Negative Levels

[Knobull]

I thought the combination of deathblock and deathward was supposed to block negative levels? Did I forget something or is something broken?

[GreataxeUser]

Are you at Epic level content with your character? Level 20 and up.

Heroic content we are safe, but after that it does not matter. Which is good and makes sense. After all if a Epic Sorc CR: 50 and above wants to cast Death, then let it be so. The best thing is to have a perma deathward item that is always equiped on our character, imo. and as far as levels go, use your enhancements or just don't be a pure fighter or pure barb.

[Knobull]

Nope, heroic. Prison of the Planes, Chamber of Xoriat. Got neg-levelled to death with deathblock armour on and deathward cast on me. I'm thinking maybe anti-magic field dispelled deathward and then I got neg-levelled to death? (If so, then I guess there really is no defense except to run and hide?)

[bartharok]

gah, just got answered

[burningwind]

the only true solution is spell absorb item.. put them on when you are fighting heavy caster.

[GreataxeUser]

what level was the deathward that was cast on you? Did you cast it yourself or did another player? Question: Is the player spell level important at all in this game like pnp would like us to beilive? Does it take a higher level monster to dispel a deathward? Does the level of the Deathward count? I dunno really. But I hope this matters.

Or is there a true bug in this game where the level of the Deathward does not matter and even a level 3 kobold could dispel an 18th level casters deathward? I would not be surprised if this was overlooked or slipped through the cracks of bugs.

[Knobull]

Tempys the cleric hire cast it on me (think he is lvl 14, as is my character).

Spell absorbtion item: I've tried that before, the best one I can get absorbs five spells, not nearly enough to prevent death by neg-levels.

So for now I guess my best strategy is to run and hide, lol! No shame in knowing when to run... :)

[Oxarhamar]

Nope, heroic. Prison of the Planes, Chamber of Xoriat. Got neg-levelled to death with deathblock armour on and deathward cast on me. I'm thinking maybe anti-magic field dispelled deathward and then I got neg-levelled to death? (If so, then I guess there really is no defense except to run and hide?)

The beholder can remove your buffs. Deathblock itself won't stop Neg levels so you likely had no protection.

Try spell absorption items for beholders.

[burningwind]

Tempys the cleric hire cast it on me (think he is lvl 14, as is my character).

Spell absorbtion item: I've tried that before, the best one I can get absorbs five spells, not nearly enough to prevent death by neg-levels.

So for now I guess my best strategy is to run and hide, lol! No shame in knowing when to run... :)

try pale lavender ioun stone that can absorb 50 spell and recharge 15/day loot and reward from dreaming dark.. just keep running the end quest, ever three run grantee to give a selection of ioun stone.

http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Pale_Lavender_Ioun_Stone_%28unsuppressed%29

p.s. you have to upgrade it.. the disc required given from the same quest =) GL

edit: just incase if you don't have this.. the necro chain silver flame nugget can be upgrade into a necklace that absorb 10 negative spell(which include death spell) http://ddowiki.com/page/Silver_Flame_Talisman... hope this help

[Knobull]

Try spell absorption items for beholders.

Best I can get is jeweled cloak I think, it only absorbs 5 spells, not nearly enough. I've tried it before in Ghosts of Perdition, no joy.

I'll stick with the run-and-hide strategy, if I'm fast enough I can probably dodge and get away. :)

Thanks for the tips guys!

[Connman]

You want third upgrade version of this. http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Silver_Flame_Nugget
It, in my experience, only absorbs level drain. Which means it will not get depleted by spells that don't matter.

This is the fully upgraded version.

http://ddowiki.com/images/Silver_Flame_Talisman.png

and if you are lucky you will pull this as well.
http://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Death%27s_Locket_%28Level_14%29
http://ddowiki.com/images/Death%27s_Locket_%28Level_14%29.png

Put them both on your hotbar and keep an eye on them, swap when depleted.
*edit* It might stop like Harm, but beholders don't cast negative energy spells, other than level drain, and I usually have DW up for the rest of the time.

[Knobull]

Ah, silver flame talisman would better the odds of survival with 10 charges instead of the jeweled cloak's 5. I usually skip the Necropolis series as I find it rather dull, and haven't bought the pack since I cancelled VIP. Pale Lavender Ioun Stone? The wiki does not really say where it drops (suspect I may not have the quest anyway, as whenever I see it on the ah it's like 1.2M-2M plat, way too much).

So, for now, I'll continue to skip the light fandango and run away! :) Thanks again for the tips! :)

[burningwind]

Ah, silver flame talisman would better the odds of survival with 10 charges instead of the jeweled cloak's 5. I usually skip the Necropolis series as I find it rather dull, and haven't bought the pack since I cancelled VIP. Pale Lavender Ioun Stone? The wiki does not really say where it drops (suspect I may not have the quest anyway, as whenever I see it on the ah it's like 1.2M-2M plat, way too much).

