Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

[Taskmage]

Since we don't have a Weapon Skills Q&A forum ...

Has anyone else noticed a possible defense down effect on yourself after using Savage Blade? I got SB two night ago and I'd only played with it on TW until today.

Well, today I decided to solo ZM4. I got aggro lighting the second torch and ended up fighting two Dire Bats and some kind of tonberry. Probably a thf. Anyway they were all EP/DC but everything was going fine for like 5 minutes when suddenly the damage from all three of them jumped from 20+ to 100+. O_O I died in two rounds. Wtfh4x!

Fast forward a couple hours and I'm actually in the mission BC and this happens not once, but TWICE. I managed to live through it but the drain on my mp was so huge that I ran out of mp and wasn't able to cure myself up to survive Aerial Blast. As I was laying on the ground I scrolled up in the log and noticed the huge, insane spike in the mobs' damage the last time happened right after I used Savage Blade. My log doesn't go back to cover the first two times it happened, but I bet anything it was right after using SB each time.

So has anyone else noticed this? There's nothing about it at all on any of the reference sites I usually use. I think if it's true and has gone unnoticed until now, it's because nobody uses Savage Blade on mobs that are DC or higher except plds, and their base def is already high enough to take the hit without damage going through the roof. As a rdm against DC mobs I bet their pDIF maxed out against me. D:

[Raydeus]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Trion spams it, and you know how great he is as a PLD...

I rarely use it (Evisceration is my WS of choice as a rdm) so I guess I haven't noticed if what you say is true, I'll try to test it tonight and see if I get the same results.

[Jei]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

I haven't noticed that either.

[Taskmage]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Dagger WS > Sword WS imo, but Joyeuse > daggers so I use sword. idk if maybe a Blau Dolch would compete, but that's way out of my price range atm and Martial Anelace + Joyeuse is so niiiice ...

Cleared ZM4, btw. ^^ I did such a bad job on the fight but who cares, I won!

[Caspian]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Cleared ZM4, btw. ^^ I did such a bad job on the fight but who cares, I won!

Grats, and had you not beaten it before? You could probably do most ov ZM5 by yourself. The flesh NM fight might be alittle tough, and will take a year and a half, but the others you shouldn't have any trouble on.

[Taskmage]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Yeah, I've neglected ZMs this long. I was in the 60s when ToAU came out so I never had to get sky.

I'm told the ZM5 NMs aren't soloable, but I'm gonna try anyway. Fenrir "isn't soloable" but where there's a will there's a way, right?

So nobody else has noticed this? It may not have anything to do with Savage Blade at all. I just tested on a TW and didn't notice a difference in damage or a change on my status screen, not that that necessarily proves anything. If not SB though, I wonder WTF was causing me to take insane amounts of damage. I equip swap a lot, but the difference in defense between items is negligable. Certainly not enough difference to account for a sudden 80 point jump in the mobs' damage.

[Jei]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

hmmm Dire bats.... don't they have defense down move?

edit : yes they infact do have defense down move. :O But that's still a huge jump in damage you're recieving. Wonder if it's from this alone....

http://wiki.ffxiclopedia.org/Bat

Special Attacks
* Subsonics: AoE Defense Down (CoP and ToAU areas only)

[Icemage]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Dire Bats do not.

However, Tonberries do. It's called Lateral Slash. If it lands, you're at -50% DEF. That's why you suddenly died.

EDIT: From FFXIclopedia article on Tonberries

Special Attacks
Everyone's Grudge: Damage based on Tonberry Hate of the individual. (see below)
Everyone's Rancor: Damage based on Tonberry Hate of the entire party (alliance?)(Notorious Monster only).
Throat Stab: Reduces target HP to 2% health. (can be offset with Stoneskin, but not by much)

(Earth Staff also seems to reduce the damage.)
Vertical Slash: Single target damage and Accuracy Down.
Lateral Slash: Single target damage and Defense Down.
Sigh: Self Evasion Boost.
Words of Bane: Single target Curse.
Light of Penance: Single target TP reset + Bind + Blind

Icemage

[Jei]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

oh ok, >.> It's ZM bats not CoP/ToAU.... ignore my post ; ;

[Taskmage]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Ohh.. wow. That's a pretty dramatic effect if that's what it was. Tonberries have all kinds of awful moves.

[Caspian]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Seriously
Can't understand for the life of me why people don't xp on them.

[Taskmage]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

Because they're noobs and don't understand the beauty of an Everyone's Rancor for 10k damage.

[Jei]

Re: Savage Blade hidden def down effect?

I sleep nuke tonberry when I have to kill them ^^