Curse

Avaline Calyx · Nov 26, 2005, 04:13 AM // 04:13

What is ment by this and how do you apply it to spells??

NatalieD · Nov 26, 2005, 05:15 AM // 05:15

Stacking is when two effects combine for a greater overall effect. For instance, you can stack poison with bleeding to cause more health degen, or stack Winnowing with Order of Pain to increase physical damage by more than either skill alone.

When someone says two things don't stack, that means they won't combine effectively. For instance, Conjure Flame and Order of Pain can both be used to add damage to an attack, but they won't stack, because Conjure Flame only works on fire attacks and Order only on physical.

Former Ruling · Nov 26, 2005, 08:25 PM // 20:25

You hear "dont stack" more, because alot of things dont stack in this game.

Like if you added a +2 Strength rune to your warrior, then a +3 rune..they dont "stack" (that is combine) and give you +5..but rather the +3 takes over and negates the +2.

Avaline Calyx · Nov 26, 2005, 08:56 PM // 20:56

How do you do this with spells??

knives · Nov 26, 2005, 09:13 PM // 21:13

I am not really understanding what you mean by that, because NatalieD explained it pretty well.

But say you were a ranger/mes, and you took apply poison and conjure phantasm. You can poison the enemy for 4degen, then add conjure for 5 more degen, "stacking" into a total of 9 degen.

If you mean like monk spells, things like aegis + guardian do not stack AFAIK, because they are both enchantment spells, so you can't have a 125% chance to block incoming attacks. If you had whirling defence, then put guardian on yourself, then it would stack and block x% of attacks.

jesh · Nov 26, 2005, 09:34 PM // 21:34

Um.. in my experience, they do stack. I used Aegis/Guardian/Shield of Deflection on my mesmer protector build, along with Spirit of Failure. Guardian I could stack on top and still gain energy, but once Aegis went up, I'd net almost 0 energy. The effects were stacking. It's not 50+50, but they do help each other somewhat. This was a month ago at least, maybe it's been changed, but that's what my own experienced have been with these two skills.

As far as stacking spells, it just doesn't happen. That's why elementalists are so underpowered in the game right now, they can't stack things to the same effect as warriors and rangers. The only thing I can think of is a water hex and lightning touch. Oh, and of course, Earthquake/Shock+Aftershock. These are almost more of gimmicks than actual combos though, if you ask me.

NatalieD · Nov 27, 2005, 02:20 AM // 02:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesh

As far as stacking spells, it just doesn't happen. That's why elementalists are so underpowered in the game right now, they can't stack things to the same effect as warriors and rangers. The only thing I can think of is a water hex and lightning touch. Oh, and of course, Earthquake/Shock+Aftershock. These are almost more of gimmicks than actual combos though, if you ask me.

You don't seem to be talking about "stacking" at all in this paragraph. Using one skill to set up a condition for another skill isn't stacking...

Stacking spells would be, like, casting Conjure Phantasm and then Phantom Pain to inflict additional health degen, or putting Malign Intervention on top of Defile Flesh to reduce healing, or combining Spirit of Failure and Price of Failure to get a 50% miss chance. Note that only hex and enchantment spells can be meaningfully stacked - the term inherently refers to effects with a lasting duration.

Bugeater · Nov 28, 2005, 03:18 PM // 15:18

Stack-master NatalieD has it right again. But I've never done any testing (or heard of anyone who has) to prove Spirit of Failure+Price of Failure=50% miss, or Aegis+Guardian=94% (with 12 protection).

I would guess that the percentages don't stack but they're both resolved independantly. What I mean is say Aegis gives you 50% miss chance, and Guardian gives you 44% miss chance. Then 50% of the time Aegis would cause a miss, when Aegis doesn't cause a miss, 44% of the remaining time Guardian would. So you'd be left with a net 72% miss chance, not 94%. I also assume this is how Spirit and Price of Failures work, netting a 43.75% miss rather than 50%.

Too Hot Fo You · Nov 28, 2005, 04:37 PM // 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Stack-master NatalieD has it right again. But I've never done any testing (or heard of anyone who has) to prove Spirit of Failure+Price of Failure=50% miss, or Aegis+Guardian=94% (with 12 protection).

I would guess that the percentages don't stack but they're both resolved independantly. What I mean is say Aegis gives you 50% miss chance, and Guardian gives you 44% miss chance. Then 50% of the time Aegis would cause a miss, when Aegis doesn't cause a miss, 44% of the remaining time Guardian would. So you'd be left with a net 72% miss chance, not 94%. I also assume this is how Spirit and Price of Failures work, netting a 43.75% miss rather than 50%.

yes, that is how it works. It has been tested, as you cant really test spells with miss chances (random effects) just take the example:

Lifebond + Lifebarrier. With a protection of 15 both together would give 50% + 50% = 100% absorbtion of physical damage, which can't be right. Actually it works as explained above.

You take one of the stacked spells first, 50% damage absorb, now there's 50% of the damage still coming through. That's when the second enchantement gets active and absorbs 50% of the 50%, if there was a 3. one, it would absorb lets say 50% out of the 25% who remain coming through.

So in fact if you have lifebond and lifebarrier stacked, they absorb 75% of physical damage.