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[[File:Area-damage1.png|
thumb|300px|Area Damage via Paragon points.]]
Area Damage or , '''AD ''', (initially originally called "Splash Damage") is a 20% chance of all attacks dealing X% damage to other enemies within 10 [[yards]]. It's basically free damage dealt to other nearby targets, and it can add up to considerable damage, since it [[procs]] from every target. For instance, an attack that hits five enemies. This in close proximity means that every time a character hits an enemy, all enemies within 10 yards have a 20% chance of taking some % 5 will Area Damage check on each of the base other four, potentially adding up to more damage than was dealt by the initial attack damage.
The likelihood of Area Damage can not be increased above 20%. What can be boosted, by Paragon Points and by item affixes, is the % of damage dealt per splash. A variety of item slots can grant up to 20% Area Damage each, including [[weapons]], [[rings]], [[amulets]], [[gloves]], [[shoulders]], and off-hand items ([[quivers]], [[mojos]], [[sources]]), for a total possible value of well over 100%. (See maximum values below.)[[Paragon Points]] can be used to add 1% Area Damage per point, up to a maximum of 50%. This figure adds to the AD% value from items.
Despite what sounds like high potential, AD is not highly-valued by players. It underperforms due to bugs[[Paragon Pointshttp://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/area-damage-bugged-and-underperforming]] can be used , and also due to add 1the proc rate being less than 100% Area Damage per point. Furthermore, up to a maximum it is of 50%. This figure adds to no use against single targets such as [[Guardians]], which many [[buiilds]] find the AD% value from itemsmost challenging.
* As of [[Patch 2.0.4]] There are no class skills that boost Area Damage, either by frequency or output.
AD is devastating against large groups, especially with procing with AoE attacks, since the chances for it to work increase dramatically. For instance, if an attack hits 10 enemies in a bunch, all 10 will proc AD against the other 9. Thus a single attack that hits 10 enemies would generate 90 AD checks (10 enemies x 9 AD checks each), potentially creating a much larger total amount of AD damage than the initial attack itself generated.
**** For example, take a character with 50% AD who hit 5 enemies with a single splash attack. All 5 targets would proc AD on each other. If all 4 procs (20% chance from each) were successful on a single enemy, it would take 200% AD, double the damage of the initial hit.)
Maximizing AD is not generally a wise strategy, as in many item slots (especially weapons, gloves, and jewelry) other affixes (such as [[ChD]], [[ChC]], [[CDR]], or [[mainstat]]) will deliver a better damage increase. After all, AD only triggers 20% of the time, and its damage is derived from the normal damage. But a good amount of AD can be quite useful, especially when fighting large groups of enemies.