So, for now, I'll continue to skip the light fandango and run away! :) Thanks again for the tips! :)

try to get pale lavender ioun stone first.. it is the ultimate solution to your issue XD

http://ddowiki.com/images/thumb/Pale_Lavender_Ioun_Stone_%28unsuppressed%29.jpg/420px-Pale_Lavender_Ioun_Stone_%28unsuppressed%29.jpg

[Enoach]

Just to make sure this is clear

Deathblock only block instant death effects - Basically Save or Die

Deathward blocks the instant death effects and prevents negative levels and can block negative energy spells. However, as a spell it is subject to being removed by anti-magic or dispelled. Now the Pale Lavender Ioan Stone will block anti-magic from removing buffs as long as it has charges.

Spell absorption items and negative energy absorption items such as the silver flame talisman, Jeweled cloak and Pale Lavender Ioan Stone are go to items when dealing with this kind of effects.

[Mercureal]

Ah, silver flame talisman would better the odds of survival with 10 charges instead of the jeweled cloak's 5. I usually skip the Necropolis series as I find it rather dull, and haven't bought the pack since I cancelled VIP. Pale Lavender Ioun Stone? The wiki does not really say where it drops (suspect I may not have the quest anyway, as whenever I see it on the ah it's like 1.2M-2M plat, way too much).

So, for now, I'll continue to skip the light fandango and run away! :) Thanks again for the tips! :)

The only reliable way to farm for an Ioun Stone is through the Dreaming Dark pack. Specifically, they have a chance to drop in the end reward on the final quest in the chain, and you're guaranteed to get one choice of Stone for every three completions: http://ddowiki.com/page/The_Dreaming_Dark_%28quest%29

Difficulty doesn't matter and there's no timer, so you can do quick runthroughs on casual if you want. Farming may be a bit tedious, but once you do it a few times and get familiar with the quest, you can complete it fairly quickly (10-15 minutes for me and I'm far from an expert).

[Rykka]

Ah, silver flame talisman would better the odds of survival with 10 charges instead of the jeweled cloak's 5. I usually skip the Necropolis series as I find it rather dull, and haven't bought the pack since I cancelled VIP. Pale Lavender Ioun Stone? The wiki does not really say where it drops (suspect I may not have the quest anyway, as whenever I see it on the ah it's like 1.2M-2M plat, way too much).

So, for now, I'll continue to skip the light fandango and run away! :) Thanks again for the tips! :)

Beholders can only enervate if it's facing you. You take FoD from behind which is stopped by your deathblock item. Let the PMs and 'Forged take the front.

[Knobull]

Awesome tips guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you! :D

[janave]

Enervation and energy drain is subject to spell resistance, there are only a few things i can think of granting stacking SR.

You could use Paladin Sacred Defender + Epic Twist from GM of Flowers to buff your SR. Being a paladin you have sealed soul which makes you immune as well. I think another path is Barbarian Occult Slayer capstone, and being CON based for the most part.

The reason why we cant have high SR, is because it could be a full stop on the nastiest offensive attacks by the nastiest creatures in DDO. It is somewhat understandable that they dont want another such layer given out to already OP players. :D

[CThruTheEgo]

The only reliable way to farm for an Ioun Stone is through the Dreaming Dark pack. Specifically, they have a chance to drop in the end reward on the final quest in the chain, and you're guaranteed to get one choice of Stone for every three completions: http://ddowiki.com/page/The_Dreaming_Dark_%28quest%29

Difficulty doesn't matter and there's no timer, so you can do quick runthroughs on casual if you want. Farming may be a bit tedious, but once you do it a few times and get familiar with the quest, you can complete it fairly quickly (10-15 minutes for me and I'm far from an expert).

I just did this again a couple weeks ago to get some pale lavs for new characters and got them on both of my first 2 3rd completions. I thought that was rather lucky and was ecstatic that I didn't have to do it 30ish times, which is what it has taken me in the past. It got me to wondering if this was part of the recent increased drop rate changes.

[janave]

It got me to wondering if this was part of the recent increased drop rate changes.

no, it is not :)

[Jingwei]

Other things not mentioned:

Deathward also blocks shadow Str drain and (I think) vampire Con drain.

The spell absorbtion item will prevent anti-magic from stripping your buffs, as long as it's charges hold out.

Note that the things that absorb negative effects (like silver flame talisman) only use charges on those effects, while spell absorbtion items use their charges on all the beholder's eye beams. So the fact that the silver flame talisman only has 10 charges does not make it horribly worse than the PLIS for stopping negative levels.

