DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

[tdh]

I'm an accomplished Magic Burster, as it's something I really enjoyed doing as RDM. So I know the timing for just about any spell that can be Magic Bursted; but for the life of me I cannot MB with any of the Abs spells. I've tried all the timing intervals, and it just will not MB. I can MB Stun, Drain, Drain II, Aspir, Bio, Bio II, and NOTHING else in the Dark Magic line.

So I've taken to asking people is it even possible to MB these spells. I don't know why you wouldn't be able to, since you can MB with other Enfeebling spells, or Cure, but why not the "Vampire" spells.

Has anybody else been able to land a MB with these spells? Recently found myself in a party that actually did some skillchaining (Also recently finished Spiral Hell quest) so I've been given the chance to MB. Tried MB a Darkness with Abs-TP and it didn't Mb. I'm the only DRK in my LS with a mage background so nobody else could answer my question, so I'm posing the question here.

Is it even possible?

[Brayden]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

Not that I have done any extensive research myself, but on the times i have tried to MB absorb spells, I too havent gotten any MB results. It may just be that SE didnt implament a MB effect for those type of spells.

[tdh]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

While working on the latent for Sword of Trial today, I tried the timing a few more times. And again, no problem landing Aspir, Drain, or Drain II - but no go on Abs-TP.

I've pulled back damn near 500HP on a Drain II MB in the past (497HP to be exact), and keep imagining an Abs-TP at the start of the fight that pulls back 150% or so. I know some people may think that's over kill, but the TP Modifier for Spiral Hell is quite nice, and I don't have to spend the time building 200%+ TP for my Martial Scythe in hopes of another 2000+ Spiral Hell.

On a side note, am I the only one that's taken to Stun'n before Abs-TP to make sure the bastard doesn't blow it's TP before I can.... er... "borrow" it?

[ItazuraNhomango]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

On a side note, am I the only one that's taken to Stun'n before Abs-TP to make sure the bastard doesn't blow it's TP before I can.... er... "borrow" it?

Nope. I've heard this technique on LS chat before; you can't be the only one.

Since there are weaponskills which do not form/affect skillchains (e.g. Spirits Within), maybe there should be magic which do not interact with skillchains (i.e. can't MB)?

[Taskmage]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

Possibly, but it's strange that those particular spells wouldn't be MBable. You can MB debuffs and drains, both of which have similar properties. Maybe it's the fact that absorb spells create a debuff effect and a buff effect that makes the system treat them differently. They're unique in that, I think.

Even if you could MB them, you'd probably only get an accuracy bonus rather than a bonus to the effect. I'd say better to stick with those uber-efficient drain spells for MB.

[hongman]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

If you MB Para or Slow, does it increase the proc rate or just increase the resistence down?

[tdh]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

If you MB Para or Slow, does it increase the proc rate or just increase the resistence down?

I've wondered about this for sometime, but there isn't any real way we can test this is there? Perception just isn't something you can really trust. Perception at times makes me believe that Paralyze can out perform Paralyze II, and that the Paralyze from Ice Spikes is above and beyond both Paralyze spells.

But, as Taskmage hinted on, it's probably just Magic Accuracy because I've never seen a MB Enfeeble spell get flat out resisted. (Then again with my Enfeebling Magic skill, I almost never see resists anyway.)

But since Dark Magic can be real fickle, maybe Magic Accuracy is what's needed sometimes. Drain one minute for 250HP, Drain the next for 35HP.

[hongman]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

But Drain for 80HP with ES and you know your Dark Magic skill needs work....

ANd I am 100% certain Duelist Tights ("Enhances Spikes Spells") is definately what it says it is....normally just 1-2 hits and the mob is paralyed for anything up to 6 times...

[tdh]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

But Drain for 80HP with ES and you know your Dark Magic skill needs work....

My Dark Magic was cap'd from RDM until DRK61 I believe, and I cap it with no problem each level. So my Skill is at the cap (Lv.254), and I macro in Dark Torque and DRK AF Helm for Drain, Drain II, and Abs-TP totaling in Skill+12. But even then as RDM or as DRK I can get one really good Drain, an the next one is hugely resisted. Make sense for RDM since the Skill is so much lower, but on DRK the higher skill should yield far less resists. Doesn't make sense that on Darksday, Skill+12, with Dark Staff against a Too Weak Light Elemental I can get two really crappy Drain and Aspirs and then get a really good one the 3rd time around. That's why I've thought Drain to be really fickle. Just doesn't seem to follow the same "resist model" that all other spells follow.

ANd I am 100% certain Duelist Tights ("Enhances Spikes Spells") is definately what it says it is....normally just 1-2 hits and the mob is paralyed for anything up to 6 times...

For me, with cap'd Enhancing Magic, and 120 or more MND, I've seen Ice Spikes' Paralyze proc 8 times in a row against a T Steelshell in The Tree. So Ice Spikes has always been very strong for me, and I have no Duelist pieces.

[Armando]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

I believe Drain is random. Even if you try on low level mobs you'll get different numbers regardless of resists. Add the possible resists you'll get in EXP, and you've got a spell that's really hard to nail for max potential.

[Aeni]

Re: DRK & the Dark Magic Magic Burst

Drain and Aspir are random. Years of playing as a DRK and pretty much nothing more on my first account, so I know for a fact that the differing returns has NOTHING to do with resists and/or skills (solely)

Better skills will mean higher potential returns, but does not guarantee a high return. I've actually tried to split/divide to see if they break down to nice numbers and I can attest that it has never been "perfect." I could get one value for a cast and one minute later on the same genus (approximately same level) target get a very different value which does not divide closely to the first value simulating resists or some sort of resist.

I've even had my "max" values on the exact same mob differ by a factor of 1.2 or so (which shows it wasn't a resist that affected it) on the same mob within the same minute (i.e., skilling up a weapon + leveling NPC off of some mob that is still EP to my DRK which would mean that I won't kill this mob in under 1 minute) The values show that my cast wasn't resisted, nothing on the mob has changed, nothing on my DRK has changed, no WS effect was activated on the mob, etc. All things considered equal, the values just don't break down nicely.