Pestilence

[Claymus]

OK mine isnt transfering to the other mobs around me consistantly. At best Id guess its 30% of the time. There is no resistability on the spell description today but there was at least twice I cast it and while the mob was not dotted my resue timer was a full minute. This coulld be yet another SK defining spell (ie.. brigand thugs would are hillarious) I sure hope they make it do what the spell description says its supposed to.<div></div>

[chrno01]

<span><blockquote><hr>Claymus wrote:OK mine isnt transfering to the other mobs around me consistantly. At best Id guess its 30% of the time. There is no resistability on the spell description today but there was at least twice I cast it and while the mob was not dotted my resue timer was a full minute. This coulld be yet another SK defining spell (ie.. brigand thugs would are hillarious) I sure hope they make it do what the spell description says its supposed to.<div></div><hr></blockquote><font color="FF6600"><b>Pesitilence sucks. Persoanlly it should work like this. It AE's each mob for a decent amount, each time one of those mobs dies the remaining dot on the others should increase, the more you kill the mobs in the group the higher the dot becomes. That would be probably one of our greatest attacks imo.</b></font></span><div></div>

[Claymus]

Well today Pestilence seems to land with no problem.  Most of the time if a mob is "touching" another mob when it dies it will transfer. The distance between mobs needs to  be increased if this  to viable. Other than that it functions as a high cost quick action DoT with the master 1 topping at 180 damage per tick for me for 8 ticks, 1 per every 2 seconds.<div></div>

[Chaaz]

<div></div><p>There are several Issues with this spell:</p><p>1) Distance it can spread is tiny.  This absolutely needs to be increased.</p><p>2) Watch the graphics around you and your group.  It can attempt to spread to them.  It takes the closest of targets friend or foe as the 2.  Two fixes for this:  Either the ammount it spreads to needs to increase or other PC's and Pets should not count against the count.</p><p>3) A full resist does not reset the recast timer.  This needs to be addressed.</p><p>4) On a personal note, the recast timer is to long for my tastes.  I would love to see it reduced to the other AE lines. (20-30 Seconds)</p><p>Now a question, Does anyone know if it spreads to non hostile NPCs?</p>

[Claymus]

Great reply and i think the area of affected targets is too  small<div></div>

[Mistmoore-Milaga]

<div></div>This spell is nice.  My Adept 1 version was a more damaging DoT than my Putrid Coil Master 1.  Of course, it cost almost twice as much power to use, but even so it's our second most power-efficient spell for a single target, right under Putrid Coil.  When it comes to AoEs, it is our most power effective multi-target attacker, although you aren't assured you will hit every mob.  I have also noticed the range seems short, so it's best to kill the mob in the middle so it spreads outwards.  And this spell is most effective on groups when you are killing them quickly.  Combined with Death March it just speeds up how I can chew through waves of minions.Putrid Coil Master 1 - 11.2 average damage per power, 20secPestilence Adept 3 - 8.8 average damage per power, 16sec, multiple targetsPariah's Brand Master 1 - 7.1 average damage per powerThese numbers assumed DoTs run their course and the middle ground of all ranges were hit.  I had 260int and 258str when checking numbers.  Also, the Loathsome Anger line generally has a slightly better DPP ratio but I haven't upgraded it yet.  It's a shorter run DoT (more likely to run its course) and has the potential to hit multiple targets, which only serves to double, triple or whatever the DPP.  Since I never have power issues I'm moving this one into my quick hotbar and I'll have to do a bit of fingercontortion for my Baleful Wrath.EDIT: Added some rough numbers.  This is a good spell.<div></div><p>Message Edited by Milaga on <span class="date_text">03-06-2006</span><span class="time_text">07:27 AM</span></p>

[stahlej]

I don't like it at all.These are the following flaws of the spell in my opinion.It only affects 1 target and spread when the target dies. If you are grouped and do group encounters its use is very limited since the encounter will be dead for the most part before it has a chanse to spread.The resuse timer is too high and so is the power cost.This spell just as Death March has a nice underlying idea which dosnt really work since what you are fighting will be next to dead before it gets usfull.I like how death and such would make us more powerfull but the way it is implented dose not work.Id like to see this spell affect more targets and re-ignite when something dies... It would be more usfull.<div></div>

