Curiosity: Using Ray of Enfeeblement at low levels

[Zachski]

I don't see many wizards mention this, but...

Has anyone actually used Ray of Enfeeblement at a low level? If so, how effective was it? Or, as far as strength loss goes, did you prefer Chill Touch?

[Jakarr]

Low lvls? As in before Fireball...normally to be Sp efficient I use masters touch+carniflex and buffs if I come across a big em like a Ogre I Niacs...If there is a grp I use Hypno the one by one kill em with da Axe.

I dont really see the pnt of debuffs at a low lvl. Just not enough SP

[Zachski]

That's true, I suppose. I mean, I managed to put the tutorial level's Sahuagin Priestess into auto-crit mode with it (that is, I was rolling like... 11, 7, and still getting crits) but that took several castings.

I may as well stick with Chill Touch, what with it having a damage component. And this is in addition to the master's touch + great axe method (I just don't have a Carniflex) and an augmented summon (sticking with the giant rat for now)

EDIT: I never thought I'd say this, but with how Undead no longer flee when Feared, Chill Touch's fear component has actually become useful rather than a penalty.

[sirgog]

Hellstroke Greataxe might be easier to get than Carnifex if you have level 20s that run Chronoscope on Epic (often other players in the group won't want it, and it seems to drop a lot).

Enfeeblement is at its best against beholders, and in other situations when you absolutely, positively want to stick a Web but don't yet have level 9 spells. On particularly nasty trash mobs Cast Enervation, Waves of Exhaustion, Ray of Enfeeblement, Enervation again, then Web.

Seldom are mobs so dangerous, however, that you'd spend so much SP on one - really I'd only bother with that suite against Frost Giant Clerics in the end fight of Prey on the Hunter Elite; and even then I prefer Enervation/Energy Drain/Trap the Soul or Enervate/Drain/Enervate/Flesh to Stone.

[Aranticus]

charm person goes a long way for low levels :)

[frznvimes]

charm person goes a long way for low levels :)
Misery's peak, with all its rest shrines. <3 charm person at low levels.

[Gorbadoc]

Back before Dungeon Scaling, Korthos, and Veteran Status, I would get a new character to level 2 on The Low Road, then solo Shan To Kor at level 2 with a fire protection pot, an acid protection pot, and a couple Charm Person wands. I don't know whether this was the fastest way to hit level 3, but it was certainly fun.

[winsom]

de-buffing low level monsters is not worth the effort. Spend your resources to kill them.

Ray of Enfeeblement might be useful on a mini-boss that will survive more than a few hits, but its more useful to spend your SPs to burn him to death from a safe distance.

There are quite a few DDO spells that unsucesfully made the transition from D&D to the DDO MMO. When you have 100s of spell points you don't worry getting a "most-bang-for-the-buck" from single-casting. This results in repeat-nuking and buffing being a lot better than de-buffing. If you were down to your last 10 SP then a Ray of Enfeeblement would be better than a single nuke spell sans meta-magic.

If we actually had very limited resources as happens in D&D, then the strategy arises where you can de-buff the monster to "safely" let the fighters kill. The de-buffing strategy becomes a little more valid at higher level DDO.