Does anybody know the formula for fall damage?

[Michael Gates]

Well, maybe that's not quite right. What's happening here is, I'm setting up a cliff, and I want to be sure that if I push people off the cliff they're gonna die. How high do I need the cliff to be, assuming vanilla game with normal settings? Or do I need to put down some lava to be sure? (Lava is thematically correct for one part, not so much for others but one does what one must.)

[LadyWYT]

Assuming a vanilla game with normal settings...honestly I'd just make a really big cliff, or do the classic lava pit at the bottom. The main issue I see with calculating the damage needed to kill a player isn't how the game calculates fall damage, I'm guessing, but rather how much health does the player have? A well-fed player should have about 30 HP; a player without any nutrition bars filled should have about 15 HP. If you're dealing with a Blackguard, you have to add 5 HP to those totals by default. A weaker class, such as Tailor, will have a lower health pool and be easier to kill. You'd also need to account for any mods that might add/subtract total health.

That's assuming that fall damage is calculated on a linear basis similar to how it is in the other block game. Which I would assume it is. If it's not though, I would assume a really big drop would just be overkill.

[Thorfinn]

I know it takes about 30 to kill a nightmare drifter, if that helps.

[Michael Gates]

5 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

I know it takes about 30 to kill a nightmare drifter, if that helps.

Given that they've got more HP than any human.... hm. A 40-block cliff would give me some margin while still not being impossible to build. Cool.

[Thorfinn]

I suspect (but have never rigorously tested) that armor provides protection in falls, too. It can break from falls, so the armor mechanic is at least partially in play.

I guess I'd just test it with ladders. See how much damage you get stepping off 15 ladder sections, heal up, put on the various armors you expect your "friends" to be wearing, and see how that works. Then keep adding sections until you have a good idea how high it will have to be.

Edited November 24, 2024 by Thorfinn

[Maelstrom]

Take into considering that death significantly depletes nutrition and by extension health.  It may be good to find the commands to alter character stats before filming your Mythbusting episode.