Topic: Is Disco Aura bugged?

[webwalker]

As I've suggested elsewhere, we should all start new characters to test this significant change.
IchBinTot and ClownDerTot are new, untwinked characters.  This is the same as starting out fresh after a ladder re-start.
Let's compare notes about what works and what doesn't, and what changes in our playing styles and habits are worth consideration.

Overall, this aura is like Lava Maws... and if I re-started the poll "which monster do you MOST HATE" I'm certain that "Anything Disco" would be the top vote-getter.  This isn't indicative of the disco aura being bugged, it's indicative of the aura being adjusted to us (by changes on Chaos' side) and us adjusting ourselves to the aura by changes in how we play and what gear we look for.

I started both characters by selling the gear they'd have to be level 7 or 14 to wear, and with that money bought normal equipment (javelins or a wand), and horked corpses and gathered throwing potions to sell, and gambled gear.  This is what made the Barb IchBinTot as viable is he is (how viable that is will be learned in The Tower, The Barracks, and The Catecombs).  Same with the skelliemancer CownDerTot.  Perhaps this aura isn't hitting me as hard as others because I've *always* been a chicken/range fighter.  Actually hitting anything with something held in my hand is the LAST option before bailing from the game.

This aura is like poison that takes mana as well as life.  Nasty poison, like a few monsters have in hell.  I'd suggest that a "poison resist" of some kind have effect against it.

[Tiberian]

This aura would be fine if there was some way to resist it or fight back. The way it works right now though is game breaking and not fun at all.



I started a new Hammerdin and got him to lv15 before the patch. The last wp he has is the outer cloister. I have no attack skills besides one point in charge, but that still forces me to fight monsters one at a time. Right now it's impossible to level. I can't melee the aura monster becasue he's in a group and I die rushing in to kill him. I can try to charge him, but with my current mana pool I can only charge twice before I'm out. Unless the monster is in my field of view and has no obstacles in front of him, the aura will drain my mana before I get a chance to charge. I can't break them up without using a lot of pots in the process. That takes too much time and sucks all the fun out of the game, and when I run out of pots I can't do anything anyway. Right now I just can't kill fast enough to overcome the aura, and that can't be changed. This char is currently lost, and I"ll be returning to him if and when the aura gets changed.

[Sorky]

Sorry Webwalker I disagree with you on this one.

Why should we build a new character to test out this change.  We all now have characters that were built to do the best we could in getting to a level as high as our skill would allow us to go.
If I built a new character I would not spend a single point different than I did when I built my characters.  IMHO it would not change a thing in dealing with the Disco Aura.

Playstyle certainly has changed.  Atm there is none, other than trying to stay ahead of the mana drain while trying to kill all the drainers first, which is mostly impossible before you have to run and hide.  So nothing to learn here, its fight, drink, drink, run. You learn that the first time out.

I don't think a comparison to the lava maws is fair.  They can be fought with a couple of tactics, one is hit and run and avoiding the acid vomit.  They are deadly and hard to kill and give lousy xp, but they could be with dealt with, hard work, scary, but not always impossible.   
I will admit to having to ask for help on a few spawns, but that depended on the character I was playing and where the spawn was.

You mention gear.  To my knowledge(I could be wrong), there is no gear change to combat the Disco Aura.  Mana regen rings, ammy, and armor would only slow down the mana drain, but not enough to make much of a difference, and that would not replace your health lost.
Plus having all that mana gear would take away alot of + skill points given to you by the jewlery and armor.

You mention a resist to the Aura.  I hope this doesn't happen, I don't have enough space in my inventory for any new charms for a new Aura.  I can barely pick up an egg now and I haven't got my resists into the positive for hell mode yet.  A poition to drink?  I hope not.  We only have 4 slot belts, and I use all rejuves in mine because of HC.  I carry poison resists and stamina in my inventory, and I may put one row of poison resists in my belt for those hell places if I know one is comming up.  I just don't have room for a new potion in my belt. 

I do agree with you on playing a melee character as a last resort.  I have always like ranged attackers in all the games I have played. I just don't like melee characters for me.

Nothing personal, I just think this could be the change that broke my favorite game mod.

[urmel]

To stick to the title... I think there is a bug - but I hope that I don't post it twice...

