Oblivion talk:Weakness to Magic

Combining Weakness and Resistance

Someone should cover what happens when you have both Weakness to Magic and Resist Magic functioning at the same time. A Breton born under The Apprentice, for instance, will simultaneously have Weakness to Magic 100% and Resist Magic 50%. Do these two effectively cancel each other out, then? (You'd be taking half of double damage.) I don't know, myself, or I'd post something.--Robin Hood 20:57, 20 March 2007 (EDT)

Yes, they would cancel each other out, since both effects work on the same "actor value", by increasing or decreasing it. Thus the end result would be a 50% weakness to magic, in this case.

I have a half-finished article about the way resistance and weakness to Magic/Poison/Elemental Damage work, which you can see on my Sandbox page. -- JustTheBast 09:01, 21 March 2007 (EDT)

Thanks, that was the basic question I had was whether it left you with a 50% weakness, or no weakness, no resistance (since 50% of 200% damage is 100% damage). Your formulae make it look like it would be 100%, but you say above that you'd be left with 50% weakness...so I'm a little confused. :) --Robin Hood 21:39, 22 March 2007 (EDT)

So does that basically mean that weakness to magic lowers your resistance? Like, as an example, take a 100 point fire damage for one second spell. If you use the Breton example, that would do 50 points of damage, yes? Now, what happens if you have someone cast a 100% weakness to magic spell at you? Is it reduced to only 50% effectiveness, making your total resistance 25% then? --Mikekearn 08:22, 25 May 2007 (EDT)

Yes, a weakness to X will first counteract any resistance to X. Only once your weakness to X is larger than any resistance to X will you start to actually be weakened.

A standard (non-Apprentice) Breton would indeed take 50 points damage from a 100 point fire damage spell. If someone casts a 100% Weakness to Magic spell the Breton resistance would reduce the magnitude of that spell's effect to a 50% Weakness to Magic. That would effectively add to the Breton's inherent 50% Resist Magic and leave the Breton with 0 total resist/weakness. The next 100 point fire damage spell would do 100 points of damage to the Breton.

Note that on JustTheBast's sandbox "RM" = (Resist Magic)-(Weakness to Magic); "RE" = (Resist Element)-(Weakness to Element). So Resist/Weakness of the same type always add to each other. Multiplying only comes in to play if both Resist Magic and a Resist Fire (for example) effects are active; in other words when combining resistances of different types. --Nephele^Talk 11:36, 25 May 2007 (EDT)

I just added a new section Resistances and Weaknesses to hopefully explain this all in one places. --Nephele^Talk 12:43, 25 May 2007 (EDT)

I was able to confirm the answer to my own question later using the console, and it agrees with what you've said in the new section. 100% Weakness + 50% Resistance = 50% Weakness. Thanks for the new section, BTW, it really covers the topic quite well. --Robin Hood 01:54, 7 July 2007 (EDT)

How weakness affects spells with no magnitude

Would it just affect the duration? If you cast paralyze for 3 seconds on something with 100% weakness to magic, would it become paralyze for 6 seconds? --Kevindrosario 03:19, 3 July 2008 (EDT)

Yes, that's how it works. Padomay 13:53, 9 July 2008 (EDT)

Weakness to magic on self

Can I cast Weakness to Magic on self to enhance the effect of my defensive and healing spells? — Unsigned comment by 24.233.81.91 (talk) at 10:47 on 9 July 2008

yes— Unsigned comment by 58.166.67.150 (talk) at 21:50 on 14 July 2008

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that this no longer works after one of the patches, but I don't recall where. --Mike | Contrib 10:22, 19 July 2008 (EDT)

Information has been added to the article. --Nephele^Talk 11:07, 19 July 2008 (EDT)

If you cast 100% reflect spell on summoned creature and then start to chaining a spell with Fortify Acrobatics and 100% Weakness to Magic, the spell will be reflected back amplified. — Unsigned comment by 79.139.207.204 (talk) at 19:58 on 4 February 2017

Weakness included?

Let's say I have this spell:

Fire damage 10 pts for 15 seconds on touch

Weakness to fire 100% for 15 seconds on touch

Weakness to Magic 100% for 15 seconds on touch

If I cast this spell once, will the weaknesses help, and if so, by how much? --Zirakseez 17:26, 12 December 2008 (EST)

If you cast it once, the weaknesses will have no effect (other than to increase the magicka cost of casting the spell). As stated in the article, "Weakness to Magic increases by M% the magnitude of subsequent Destructive spells." --Nephele^Talk 16:30, 18 December 2008 (EST)

If i had a weapon with say weakness to fire 100% weakness to magic 100% Fire damage 3pts for 4secs, Weakness to shock 100% and shock damage 3pts for 2secs, would it do 45 damage? — Unsigned comment by Dadrak (talk • contribs) at 17:01 on 2 February 2009

Destructive spells?

