Learning[]
I took out the provoke to make them stand from main page. I fought them for about two hours before I got the spell. I tried subbing war to voke them, and never once had them stand the whole time. I started just looking for the ones that were already standing, it worked. They stay standing, or on all fours the whole fight depending on how they started the fight. Figured I would save people the hours of useless voking like I went through. --Evillllllllllll (talk) 11:10, October 28, 2012 (UTC)
The voke seems to sometimes work, like trying to break an Aht Urghan enemy's weapon. Fill a party with voking trusts and they'll often stand at the beginning of the fight. --BeastlyHorror (talk) 12:26, November 6, 2015 (UTC)
I learned this tonight using the Blu/War Provoke method. It seems random but does work. Marzuco 21:45, November 17, 2012
As Blu/War I was able to get the lobisons to stand quite often using provoke 3-4 times 12/5/2012
I have killed well over 20 and not seen them use Asuran once,just Fevered,Call of Mmoon and Pleninum.I tried using provoke but that does not work either.Don't know what this standing is all about,they are always standing,i have not seen otherwise.Is there a moon phase that determines when they use this?--Zaksame (talk) 10:12, August 8, 2013 (UTC)
Has anyone actually learned it from Gnoles or Decrepit Gnoles? I was under the impression that only Lobisons could go into standing mode (well, and Campaign gnoles). I learned it from Lobisons myself, in an alliance of all BLUs. They aren't too hard to tank as BLU/WAR if you keep Defender and Cocoon up (Genbu's Shield also very nice to have for this), and have healers; I'd imagine eating a taco or something would make it even easier. At any rate, the damage on this spell is disappointing at first glance. It seems much weaker than Disseverment and Hysteric Barrage; it's around the same as Frenetic Rip, I'd say. --Kyrie 17:25, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
Has anyone tried to learn this from getting the finishing blow on campaign mobs WITHOUT allied tags? Like, waiting around (or attacking I guess) until it's HP is at 2 or 3 percent, then Chain Affinity some spell in order to finish it off. I know you can't learn it with tags on.--Maerina 04:28, 22 January 2009 (UTC)
I deleted the part where it said it could be learned at Lv.61 with Magus Jubbah or +1, since Magus Jubbah +1 is Lv.74 and one can learn all of the blue spells at that level with or without it.
Damage[]
I'm probably not supposed to make so many little edits all at once but admittedly i'm not the worlds best contributer. Tested the SCs while trying for Seedshot --Stabby 04:35, 11 March 2008 (UTC)Stabby, Phoenix
- Regarding the rumors of moon phase affecting the dmg of this spell, I'm not so sure. At varying moon phases (anywhere from 15% to 100%), I've been doing the same range of damage. I haven't done extensive tests; just a few castings here and there, so I could be wrong. Looking at my previous comment, I'll have to disagree with my earlier sentiment; this actually seems even *weaker* than Frenetic Rip, honestly. ><; It's a very, very disappointing spell. :( --Kyrie 02:51, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
This spell seems rather weak, currently have 59+59 STR (Mithra)and it only seems to do about 600-700dmg with Chain Affinity @ ~100% TP, no points in Enchainment. Like all rumors with gnoles, possibly based on moon phase?? Noticed on Bugards in Lufaise Meadows, was 55% Moon at the time. --Some blue on asura 19:41, 3/11/08
Tested Damage Type in SE Apollyon 0 damage on Metalloid Amoebas, Successfully damaged Adamantshells and Inhumers. Damage type is Blunt. Shaloo 04:19, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
Honestly, I doubt whether moon phase makes a difference, and if it does, does it make the spell any more useful? If it could pull off as much damage or more than Hysteric Barrage, but only on a full moon, then maybe you'd swap it out when the moon is full for a spare 3bmp. Then just free up 2 more bmp and you can equip enervation for a very low counter rate. But seriously though, 600-700 damage even with chain affinity and 100% tp is VERY good compared to all the reports I've heard. Seriously, this spell costs more mp than disseverment, feeds more tp than anything else in the game (I think) and does crap damage and no additional effect. The ONLY reason to use this spell would be for the very, very low counter rate. Learn it for 100% spells then never use it imo. --Blazza 04:09, 8 September 2008 (UTC) PS. Bugards are lizards and weak to asuran claws, they're also too weak at 75 and STILL only take 6-700 damage? Disseverment would reach 2k in that situation.
I removed the following statements from the main page; they were not appropriate and have been almost certainly disproven.
- Moon phase may effect damage. (New Moon being least damage, Full Moon being best damage)
- Unsure about moonphase, tested damage on EP mobs during fullmoon, saw no increase in damage from new moon
Mikauk 08:25, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
-Doesn't damage cap at an enemy's hp? I've done spells tons of times at the end of a mob and it always does considerably less. such as 200 when it was doing 700+ at full HP.
Minor Testing[]
I've been attempting to test this spell on Too Weak Skeletons in Xarcabard, and have found frustrating results. I've tested each of the primary stats with Etudes from a BRD and have found that this spell appears to be modded only by STR. AGI, VIT, DEX, CHR, INT, MND increases yielded no change in damage whatsoever. At 63+10 STR, this spell was doing between 750 and 830, while Hysteric Barrage was doing 1100-1200. At 63+64 STR, it was doing approximately 950 damage, whereas Hysteric Barrage did closer to 1400 damage. Incidentally, in the same build, on Shadow Dragon the spells inflicted 785 and 1050 damage respectively...
