Why are many of the top players using Taeguk in their jewelry? It gives you a tiny damage increase that stacks up to ten times. Since these players are doing far better than me, I figure that I must be missing something. Could somebody please explain this? Thank you.
At level 100 Taeguk gives a 60% damage increase, which is not âtinyâ. The secondary armor buff Taeguk offers is also useful for any build, but especially so for channelers who have to stand in place.
Taeguk also gives a 20% boost to your armor at 10 stacks. Armor helps mitigate all damage, so Taeguk is one of the few gems that boost your damage and your toughness at the same time. Additionally, it scales the damage bonus better than even bane of the trapped.
Indeed, the damage buff is definitely not tiny. It is however additive damage which reduces its usefulness a little bit but overall itâs still significant amound of damage buff.
From the way I understand it, Taeguk is only additive with +skill modifiers but otherwise is a multiplier (just like Bane of the Trapped) so it is adding a significant damage boost. Youâll get a small amount of reduction due to diminishing returns if you have +skill damage affixes on gear, but at 80% (at max level) Taeguk is still the best option.
Letâs use Bane of the Trapped as a comparison. At max level it does +60% damage as a flat multiplier, while Taeguk does +80% damage as an additive multiplier (with +skill damage). The only way Taeguk will do less damage than Bane of the Trapped (because of diminishing additive returns) is if you have three or more +skill damage affixes. This could happen on a build like GoD DH where +damage to Hungering Arrow could be found on belt, pants, and a quiver.
But even with three +skill damage affixes the difference between Taeguk and Trapped is very small and Taeguk usually still warrants a slot because of the additional 20% armor buff it has.
Thank you all for your help. Frozenhero1, your explanation that Taegukâs damage multiplies, rather than adds, pretty well answers my question. I have switched over to Taeguk. All of the other replies were also helpful.
Itâs only good if you constantly use a channeling move and that armor is a really nice plus,not to mention easier to get higher percentage power than the bane of trapped.
Please note that Taegukâs damage bonus is additive. That means it combines additively with all other additive damage bonuses, and that total amount is then applied as a multiplier to your weapon damage.
There are two types of damage bonuses in D3: additive and multiplicative.
Generally, multiplicative sources of damage (known as multipliers) are separate and do not add together; they multiply the sum total of the previous multiplier, hence why theyâre so strong and valuable. And generally, the more additive bonuses available to a build, the less valuable other additive sources (such as Taeguk) will be.
Since Taegukâs bonus is additive, itâs generally less valuable than, say, the multiplier offered by Bane of the Trapped. But certain builds, mostly those that channel their skills such as Zodiac Rend or Firebirdâs, can greatly benefit from Taegukâs bonus. What gems you use will depend on your build, so check the relevant build guide for specific details regarding gem selection.
I donât believe this is accurate. Taeguk is only additive with +skill dam affixes on gear. It doesnât get included with other additive bonuses (like +elemental dam). So while it is technically additive if you have +skill affixes, after that additive equation it multiplies your damage just like any other damaging legendary gem (or anything else that isnât included in your sheet damage).
Targuk is additive not only to + skills but also:
- Toxin Gem
- Strongarm bracer
- Odysseyâs End
- Falter
It is a good solo gem but heavily diminished with zdh + zbarb where both supports brings 260+ DIBS bonuses to grp making taeguk return = 4.3/3.6 = 19% return (assuming 150 gem) w/o considering +skills. While its a good solo gem, its very weak in grps with dedicated supports. Its benefits in those grps is +20% armor.
WrongâŚelemental damage is multiplicative and Taeguk is absolutely additive just like DIBS (eg: increases Multishot (or Hydra, Heavenâs Fury, etc.) by 15%).
See this excellent rework by Iria of the Additive vs Multiplicative Damage post from the OG forums :
And while itâs a DH perspective, the base information is valid for any class.

WrongâŚelemental damage is multiplicative. See this excellent rework by IriaâŚ
Um, that guide states elemental damage is additive.

Taeguk is only additive with +skill dam affixes on gear. It doesnât get included with other additive bonuses (like +elemental dam).
Iâm not sure what you mean by â+elemental damage,â but the elemental damage % found on bracers and amulets is multiplicative. Taeguk is additive and its total amount is added into the dibs category of damage bonuses for your total additive damage multiplier.
Iâve never seen a Teaguk.
Itâs all multiplicative, itâs just that some things are added together before their multiplication occurs. +elemental damage (amulet, bracers, etc.) is additive, in other words multiple sources of it are added together before they multiply. When that adding process occurs, there is diminished returns.
Then there are things that are exclusive multipliers, which are never added to anything else or diminished.
Exclusive Multipliers are:
Passive Skills
Legendary Bonuses
Set Bonuses
certain Legendary Gems
Additive Multipliers are:
+Elemental Damage affix
+Elite Damage affix
+Skill Damage affix
Resource Cost Reduction
Reduced Cooldown

Itâs all multiplicative, itâs just that some things are added together before their multiplication occurs.
Thatâs what I said in my original post:

Taegukâs damage bonus is additive. That means it combines additively with all other additive damage bonuses, and that total amount is then applied as a multiplier to your weapon damage.

