Does anyone use Slow?

[bcadren]

Seems like for an AM Confuse is always a better choice and for a Wz Mephritic Cloud is a better choice; I doubt anyone would need to both confuse AND slow a particular enemy. Does anyone really use slow?

[Sar]

I used it once to get away from a D:4 wyvern skeleton.

[Sandman25]

I use Slow as AM vs enemies with low MR. Slow, then Corona and start shooting.
Is Slow in one book with Confuse? Anyway, they are different levels (2 and 3) so Slow can be useful early game.

[Sprucery]

I use Slow regularly. It's only level 2, so it's castable earlier than Confuse and especially Meph (which is 3 schools and does not work on poison resistant monsters anyway).

Slow is one of the spells I often pick up as a support spell if found in the early game.

[dowan]

Also, confuse isn't in the AM starting book, which is the main reason for AMs not to use it over slow

[bcadren]

Also, confuse isn't in the AM starting book, which is the main reason for AMs not to use it over slow

Oops; I confused the book of hindrance (no one starts with this) with the book of debilitation (AM starts with this).

[dowan]

It is really hard to justify casting slow, as I have to spend the turn casting it, and the MP, and it has to stick. Then, I'm 1 turn behind, assuming it stuck on the first cast. Now, after 2 turns of kiting, I'm back to breaking even. Then I get a couple more turns with the monster slowed, probably gaining 1 or 2 turns worth of actions, relative to this one monster. This isn't a bad deal, but it's not amazing.

Now, the more likely scenario is that the first slow doesn't stick. Assuming I have the MP to keep casting(A really big assumption), all I can do is hope it sticks to make up for the wasted turn where it didn't work. Odds are, I'll just about break even on turns, at least that's how it seems to me.

So why am I going to go through all this, when odds are I don't really stand to benefit much at all. I'd probably save more turns just casting corona and firing away.

I guess the best thing would be to give slow a power boost, although if monsters got it too that might really suck.

[Curio]

snip

/thread

[jejorda2]

The slowing effect is potentially useful, but not necessarily for the enchanters who have access to it.

If slow were conjurations/hexes like dazzling spray, it could be useful for conjurers to get more hits in.

Arrows of slowing might be quite useful, but there are too many ammo brands already.

[bcadren]

The slowing effect is potentially useful, but not necessarily for the enchanters who have access to it.

If slow were conjurations/hexes like dazzling spray, it could be useful for conjurers to get more hits in.

Arrows of slowing might be quite useful, but there are too many ammo brands already.

It's just categorically weaker than Confuse, Petrify, Paralyze, etc. If it's MR check was different than Confuse; or it checked something else completely...it might be more feasibly useful.

[dc192168]

Slow, then Corona and start shooting.

I do this in different order

Corona, shoot, and when foo gets to melee, Slow and start melee or kite and shoot

Slow helps alot in early state when I have relatively low defense

[tasonir]

I haven't ever used slow in a meaningful way, but I'm also pretty bad about using a lot of hexes. I drop wands of confusion, paralysis, polymorph 99% of the time. I have used confusion/paralysis maybe 5-10 times, but I'm talking about over 30 different characters as a time scale. The only thing I'd be tempted to use polymorph for would be if I was really strong and trying to promote a monster to something bigger for more exp/a hide, but I'm too lazy to remember who I can polymorph "up" so I don't bother.

[Sandman25]

Yes, polymorph is hard to use, HD is not displayed anywhere in the game. Too bad we don't have something like "It can be polymorphed into A, B, C" in monster description.

[zxc23]

Polymorph works well on early eels. I think that might be the extent of its utility, outside of weird TRJ stuff that I don't experiment with.

Slow wand is a little bit useful. It makes enemies like spiny frogs a little bit safer to fight as a melee focused char, as you won't have much to do while waiting for it to approach anyway. Paralysis, confuse and disint wands are obviously far superior.

[and into]

I use Slow on all AM and somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of my Wz. I don't think I have ever memorized it on any character that didn't have it in a starting book, but the same can be said about a number of low-level spells. Slow is made redundant by an early hex wand even when you start with the spell available, IMO, but still, it is very easy and safe to deal with a slowed enemy in melee, even with low skill and a mediocre weapon (nice for saving ammo on AM), and occasionally it is useful to escape.

[Sprucery]

I especially like to slow spiny frogs, black mambas and hydras.

