Magic Resistance, Saving Throws, Protection from Elements, Protection from Magical damage...

mjs

Which is best? Does 100% magic resistance mean that you are completely untouchable by any spell? Without any of these "does not include AoE spell, does affect status changes" etc provisos? Do better Saving Throws simply mean you are less likely to feel the intended result of a spell, but you're still vulnerable to magic missiles etc.

Protection from elemental damage is pretty self explanatory, but is it better route to get protection from common damaging spells like fireball and lightning bolt? And then there are items like the belt of inertial barrier and the mana bow which give resistance to magical damage (50% and 20% respectively). How is Resistance to magical damage different to Magical Resistance?

The reason i'm asking all these questions is that I want to do another Wizard Slayer playthrough, but this time with a shorty and I was wondering how the Magical Resistances, Saving Throws all interact.

Also in Vanilla, didn't gnomes start with 5% Magical Resistance as a racial bonus? I'm almost certain they did. In short...wouldn't a Gnome Wizard Slayer be epic?

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ZanathKariashi

100% Magic resistance means magical spells will never work on you (aside from spells that lower magic resistance, which have a chance to work equal to the amount of magic resistance they reduce by, or spells that specifically say they by-pass magic resistance) (Pre-BG2 this also effected beneficial spells like healing spells and potions, making Viconia (who has 50% MR) extremely difficult to heal if she took damage, which was technically incorrect, since in PnP creatures can usually willingly lower their magic resistance, provided they were conscious to do so (Except for PnP Wizard Slayers, whose MR is so potent it can never be suppressed and even spells that by-pass it are only 50% effective (applies to healing AND damage spells. Of course they also suppress the magical qualities of any non-artifact magical items carried, rendering them non-magical for up to 1 round after it leaves the wizard slayer's possession, on the other hand, this same anti-magic quality can be channeled into their melee weapons to negate to-hit requirements on targets (slowing increasing in potency as the wizard slayer levels up), completely by-pass any magic based damage protections (Protection from Magical and normal weapons are useless against them, but stoneskin would work, assuming it's not dispelled on hit), dispel magic on hit (every hit, equal to the wizard slayer's level), and disrupt the magic energy in the target making spell-casting difficult. They also generate a 10ft aura of anti-magic, that can be suppressed, that functions similar to an anti-magic field, except the items and spells only have a chance equal to the wizard slayer's magic resistance of being effected (it caps at 75%) rather then simply negated like a true anti-magic field..yeah..the BG wizard slayer is getting HORRIBLY screwed (technically, a paladin wielding any Holy Sword generates a similar aura, but only works against spells and items wielded by evil creatures))).

Other types of resistance, fire and blunt, etc, reduce the damage dealt by that damage type by whatever % they are, not a chance to full negate it. Resistances that equal 100 are immunity, while resistances that go over heals for whatever % over 100 they are, if the spell deals damage. Saving throws only effect spells that allow saves to partially or fully negate something, and maybe not apply to the entire spell.


And then you have items like the belt of inertial barrier and the spell protection from magical energy that reduces damage only from un-typed magical spells, and doesn't allow a chance to fully resist like true magic resistance does. This effect is extremely rare and only applied by the above item and spell.

mjs

Bhaaldog said:

100% magic resistance does not mean you are untouchable and I imagine it would be difficult to achieve that in BG EE except for a temporary scroll of protection against magic? In addition there are spells that can lower your magic resistance that ignore your percentage. You are correct concerning how saving throws work.

Well i'm also thinking going into BG2:EE too. what about the gnome thing? and i can count on 1 hand the number of times enemies ever used Lower Magic Resistance spells

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ZanathKariashi

Their "magic resistance" is the shorty bonus from Constitution (and gnomes are supposed to have an innate +2 to saves vs all illusion spells, but as far as I can tell, don't). All shorties have an innate bonus to +1 saves vs spells, wands, breathweapons, death for every 3 1/2 Con they have.

Technically Gnomes and Dwarves take it a step further and also suffer a 20% chance of backfire when using magical items not useable by any class, though items that apply illusion effects are exempt for gnomes and magical weapons/armors for dwarves, but that isn't implemented in game.

ryuken87

Magic Resistance = % chance to completely negate a spell.
Magic damage resistance = damage from a spell is reduced by this %.
Saving throws matter in the context of the spell - spells may allow a save to halve damage or avoid a status effect, some spells do not allow a save.

Some spells ignore magic resistance e.g. Imprisonment, Sunfire.

Lets say an enemy casts Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting on you for 20d8, you have 20% magic resistance and 50% magic damage resistance. First your magic resistance is checked, you have a 20% chance of avoiding the effects of the spell outright. Then comes your saving throw, if you pass you only receive 10d8 damage. Then comes your magic damage resistance so you would receive 10d8/2 damage.

See shorty save bonuses here: http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats#.22Shorty.22_Saving_Throws

@Bhaaldog Viconia should be able to get 100% MR with a Potion of Magic Protection. Scrolls of Protection from Magic aren't MR but rather just prevent all magic from affecting the caster (including benefical spells such as Stoneskin).

Additionally, another form of 'resisting magic' is being immune to certain spell levels. Demiliches, Rakshasa and some liches (and probably some other stuff too) are immune to spells below a certain level. Potions of Magic Blocking can achieve this effect. I guess the effect is the same as (Minor) Globe of Invulnerability.

mjs

i remember the shorty bonuses, but i was so so sure that Gnomes started with a racial 5% MR. Mainly because i remember playing Vanilla and trying be healed and it failed because of my Gnome charname MR.

if no one else remembers it though...i guess i'm going crazy!

but an evil dwarf wizard slayer, with the high con shorty bonuses and the human skin would be pretty effective

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mlnevese

Maybe he was using some MR equipment and thought it was a natural resistance?

mjs

@bhaaldog

i must have dreamed it