Here's my list of combat no-MR spells, may as well share it with the world
:
Damage-dealing, no MR spells, ignoring range <= 5, AN unless noted, not underwater only
(SD)=shield defends
(NAN)=not armor negating/piercing
(AP)=armor piercing
(MB)=magic being target only
(U)=undead being target only
(L)=living being target only
(F)=Fatigue damage only
(P)=Poison damage only
(!)=Precision 100
(#)=large area/BF/BE
(*)=Not resistable like you might think
A: Lightning Bolt, Orb Lightning, Thunder Strike, Shimmering Fields (#)
S: Star Fires, Magic Duel (!,opponent must have S), Arcane Bolt (MB), Solar Rays (!,U,AP),
Stellar Cascades (!,F,AP)
B: Blood Burst, Leech (!,L), Hellfire (AP), Life for a Life (!),
Infernal Prison/Claws of Kocytus (!,can return)
D: Ghost Grip (NAN,F), Dust to Dust (U), Wither Bones (U,#), Drain Life (!,L),
Rigor Mortis (not undead,#,F), Bone Grinding (#)
E: Flying Shards (NAN,SD), Magma Bolts (*,NAN,SD), Farstrike (NAN,SD?), Shatter (AN,lifeless only),
Blade Wind (NAN,SD,#), Rain of Stones (NAN,#), Magma Eruption (*,NAN,#),
Gifts from Heaven (NAN), Earthquake (AP,#,defense roll), Petrify (!,paralyze)
F: Fire Flies (AP,SD), Fire Darts (AP,SD), Flame Bolt (AP,SD), Fireball (AP), Flare (AP),
Falling Fires (#,AP), Pillar of Fire (AP), Sulpher Haze (#), Incinerate (!),
Flame Storm (#,AP)
N: Maggots (U,!,AN), Vine Arrow (NAN,SD), Breath of the Dragon (P), Storm of Thorns (SD),
Poison Cloud (#,P), Foul Vapors (#,P)
W: Frozen Heart (!), Geyser (AP), Cold Bolt (NAN,SD), Ice Strike (*,NAN), Acid Bolt (*,AP),
Falling Frost (#,NAN), Freezing Mist (#), Acid Rain (*,#,AP), Grip of Winter (#,F),
Acid Storm (*,#,AP), Niefel Flames (#,AP), Numbness (!,F)
Marignon: Holy Pyre (AP)
TC: Celestial Chastisement (MB,!,AN)
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrispedersen
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxWilson
Quote:
Originally Posted by chrispedersen
Paralyze is not particularly effective. High prot, hi regen SC's with/without FireShields can ignore being paralyzed.
Now, if combat ended when all units were paralyzed... another story.
Drain life doesn't do sufficient damage - now it is useful as a buff - but as a tactic to kill a big unit - not so much.
I don't remember incinerate. Sooo since Ihaven't seen it used I'm inclined to say it isn't effective = ).
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Incinerate is something like 10 or 15 points of AN Fire damage. There's an item (Phoenix Rod, 25 Fire gems) that lets you cast it. Fire mages frequently choose it to eliminate single units (that lone knight that broke the blockade) because it's Prec 100. I don't know why you haven't seen it used--perhaps the SCs in question were fire resistant?
Just like Frozen Heart, Incinerate and Drain Life obviously require you to deal damage faster than the target heals. This probably means you need 2-3 casters doing 30+ HP per turn (AN). Since they're all Prec 100, they scale well w/ number of casters.
Paralyze against an SC is probably most useful in conjunction with other spells that actually finish off the SC, like the afore-mentioned direct-damage spells, or Mind Burn. As you say, SCs will frequently be able to stand off troops w/ Awe, Fear, high Prot, etc. even while paralyzed.
-Max
P.S. In theory, Paralyze out to do a massive amount of damage to SCs because paralyzation damage turns to real damage if you get re-paralyzed, according to the manual. In practice I haven't observed this w/ Paralyze, although I haven't really been looking for it. |
On the face of it, what you say sounds plausible. However, examining it detail:
If you're looking at it in detail - the average giant will have a mr in the 14-18 range. The average sc in the 20-28 range.
So considering Niefle giants, for example
Even if you spam incinerate - you're spamming your F4 mage (cost > 150gp) against a unit with an MR of 18 usually after the bless, and a regen of 10. Won't work. |