Marble Band of the Thex House

[Justinious]

I read about using the clikcy on the Marble Band of the Thex House on this Board (http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=50058), which I finally (and I mean finally -- this is a long and boring camp) picked up. So I have this new clicky. Woot! I use it, expecting to see my Dodge number go up and...it does not. Bummer. I have the +8% Dodge aug from ldon (I think) as a second aug on a ring, but even when I take that off my Dodge number stays the same. I have no other clickies or buffs that would impact my Dodge number. If the clikcy does not increase my Dodge number, how does it work? Does it impact my Dodge (+20% is I think what is listed on Lucy) , but not my number? Does it only impact other people in my group? I again turn to this board for advice. After nine years of playing, I still find things that I do not understand at all.

Thanks in advance.

Justinious
Walkers
Drinal

[Huurgh]

Because it increases the dodge chance not the dodge skill. It does sound like a grp effect, but I think it is as invisible, as the dodge boost on dodge items.

[Normy]

Guardian Circle I Effect
Classes:

* None

Description

2: Increase Chance to Dodge by 20%

Like Improved Dodge, this increases your base chance of dodging any physical hit, but it does not change your dodge skill. The only think I know of that actually is a direct skill mod is the LDON aug you already mentioned. There are several aura-type clickies in the game, and they will hit anyone within range, so an entire raid can benefit from this.

Cleave VIII doesn't increase your weapon skills, but still increases your chance to crit. Same thing here, it won't increase any stat you are seeing, but you will dodge more often while the effect is in place (should be in song window).

[Justinious]

Thanks. Does it impact me, my group or both?

Justinious

[Brohg]

All players in range, actually, in group or not.

Incidentally or not so incidentally... your paladin Blessed Aura is already more effective than this at helping you stay alive. More effective, even, than any rank of Guardian Circle in game. The effect of Improved Dodge & Improved Parry (and by extension, Guardian Circle since it's the same effect) is under 1% overall reduction of damage taken per rank. Blessed Aura boosts your effort to counteract damage (by healing, duh) by 2.5% (average return on 0-5% focus). It would take a clicky of Guardian Circle IV to make the tradeoff worth even thinking about, and even then there'd be unsability issue of having to drop the Blessed Aura to use it, which you wouldn't want to bother with under pressure.

The Circle of Power clickies, if you can get one, are in a different boat. They're way higher value because their effect multiplies with the damage increasing discs & abilities everyone uses.

[Justinious]

Great comments.

I feel really stupid here -- I haven't used Blessed Aura in ages.

Are you saying use it instead of the clicky on the Marble Band (do they not stack)?

Also, do we Blessed Aura even at 85 or is there another version of the spell line we should be using at this level?

I am always leaning something here.

Justinious
Walkers
Drinal

[shiftie]

blessed aura and dodge stack however we cannot cast more than one aura at once. Some classes get aa that allow them to do this enc/cler. So yes the effects stack but you will not be able to stack them by yourself. Blessed aura is a persistent aura that lasts 30 min while the dodge aura only lasts 2 min or so. Because the dodge aura is an AE and not just limited to your group the dodge focus actually hits mobs also so people tend to not use it. Circle of power also hits the mob but since mobs cannot crit the effect does nothing to benefit the mob. I've not actually parsed it but supposedly it does indeed increase the mobs dodge rating.

[Brohg]

Monster dodge is not really a concern. Basically you take the < 1% improvement that a player would get from the clicky, then chop that by the tank's strikethrough ability. Due to AA strikethrough boosting, that leaves monsters with absolutely 0 improvement against warrior tanks, since Dodge is already doing 0 for them. Paladins don't have 100% strikethrough, but still the actual enhancement to enemies is so minimal as to defy parsing. Everyone besides the tank (and monk/ber, who also have 100% ST) is going to be on the monster's back 180 anyhow.

[joks]

[Brohg]

Welp, so much for Guardian Circle IV (which doesn't even exist yet), then. It'll take Guardian Circle, like, VII, to make even a debate with Blessed Aura.