[Ultimatum]

Even though the spell only affects one target at a time, the fast DOT tick makes up for it imo...I snagged the master 1 of this the second it hit the market, and  that rank i it ticks off for about 250-350 with crits...According to parses that spell still makes up 5-7% of my total damage which is great in my book, especially considering it is extra dps (as in a totally new spell line rather than an upgrade to an old spell).  Once the spreading of the spell gets unbugged it will be even more potent<div></div>

[Mistmoore-Milaga]

I took a gander at the Master I.  It is a significant upgrade over the Adept 3.  I am going to get it as soon as I can.Also, this little baby works wonders when slaughtering greys by the dozens farming for book pages/status items.<div></div>

[plantb]

<div>Its a spell you have to time which sux imo.  You have to cast it on the 1st mob just before he dies, then you hope the next mob will die in 16 secs as well.</div><div> </div><div>Gfx aint nothing to go wow about as well. </div><div> </div><div>DM is much better.</div><div> </div><div>Plant</div>

[Phank]

<div></div><p>I don't mind having to time a spell, that adds flavor to the fight.</p><p>However, the area of effect needs to be increased significantly.  I pulled a group of 3 mobs today, linked mind you, cast Pestilence on the 1st mob at about 10% health, it died but didn't even spread to the other GROUPED mobs.  Matter of fact, I have noticed lots of times that my Pet or a group mate will be hit by Pestilence graphic while the mobs that were CLOSER to the dying mob were not.</p><p>Decent idea, poor implementation.</p>

[Claymus]

It defiantely needs some attention from the devs.<div></div>

[Mistmoore-Milaga]

I disagree completely.  As it stands it's our most powerful dot, close to the coil line in efficiency.  If you happen to get a spread to another target, then it is far and away our most effective non/aoe damage spell, power wise.  Use it *in conjunction* with DM assures that you will kill the next target quickly, hopefully within 16 seconds to spread the damage.  This spell is unusual, yes, but far from broken.<div></div>

[KULV]

Spell isnt broken broken, but its bugy as all hell+a pita to use. The graphics spread to party member(looks funky but doesnt do dmg to em). Some times it seems to go off an AE radius around me. I killed one mob that had mark of pest. on it and i whirled around and doted a non-agro book in PoA. Sometimes even when mobs are touching it doesnt transfer right.If they just fixed it so when a mob dies it would work off either a 5m radius of the Sk, or increase the distance it could spread from mob to mob to atleast 2m. I would be happy and ths spell wouldnt seem like such a drag.

[yipeeskipee]

<div></div><p>As a class defining spell all I cans say is.... IT SUCKS!!!   .... as it is.</p><p> </p><p>The radius needs to be grossly increased.  it's a joke to cast this spell and see it do nothing to mobs that are standing right on top of you.  First off following the reading of the spell and trying to understand how it works is one thing...  using it numerous times before you even can figure out what it does is another.   It seriously took me 5 group pulls before i could even figure out if the spell was working.</p><p>This spells gotta proc on all mobs on top of you... at least.</p>

[Claymus]

I agree this  spell  is a pretty effective DoT but I need consistancy to be effective and if I manage to get 3 mobs on top of each other i expect it to transfer to the other 2 mobs if the DoT  was still active on the on the first mob that died.  A little more range and Id like to hear more of other people saying whether or not it tries to effects other players instead of mobs.<div></div>

[pawnipt]

<div></div>Two bugs with Pestilence:1. Casting it on a enemy and the enemy dieing from the initial damage results in the disease not spreading to any nearby enemy's2. Pestilence will not spread if the two closest enemy's aready have the dot on them instead of spreading to the next closest enemyThese two *bugs* make pestilence REALLY DIFFICULT to spread to multiple enemy's and makes the spell rather weak.<div></div><p>Message Edited by pawnipt on <span class=date_text>01-20-2007</span> <span class=time_text>01:30 PM</span>

[t0iletduck]

