Paralyzing Weapons - At what level do they become less useful?

[Dulcimerist]

I've enjoyed using Paralyzing weapons at lower levels, but at what level does the DC17 Will Save become pretty much too low to bother using Paralyzing weapons?

[Khalixxa]

In general, paralysis weapons seem to fall off around the level of their DC. This is just a personal rule of thumb, not a universal. I noticed my 17 DC paralysis weapon barely paralyzing anything once I started fighting level 17 things. Although, different enemies respond differently. Spiders seem to get paralyzed very often, while humanoid casters not nearly as much. You can extend the usefulness (on average) by using weakened will effects or curses from spells, and a Mind Fog (lowering Will saves by 10) is extremely effective.

If I had to give an average though, all things considered, they fall off around the level of their DC. A weapon with DC 25 paralysis will fall off around 25, except against certain enemies, and assuming you're not using a Will lowering effect.

[Saekee]

In general, paralysis weapons seem to fall off around the level of their DC. This is just a personal rule of thumb, not a universal. I noticed my 17 DC paralysis weapon barely paralyzing anything once I started fighting level 17 things. Although, different enemies respond differently. Spiders seem to get paralyzed very often, while humanoid casters not nearly as much. You can extend the usefulness (on average) by using weakened will effects or curses from spells, and a Mind Fog (lowering Will saves by 10) is extremely effective.

If I had to give an average though, all things considered, they fall off around the level of their DC. A weapon with DC 25 paralysis will fall off around 25, except against certain enemies, and assuming you're not using a Will lowering effect.

good formula

I agree re spiders. And gargoyles too. They seem to get paralyzed easily. Some of the good named weapons with paralyze have the bewildering boost to make them more effective

[Clerize]

I would argue that they never "fall off" when compared to certain effects. ie. thunderforged tier 2 Paralyzing fear, 5% chance to paralyze. Which is the same as any paralyzing weapon. All mobs fail saves on a roll of 1 ( 5% chance to paralyze).

[Dulcimerist]

Thanks for the input! I suppose if I have decent doublestrike and attack speed, I can increase the chances of that minimum 5% popping up. I'm partly curious for when I see a paralyzing weapon as an end reward in epic level quests, and will likely pass on those if I see one.

Paralyzing repeating crossbow might be interesting, however. Each bolt has a separate roll, so three bolts striking gives a minimum chance of 15%.

[GeoffWatson]

My monk used a paralysis Cormyrean Shuriken up to level 28, and it worked well enough on non-immune enemies.

[FestusHood]

I would guess that the dc needed will be close to the cr of mobs you are hitting. Unless you are only running normal difficulty, i doubt you would expect anything in a level 25 quest to fail a dc 25 save without rolling a one. Because the weapon causes a saving throw to be made on every hit, at worst it will function at about the rate of a vorpal effect.

[Clerize]

Thanks for the input! I suppose if I have decent doublestrike and attack speed, I can increase the chances of that minimum 5% popping up. I'm partly curious for when I see a paralyzing weapon as an end reward in epic level quests, and will likely pass on those if I see one.

Paralyzing repeating crossbow might be interesting, however. Each bolt has a separate roll, so three bolts striking gives a minimum chance of 15%.

Also if you are an AA ranger and use para arrows + a para bow. You get 2 chances to para mobs (not counting doubleshot).

[Hafeal]

Paralyze is a Will save - so - creatures with low will saves can be paralyzed easily (e.g., spiders). For that reason, paralyzing can work even at level 30.

As Will saves ramp up, especially on Elite or Reaper, paralyzing is much harder. You can find Improved paralyzing but the DC, I find, is still not high enough for much beyond the lowest Will save creatures. And remember, it does not work on undead and constructs.

[Enoach]

There are other factors to also consider when it comes to these types of effects.

1. Abilities that debuff can improve their effectiveness.

An example of this could be the lingering effects of Fear, Crushing Despair and Hypnotism. Or even effects like Aura of Menace.

2. Rate of Fire - This one is playing the odds. But the more hits you can score by increasing the number of arrows/bolts/swings or abilities like improving precise shot that allow for more targets to potentially be hit increase the chances something it going to be hit with the effect.

So based on that the best answer is "depends".

[Fivetigers33]

I would argue that they never "fall off" when compared to certain effects. ie. thunderforged tier 2 Paralyzing fear, 5% chance to paralyze. Which is the same as any paralyzing weapon. All mobs fail saves on a roll of 1 ( 5% chance to paralyze).

This. Forget the DC and just take it as a 5% chance to paralyze. When you are outputting enough attacks it's still useful in Legendary Reaper.

[Zenako]

The other aspect to factor in, is the utility of actually paralyzing an enemy mob. Even if seldom, those few you do can be very useful and make tough fghts a lot easier. This is especially tru when fighting with allies. I find an archer (manyshotting) with a paralysis bow can lock down quite a few mobs quite quickly. Even at a low percentage, they get a LOT of rolls and it only takes one failure for that Mob to get frozen.

[Gonnakillu]

My non-epic envenomed blade is still useful at level 22.