New items, part 2 (in Changelog)

• Mace of Disruption [supporter item]: 1h melee weapon. double damage vs Ablative Shield; immune to PL
• Shield of Capacity [power shield]: absorbs average of 0.25% (max of 0.33%) of physical damage received per plus and deals it out on next hit _if_ you are using a hammer weapon (MH, MoD, some low-end weapons, _or_ UC). Does include standard UC penalty. This absorption is the first damage reduction applied (yes, it reduces damage, but does not grant standard AC). It costs about 30M to get it to +32.

Note that the buying-current-supporter-item-for-$6 for yourself or someone else code is finished, you no longer have to paypal me manually. Just go to the supportership page (one way is from the new Special Items business) and bob's your uncle.

Bob's your uncle indeed!

Shade will have 20 SoC for trade-ins. BoM and MS are eligible. (Mithril Shield, NOT Mage Shield.)

I will place some in auctions as well.

I'm putting a base hammer on my enchanter JUST to use a SoC :P

Ryosuke (Savanna) 203.126.136.220 AdminShade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) -- For new shield 3:20 AM EDT

Do you have to actually be using the hammer in order for the SoC to deal out damage?

Do you have to actually attack with it to unleash the damage? If so, do you have to hit with it? Does it have to do damage?

Does the minion have to be alive for the damage to be done?

Am I going to keep asking questions until your eyes fall out from reading them? Probably not.

tWIsTEd (tWIsTEd MaGe) 138.238.176.33 AdminShade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) -- 4 Shield of Capacity 3:22 AM EDT

"deals it out on next hit"

answers all your questions

does the shield store up damage over multiple rounds? so if you are hit for 5 rounds once each round in ranged then in melee you get your first hit does it deal all the damage stored from all the hits?

You need to be wearing a Mace or hammer type wep for the shield to do dmg.


Whats the stats on the mace btw

Nemerizt: yes

Greyfeld (Daemon) 70.141.53.200 AdminShade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) 3:29 AM EDT

So the shield, being a power shield, can't be worn with a tattoo right? You haven't said so, but I don't like to presume: any penalties to spells?

base 75, no special tying to "the big four" upgrade curve

SoC has no penalty to dx and -5% to magic

I am not sure i understand this: double damage vs Ablative Shield?
suppose my AS is (20). = tiny. Does this mean my wall can get hit for 2mil damage instead of 1mill damage without this AS?

SoC auctions are up

no, it means that the MoD will do 2x vs however many HP the AS generates, then only 1x

if other dmg sources are eating away the AS hp too, the MoD will do 1x that much sooner

SoC works with UC? There've been requests for a UC shield; was this an attempt to appease those pleas?

To me, it seems like a BoM is still better than an SoC for UC because it gives AC and a ST boost, meaning guaranteed damage reduction on damage received (discounting VB and ES, of course) and guaranteed damage increases on damage dealt (not to mention greater ENC, both via more ST). SoC, on the other hand, only absorbs portions of physical damage, and will deal 10% of it back for a 30M investment. This means that 1. it doesn't block magical damage, and 2. it depends on an enemy's attack hitting in order for it to benefit you at all. With the Evasion conferred by UC, I doubt many UC minions are getting hit by enough physical attacks for this shield to be helpful to them (because if no hits are landed on you, X% of 0 will be added onto your next blow to be hit back).

Just my two cents on it. I got excited when I saw that it applied to UC, too, and almost disenchanted my BoM and traded it in, before I realized that this SoC probably wouldn't be worth the trade.

Since this item is a "gotta take some to give some" kinda thing as far as damage goes, this may be an incentive to go an alternate route to Evasion. Get one extremely-hittable minion and get Ranger to quad it with his MH (or maybe have it take 25 shots from Freed's massive SoD), and then hit him back with it...

dversouri (Berzerk) 70.95.121.37 Admin Shade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) 4:28 AM EDT

i gotta agree with colonel. Honestly, the SoC sounds really cool, but when I'm running UC, my whole strat revolves around NOT getting hit in the first place. If it reflected DD, that would work beautifully, since DD is the anti-UC as things stand right now. But until then, I don't see UC getting much use out of it. I'm picking one up because I had a BoM lying around, completely un-upgraded. But I'm likely to use the MGS when I finally get one.

