hi all this may be a silly question but let me see if we are doing this correct

i will give some examples.

1. player hits with a pierce 1 weapon doing 4 hearts and the overload rolls 3 sheilds due to pierce 1 the player inflicts 2 hearts of damage

2.player hits with pierce 1 weapon doing 3 hearts the overload rolls and gets 3 sheilds due to the pierce 1 the plaer inflicts 1 heart of damage

3.player hits with a pierce 1 weapon doing 2 hearts the over load rolls and gets 3 sheilds due to the pierce 1 does the player still inflict one heart of damage or do nothing.

thank you in advance for your thoughts

Each pierce cancels 1 shield rolled- think of it like a subtraction from the defense results (but they can never go below zero.)

So:

1) 4 hearts, pierce 1 vs 3 shields? It's like the player only rolled 2 shields, so 2 damage suffered.

2) 3 hearts, pierce 1 vs 3 shields? It's like the player only rolled 2 shields, so 1 damage suffered.

3) 2 hearts, pierce 1 vs 3 shields? It's like the player only rolled 2 shields, so no damage suffered.

and bonus

4) 4 hearts, pierce 1 vs 0 shields? 4 damage suffered. When there are no more shields to cancel, pierce does nothing.

Also Pierce from different sources stack, so a crossbow with Pierce 1 and a Treasure hunter's 'Sleight of Hand' skill combine to give you Pierce 3.