Life Drain / Drain Life: Works on Undead &...?

[tinkthank]

This question has been asked before, but my searches reveal contradictory statements. I'd like to try to find some sort of definitive answer to the following questions:

1. Is Life Drain / Drain Life functionally identical but with two different names? Or are they somehow different, and if so, how?

2. I *think* I have seen commanders equipped with a Wraith Sword or similar gain hitpoints when hitting undead enemies. Thus it seems that Life Draining also works on Undead. Can this be corroborated or falsified by an "Authority"?

3. I thought Undead were lifeless. Maybe not. In any case, however question #2 is answered: Will Life Drain work on those flagged "Lifeless"?

4. Some items (such as the Wraith Sword) cast "Drain Life" automatically when you hit with a melee weapon. Others allow you to cast the spell "Drain Life" (or Life Drain?), such as the Standard of the Damned. Is there a big difference here in the way the spells work?

Thanks much.

[Boron]

tinkthank said:
This question has been asked before, but my searches reveal contradictory statements. I'd like to try to find some sort of definitive answer to the following questions:

1. Is Life Drain / Drain Life functionally identical but with two different names? Or are they somehow different, and if so, how?

there are 3 different Versions of lifedrain :
the built in lifedrain ( vq , ryleh illithids , vampires , probably ghosts too can't check this atm ) is AP.
the lifedrain SPELLs are AN .
and finally item lifedrain is neither ap nor an just normal damage .

tinkthank said:

2. I *think* I have seen commanders equipped with a Wraith Sword or similar gain hitpoints when hitting undead enemies. Thus it seems that Life Draining also works on Undead. Can this be corroborated or falsified by an "Authority"?

did the commanders perhaps have regeneration too ( like vq etc. ? )
otherwise the possibility is that lifedrain does only NOT work on lifeless .
would be logic : ghouls etc are undead but they have still flesh + blood because the deceased only recently . so you can get still life from them while you can't get this from a real skelett .

tinkthank said:


3. I thought Undead were lifeless. Maybe not. In any case, however question #2 is answered: Will Life Drain work on those flagged "Lifeless"?

it still does damage but doesn't replenish life .

tinkthank said:

4. Some items (such as the Wraith Sword) cast "Drain Life" automatically when you hit with a melee weapon. Others allow you to cast the spell "Drain Life" (or Life Drain?), such as the Standard of the Damned. Is there a big difference here in the way the spells work?

Thanks much.

yeah the difference is the kind of damage . see question 1 .

p.s. soul vortex is probably AN lifedrain .

[Graeme Dice]

tinkthank said:
1. Is Life Drain / Drain Life functionally identical but with two different names? Or are they somehow different, and if so, how?

One is a spell, the other is a weapon property.

3. I thought Undead were lifeless. Maybe not. In any case, however question #2 is answered: Will Life Drain work on those flagged "Lifeless"?

Only lifeless undead are lifeless. Life draining attacks will still cause full damage to these, but will not cause and fatigue or health gain.

4. Some items (such as the Wraith Sword) cast "Drain Life" automatically when you hit with a melee weapon. Others allow you to cast the spell "Drain Life" (or Life Drain?), such as the Standard of the Damned. Is there a big difference here in the way the spells work?

This is not what happens. The wraith sword causes normal damage to an opponent. The amount that gets through the armour is doubled for fatigue reduction, and halved for health gain.

[Boron]

Graeme Dice said:

This is not what happens. The wraith sword causes normal damage to an opponent. The amount that gets through the armour is doubled for fatigue reduction, and halved for health gain.

is this true for all 3 forms of lifedrain attack ?
spell , built in and weapon lifedrain ?

and if you attack a 6 hp unit does this mean you get 3 health + 12 fatigue restored or do you get the health + fatigue restored according to the damage you did (which would be higher probably) ?

unfortunately it is pointless though since there is no unit with <5 hp who is not lifeless already .


is there any good sc which is lifeless ?
the golem is but he has S2 so he is useless because of mind duel .

hm the only one is probably the ettin hero from pangenea cw .

[Sheap]

Dispossessed Spirits have only 1 HP and are not lifeless. SG Ermor will have hundreds of them, anyone can get some with the Spirit Mastery spell.

Lich pretenders (and the Demilich summon) are credible SCs, lifeless, and immortal too.

Iron Dragons, Siege Golems, any of the big constructs, while not exactly SCs because of lack of items, are still powerful lifeless units.

[Boron]

Sheap said:
Dispossessed Spirits have only 1 HP and are not lifeless. SG Ermor will have hundreds of them, anyone can get some with the Spirit Mastery spell.

Lich pretenders (and the Demilich summon) are credible SCs, lifeless, and immortal too.

Iron Dragons, Siege Golems, any of the big constructs, while not exactly SCs because of lack of items, are still powerful lifeless units.

yeah iron dragons etc are good but not good anti sc units normally

the dispossed spirits are not lifeless so the sc gets at least some hp restored .
the question is if this is only 1 hp or more
the real problem with the dispossed spirits is though that a fireshield will kill most of them too easy

i thought myself first on dragonflies but they have strength 0 and 2 bite damage so not enough to damage a sc

the lichs are good but i use them rather as lifedrain anti-sc

[Huntsman]

Graeme Dice said:Only lifeless undead are lifeless. Life draining attacks will still cause full damage to these, but will not cause and fatigue or health gain.

Let me make sure I got this straight...

If I have a Wraith Lord with Soul Vortex on and he attacks a unit flagged as Undead but not Lifeless (e.g Tartarian Titan), the SV will both a) cause full drain damage and b) give health and fatigue back to the Wraith Lord?

OTOH, if he attacks a Lifeless being (e.g. Iron Dragon) the SV will only cause full drain damage but it will not give health/fatigue back to the WL?

Right? Whew...

[The_Tauren13]

Wow... no wonder lifedrain is so good. I was expecting more like the damage being halved for fatigue gain and quartered for health gain...