As for the SoC, is the damage absorbed Random? So a base one could absorb between 25% to 33%, and the only point for upgrading is extra AC?

Or is it based on some kind of comparison to your attacker/damage done to you?

GL, a base one would generally absorb between 0.17% and 0.33%, a +100 would absorb between 17% and 33%

Yoikes! Missed that entirely! LoL. ;)

BTW the damage absorption part. You don't need a hammer weapon for this to work? It always absorbs damage?

Only for the return damage part?

Ranger (The Funkes) 66.176.207.231 Shade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) 7:04 AM EDT

DrAcO5676 (Oxcha) 216.235.109.150 AdminShade (Narn i Chin Hurin) A Buckler of Mandos ($5012) -- for SoC 8:02 AM EDT

yes, the absorb does not require a hammer

The new shield looks cool, however, I think the MgS is far better.

or even a MS.

Not much additions for us lowly MH users I think.

And I do like the nice "hidden" evasion buff. Makes the game far more playable now.

where's this Evasion buff/nerf people keep talking about.

So far the top + weapons are MHs.
.
So for us MH users we got:.
.
1) less dex with shields.
2) -20 cth.
.
I am waiting for the 3rd nerf to hit the trifecta.

Any idea if Shade will be on today?

The SoC is like a Physical AMF (Damage reduction and Backlash), while the MgS is like a Magical EC (Straight out Damage reduction, which is what lowering STR and DEX do).

I like them.

Ranger: I'm confused; you're only getting -20 cth if your DX is massively greater than your opponent's. Otherwise it's much less, down to no difference if your DX is less than or equal to his.

Given the volume and duration of your complaining about evasion, I've assumed that your DX is _not_ in fact massively greater than your opponents'.

Please pick one to complain about, and be consistent. Thanks.

Jon,

You are correct, I missed the max chance. I misread it as base chance.

My apologies to you.

The max chance lowering is perhaps a good thing.

Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 AdminQBVerifex (Database Error) A Mithril Shield ($945071) 10:44 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 j'bob (The Crow) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:41 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 DrAcO5676 (Oxcha) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:41 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 QBRanger (The Funkes) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:41 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 dversouri (Berzerk) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:41 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 tasuki (Tasuki) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:40 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 Shadowsparkle (Greedy) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:40 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 Greyfeld (Daemon) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:40 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 tWIsTEd (tWIsTEd MaGe) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:40 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 Ryosuke (Savanna) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:40 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 Khardin (Zinc) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:39 AM EDT
Shade (Shade Test Dummy) 213.197.10.12 Henk Bres (The Henk) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 10:37 AM EDT


Ranger: of course I'll be on :)


I still have 9 brand new Shields of Capacity left for those who want them!

Thanks Shade.

Wow, this does indeed look like it'll add a nice twist to the game.

If you were at all put off by the vivacity of my complaints about yesterday's change, Jon, let me make it up to you by telling you how great all your other changes have been! Especially the Halidon buff.


Nice to see the MoD back, too, coming in strong with it's own personal shield buff. :)

Does the new shield work vs a SoD?

I see no retaliation vs Freed when I fight him.

Well, just a prelim try on the new shield at +25 give me tons of damage vs magic esp CoC.

I think the MgS is far far far better.

It's only for Physical Damage.

The original hit of the SoD should store up the shield, but the splash is classed as fire damage isn't it, so if the Shield wearer is being hit by the splash it won't do anything.

Wow! Gotta say the new Supporter Paypal script thingy is fast!

I was hit directly by the SoD.
But either way, I prefer my MgS to help vs all the magic out there. Rather then use the shield that gives no AC and only takes a small % of physical damage reduction.

+25 is about 6M CB2 and gives 25 x .333 is 8% less physical damage vs over 30% less magical damage for the same NW.

For me, it is all of whats more effective most of the time.

I hope someone can show me a good use of the new shield though before I sell mine.

It's all about AMF to EC. The MGS reduces more damage, but the SoC returns damage back to your opponent. So it can't reduce as much as the MGS for the same NW.

Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [153812], Cloudscape [64939]
Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [180475], Cloudscape [74759]
The Grid regenerated 150,000 HP
Cloudscape regenerated 139,698 HP

Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [149932], Cloudscape [62932]
Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [177291], Cloudscape [70436]
The Grid regenerated 150,000 HP
Cloudscape regenerated 133,368 HP

Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [208084], Cloudscape [73012]
Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [134086], Cloudscape [58875]
Exacerbation's explosive shot hit The Grid [209510], Cloudscape [76228]

The Grid regenerated 150,000 HP
Cloudscape regenerated 170,000 HP

One can see The Grid using a MH and the new shield does no return damage at all.

Is this an intentional product of the shield as in only melee damage is reflected?

It's tacked onto your hammer damage.

O, thanks JS

Then that really sucks as one cannot see how effective the effects of the shield are.

Nice!! So by those battle stats, with the SoD hitting Grid your first MH return blow should do between 300k-400k extra damage! Pretty awesome!

Does it store it up for multiple hits?

That is since I am a melee tank, if i get hit by 10 SOD shots, does the shield store all that damage up for my very first melee hit?

My first round vs Freed after his SOD hits me 10 times:

The Grid pulverized Frustration with Death [1156459]
Consternation absorbs damage [733642]
The Grid draws strength from his weapon! [84563]
The Grid crunched Frustration with Death [494426]
Consternation absorbs damage [494426]
The Grid crunched Frustration with Death [523721]
Consternation absorbs damage [523721]
The Grid fractured Frustration with Death [607967]
Consternation absorbs damage [600318]
The Grid draws strength from his weapon! [1529]
Cloudscape scratched Frustration with Slice [40416]
Cloudscape scratched Frustration with Slice [44345]
Cloudscape grazed Frustration with Slice [52835]

Yeah, Jon said it does store up hits.

Sweet, with your MH, that's like getting in another hit.

if it's working then you should see messages about your shield glowing and flashing... do you have PL absorbing all the damage Freed is dealing to your shield minion?

I unlearned my base PL, so I have no PL.

Nothing about a glowing shield.

The Grid fractured Frustration with Death [732774]
Consternation absorbs damage [732774]
The Grid pounded Frustration with Death [507633]
Consternation absorbs damage [507633]
The Grid pounded Frustration with Death [497565]
Consternation absorbs damage [497565]
The Grid fractured Frustration with Death [573495]
Consternation absorbs damage [573495]
Cloudscape scratched Frustration with Slice [50241]
Consternation absorbs damage [36162]
Cloudscape scratched Frustration with Slice [65881]
Cloudscape grazed Frustration with Slice [63122]

Another battle,

Seems that nothing is happening with the new shield as per increased damage on my first blow.

Ranger, do you get the Glowing/Flashing message at all?

fixed ES explosion not counting as physical

fixed flash not showing up

fixed glow message but then removed it, too distracting

Um, not a pressing issue and I just may be dense (or more dense for people who know me) but how do we, as supporters, get the new supporter item for 6 dollars and not 11? I guess it has something to do with uncle bob, but I couldn't make him tell me. :(

as it explains on the page in question, yes

j'bob:
Businesses -> Special Items -> Supporter Status

Read the note:
Note: if the user you are donating for is already a supporter, the price for just the current supporter item is $6. Only one per user at this price.

Thanks Xenko, I had already been to that page but being that I'm already a supporter, I did fail to look/click on the link that suggests by its name (Supporter status for yourself or another player. Supporter status comes with one item for free.) that I'd be purchasing the status had I not already possessed such status.
I kept attempting to purchase the MoD through the drop down menu where the other items are listed. Sorry for causing any confusion other than the confusion that confused me.

Last Gasp (Jingleheimer Schmidt) 67.160.44.238 AdminShade (Shades Admin Char) A Mithril Shield ($7818) -- For Shield 12:46 PM EDT

I was waiting for an anti-freed change - time to go methinks

Freed,

This will almost certainly not effect you at all.

The amount stored/reflected is pitiful compared to the damage you do, and they have to give you the MgS in order to use it. Something I personally would never do, given the mages and their CoC in the top ranks.

And.. They have to hit your tank with its DBs in order to do it damage. Something only a few can do.

In conclusion, this new shield will do absolutely NOTHING to your fightlist. And mine as well other then make me lose to a couple people if I use it instead of the MgS.

In fact, all the changes make it so you can easily beat me now before I even get a chance to swing my MH once---Grats!!!

Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 Last Gasp (Jingleheimer Schmidt) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 1:23 PM EDT
Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 Verifex (Database Error) A Shield of Capacity ($8932)

Still 7 to send away!

Little Anthony (FTW) 64.241.37.140 AdminShade (Shades Admin Char) A Mithril Shield ($7818) -- trade for new shield 3:19 PM EDT


me = 1 too please!

Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 {CB1}stingiestbard (levee) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 3:51 PM EDT
Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 Little Anthony (FTW) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 3:51 PM EDT

Sent another 2 new Shields, now have 5 left.
I will be asleep now and check in the morning if I have time, please be patient.


Also, please chat mail me if you have sent a shield so I can see if someone requires a shield to be returned so you can get it faster :)

tnx

Didn't wanna dig up the Part 1, but, people said they've also had this problem, fixed with a restart to the computer, but i just restarted mine, and just noticed this problem.

Go to Business > Special Items, click "Buy Item" on one of the items so it goes to the "Paypal" CB page, then hit home instead of moving forward, bring up CB in a new window for me.

I'm inclined to agree with Ranger.

A 30M MgS gets you ~ +50 which is:
~ 45% damage reduction against DD

A 30M SoC gets you ~ +32 which is:
~ 8% damage reduction against physical
~ 8% increase in physical damage done (assuming in an average battle your tank receives about the same amount of physical damage as it deals out).

I know the SoC cannot be expected to reduce as much physical damage as the MgS reduces magic damage but it still seems like a poor option compared to the MgS.

Admittedly the MgS cannot be used in conjunction with any ED or EO but how many tanks train ED or EO particularly now that protection is gone? The only other real option is VA which is not overly popular.

The SoC also does not have a DX/Skills penalty whereas 2-handed weapon + MgS has 13% DX/Skills penalty. Is that enough to make up for the massive reduction in DD damage you are missing out on through using the SoC?

I'd personally like to see the amount absorbed by the SoC increased by about 50% to give around a 13% reduction in physical damage at 30M.

meanwhile a +60 (or so) Mithril Shield
A Red Fender [20] (+58) worth $23,790,089

will get you a 16+% physical damage reduction... the SoC is all about the return

the mage shield is just too darned good, i have said this for a while now. even with the changes i think its cost curve needs to be steepened.

Well there are a lot of negatives about the new shield:

1) You have to wait till melee to be able to absorb/deal the damage. That alone is 7 rounds into most battles.

2) No AC.

3) No protection vs magic.

Now here is my thinking about it:
Using: MgS +35 = 2.5M NW, MS +42 = 2.5M NW, SoC + 24 ~ 2.5M NW.

Typically I fight 1/2 mages and 1/2 tanks, give or take.

So the MgS works 50% of the time for about 35% magic reduction (given an average cost). Has little dex/skill penalty. Cannot be used with a tattoo.

The MS works 50% of the time vs tanks and 50% of the time vs mages. The benefit is (say for +42) 9% vs tanks and mages. Remember the benefit of its AC gets magnified by a TOE. And more AC on a wall with a TOE works much better. Higher dex/skill penalty CAN be used with a tattoo.

The SOC works only vs tanks. A typical upgrade of +24 lowers damage before the TOE also by 6-8% It does give back absorbed damgae which is a plus. It grants no AC so it does nothing vs magic. No dex/skill penalty and cannot be used with a tattoo.

So it all depends on what you want:

35% magic reduction 50% of the time = 17.5% effective usage

9% damge reduction both physical and magic = 9% effective usage

6-8% physical damage reduction 50% of the time = 3-4% effective usage + dealing damage on next hit-if you can hit that is.

Since a mace using tank has to try to live in order to try to hit to try to deal the absorbed damage, your better off using either the MgS if you fight more mages, or perhaps a MS if you fight all characters.

Perhaps and only perhaps if you fight melee only tanks and no missile users, the SoC may be better.

Also, remember that if you have PL/TSA HP battery, you will not absorb any damage unti lthat battery is dead and your minion takes actual damage, which may delay the cool feature of the SoC.

Therefore, I give the hypothesis that the new shield, while tres nice, is about as useless for most tanks as AG's are to mages. Good in specialized situations but most of the time, other items are better (ie NSC).