Just a moment ago, I searched Kaa with a friend and walked right into a Tomb... After searching for Kaa we haven't found him there... But some crazy Disco Folks(I hate those guys... Especially the Foxtrot ones) and they drained my life and my mana... So what... Went outside the Tomb to get into my old Town Portal... But right as I stepped outside the Tomb, my life and mana was replenished to 100% ... As I wanted to fight some monster right at that TP I was killed by a single hit of those Spear Throwers... I thought this would be good to mention for you, just not to believe the Life and Mana Display... If you got into a fight with those Disco Gaylords, you should refresh your Life at a NPC, whatever the display tells you... Could get a problem for our good old HC friends, I guess... xD

So, it would be fine, if the Life Value after getting drained would stay there, where it is, and don't just display 100% Life, if you only have 1 HP... ~~

[arcadians]

well   i looked at the hc ladder   so many deaths i will asume this is due to the disco auro there is about 6-10 chars clumped together all dead.       im currently trying out countdraculas  nova build  ( nice build so far )  im lvl 21 in act 2 and dont even want to try it as i have bout 150 health and 500 mana  .  now at lvl 24 i will have mana shield  and the mana will disapear and leave me exposed to death.          my opion is its simply...rubbish       how about changing it from  mana reducing to a reduced faster cast rate and attack speed?

[back2toxic]

How many status points did you invested into energy?
I expect a minimum of 1/lvl

i think this aint a questioun of mana but of manaregeneration... since the aura got -xx% manaregeneration its the same with 100 or 1000 mana....

[ChaosEmpire]

use 7.62...

[Tiberian]

Thank you.

[bdpf]

IN ver 6.1

Used lvl 60 bow / javilan zon in act 1 NM with heavy life and mana lech 1 7%+ and 2 9%+. With a lvl 60 rougue and vikalry.

Had  to dump full purple too much.

Its bad to be stuck in one spot with straff and  muility shoot does not do a 360 degree arck.

Lighting skills of javalin needs mana.

If it was not for hits on other monsters the belt would soon be empty.

The arua needs to be toned down.

            PLEASE PLEASE DONT LET THE ARURA BE ACTIVE ON AN EMUNE MONSTER.     

To have this type of arua, the life and mana leching needs to be addressed for all charactors and m,ercs.

bdpf   Just ran catcombs NM IN 6.20 ver  much better.

thank you for the changes  CE

bdpf

[godemperor]

I think the radius is a bit to high on the disco aura, but I definitly dont see it as impossible.  I have a lvl 94 sorc and am enjoying the new challenge. 

Although I would like to mention that the cow level in the COME GET SOME level is ridiculous.  It seems like every cow has the aura. Needless to say thats the only place I seemed to be having any problems.

[ChaosEmpire]

the radius has been halfed in 762

[webwalker]

Further testing notes:

Ran a poison nova necro through act 1 NM last night from Bloodmore to Radament inclusive. Rarely had to take a potion of any kind. BASE ENERGY (all points in Vitality except to use equip).

1: My rogue has a "Prayer" breastplate and an "Insight" polearm (she thinks its a bow... I hired for looks not brains).

2: I ran around casting Poison Nova every second or so (poison damage takes place over 2 seconds so this kept them dying) circling in on the Shaman/Tainted/Rogue with the aura until the revives and the Nova killed everything.  I revived everything as needed to keep my full troupe... it didn't matter what I revived (even poison orbs!) their job was to distract enemy fire from my rogue and from me.

3: I have a full bartuc set on this character (+7 skills).  I noticed it is now impossible to gamble anything from bartuc set (14 Hsarus boots, 2 Lady Daan, 4 chain boots with EXCELLENT resists, uncounted trash, not one bartuc). (4 Fernandez breastplates, 4 Isenharts, 3 with EXCELLENT resists, uncounted trash, not one Bartuc) /edit: SSSF (Sneaky Server Side Fix) has corrected whatever was wrong. @anybody with Bartuc set: get new pieces, they now have different "Full Set" bonuses.

@sorky @bdpf @Tiberian: try with the Prayer/Insight on a merc for a test... see if it makes a difference, a big difference, or basically renders this a non-problem.

[Wormbo]

In 7.62 the aura's drain is only half as strong as before. I think you can entirely compensate the aura's effect now if you somehow manage to get about +1000% (or a bit more) mana regeneration.

[Tiberian]

3: I have a full bartuc set on this character (+7 skills).  I noticed it is now impossible to gamble anything from bartuc set (14 Hsarus boots, 2 Lady Daan, 4 chain boots with EXCELLENT resists, uncounted trash, not one bartuc). (4 Fernandez breastplates, 4 Isenharts, 3 with EXCELLENT resists, uncounted trash, not one Bartuc)

I spent about 3 hours gambling for bartucs and got nothing. I thinbk you may be right, I didn't want to say impossible, but I should have got something in that timeframe.

[DrowElf]

Please come back to topic.