Mana shield

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 31 Jan, 2018 14:59

Hello guys,
I'm just watching some let's play from Belzebub and I see that mana shield works a little bit different than it was in original Diablo 1. Despite the fact that he uses mana shield he sometimes loses HP too (still having mana shield), and I often see word "Absorb" up of his character and I have a feeling that he doesn't lose any points then (HP neither mana).
Can somebody explain me how it works in this mod, please?

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 31 Jan, 2018 18:56

Mana shield works exactly like in original Diablo 1. Only exception is it being exclusively available only to Sorcerer. There are unique items with property "X% damage absorbed by mana" or something like this, which makes mana shield partially usable for other classes (I'm not sure how practical it is, though).

Now to clarify what you've seen. If his mana never deplets while he is affected by Mana Shield, he is either not getting hit by anything, or getting hit by very little damage so you can't even tell if he has been hit at all. The thing is, in Belze damage absorbed by mana is not shown in digits like damage that is dealt to HP. The word "absorbed" then appears instead of these digits.
There's also a small chance of him having 100% resistance to certain element, thus making him invulnerable to that element.
Last thing that can "absorb" damage, is "absorbs half/full trap damage". If he has that, he is not being damaged by traps from opening chests and such.

Without seeing myself it's hard to say which case it is, but I'm pretty sure it's the first.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 31 Jan, 2018 23:03

But if this mana shield works same like in original Diablo, so why does he sometimes lose some HP while still having mana shield? When does it happen?

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 31 Jan, 2018 23:28

It happens when he casts spells which consume HP, which are Blood Star and Bone Spirit. Mana shield doesn't interact with these. Actually, that's pretty cool because you can cast those spells and get low on health and still be safe due to damage being dealt to mana.

There's also a Necromancer class, whch has an innate skill similar to Sorcerer's Mana Shield. It's called Blood Ritual and makes you spend life for casting spells.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 01 Feb, 2018 5:00

Hm, as I watched this let's play I have a feeling you are wrong... I will have to check it on my own! That's the best way I think

Because he didn't have these spells yet.

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 01 Feb, 2018 6:09

If that is a stream, you can just post the link so I could watch myself and tell what is the case.
And of course trying out the mod is always a good decision

Wendigo · Post by **Wendigo** » 01 Feb, 2018 10:31

Aren't there certain monsters that deal damage to both life and mana? I'm new to this so I'm not going to speak as an authority but I think I've encountered a few of the minion creatures that hit both my bubbles at a time.
Sorry if that's tangential. I'm speculating that either the LP'er's mana shield went down momentarily or that these monsters have the ability to do their double-hit regardless of mana shield.

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 01 Feb, 2018 16:39

Yes there are magic monsters (they are called "Possessed") which also burn your mana; they also freeze you on hit and have absurd amount of health. They are not to fuck with, especially for melee classes.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 01 Feb, 2018 21:14

This video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mmig1z ... S&index=14
Hit in 14:36, when "monster dog" spitted him acid. He had mana shield but lost 12 HP.

Or this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC2zsLp ... S&index=15
When he is in inferno flame (starts in 7:50), there is a weird noise and I believe he doesn't lose any points.
Same in previous video in 20:15, when he goes through the fire wall he set earlier. The same noise and no mana points loss.

Am I wrong?

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 01 Feb, 2018 23:07

Ok in first scene he didn't have mana so obviously he couldn't redirect damage from HP to mana

In second scene he is taking damage as usual, it may be not obvious for those who haven't played mod, since there's damage over time. If you look closely, you'll notice that at this time mark his mana depletes, "sinks" quickly instead of just jumping from high amount to low as if he would be struck by a large hit. Noticing this is a matter of experience. If you play the mod and decide to stand in some DoT spells (like Inferno in this case), you'll feel it.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 02 Feb, 2018 0:42

I played this mod by necromancer so far.

1. Yeah, you are right! I was confused because his mana shield symbol didn't disappear! And I remembered it from original Diablo. Here it just lasts for 30 minutes. I understand now.

2. Ok, I will have to play to feel it.

Thank you for explanation!

But I found one more interesting situacion. This video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLEQNfY ... S&index=12
at 14:06. What do these all "Absorb" mean? And how does it work? And when does it work? (I mean, when do you have a chance for absorb?)

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 02 Feb, 2018 1:38

Oh that only means that damage has been redirected to mana, so as I said earlier it doesn't indicate how much damage you have taken, showing you word "absorbed" instead.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 02 Feb, 2018 12:09

Hm, so what's the different beetwen getting damage in last video, and the earlier one, when he was standing in inferno flame? In the prvious one there is no "Absorb" word.

Hm, probably I will answer the question myself. Isn't it because of physical damage on which mana shield gives you little resistance?

Miacis · Post by **Miacis** » 02 Feb, 2018 12:46

Damage being displayed when it is done by a hit, not damge over time. Here's my assumptions, if you like. It isn't necessary that I am understanding game mechanics as they were intended to be by developer, though.

There's difference between hits and damage over time. Hits can be blocked most of time, damage over time can't.
When you are hit, there is a damage instance, in which you are, well, taking damage and numbers (or word "absorbed") appears.
When you are taking damage over time, there is no single damage instance, that's why you don't see numbers when taking damage. Otherwise you'd see something like "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" "1" flying over your head, and that doesn't look very neat so they are not displayed.

Wormek · Post by **Wormek** » 03 Feb, 2018 2:18

Hm, today I started my journey with sorcerer. I will see.

Thank you for answers!

Mana shield

Mana shield

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