This isn't related to that question, but I thought weakness to magic affected all schools of magic, not just destruction spells. The main page states, "...the magnitude of subsequent Destructive spells," but paralyze isn't a destruction spell and its duration is changed. So what's up with that? And, while I'm at it, does spell stacking not work against yourself? I know it doesn't work with positive effect spells, but what about negative spells? I tried to see the extent of spell stacking by making two weakness to magic 100% for 10 second on self spells, casting them one after the other like 20 times, then cast a paralyze on self spell, but the duration was the same length if I hadn't casted any weakness to magic. And when I checked my active effects page, there was only two weakness to magic effects there, there was no evidence of spell stacking. Does the game not show the true value when you do this? Or does the effect only work on hostiles? --ZombieRoboNinja 13:15, 22 December 2008 (EST)

Re: destructive spells.Good point. I've fixed the article accordingly.

Re: your second question. As stated in the article (with a few more details at the provided link), spell stacking on yourself was an exploit that was fixed by a patch. --Nephele^Talk 17:40, 1 January 2009 (EST)

Effects on Command/Frenzy/Turn Undead etc.

Imagine combining Weakness to Magic 100% and a Turn Undead effect on a sword. Now, if you used Turn Undead Level 25, which would guarantee an effect on any Undead, would the Weakness to Magic aid increasing the duration of the Turn Undead, or become simple overkill? Reducing the Turn Undead to Level 13 would be more economical, but will it actually guarantee an effect on Level 25+ enemies (on the second strike, of course)? There is another thing to consider: spells set to Level 25 are set to a 100 magntitude. Spells of this nature, like a lock difficulty set at 100, overrides the conventional limitations set against it (a 100-magnitude Command Humanoid spell will work on any humanoid, regardless of level, just as a 100-mag door cannot be lockpicked). Will we get this same overriding effect by combining Weakness to Magic 100% and a magnitude 52 (Level 13) Turn Undead spell? Or does the whole deal get pranged somewhere inside the game's calculations? —Dark Spark 04:07, 19 April 2009 (EDT)

I don't think weakness to magic has any effect on command, turn, frenzy, and such. It should only affect those effects that are designated as 'hostile' - i.e. damage, drain, burden, etc.

Certainly, in-game use shows that resist magic has no effect on command or calm, so I wouldn't expect weakness to magic to have any effect, either.

--Gaebrial 08:49, 20 April 2009 (EDT)

That answers the problem for non-hostile Level-oriented spells like Command, Calm, Demoralize, and Frenzy. The interesting question now is whether or not Turn Undead does get affected by Resist Magic/Weakness to Magic. Turn Undead is a hostile, offensive spell whose magnitude is indicated by character level. —Dark Spark 07:04, 21 April 2009 (EDT)

Weakness and Damages with Duration

If you cast weakness to magic on an enemy and then a damage spell that lasts longer than the weakness to magic spell, does the weakness continue for the full duration of the spell? — Unsigned comment by 75.73.95.171 (talk) at 23:23 on 26 January 2010

No, i believe the effect of the weakness spell is over when the time is up...Cmdr 23:31, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

The magnitude of the spell is only determined when the spell hits the target. If the weakness effect ends before the damage spell, the damage spell will keep its (stronger) magnitude.

For example, casting a Fire Damage 10 pts for 10 secs on (weakened) Target deals a total damage of 200, even if the Weakness to Fire 100% effect that affected the target only lasted 3 secs. --Timenn-<talk> 12:39, 29 January 2010 (UTC)

Casting repeatedly

When I cast the weakness to magic effect on someone and then do it again, does it will enhance the effect? - ZuTheSkunk 12:32, 28 June 2010 (UTC)

I think it does enhance the effect, but I'm only 75% confident so far. You can test it however by repeatedly casting Slaughterhouse (Drain Health 100 for 1 second, Weakness to Magic 100% for 3 seconds) on one enemy with more than 200HP and no resistance. A brown bear should do it. The idea is that either the Weakness to magic is capped 100%, and the bear should never die, or it is not capped, and the bear should die by the fourth cast.

Here's why the weakness may enhance with each cast: it will not stack with the previous weakness, but it may use it to strengthen its own effect: after the first cast, there is a 100% weakness to magic, which means a 2 fold multiplier for all subsequent effects, including (maybe) weakness to magic. So the second weakness to magic will be doubled (200%), for a now 3 fold multiplier. And so on. If you cast the spell N times, it should raise the weakness to magic to 100*(N-1)%, for an effective N fold multiplier--Loup-vaillant 09:15, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Confirmed: I tried repeated casts of Slaughterhouse on two Gobelin Shaman (I'm level 53, so I guess it has more than 450 HP). They each died at about the tenth cast (their spell absorption tend to break the whole chaining).--Loup-vaillant 13:50, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Another thing you should watch for is the bear dying on the third cast. It is said around here that effects are applied in reverse order, and therefore advise you to list the weakness to magic last in your custom spell. Could this mean that the weakness to magic is applied right away? If so, then the Slaughterhouse should drain 200HP on the very first cast. You can also test this on a black bear. If it dies on the first cast, then the weakness to magic applies right away. If it dies only on the second cast, then the weakness only applies to *subsequent* spells.--Loup-vaillant 09:15, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Enchanting with weakness

