Isolytic Damage introduces a new form of damage that operates alongside standard damage rather than replacing it. With every shot fired, Isolytic Damage is dealt in addition to the regular standard damage.
Computer, analyze…
Isolytic Damage is calculated as a percentage of your overall standard damage, considering all applied buffs, rather than just the base weapon damage.
(Total Standard Damage * Isolytic Damage Bonus) / (1 + Opponents Isolytic Defense)
Enhancing your ship's standard damage through upgrades, Research, Officers, and similar means will also amplify the Isolytic Damage it inflicts. Consequently, Isolytic Damage maintains its value consistently throughout the game.
Isolytic Damage operates independently of standard mitigation values, as it possesses its own form of mitigation, Isolytic Defense. This unique attribute allows Isolytic Damage to remain formidable even when facing opponents with high standard mitigation, enabling it to deal significant damage.
How can I afflict Isolytic Damage?
Isolytic Damage can be obtained in several ways; during M55, it will be available through Artifacts and Officers. Acquiring Isolytic Damage follows a similar process to obtaining other buffs. Once you can inflict Isolytic Damage, it remains active under the same circumstances as any other buff. For instance, Officers are active while aboard your ship, while Artifacts remain active at all times after their unlock.
More power!
To increase the Isolytic Damage % you’ll need to keep progressing, depending on the source. For the Isolytic Damage inflicted by Artifacts, keep upgrading your Artifacts! Isolytic Damage via Officers, continue Promoting and Leveling up!
Note:
There are some Armada scenarios where Artifacts (and Isolytic Damage) might not react the way you're expecting them to, namely when it comes to Burning, Morale or Hull Breaches. Because skills and buffs will be calculated sequentially, not simultaneously, by the battleships, depending on which ship goes first and which officers are in the ship, status effects (burning, for example) might be skipped on the first round and just activated on the second. Please plan accordingly in order to activate everything that you want to activate without any issues.
Example:
If the Officer triggering the burning is on the most powerful ship, the isolytic artifact will see the burning and activate in the first round. However, if that same Officer is on the second biggest ship, the first ship will have ended its "start of the round" buff calculations and the isolytic damage will not activate on the first round. Make sure that the Officer triggering the effects or buffs that you want for round 1 are actually in the biggest and strongest ship.