This was over a couple hundred casts. I did not use Chain Affinity for these tests.
I don't know how to determine what the secondary modifier % is, but it's not very high. If I had to guess, perhaps STR 20% secondary modifier.
This was during a full moon (100% and 98%) as well, so if this is this spell at its best, it's pretty unimpressive. Additionally, while Chain Affinity will still double its WSC like all physical spells, the TP modifier for this spell is accuracy-based, which means damage at 0% TP will be the same as 300% TP. Hysteric Barrage has a damage-based TP modifier, further making it superior to this spell.
It's slow to cast, has a high recast, feeds 60% TP if all hits land, only has a 73% chance of landing all 6 hits at capped accuracy, has no additional effects, and costs more MP than any of the Big 3 spells. The only reason I can imagine that this spell was implemented in the first place was to give Blue Mages a higher level spell with an accuracy-based TP modifier. SE seems to have this weird fetish for giving Blue Mages more accuracy (as opposed to more damage -.-).
Alternatively, it could have simply been SE's way of pandering to the Blue Mages that only know how to spam. For these people, MP efficiency and TP feed are kind of irrelevant. The alternative DD spells are either expensive BMP-wise and/or have very potent damage-based TP modifiers (Cannonball, Vertical Cleave, Death Scissors, Dimensional Death), making them best used while under Chain Affinity. For 2 set points, you really can't expect an amazing spell.
If you happen to find yourself among a lot of skeletons (Einherjar), have a butt-ton of Refresh, and simply cannot wait for Frenetic Rip and Hysteric Barrage's recasts to be up, I suppose you could use this spell, but for the above reasons, it's probably not worth the trouble. --Eremes 03:56, February 23, 2010 (UTC)
Theory: Skeleton Killer[]
I think the problem with previous testing of this spell has been comparing its raw damage output to its alternatives, Hysteric Barrage and Disseverment, without regard for damage type, skillchain element, or situational use.
Skeletons have three weaknesses: Fire, Light and Blunt (+25%). They also have a couple of resistances: Ice (-12.5%) and Piercing (-50%). In other words, the beloved Distortion skillchain will only inflict half the normal damage of Disseverment, and less damage from the ensuing Distortion skillchain, assuming it isn't partially, or wholly, resisted. Overall, you're probably better off using Chain Affinity to buff Hysteric Barrage or Frenetic Rip, as both these spells have damage TP modifiers and experience a +25% damage increase due to being Blunt.
That being said, both those spells can only close Level 1 Skillchains: Frenetic Rip closes Induration (Ice-based, so resisted), and Hysteric Barrage closes Detonation (no particular resistance). This spell, on the other hand, closes Fusion, which is Light/Fire based, pertaining to both of a Skeleton's elemental weaknesses.
Now, you might say, "Why not just close Fusion/Light with Cannonball?" In an unspecialized build and at 0% TP, Cannonball's damage is pretty lackluster. You need Defense enhancements, TP, and usually Sneak Attack to push the numbers high. Now, don't get me wrong -- Asuran Claws isn't going to be pushing any numbers compared to your other DD spells, but on average, it wouldn't surprise me if this spell did more damage than Cannonball in a typical DD build and on enemies weak to Blunt. The overall effect, in theory, would be greater cumulative damage from the full skillchain on Skeletons than you could get from Cannonball for fewer BMP, as well as a skillchain for mages to burst Fire IV, Holy, or what have you.
Now, will this setup actually beat a good Vorpal Blade Hysteric Barrage Detonation skillchain? Doubtful. It is still possible that SE was trying to create a spell specifically for Skillchain-use, specifically against Skeletons, and specifically in contexts in which TP feed is irrelevant (Einherjar T1). Disseverment, which is 7 MP cheaper and 3 more BMP, is only useful for the Poison effect in this context for the reasons outlined above. This spell, in theory, could be its sister spell, specifically in the context in which you are dealing with Blunt-weak enemies.
That is most likely why this spell is so cheap BMP-wise. For such a ridiculously situational spell, you simply can't afford to spend so many BMP for the off chance your tier 1 Chamber happens to have Skeletons. And apparently turning the "Big Three" into the "Big Four" would have broken something.
To have made this spell useful, it should have at least been Arcana-based, making it a high-level Bludgeon, but no such luck.
--Eremes 05:35, February 24, 2010 (UTC)
TP FEED[]
Instead of thinking of this spell as a damage dealing spell, think of it as a TP feeding spell. People go /RDM or /WHM in order to Dia spam on very low level mobs. Sometimes, there is no mob that is lower than, say, 50 to learn a spell from, and depending on the area you may need a different subjob to survive. A prime example are Ruszors. Their lowest level is 79. I'd love to see someone Dia spam them trying to learn Sub-Zero Smash! This spell, Asuran Claws, can replace Dia as a TP feed. It deals very minimal damage, allowing you to feed more TP to the mob from other spells and melee hits. This spell is definitely NOT one to be overlooked in the long run. In the end, it can save you time when trying to learn other spells down the road. Edenter 07:47, November 20, 2010 (UTC)