A glancing blow in classic WoW is a white swing that lands for reduced damage; it is 10% of swings plus 2% per point of target defence over weapon skill.
chance to glance = 10% + 2% × (target defence − your weapon skill) (white swings only)
damage of a glance = a roll between low and high:
low = 1.3 − 0.05 × difference, kept between 0.6 and 0.91
high = 1.2 − 0.03 × difference, kept between 0.2 and 0.99
Against a target three levels up, 40% of white swings glance for reduced damage; instant attacks never glance. Weapon skill above 300 narrows the penalty fast, which is why +5 weapon skill was worth so much to melee classes.
| Against a level-63 boss (315 defence) | 300 skill | 305 skill | 310 skill | 315 skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance to glance | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
| Glance deals (low to high) | 60% to 75% | 80% to 90% | 91% to 99% | 91% to 99% |
| Average glance | 67.5% | 85% | 95% | 95% |
| White damage lost to glancing | 13.0% | 4.5% | 1.0% | 0.5% |
Last checked: unverified against Forever. These are the long-established values of the classic ruleset (the 1.x game of 2005-2006); World of Warcraft Forever is in beta and may differ. When you test this one in Forever, post your numbers in Theorycraft.