. Switching heavy weapons during the fight will remove the existing DoT on the target when the new DoT is applied. For example, stacking electrical damage with the Crusader M-XX Heavy Rifle and then switching to the Heavy Acid Rifle will remove the electrical DoT and replace it with the acid DoT when It Burns or Burn Down is used.

Lead the Charge

Officers also have two abilities to stack the numbers against a foe. White Phosphorous Grenade is now a new attack called Dioxis Grenade, and this ability and Core Bomb are stackable damage over time attacks in Game Update 4.

Dioxis Grenade and Core Bomb inflict initial damage on the target. Dioxis Grenade can be stacked up to an increment of 10, and it applies a poison damage over time effect on the opponent. Core Bomb, a fire damage over time ability, can be stacked up to 5 times. Dioxis Grenade and Core Bomb (Level 3) last for 20 seconds.

Both of these destructive officer abilities are granted through the profession wheel.

This new system in Game Update 4 is loaded with potential for other battlefield tactics. Commandos on the battlefield can arrange ahead of time who uses what weapon during the fight to maximize damage, officers can target enemies weak to a specific damage type, and both can help an ally pile on the damage!