I like this spell and consider it bonus damage. I do hate how if you kill the mob with pestilence when it first hits them, it doesn't transfer. Upon a mobs death, I have noticed it will either sometimes transfer to another mob thats close by and at times not transfer to a mob thats closer than the original. Hard to explain but im sure those that have used it know what I mean. As far as its transfer radius upon a mobs death... i'd be careful asking for that. I've had it agro mobs I didn't intend to pull before, such as the invis books in Den of the Devourer. With a large agro radius, I believe it could cause issues by pulling mobs through walls. In a raid scenario vs single epic mob, i liken it to a big dot. For the longest time I wouldnt remember to cast it because of the way they make it sound, but i notice it makes a nice boost to our damage parse. I guess the only change I'd make to it would be to fix the bug where it wont transfer if you kill the mob with it upon casting. <div></div>

[Mistmoore-Milaga]

1. These aren't bugs so much as game mechanics. Pestilence can only be on two targets at a time. The DOT is the primary effect and the spreading is a secondary one. If the target dies to the DOT before the secondary one activates, oh well. This is true for all spells as far as I know.2. Pestilence is excellent, sorry you can't see this. If it only lands on one target it's our third most power effective damage spell. It is situational, difficult to use and can get you in some hot water, but it is also one of our more powerful spells in our arsenal.3. Necro-posting makes baby Innorruk cry. <a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=faq&message.id=25" target=_blank>http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=faq&message.id=25</a><div></div>

[Xaxtionlorex]

I don't know where the complains come from, un buffed i get alot of 370 crits..buffed..i don't bat and eye when i see it critting for 510+, i don't know about you, but 500+ every 2 seconds adds up.<div></div>

[pawnipt]

<div></div><div><blockquote><hr>Milaga wrote:1. These aren't bugs so much as game mechanics. Pestilence can only be on two targets at a time. The DOT is the primary effect and the spreading is a secondary one. If the target dies to the DOT before the secondary one activates, oh well. This is true for all spells as far as I know.<a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=faq&message.id=25" target="_blank"></a><div></div><hr></blockquote>You are wrong, pestilence can be the target of more then two creatures, the only reason it doesnt spread more then it does is because of what i said in my previous post.Pestilence will not spread AT ALL if the two closest enemy's aready have the dot on them instead of spreading to the next closest enemy which i think it should!  I mean just look at undead-tide and tell me that pestilence is overpowered PLEASE?In my opinion fixing, or "changing" these two problems with pestilence will make it up to par with everyone elses lvl 65 spell.</div><p>Message Edited by pawnipt on <span class=date_text>01-21-2007</span> <span class=time_text>01:51 PM</span>

[Beldin_]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> pawnipt wrote:<BR> <DIV><BR><BR>In my opinion fixing, or "changing" these two problems with pestilence will make it up to par with everyone elses lvl 65 spell.</DIV> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I think it is real powerful since it has only a minute recast and i use it constantly .. if i compare it to the 65 spells of my other chars : </P> <P>Fury .. Call of Storms .. i really seldom use it because you are stunned when using it.</P> <P>Conjurer .. Plane Shift .. nice boost for the pet but 15 minute timer .. and with damage pet you mostly pull aggro, so more an "oh [expletive haxx0red by Raijinn]" spell with tank pet for me.</P> <P>Ranger .. the Hawk .. lol .. the biggest joke ever.<BR></P>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>pawnipt wrote:<div></div><div><blockquote><hr>Milaga wrote:1. These aren't bugs so much as game mechanics. Pestilence can only be on two targets at a time. The DOT is the primary effect and the spreading is a secondary one. If the target dies to the DOT before the secondary one activates, oh well. This is true for all spells as far as I know.<a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=faq&message.id=25" target="_blank"></a><div></div><hr></blockquote>You are wrong, pestilence can be the target of more then two creatures, the only reason it doesnt spread more then it does is because of what i said in my previous post.Pestilence will not spread AT ALL if the two closest enemy's aready have the dot on them instead of spreading to the next closest enemy which i think it should!  I mean just look at undead-tide and tell me that pestilence is overpowered PLEASE?In my opinion fixing, or "changing" these two problems with pestilence will make it up to par with everyone elses lvl 65 spell.</div><p>Message Edited by pawnipt on <span class=date_text>01-21-2007</span> <span class=time_text>01:51 PM</span><hr></blockquote>I'd have to agree, i'd love to see this spell fixed.it's annoyed me since day one that if the first tick kills the mob it doesn't spread. tok me a whole to notice the other bug and was never 100% sure.

