by Valdemar » Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:18 pm
Hey Tanot, thanks for replying.
The Maloxxx line of spells debuff everything BUT disease. This was because they checked against disease for resistance. The spell itself, might be magic-based, but I'm talking about what the spell checks against for the mob to resist it. I think you understood this, but I'm repeating it for clarity's sake. I mean, when I was a baby SHM waaaaay back in the day, you'd pull with your best disease debuff, so that malo and slow (which I learned checked against disease) would have a much better chance of landing. I know I'm not hallucinating about this. My wife's first character was an ENC and her Tash line never did anything for helping me land a slow - which it most definitely would have if Txxxxx Insect's had been checking against magic all those years. In fact, the spell descriptions say that the Txxxx Insects line of spells "Increase Disease Counter by 00". No, it was the disease resist debuffs that made Malxxxx and slow spells more likely to land without resists. So, unless its been changed and I never noticed it before, or the spell info is wrong, then I must be thoroughly confused.
To be honest, I've never quite understood why we have a line of disease-based partial slows to begin with. Obstensibly, they were designed for mobs that mitigated slow, but I stopped using them. For one thing, until you get Hungry Plague at level 70, disease-based partial slows are S-L-O-W casting spells, and secondly, because against mobs that mitigate slow, I could never tell a difference between a mob with regular slow (mitigated down) and a mob with the partial slow on. You could throw Malicious Decay (level 63, disease resist dubuff -51, only 150 mana, 1 second to cast) and then follow it with Hungry Plague (40% slow, only 3 seconds to cast) in a total of about 4 seconds. But, before you get Hungry Plague at level 70, the lower level disease-based slows are actually SLOW casting, like Cloud of Grummus takes 6.5 seconds. Casting Malos (level 65, unresistable) followed immediately by Balance of Nihil (level 65, -40 MR) takes a total of only 6 seconds.
Anyway, I digress. I just don't remember my Txxxx Insects and Maloxxxx lines checking against magic. That really threw me when I saw it. I haven't played in a while so it could be that I simply confused it. If that's the reality then I've been playing wrong for a LONG time (throwing Malaise line to decrease disease resist to get slows to land). I also don't remember Malicious Decay and Insidious Malady being unresistable, but again, I could simply be a 'tard. Again, thanks for the reply. If you find anything that confirms or denies, I'd appreciate it.
Regards,
Valdemar