Na someone give me a rundown on 520?

[milesalpha]

I have been testing this spell with a variety of armors and it shows absolutely no indication that it combines with other padding. Am I doing something wrong or is this just another simu masterpiece? My latest test was with 10x hcp robes and 98 trains in elemental control, and I took more critical bleeders in 2 hours than I had the previous week in robes without hcp.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Whirlin]

I need logs of the hits that you sustained that resulted in bleeders to prove one way or another how padding is functioning.

Regardless, Critical padding from any/all sources is due to padding randomization, which can be anywhere between 5-currentpaddinglevel. So even if you have 60602502394r502342367489236496 points of padding, you can lose the RNG lottery and still end up with only 5 points of effective padding.

Additionally, 520 can be run in a magnitude of 'stances'. Anyone can utilize each stance, however if you have 0 lore ranks, it'll cost 99 to set your 520 to that element.

Water = Dispel protection every X seconds
Fire = Use CHANNEL on bolt spells from more defensive stances without AS penalty
Air = Encumbrance Reduction
Earth = More Padding when stunned
Lightning = Chance when stunned to stun the room

[milesalpha]

So it's just essentially a crapshoot, shoulda known. Ah well.

And forgot to say thanks, thanks.

[Viekn]

So for a wizard looking to minimize crit kills, is it essentially better to look at higher enchant armor first before incorporating any crit padding because of the crit randomization? Not that DS is an issue, but I'm staring to feel like a higher DS might do more to mitigate crits than actual padding.

Edit: Especially because we now have 520 that at least gives us some built in crit padding. I invested a moderate amount in some 3x swcp robes for 520 to stack padding on, but I'm wondering if I'd be better off with 6x/7x robes/fulls with no crit padding and just take the light/somewhat padding that 520 naturally gives me.

[milesalpha]

Well all I can tell you is I was using my 10x robes with 520 and was doing great. The second I had those robes padded to HCP everything has gone to shit. I receive severe crits every day now from the exact same creatures that couldn't scratch me before. I would much rather have the premium points back and dump the padding. I can't say it's worthless, but I can say it's worse than worthless. Whatever they say I see no evidence that the two combine as they claim.

Just as an example, went hunting this morning and the first creature I met, a lesser minotaur charged me and gave me a glancing blow with 1 point of damage, and a severe crit to my head. End of that run. Second run the same damn thing was done by the second creature I met. I'll give it another week for full testing but it's beginning to look like I will want this shit off my robes.

[Orthin]

If you have run the numbers and it is true and the purpose of the spell IS for it to stack then 100% submit a ticket.

Also some things about 520. If memory serves from my reading 20 lore in the given element it should offset that element not being your attuned element. Also I feel like while reading on the wiki it's 99 mana for the first cast only

[milesalpha]

Lores are irrelevant to me. The RNG is the problem and it is really one of the stupidest things I have every heard RNG used for. Researching back it was added in 2008 by some halfwit GM. The up shot is it made weaker paddings a little better, screwed the midrange levels completely, and made a tiny decrease to the super armors. I have a lot of experience with rng in other games. World of Tanks as an example. The RNG is applied to shooting because there is many factors that can randomize a shot, it is not applied to armor, because armor is static, it's thickness doesn't vary, there is nothing to randomize about it. I would regard padding to be the same thing. His reasoning sounded like gibberish to me. In essence though my 20 pt padding is worth as little as 5 at the whim of a dice roll. I would never have padded had I known this.

[milesalpha]

I think I have gotten the problem figured out, but I need confirmation from a gm. I'll pass it on as soon as I get it.

[milesalpha]

Whirlin' can I ask a question? (then he goas ahead and asks it anyway). I am wondering if 520 is RNG dependant. Being a recent spell and all, and not physical padding, its there a chance it escaped it. It is not mentioned on the wiki page. Whadyya think?

Waiting on a GM referral looking into it as well

[Dazmar]

Very curious to the outcome of this. Thanks for sharing.