Thunder damage on Garangolm forelegs when it is not enraged are shown as orange instead of yellow

[Stampeder]

携帯端末情報(必須)/Mobile Device Information(Required)*

Samsung S23 Ultra, Android 15, One UI 7.0

アプリのバージョン(必須)/App Version(Required)*

v106.0-250908-1443

問題が発生する頻度/Frequency of the issue occurring

毎回/Every time

問題の詳細/Issue Details

Garangolm’s forelegs are calculated to be at 110% hit zone value (HZV) for projectile attacks, which means it is not a weak spot and skills such as Weakness Exploit are not expected to activate. A hit zone is considered a weak spot only when the HZV is at 130% or greater.

However, when using a thunder element attack on it (e.g. Zinogre Bow’s Rapid 4 shot), the damage numbers on the forelegs are shown as orange, implying that it is a weak spot and we’re using the matching element that it is weak to (which is thunder). Based on the examined HZV for the 4 breakable body parts, based on the known damage number colour display rules, only thunder damage on Garangolm’s head when it is not enraged can be orange while hitting it with a matching element in the appropriate rage states should at most be yellow numbers.

Please confirm whether the orange damage numbers on Garangolm’s forelegs with a thunder element weapon when it is not enraged is intended or not, if it is intended, does this mean that skills such as Weakness Exploit would activate on the forelegs when it is not enraged?

The following screenshot shows the damage numbers from my Zinogre bow hitting the Garangolm’s left foreleg and breaking the coating and dispelling its enraged mode.

1. The first 2 hits of 1752 are when it was still enraged, with the second hit breaking the coating and bring it out of rage mode.
2. The next 2 hits of 1383 are when it is no longer enraged because the coating on the left foreleg is broken, but it became orange. This is getting people confused.
3. The HZV remains the same before and after breaking this body part, so this is not a point of consideration. In this screenshot, the left foreleg is still in an unbroken state. I only broke it a couple of salvos later after this point.

その他の情報/Other Information

I’m not the only one observing this. Other players with different devices are making the same observation.

[Stampeder]

Okay, I just found a way to test the weak spot mechanism. It is functionally counted as a weak spot because Weakness Exploit triggers.

I used the following build where my Black Diablos Bow has a base -29% affinity outside of hunts. With Weakness Exploit Lv. 3 equipped, I will gain 30% affinity when my bow hits a weak spot. The effective affinity on my weapon would be 1% affinity when hitting a weak spot.

Hypothesis:

1. The forelegs is not a weak spot when it is not enraged and therefore Weakness Exploit would not activate, and this can be observed by observing a blunder while hitting the forelegs.
2. The forelegs is a weak spot when it is enraged and therefore Weakness Exploit would activate, and this can be observed by observing no blunders after a sizeable number of hits on the forelegs or observing a critical hit while hitting the forelegs.

Result:
And I triggered a critical hit on the first salvo when testing this

So I guess this is intended?

And the way a weak spot is determined is no longer by HZV alone but by an explicit “weak spot flag”?

[NianticModKIC]

@Stampeder
Thank you for reporting about attacking weak spots.
We cannot mention any undisclosed data, but we have confirmed that no issues have occurred.
And a monster’s weak points may change depending on its state, such as when it’s enraged or when certain body parts have been destroyed.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us anytime.
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