Drain

[iceboy]

Is it a bug that drain 1 and drain 2 are exactly the same?

[Shovah32]

No. Previously each point of magic/drain increased or decreased research by 1 point but this was deemed too extreme and corrected to +/- 1 and 1 or 2 and +/- 2 and 3 in the scales.
Level 2 still has an effect on fatigue ect but is generally a popular number for drain and an unpopular one for magic.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Level 2 also has an effect on MR. In Drain it goes up by one, in Magic, down by one. For example, if you're going to take Drain, you're probably better off taking 2 rather than just one so you can get the extra 40 points. Typically you only want Drain 3 if you're playing Ulm or LA Man or Ermor. Since MR lowers in a Macic scale of 2+, you're best off taking either 1 or 3: 1 if you want to save a few design points and 3 if you want to do a lot of research, or if your dominion effect has something to do with it (LA Rl'yeh for example).

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Say, hostile troops in a magic 3 territory, they would suffer the -1 resistance, right, even though it is from positive scales?

[quantum_mechani]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
Say, hostile troops in a magic 3 territory, they would suffer the -1 resistance, right, even though it is from positive scales?

Correct.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
Say, hostile troops in a magic 3 territory, they would suffer the -1 resistance, right, even though it is from positive scales?

That is true. You can use those scales defensively like that if you're being invaded. I suppose that would be one reason to buy Drain 1 or Magic 2. Drain 1 reduces research but does nothing to the enemy's (or your own) MR so it would have no effect on spells being cast in battle.

Magic 2 only increases Research by 1/researcher, but reduces MR of anyone in that dominion, making it easier to affect enemies with spells (I usually don't take Magic 2 anyways because then I am equally vulnerable.). I suppose Magic 2 would be of most use to someone who is afraid of getting swamped with armies of longdead. The lowered MR will make banishing them easier.