Potions of Restoration (which will restore one negative level, and can be drunk in an anti-magic zone) are available from the Druid commendation trader in Eveningstar.

Stunned beholders close their eyes, so no anti-magic from a stunned beholder.

Bluff and it's relatives (deception, feint, etc) cause the beholder to turn around for a little while, maybe giving you the chance to cast a spell with it's main (anti-magic) eye looking the other way.

If fighting unnamed beholders, they have horrible base dexterity. A few hits from a dex draining weapon will shut down their eye beams and they will be reduced to trying to bite you. Did you know that a beholder's bite causes healing curse?

[Rykka]

Also, I had an anticlimactic first encounter with the beholder in the Caverns of Korromar. While smashing barrels a Lesser Anti-Beholder Crystal dropped and since I had no trinket yet I equipped it. Fortuitous.

You can buy them in the DDO Store.

[Saekee]

Other things not mentioned:

Deathward also blocks shadow Str drain and (I think) vampire Con drain.

The spell absorbtion item will prevent anti-magic from stripping your buffs, as long as it's charges hold out.

Note that the things that absorb negative effects (like silver flame talisman) only use charges on those effects, while spell absorbtion items use their charges on all the beholder's eye beams. So the fact that the silver flame talisman only has 10 charges does not make it horribly worse than the PLIS for stopping negative levels.

Potions of Restoration (which will restore one negative level, and can be drunk in an anti-magic zone) are available from the Druid commendation trader in Eveningstar.

Stunned beholders close their eyes, so no anti-magic from a stunned beholder.

Bluff and it's relatives (deception, feint, etc) cause the beholder to turn around for a little while, maybe giving you the chance to cast a spell with it's main (anti-magic) eye looking the other way.

If fighting unnamed beholders, they have horrible base dexterity. A few hits from a dex draining weapon will shut down their eye beams and they will be reduced to trying to bite you. Did you know that a beholder's bite causes healing curse?

Interesting--I thought the beholder weakness was STR draining weapons. Dex also?

The Axe of Famine is an option for melees to fight their way out of neg levels. You don't even need the proficiency since the goal is a vorpal.

[Saekee]

Just want to add that a vampire stun monk makes Beholders pee

[Eth]

Just join the master race and stop worrying about negative levels.

[TeacherSyn]

Some other thoughts:

1) Shadowdancer ED training can give you Sealed Soul: immunity from negative levels (energy drain). It's not Death Ward, however, so you'll still need that (with Deathblock items as backup) against other death spells.

2) Too many people try to go hulk-smash against beholders. They're designed to take down the mages and conventional shield-and-board guys. Let your specialists take care of them. A Ninja Spy, Shintao Monk, or Rogue Assassin with sufficient Hide/Move Silently can sneak up to point-blank-range on a beholder and end it in several different ways before it can cast one spell. Beholders have True Seeing but can't detect a strong stealth-master until it is far too late. In closer combat places like "Prison of the Planes," scream-and-leap tactics is all you've got but somebody's got to have a stunning option somewhere in your party, right? Against red-named beholders, it's sadly a matter of sticking it out--which is why Deathblock is absolutely necessary since antimagic cones dispel most buffs.

By "most buffs" I'm noting that Monk and Bard buffs aren't affected by antimagic and can also be applied while in combat against beholders.

[Caprice]

The Pale Lavender Ioun Stone doesn't absorb 50 spells, it absorbs 50 spell levels. This should be a lot less than 50 absorbs; e.g. Enervation is SL:4 = at most 13 absorbed (I don't know how the rounding works). The Silver Flame Talisman is slightly weaker than a PLIS in the number of level drains it will resist in a row, but the PLIS will be used up a lot faster as it also absorbs the dispels and Disintegrates and such. If you want to rely on absorption effects to survive then you need to collect a whole range of items to swap in for this. However note that the last I knew there was some sort of bug when wearing multiple spell absorption items so it is best to avoid that and swap them in and out as needed.

Another one to look for is the Beholder Optic Nerves (http://ddowiki.com/page/Beholder_Optic_Nerves) that can drop from the beholder boss in "Invaders!". It isn't Exclusive like most of the others that have been mentioned so you could bind several if you can find that many.

Note that it is possible for a spell effect to completely bypass spell absorption. Someone mentioned Ghosts of Perdition, and Cholthuzz's CON draining eye attack in that completely bypasses these items. PM Wizards in an undead form are immune to it but otherwise you need attribute healing abilities and/or amazing SR and/or tactical cheese to win that fight. That is the only spell effect that ignores spell absorption that I have heard of, but there may be others.