[Mistmoore-Milaga]

<div><blockquote><hr>pawnipt wrote:<div></div><div><blockquote><hr>Milaga wrote:1. These aren't bugs so much as game mechanics. Pestilence can only be on two targets at a time. The DOT is the primary effect and the spreading is a secondary one. If the target dies to the DOT before the secondary one activates, oh well. This is true for all spells as far as I know.<a href="http://eqiiforums.station.sony.com/eq2/board/message?board.id=faq&message.id=25" target="_blank"></a><div></div><hr></blockquote>You are wrong, pestilence can be the target of more then two creatures, the only reason it doesnt spread more then it does is because of what i said in my previous post.Pestilence will not spread AT ALL if the two closest enemy's aready have the dot on them instead of spreading to the next closest enemy which i think it should!  I mean just look at undead-tide and tell me that pestilence is overpowered PLEASE?</div><hr></blockquote>You seem so certain that I am wrong. I have never had Pestilence on more than two targets at once. And I've used it a lot. What you say does not explain why it cannot spread to a third target.And you can't compare Pestilence to Undead Tide.</div>

[Zanix]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Chaaz wrote:<BR> <P>There are several Issues with this spell:</P> <P>1) Distance it can spread is tiny.  This absolutely needs to be increased.</P> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE> <P><BR>are you joking? I wouldn't dare use this spell in a raid only because the spead is rediculously far. Sometimes, It will even pull adds from the next floor up.</P> <P>(unless it's changed lately)</P><p>Message Edited by Zanix on <span class=date_text>01-22-2007</span> <span class=time_text>10:44 AM</span>

[Xanoth]

i've had it on at least 5 targets, pull about 20 mobs and make them run around a lot. it can be in effect on more than 2

[Zanix]

<P>yes, simple the way it works. </P> <P>mob dies while pestilance is on them, it splits to 2 more targets </P> <P> </P> <P align=center>O</P> <P align=center>/     <BR>O       O</P> <P align=center>/              /     </P> <P align=center>O       O        O         O</P> <P align=center>/          /               /         /  </P> <P align=center>O  O       O  O        O  O       O  O</P> <P align=center>I'M BORED</P>

[Xanoth]

<blockquote><hr>Zanix wrote:<P align=center>I'M BORED</P><hr></blockquote>very bored if you managed to get mobs into a triangle <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[Pitt Hammerfi]

<DIV>i use it after ive let all my AE's off and tap veins, and most of the mobs are on 10-20% then i cast it on one mob and HT it to start the chain reaction.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>but i agree its a bit underpowered</DIV><p>Message Edited by Pitt Hammerfist on <span class=date_text>01-23-2007</span> <span class=time_text>08:22 PM</span>

[standupwookie]

The big problem with it is that you have to kill the mobs within a certain time limit or the spell cancels and you have wasted a lot of mana.So this means you are soloing, but soloing weak targets...so weak that you dont really need pestilence.  I can kill greenies this way, but they pose no real problem in the first place so perstilence is just a nice luxury.  Blues, I cannot kill fast enough to re-pestilnce the mobs.  So you either wait and try to time it right, or fail and misuse the spell.  You can cast it once a mob is in the yellow, then have that spread but you still have to target and kill the other mob as the time is ticking away.  It's pretty hard to do and more often I fail than succeed.In groups, ^^^ groups its very hard to do.  You either have way to much firepower where you dont really need it or you dont have enough firepower and the spell is wasted.  I have yet to be in a group where Pestilence was the perfect spell and was great in just about every fight.Raids...not gonna happen The spell is ok, I would have rather have an upgrade to Tap Veins or make a SK type of "Forge or Ro" (now THAT is a spell)

[Pentarum]