[jejorda2]

Polymorph works well on early eels. I think that might be the extent of its utility, outside of weird TRJ stuff that I don't experiment with.

Unseen horrors are good to polymorph, as is nearly anything wielding elec/distortion/curare.

Does it make enemies drop wands? I've never used it for that before, but it might be a good idea.

[celem]

I almost only fire Slow from wands to be honest, and even then I empty it quick and drop it.

For a pure escape its better to speed yourself up if at all possible rather than slow enemies. 1 target vs many. I'd be more likely to use curare for a slow if I really wanted one since it comes with damage.

As a Hexer Im going to confuse for 1 more mana, its much more effective as the monster doesnt keep chasing (albeit slower), he wanders off and bumps into stuff or goes the wrong way entirely and is stabbable to boot. If I've only got 2MP then I'm more likely to wait for 3 than throw Slow. I might even just EH.

I would probably use it more if it challenged HD or something, but slotting right into the rest of the Hex vs MR field its just underwhelming, even for 2MP.

I always felt its odd that Slow and Swiftness cost the same mana, but the first affects one monster, while the second (appears to) affect all in LOS. Would never slow if swift was an option. (i realise slow affects action speeds and swiftness is pure move, doesnt change anything)

[adozu]

polymorph is occasionally useful to force a shapeshifter out fo some unwanted shape like shining eyes.

[dowan]

Swiftness also debuffs your speed, meaning you don't actually end up any farther from the monsters, unless of course you get up the stairs or something before they catch back up to you.

Confuse doesn't come in the AM book, or the Wiz book, so you almost never have the option to cast slow OR confuse.

Slow is a great effect, when I play a chei character I use his ability to slow surrounding enemies quite a bit. The difference is that chei's slow is very reliable, unlike the spell, especially when you first get it at lvl 2. An AM can't afford to spend a lot of XP on hexes early in the game, so his slow is going to have crappy spellpower anyway. A wiz isn't going to spend a bunch of xp on hexes just for the slow spell.

Now, if slow were a 3x3 area affect spell I'd probably try to use it more, or if it got a spellpower boost. Slow may be a good effect, but characters with the slow spell cannot usually use it to good effect. As it is now, it's usually just a desperation move to try to get a space between you and an enemy so you can take the stairs.

[partial]

no but I often use metabolic englaciation

(which is awesome)

[Zargon]

I seemed to use Slow quite a lot in levels 7-9 with my SpAM (I chose that particular bulid as I was going through a phase of having builds that spelt words), but TBH I can't remember why.

I think I tended to use it to make doubly sure of getting plenty of sling shots on tough / fast dudes (hill giants and orc knights in the bailey, centaur packs etc.).

[rockygargoyle]

I seemed to use Slow quite a lot in levels 7-9 with my SpAM

I guess we can say... You SpAMmed it?

[Osgoodbad]

I sometimes use poly against enemies that are mostly dangerous because of equipment (orc warriors, etc.)

[Velikolepni]

I once (version 0.14 I think) went for a Vampire AM focused on melee (starting with javelins, using long blades, worshipping Kiku). I used Slow a lot as a debuffer before engaging a monster in melee. It was moderately useful. As others have mentioned, using it on a ranged character with the hope of getting more turns to shoot the monster is mostly a waste of turns and mp.

[Siegurt]

How I get more turns to shoot stuff with slow:

1. Shoot the critter until it's one square away.
2. Slow it
3. Back up until slow wears off or it's at the end of my range
4. Go to 1 until dead.

[Sprucery]

If it's expected that backing up will be necessary, I would start with 0. Slow the creature.

Then just recast Slow whenever it wears off. Otherwise follow the shoot/backup pattern.

[Laraso]

WIth 0 skill, yea it's pretty mediocre. If you bother to dump 5 or 6 levels into hexes early on though, it's actually quite good, considering it's a level 2 pseudo-haste (it makes you faster than your enemy by slowing them, as opposed to speeding yourself up) that can be up as long as you have mana without having to worry about magic contamination. It falls off later as enemies get more MR, but with 5 or 6 levels in hexes you're almost guaranteed to get a good, long lasting slow against most early enemies.

[Berder]

Here's a little-known fact you may not be aware of: a slowed enemy cannot berserk. Slow is like exh for them.

Still, the slow spell is not that useful at preventing enemy berserk due to its short duration.