prot vs. resist elements...

[arcani]

Feel like a newb for bringing this up, but I am perpetually perplexed by the difference between these two. Resist obviously is a straight rune for 10/20/30 pts of damage absorption. Protection also is a rune? And if so why do people often talk about using resist elements over protection/elements? B/c of spell levels/slots? Seems like once you had the L3 or L5 Protection spell you would never need/use resist?

Thanks for clearing up what I'm sure is an obscenely simple answer :<

[Hobgoblin]

resist is permanent till it wears off or dispelled.

protection asborbs a lot more but maxs out at 120

[rimble]

Dunno what you mean by rune...but Resist Energy is a persistent spell, which reduces incoming damage. Protection from Energy acts like Stoneskin...once it's gone it's gone.

So you can have a 120 point Protection from Fire on, and a 30 point Resist Fire on.

If you take 30 fire damage, it will come off your Protection, leaving you with 90 left, and still the 30 point Resist Fire.

If you then take another 150 fire damage, 90 will be taken off by your remaining Protection from Fire (and that spell is now done), then 30 will be taken off by your Resist Fire, and you'd end up taking 30 fire damage.

Now you have 0 Protection from Fire, and still 30 points of Resist Fire.

Damage is assessed versus your Protection before it goes to your Resist.

[AxeM]

The protection will only prevent a set total amount of damage while the resist will prevent it's amount every time.

So Imagine you some sort of effect that hits for say 40 fire damage.

If you have protection you won't take any damage from the first 120 damage (3 hits) and then after that you'll take full.

With the resist you'll prevent 30 each time meaning that for those first 3 hits you'll take 10 damage but every hit after that you'll also only take 10 damage.

Resist is good for fire and forget, you just cast it on everybody before entering a fiery area and everybody takes a lot less damage.

Protection from fire is useful in very specific situations but won't provide the lasting protection you want from a buff.

Useful situations include when fighting Harry with a healing light group with an arcane caster you can cast fire protection on the tanks as basically a way to contribute to healing.

Also as per D&D rules Protection and Resistance mostly don't stack because the protection is always applied first.

So if you have 50 points of protection left and resist 30 and you take 25 points of damage you'll be down to 25 points of protection.

[Montrose]

What they said.

Prot is usually less desirable because it wears off very quickly in any circumstance where you'll actually need it.

The only prot spell worth casting (IMO) is mass prot energy. That particular spell is nice because the mana cost is relatively low comparative to the potential damage saved. It protects everyone in the casting area against 120 points worth of every element type.

[MrCow]

Dunno what you mean by rune...

Rune, as a protection term, comes from Everquest. The physical ablative protection spell there was called "rune", much like how in DDO we have stoneskin.

[ChadMan]

Feel like a newb for bringing this up, but I am perpetually perplexed by the difference between these two. Resist obviously is a straight rune for 10/20/30 pts of damage absorption. Protection also is a rune? And if so why do people often talk about using resist elements over protection/elements? B/c of spell levels/slots? Seems like once you had the L3 or L5 Protection spell you would never need/use resist?

Thanks for clearing up what I'm sure is an obscenely simple answer :<

resist is very nice i find it better then prot. Like when ever lets say u get hit by a acid arrow that deals say 30 points each 3 sec and it lasts for 30 sec that would deal 300 points of damage. That would take up 3 protects to make it to were u would take NO damage. a prot would take 20 sp a hit so 20x3=60 sp were 1 resits would get rid of that damage and that only cost 15 sp. so that would save u 45 sp so that would give u an fw or a fod or a few sortching rays. That mana could mean life or death when soloing some thing.

[Desteria]

resist = good if takign lots of repeated hits fo said elmental damage, normaly smaller...

Prot is good when your takign infrequent but LARGE hits of said elmental damage..

REsist si NOt a ruen like effect at all, rune liek effects are Prots or Stoneskin.

[Comfortably]

resist is very nice i find it better then prot. Like when ever lets say u get hit by a acid arrow that deals say 30 points each 3 sec and it lasts for 30 sec that would deal 300 points of damage. That would take up 3 protects to make it to were u would take NO damage. a prot would take 20 sp a hit so 20x3=60 sp were 1 resits would get rid of that damage and that only cost 15 sp. so that would save u 45 sp so that would give u an fw or a fod or a few sortching rays. That mana could mean life or death when soloing some thing.

meh, resist is like long term help while the pro is short lived and used many times.

[baddax]

actually for improved evasion types protect is better (if you have to choose one or the other)in many situations. I can get a protect and it will last me until i fail a number of saves and the damgage i take equals the amount of the protection. Any damage period up to 120 but resist i take anything over 30. So if a fail a reflex save on my monk and say take 120 points of damage i only take 1/2 because of improved evasion witch is = 60 and i take 0 damage and have 60 points of protection left. whereas if i have resist i would take 30 pts of damage. Obviously in any situation both protect and resist are better (assuming you have the sp or wands or scrolls for them). basicly resist just makes your proetction last longer.

Generally for non evasion types protect is worthless in many situations, it does help but not nearly as much as much as with an evasion type build.

[FluffyCalico]

Protection got nerfed a long time ago. Now there are very few places where its good. Which is why they brought out the mass portection.

[sirgog]

IMO every Sorc really needs to pick up Resist Energy pretty early and learn to love it. If I'm running into an unfamiliar quest, I'll cast all five resists on myself.

Protection is more specialized and is useful in two main situations:

1) Endgame boss fights - when a boss throws a Delayed Blast Fireball for 350 damage (such as Arraetrikos on Hard), you need Protection or you are dead. (Even with Protection from Elements: Fire, you are bleeding, but a sorc at full HP should survive that).

For this reason, I recommend all Sorcerers take Mass Protection from Energy as their second level 7 spell. By level 15, you need it badly.


2) Traps. If you know there is an acid trap ahead that hits for (say) 140 damage, cast Prot: Acid and run straight through it.

[Desteria]

actually for improved evasion types protect is better (if you have to choose one or the other)in many situations. I can get a protect and it will last me until i fail a number of saves and the damgage i take equals the amount of the protection. Any damage period up to 120 but resist i take anything over 30. So if a fail a reflex save on my monk and say take 120 points of damage i only take 1/2 because of improved evasion witch is = 60 and i take 0 damage and have 60 points of protection left. whereas if i have resist i would take 30 pts of damage. Obviously in any situation both protect and resist are better (assuming you have the sp or wands or scrolls for them). basicly resist just makes your proetction last longer.

Generally for non evasion types protect is worthless in many situations, it does help but not nearly as much as much as with an evasion type build.

Except against effetc with NO reflex Save...... They also often are more repeaded and smaller IE spammed Scorchign rays 1, 2, or 3 X 4d6 normaly compleatly stped by resist forever, any acid effect, Burning blood, Acid and Fire Damage over time but hits for less then 30 per hit. Most of these are what can kill an evation type DEAD fast becasue most evation classes are lower HP due to class desig, HP dice, and needed stats forcing lower con.
Evation types MAY get better protection for evadable spells form a prot that lasts a long time only gettign hit on fails, But sicne they evade most spells any way and especaly for improved evation, where even a fail is onyl half damage add a resist on that and though they take damage it will be infrequent and easly healed, BUT have a few people spaming scorching rays/burnign bloods in there as well and you will be dead as a doornail with just prot where as with resist you may take the odd SMALL hit form a failed ref BUT over all you will take a LOT less damage.

So even for evation types resist energy is generaly the better choice, and prots can be applied when possible infrequent but LARGE hits might be around.