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→Why Are there Breakpoints?
==Why Are there Breakpoints?==
Since Diablo II runs with 2D graphics, at 25 frames per second, events can only occur at discrete numbers of frames. As a result of this, improvements to attack rate, casting speed, hit recovery, and blocking rate are not measured by the number of frames required to display the motion. If a normal attack with a given weapon takes 10 frames, some amount of faster attack bonus will drop it down to 9 frames, but until that amount is reached, no improvement will occur. Players call the amounts of improvement necessary to cause a change "breakpoints."
Speeds for all of these properties vary greatly between the different characters and items. Many attack skills have their own speeds and breakpoints. Other skills (such as [[Fanaticism]]) modify the overall speed of all attacks.
Increased speeds are displayed by dropping frames of animation. This can result in very fast movements looking choppy. For instance, if a character's basic attack with a given weapon requires 12 frames for the full animation (showing the arm swinging, the weapon descending, the hit landing, and then the weapon being lifted back to the ready pose), and your character has that attack down to 5 frames, thanks to a lot of IAS and a boost from [[Fanaticism]], 7 of the 12 frames of animation will not be shown. The game will only display the weapon at the top, halfway down, hitting, halfway back up and at rest. Hence it looks choppy. This display issue can not be avoided in a frame-based, 2D game. 3D games do not have this issue, since movements can be shown at any speed -- the refresh rate of your monitor, 3D card, and the game engine permitting.
* See the [[:category:calculations|calculations category]] for many more useful pages of stats and figures.
==Breakpoint Modifiers==
