Charm

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Charm is the ability to magically take control of an NPC and use it as a pet. When a mob is charmed, it will respond to the various in-game pet commands. While charmed NPCs make the most powerful pets in the game, this power is offset by certain risks and limitations.

Contents 1 Limitations and Possible Ways to Offset Them 2 Risks 3 Mechanism of Charm Breaks 4 Classes that Charm

Limitations and Possible Ways to Offset Them

The mobs of expansions prior to Gates of Discord strike for the same amount of damage as they do in their uncharmed state. Mobs of the Gates of Discord expansion and all subsequent expansions suffer severe attack penalties while under the influence of a charm spell. Their maximum hit is generally 30%-40% of their uncharmed maximum hit and charmed mobs do not dual wield. In most cases, giving a charmed mob two one-handed weapons of any type will cause them to dual wield once again. All types of charmed mobs will equip weapons. Like all pets, they can also take buffs and heals, including those conferred by activated pet AAs.

Unlike most detrimental spells/effects, Charm spells are hard-capped, meaning they have a set level of NPC to which they are effective, and have no chance of affecting NPCs above this hardcap.

Risks

With the exception of the Dire Charm Alternate Advancement, charming is for a limited duration not exceeding several minutes. Despite the duration, unless the charm has a resist modifier sufficient to make the charm virtually irresisible (-1000), charms are subject to random breaks prior to the spell's completion. This situation can present a danger to the player who charmed it, as a mob that has broken charm has a hate list with nothing on it save for the character that charmed it. As it is no longer charmed, it is now able to attack as it normally would, dual-wielding and normal damage. Worse, it will retain any buffs or gear it was given while charmed. Consequently, an NPC that was buffed while charmed is now more dangerous than it was prior to being charmed.

Mechanism of Charm Breaks

Like the name suggests, a charm break occurs when the charmed NPC has been released from the influence of a charm spell. These breaks can be induced voluntarily by the caster by several means, including the use of dispels, successfully hiding (per the racial innate or class ability: Hide), the caster turning invisible or when the caster leaves the zone (as charmed pets do not accompany their owners through zone lines). Or the break may be completely arbitrary.

Arbitrary charm breaks occur because a charmed mob has the opportunity to resist the charm every tick. Each tick allows the mob a 25% chance of being allowed a resistance check against the charm spell. If this check fails, the mob remains charmed until the next tick when the check is made again. If the check is made however, the mob makes a resistance check against the spell. Should the resistance check fail, the mob remains charmed until the next tick, when the random 25% check is made again. Should the resist check succeed, the charm is broken.

Minimizing charm breaks then becomes a matter of insuring that that mob's resistance check -- its window of opportunity -- becomes as unlikely as the charming character can make it. Lowering the mob's magic resistance through the use of resist debuffs is a useful step.

The Charisma of the class employing charm has also been shown to have a detrimental effect on the charmed NPC's resistance to the spell. While difficult to verify with any certainty, estimates conducted by Enchanters at therunes.net suggest that the mob's magic resistance against charm (and mesmerization spells) is further reduced by one point per every ten points of Charisma of the caster.

In addition, the Total Domination Alternate Advancement has a chance to prevent the charm break from occurring the resistance check succeed.

Classes that Charm

While items like the aforementioned Puppet Strings make charm available to all classes, certain classes have charms as part of their regular arsenal, whether as spells, songs and/or AAs. Depending on the class, certain restrictions may apply to the types of mobs each class is able to charm.

Bard (no restrictions)
Druid (animals only)
Enchanter (no restrictions)
Magician (elementals only)
Necromancer (undead only)