[X] My Assistant

Since there seem to be a couple of mages around here, maybe this is a good place to ask this.

Can you hold ANYTHING in your off hand while you're holding a staff? Or does it have to stay empty?

I'm still trying to find equipment that gives a good balance of decent defense and low interference. I guess I've gotten too used to holding a shield, because the amount of damage I take on Normal adds up between the resisted spells and misses with a staff strike. Don't get me wrong, I'm doing far more damage to them when I hit, but a little assist, either in terms of extra defense, accuracy, or attack power, is greatly missed in my off hand.

Oh, and I've always gotten more HP items than Mana ones. Spirit ones drop even less than Mana, but that's to be expected, I suppose.

You cannot hold anything in your off hand while using a staff.

bit of a follow up question on the spectral auras.

currently listed as

White Aura Grants the combined effects of the Red, Orange, Yellow and Violet auras. This aura does not use an Aura Slot, and is always active.

+50% bonus to gained EXP
+25% Power


does that mean it also gives +2% dmg, +5% hit, +1% evade and +5% magic hit? or is the entry in the wiki up to date?

the wiki says

Costs 200 Hath.
Grants the combined effects of the Red, Orange, Yellow and Violet auras.

* +50 % bonus to gained EXP
* +25 % Power
* +10 % Health Points
* +5 % bonus to Holy Elemental Rating
* +3 Dexterity, Endurance and Wisdom

- Spectral Aura bonuses have been revamped.
-- The white and black auras now both give +50% EXP and +25% Power, while the Rainbow Aura gives +77% EXP and +77% Power.
-- White Aura gives +10% HP
-- Black Aura gives +10% MP
-- Rainbow Aura increases all regen rates by 50%

- Having a Gold Aura or higher now increases all regen rates by 50%.

Says nothing about combining attribute bonuses, so I don't think it's there.

i looked at that yeah, i guess i'm getting thrown about what this "combined effects of the Red, Orange, Yellow and Violet auras." is supposed to mean.

Probably just a out-of-date description.

Yeah, that's a pre-Snowflake description. It's from before stat and attribute bonuses were introduced.

fun. penny pincher it is, thanks both of ya, i'll +k as my bar gets its slow ass back to full.

This post has been edited by marcho: Sep 19 2009, 07:13

Question about Ether Theft:

Can it last more than 1 turn? I only ever see staffs with 1 turn but not higher...
Also what determines the amount of MP you can steal from target?

ether theft can go higher, i have a 2 turn, and it makes my mp pool happy-happy.

mp theft amount is vaguely related to the enemy current mp. at my level, a very low mp (10% or less) will give 1-2 mp per tick. a regular enemy with anything more than 10% will give 3 mp per tick. a few enemies (notably canucks) give me 4 per tick.

question.

what are the main benefits of kevlar? ive found a few pieces of phase cloth, which seems heavily geared towards high evade, magic, and acc bonuses, as well as 0 burden and interference. i've yet to come across a piece of kevlar, so if someone can give me the highlights of what they think bout theirs i'd appreciate it.

also, is the barrier spell particularly worthwhile? my supportive prof is high, shield has been a nice addition to my cast set. it ends up saving per say, more hp than cure over the duration. i havn't got a chance to try barrier yet, but from the way shield works barrier seems like it would be less useful (as spells target you much less often than physical) unless the barrier spell had a significantly more powerful absorb than shield. does it? any other thoughts?

This post has been edited by marcho: Sep 19 2009, 20:02

I imagine Barrier is less useful to a mage as you'd already have a high barrier rating, but against mini-bosses and higher it could probably save your hide, at least for a round or two to cast those last spells.

*Quivers after remembering round 1 of a grindfest and a manbearpig >.<*

Barrier works like Shield. Barrier generally protects from more points of magic damage than Shield with physical damage. I find it useful to have both. It can be very useful in the long run, especially across multiple rounds, as the starting MP for monsters might result them in an immediate magic attack.
My supportive proficiency is currently at 71.5% of my current level. Note that burden and interference can reduce the amount protected.

EDIT:
Currently for me, Shield currently absorbs 18.5 physical damage and Barrier absorbs 43.1 magical damage. (Shield Rating: 137, Barrier Rating: 138)

This post has been edited by EvolutionKing: Sep 19 2009, 20:34

once you get absorb barrier is pretty much useless

ah so barrier does have a higher absorb rate, interesting. guess i'll give it a shot till absorb comes around.

thanks.

once you get absorb barrier is pretty much useless

I hear Absorb doesn't always catch everything, though. And it doesn't help if you get hit with successive spells before you can get a recast.

I tend to cast Barrier whenever I'm facing a huge mob of hard-hitting spell-users and when there are mid-bosses. A little extra protection doesn't hurt, even if it is a piddling amount.

aright, nother question in addition to the kevlar one.

does the soul type damage from eth weapons have a significant advantage for taking down standard bosses like daleks? or does it only really come into play for legendarys?

aright, nother question in addition to the kevlar one.

does the soul type damage from eth weapons have a significant advantage for taking down standard bosses like daleks? or does it only really come into play for legendarys?

yep. soul type weapon will　help you fight with standard bosses.
You hit Dalek for 387 crushing damage.
You hit Dalek for 628 soul damage. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by ponkan: Sep 21 2009, 06:23

nice, thanks. dern power bar takes its time refillin but you're queued up.

Has there been a recent change somewhere to make monsters tougher, or weapon attacks weaker? I only ask because it seems like I am now doing shit for damage, and missing a LOT more.