Time your Pestilence casting and this spell can = a HUGE ammount of fast dps. I love this spell and in aoe fights its usually one of my biggest damage dealers. Put Pestilence on the first mob 10sec or so before it dies and pop DM... Mob Dies fast spread to 2 more. DM kicks in again next mob dies insanly fast spread to 2-4 more.. This spell is awsome. Get a Warlock in your group for just gross carnage and this spell will start going off on everything around you.<div></div>

[Pitt Hammerfi]

<DIV>your right though it is useless in raids</DIV>

[Eluzay]

i find pestilance to be a great awsome awsome spell, but it is situational.in raids as people say you dont want it spreading so i use it as an opener because it will be gone before the mob dies.  In other cases it works great in massive mobs situations... wait til the mob is getting low on health and pop it off... if you have aoe'ed enough it jumps to 2 and then boom 4 almost imeediately, when used properly vs groups of mobs (or pk's) it can do upwards of 25% of my net damage...love hearing that sound of it going off over and over again, with NO extra mana useage for all additional ticks of the spell.it is by far our most powerfull DoT.you just have to know when to use it and how ... PLEASE do not increase its range, you do and i might as well just take it off my hotbar.<div></div>

[Zanix]

<P>It's not useless in raids. I was using it last night. just count it as another dot, don't hope for the chain dot to trigger unless you have mass DPS going out, or the initial mobs almost dead. </P> <P>on a side note : i did notice the AOE is much much smaller than it was a few months ago.</P>

[LagerYerba]

Maybe Pestilence needs a small work up, but I don't agree that it is a spell that sucks. In fact, it is one of my favorite spells in the shadowknight arsenal. It looks great on paper and while it isn't 100% the best. The idea rocks and does what is says it does.Timing or not, I see it as another dot that I can throw at the mobs. I use it religously in areas where i mass pull. From what I am reading, you all have a need to get the "timing" upped to get it to spread when the mobs dies, but it just seems to me to be another dot with a *bonus* if you kill the mob during the course of pestilence's duration. My only gripe about the spell is the minute recast, and I still can live with it.Yea, it is a power hungry spell, but why worry about power when you kill the mobs faster? You can regen power when you're done killing the mobs (assuming you use food and drink) and In raid situations, you'll more than likely have a means of power regen.I dunno, just my 2cp<div></div>

[Eluzay]

<div><blockquote><hr>LagerYerba wrote:Maybe Pestilence needs a small work up, but I don't agree that it is a spell that sucks. In fact, it is one of my favorite spells in the shadowknight arsenal. It looks great on paper and while it isn't 100% the best. The idea rocks and does what is says it does.Timing or not, I see it as another dot that I can throw at the mobs. I use it religously in areas where i mass pull. From what I am reading, you all have a need to get the "timing" upped to get it to spread when the mobs dies, but it just seems to me to be another dot with a *bonus* if you kill the mob during the course of pestilence's duration. My only gripe about the spell is the minute recast, and I still can live with it.Yea, it is a power hungry spell, but why worry about power when you kill the mobs faster? You can regen power when you're done killing the mobs (assuming you use food and drink) and In raid situations, you'll more than likely have a means of power regen.I dunno, just my 2cp<div></div><hr></blockquote>I use it often as well, but not whenever it is up, I try to get optimum damage out of it (it can be our most mana efficient damage in many situations) and drop it on a mob about 10 seconds before i think it will die.  Using some finesse you can really pump out the damage with it, I consider the proc the damage and the initial dot the bonus <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> ... just depends on how you look at it I guess </div>

[Zanix]

<P>what it optimally should do is -  (ie) first mob it is cast on (timer of say 30 seconds) it does 100 per tick dmg, when it splits, it goes to 2 mobs (timer reduced a bit, say 15 seconds) but 200 a tick, each following = 2x the last "set"</P>

[Eluzay]

<div><blockquote><hr>Zanix wrote:<div></div> <p>what it optimally should do is -  (ie) first mob it is cast on (timer of say 30 seconds) it does 100 per tick dmg, when it splits, it goes to 2 mobs (timer reduced a bit, say 15 seconds) but 200 a tick, each following = 2x the last "set"</p><hr></blockquote>I would be ALL for that, but the q's would hate it roflol...add a hate component for pvp (i know it is already pretty tauntalicious but hey if we are dreamin i could always use more taunting power)</div>