+elemental damage (amulet, bracers, etc.) is additive
Incorrect. The elemental % damage bonuses on bracers and amulets are multiplicative.
For more information, see this video by Wudijo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndtvFZXIF7E
See also the [gem entry on Maxroll (emphasis mine):
Mechanics
Gain 2% additive damage for 1.5 seconds when you spend resources with a channeling skill. This effect stacks up to 10 times. You can level this Gem all the way up to rank 150. Every upgrade will increase the additive damage by another 0.04% per stack up to a maximum of 8% total. Furthermore the rank 25 bonus increases your Armor by 2% for each stack. At max rank and stacks this Gem provides a whopping 80% additive damage increase as well as a 20% Armor buff.

Itâs all multiplicative, itâs just that some things are added together before their multiplication occurs. +elemental damage (amulet, bracers, etc.) is additive, in other words multiple sources of it are added together before they multiply. When that adding process occurs, there is diminished returns.
True, elemental damage is added up but then itâs multiplied (one doesnât add Taeguk to elemental damage).

Incorrect. The elemental % damage bonuses on bracers and amulets are multiplicative.
Also true depending on the context. I think Free means that the elemental damage multiplier is exclusive to other buffs (after you add it up).

Additive Multipliers are:
+Elemental Damage affix
+Elite Damage affix
+Skill Damage affix
Resource Cost Reduction
Reduced Cooldown
This isnât quite right. The first 2 are additive to themselves but then multiplicative. The +skill damage is in the DIBS category is additive with a lot of other things, so I agree with that one.
The last two reductions are not damage multipliers but rather follow a separate reduction formula (e.g. two items with 10% reduction each combine to make 19% reduction, not 20%). And when using Captain Crimsonâs set, since cooldown reduction already has a multiplicative reduction formula, the damage bonus has double diminishing returns. On the other hand, resource cost reduction for toughness has no diminishing returns because of a cancellation effect.
This is the main reason I donât like the term âadditiveâ since there is some confusion in cases where you stack the same affix before multiplying (hence getting diminishing returns).
One prime example is the Unhallowed Essence 6-piece bonus in that the damage multiplier is multiplicative with all other sources of damage for Multishot and the other relevant skills. However, one must add up all the discipline before multiplying the bonus to your damage.
As long as buffs are in different buckets, then they are multiplied together, and you just need to add things in the right buckets. The most prominent bucket is the âDIBSâ bucket (damage increased by skills) since a lot of modifiers are in it.
All of the following contribute to the DIBS category: buffs that increase DIBS in sheet details (and hence increase sheet DPS), skill modifiers like âHungering Arrow damage increased by 15%â written in blue text on relevant items like belts/pants/quivers, and monster debuffs (e.g. Strongarmâs Bracers, Toxin gem, etc.).
To answer the original OP, the Taeguk bonus is in this DIBS category so it encounters a lot of diminishing returns, especially if combined with a zDH in the group providing a massive +150% from Odysseyâs End.
As a quick exception, while monster debuffs are additive with the DIBS category, they are multiplicative when dealing with thorns damage for some reason; this is why I distinguish Type B modifiers in my guide separately.

Exclusive Multipliers are:
Passive Skills
Sorry to correct you even further, but thatâs not true for all passive skills. Examples are Archery (8% DIBS category) or âBig Bad Voodooâ (also DIBS).

Exclusive Multipliers are:
Legendary Bonuses
Thatâs also not true for all legendary bonuses, for example
For example: If you knockback an enemy wearing Strongarms (30% more damage), and hit it with 30 stacks of Wojahnni (3000% more damage), youâll deal 3030% more damage. These two bonuses are added together (making Strongarms useless in this scenario), not multiplied.
Back to topic: Taeguk is a strong gem for many channeling builds, unless you use e.g. Rapid Fire which uses another huge additive bonus on a key item for that build. The effect ist also much lower than expected in combination with a zDH using Odysseys (additive as well).

Iâve never seen a Teaguk.
Itâs something thatâs only available in the British localisation of Diablo III.
At Rank 25 it gains the +Earl Grey, Hot, Black, Sugar, Slice of Lemon aura
Also note that the description says when you spend resource whit the chaneling skill, otherwise it wonât proc. If i remember correctly.