07-15-2005, 01:14 AM
Nice post. I have a small nit, and an addition or two. You suggest that the damage reduction from a mana shield (above level 0) could help to prevent stunning against Diablo. This is false. The stun check is processed before any effects of mana shield are applied.
Where Thinking Cap will prevent stun, though, is by providing resistance to all three elements. This means that Thinking Cap cannot be damage by any spell except apocalypse. Thus, it should be possible to wear it safely on a 3-witch or lawyer-witch combo level, even with only 1 durability. Then you would get the benefit of both the resistances and the spell levels throughout the level.
Having +30 mana on a swap item can be at least a small resource advantage. Particularly if you find the TC early in the game, it can give you an extra heal per level up (or an extra heal per full blue potion).
Where Thinking Cap will prevent stun, though, is by providing resistance to all three elements. This means that Thinking Cap cannot be damage by any spell except apocalypse. Thus, it should be possible to wear it safely on a 3-witch or lawyer-witch combo level, even with only 1 durability. Then you would get the benefit of both the resistances and the spell levels throughout the level.
Having +30 mana on a swap item can be at least a small resource advantage. Particularly if you find the TC early in the game, it can give you an extra heal per level up (or an extra heal per full blue potion).