Nobody said you had to use it on a tank. :)

Enchanters can use weapons, too! As can walls!

if im not wrong you have to hit to deal damage... so wouldnt that mean that i dont think you can use it on enchanters much... not to mention that they would even have to survive to melee to do anything

Down low that may be nice but in the upper ranks with evasion an enchanter or wall has no chance of hitting. Also remember that the damage it absorbs is physical damage and those who deal it are likely to have enough of a DX advantage over enchanters/walls to not really worry about it. Unless of course you use a high NW weapon and in that case why aren't you using it on a tank? You could use this with a team that has a big EC but then the damage absorption/damage return would also be effected making it add a small amount of extra damage. Perhaps someone will come up with someway to make it work but for enchanters/walls I don't see this as being very beneficial.

"if im not wrong you have to hit to deal damage..."

Did I miss something? Does EVERY minion now come with DB and/or Evasion? A little bit of DX, and you have free hits on enchanters and possibly walls and some mages. Maybe even *gasp* a bit of + on that spare weapon of yours.

"not to mention that they would even have to survive to melee to do anything"

Walls? ToE? Other forms of damage reduction? Those ring a bell? :P I'm sure some walls can live without a MS.

Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 SK (Item Storage) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 12:49 AM EDT
Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 Got BooB (FuriousHobo) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 12:49 AM EDT
Shade (Shades Admin Char) 213.197.10.12 GentlemanLoser (The One UC) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 12:49 AM EDT

Sent another 3 of those nice new Shields, got 2 left if I'm correctly!

Will check again this afternoon

"1) You have to wait till melee to be able to absorb/deal the damage."

To deal, yes. The SoC absorbs Ranged Physical damage.

I think all that needs to happen is (as others have said) tone down the MGS by increasing its curve, to make these a little more comparable.

Shade (Shades Admin Char) 193.202.98.193 Michalastar (Life And Death) A Shield of Capacity ($8932) 4:42 AM EDT


Only have 2 left! (might keep them for myself if nobody wants them :p )

"I think all that needs to happen is (as others have said) tone down the MGS by increasing its curve, to make these a little more comparable. "

Not to bash you specifically, GL, but i really hate this way of thinking. "X is better than Y, so let's nerf X to make Y more desirable." Maybe object Y is actually just underpowered and needs a buff?

Inflation.

6M NW for a +30 MGS is massive. Sure we could just buff *everything* up to that level, but isn't it more sense to bring the offending object down?

Because damage reduction as a whole should be increased to MGS levels? I guess it kind of does go with jon's wish to further push the rounds into melee.

If every piece of armour offered a 30% damage reduction for only 6M NW, imagine how hard it would be to kill the big folk...

Well, I mean, 6m might be a little low for +30 MGS... but honestly, in its current incarnation, the SoC is utterly worthless for just about every minion setup. The MGS would need to be nerfed into oblivion to give SoC a chance, and even then, the MS and BoM (or even various tattoos) would still be highly more desirable than the SoC.

SOC is useless... at least in my book... but jon has already nerfed MGS alittle by making it 90% effective so a +50 MGS would only give 45% reduction

The only way I can see it being useful is on an enchanter on a AS dependent character.

But then you really would need to get a mace or MH to +100 at least for it to have a chance to hit other minions given the prevalence of evasion in the game. And try to have that minion live till melee to try to hit.

For all the NW involved in getting a weapon up that high and getting a SoC, I would think other items such as spellboots, a corn or even a MCM.

In my book, the SoC is perhaps one of the more worthless rares in the game. Perhaps this is one of the "lesser" rares he typed about from the first New Items changelog.

"In my book, the SoC is perhaps one of the more worthless rares in the game"


lol, I'll remind you of that statement Ranger, when the SoC is overpowered threads come around!

JW,

Unless it is highly changed, I have nothing to worry about.

With the MoD doing double damage to AS, and the SoC damage getting tacked on to blunt damage, I have to wonder: Does the SoC damage get doubled also, if you're using a MoD on enough AS?

My admin character still has 2 Shields of Capacity available for trade ins...

If they don't get claimed tomorrow, send them to Mr. Chairman.

Transferring permanently the following items to AdminShade (Shades Admin Char):

* A Buckler of Mandos [10]

Still waiting on my SoC?

Mikel, I hadn't seen your reply in this thread, instead I thought to receive a chat mail, sorry.

Sent you your SoC.

All Shields of Capacity are now traded in!