Shadow Brand?
 

Are there conditions under which a Shadow Brand will not function? After recent discussion, I've been giving them to all my low-level human commanders, and while it works fine for my pretender the item has failed to function in three different battles for two different Blindlords.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

I have no idea.

Is the pretender's shadow brand functioning in the same battles that the blindlords are participating in? If they are in different battles, are there battlefield enchantments in operation in the battles where the shadow brands are acting up?

Are they fighting the same opponents?

Are you sure that the shadow brands are not functioning? Perhaps there is just a glitch with the graphics?

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Urm. Maybe it was just a graphical glitch. It's started working again.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Okay, look at Bram's Wall (#71) in this game here. In the battle replay there, there's a Blindlord wielding a Shadow Brand who gets surrounded by dragonflies. I know he attacks them because his fatigue goes up by 10 when he does. (He's also taking fatigue from, apparently, being in the cloud from a Magma Eruption. That's separate, though.) Nevertheless, no Leeching Darkness animation activates and no dragonflies take splash damage.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Don't we need more than just the trn file to look at the replay? What about the ftherland and map files? Anyway, I couldn't see it.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

I wanted to check that thing out too, but I can't even find all the mods you're using. :p

But nah, you don't need anything but the .trn. Just like in PBEM games (and TCP/IP games!) and whatnot.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

I didn't think you needed more than the .trn, and I've since continued on in that game and so lost the .2h and ftherlnd files. But if you want the mod files, I have Psientist's Mytheology mod enabled, a version of the Single-age mod, Edi's No Independents mod, and my house rules. None of them should affect Shadow Brands. If you want to take a look, here they are:

http://students.cs.byu.edu/~mdw45/mods.tgz

Let me know if I left out a file.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

After seeing one battle where the Shadow Brand, in the hand of a minor thug (Tomb Oracle), functioned about half of the time, my tentative conclusion is that the Leeching Darkness ability is under the control of the wielder, and the wielder uses it only when the combat AI determines that friendly fire casualties will be minimal. For instance, he usually didn't use it when surrounded by bodyguards, but when surrounded mostly by enemies on one side he did.

I suppose it's a good thing he's so careful.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

That's very interesting. I must consider this when modding weapons.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Where did you get that map Max? It looks interesting. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

That's Dawn of Dominions. I think it came with the 3.06 patch.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Wait, I'm an idiot. Here's a better theory. In order for a Shadow Brand to do Leeching Darkness, it first has to hit. SCs and minor thugs have better attack values, ergo they hit more often. The thing with the bodyguards was probably coincidence.

To test it, I'll try equipping my human commanders with burning pearls as well as shadow brands, and see if Leeching Darkness goes off when they're with their bodyguards.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

According to Edi's database, shadowbrand has 'secondaryeffectalways' leeching darkness, which means it should be triggered regardless of whether the hit connects/does damage.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Could it be that the attack is being repelled by a longer weapon, and this causes the leech not to trigger?

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Probably not a repel in this case, because 1.) all these minor thugs had good morale, and 2.) hitting dragonflies didn't trigger the effect and they can't repel anything.

At the moment I can't tell whether it's a wielder-optional effect or whether it's not working like a #secondaryeffectalways.

-Max

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Since both have lifedrain, is there any reason to forge a 25 death gem 2-handed wraith sword IF you can forge a 10 death 5 earth gem 1-handed shadow brand instead? Even the 1-handed blood thorn seems more cost effective given death gems > blood slaves.

Has anyone besides Max seen shadow brand not working?

Another weapon question:
Does star of heroes destroy magical armors, like a jade armor?

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Shadow brand is not lifedraining (should not be at least). Leeching darkness causes weakness, not life drain.

Star of Heroes doesn't affect magical equipment.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

I equipped a lot of my Banes with Shadow Brands in the assumption that they are immune to Leeching Darknees. (I know, I should have checked rather than assumed). Now I found out that LD affects undead (as well as lifeless, which I didn't expect) Now are there any units immune to LD, which could use the Shadow Brands without danger? If not, how can I use the Brands effectively? Very high MR units? Or units with regeneration?
I thought of the Shadow brand a nice weapon for undead thugs, but if I need to add a Ring of Regen or an Amulet of Antimagic it gets too expensive and it will probably be the Frost/Fire Brand again.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Shadow brands have the advantage of being armor piercing and having a larger AoE then the other brands. The disadvatage is that the AoE effect is resistable with high MR.

You're best off using them on SCs as these units have high base MR (which can be boosted even higher) and the HPs to survive if they are hit by their own brand effect. Ring of Regeneration or Hydra armor recommended with their use.

Re: Shadow Brand?
 

Any thug with an MR low enough to be taking significant damage from his SB has an MR low enough that he can get killed pretty easily by enemy mages.

For a mere 5 astral gems, an amulet of antimagic is pretty cheap!