If I enchant a dagger with 100% weakness to magic for 5 seconds and then strike an enemy 3 times with it, what is the result? Do the effects stack, or is the end result still just 100% weakness to magic? — Unsigned comment by 71.229.4.25 (talk) at 12:57 on May 1, 2011

No, I believe they do not. I advise changing the weakness to fire or frost instead.--Iamgoofball 18:00, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

The same weapon can only stack once, so it will renew the timer every time you strike, but not add to the effect. --DKong27 ^{Talk Cont} 18:42, 1 May 2011 (UTC)

True, but in the case of Weakness to Magic, it still makes sense to repeatedly hit (or cast): the first weakness to magic will make the second one hit twice as hard. The end result will be 200% weakness to magic (the original 100% will be gone). If you hit a third time, that will make 300%, and so on.--Loup-vaillant 14:23, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

(←) Do the effects stack though, if you hit with this weapon, then hit again with a different weapon with identical effects? --Manic 12:56, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

2 effects from different sources will stack. Weakness to magic is no exception. Also bear in mind that the second weakness to magic will be build on top of the previous one. So if you apply 2 100%-weakness-to-magic, the second one will hit twice as hard (200%). If they come from different sources (either spells or weapons), then they will also stack, for a total 300% weakness to magic.--Loup-vaillant 14:01, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

I believe that hitting a third time will make it 400% Loup. 1st hit is 100% weakness to magic. Target now has 100% weakness to magic, so a second hit of 100% weakness to magic from the same dagger will "rewrite" the original 100% weakness to magic, and instead have 200% weakness to magic. Since it is from the same source, you must realize it isn't 200% because of 100%+100% but instead 100% x 2. Target now has a 200% weakness to magic, and a third hit from the dagger will rewrite it and make it 400%, because 200% x 2 is 400%. dtm 16:11, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

You are not doubling the 200%. The 200% weakness is already on the enemy and now you are applying 200% weakness to the new magic effect which is 100%. So 10 damage on a 200% weakness enemy would be 30 damage (10 + 2.0 * 10). The weakness is applied to the magnitude of the NEWEST effect. So 100% weakness applied on an enemy of 200% weakness would be 300% (100% + 2.0 * 100%). The weakness is the ratio that is additive to the magic effect. If it was multiplicative then weakness to magic 50% would actually make you hit for less damage. In that instance 50% weakness on a 10 damage spell would be 10 * .5, or 5 damage. — Unsigned comment by 24.117.128.157 (talk) at 15:02 on 10 June 2018

Weakness with Absorb

Does Weakness to Magic work with absorb effects? If I cast Weakness to Magic 100% for 1 seconds on Touch on an enemy and follow immediately with Absorb Health 10 for 1 second on Touch, how much health would be absorbed? — Unsigned comment by Mudeye (talk • contribs) at 20:11 on 17 January 2012

I believe the health absorbed would be 10, but the health drained would be 20. The best way to find out would be to try it in-game. You may not be able to determine exactly how many points you drain, but you'll certainly know how many you absorbed. – Robin Hood↝talk 07:22, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

On a similar note, I'm playing under the "Apprentice" sign, which adds a 100% weakness to magic. I've found that on the basic "Absorb Health" spell that normally restores 5 points of health, now restores 30. I tried a healing spell, but it remained the same magnitude. Is this the cause? If it is, this could be a major exploit in-game. The only other possibility is restoration skill caused this. Mine is relatively low so I doubt it, and I also thought the magnitude shown in your inventory was the actual in game magnitude and scaled with your skill level? Anyone care to check, cause this would be an immensely powerful restorative tool if it's reproducible. Wolfchaldo - (71.20.124.94 03:39, 3 December 2013 (GMT))

Edit- Upon further research, I believe the cause may have been my difficulty settings. I'm not entirely sure but I was playing at easiest and when i went back to hardest it stopped working effectively. Oh well, but it still might be worth adding that difficulty affects absorbed health. Wolfchaldo - (71.20.124.94 05:14, 3 December 2013 (GMT))

Complexed and Multiplied Weaknesses and Resistances

So... I'm a High Elf which grants me 25 weakness to elements (fire, frost and shock). I have a 75 shock shield which grants me 75 armor and shock resistance, right? In addition I have a 20 magic resistance. How much damage would I suffer if I'd be hit by a shock spell of a 100 magnitude? What formula can I use to calculate it ? — Unsigned comment by 217.132.53.141 (talk) at 09:31 on 15 May 2012

Only those resistances and weaknesses that are the exact same or exact opposites will be additive. So if, for example, you had 75% shock resistance, 25% shock resistance, and 1% weakness to shock, you'd have 99% resistance to shock. In cases where the effects are different, they're multiplicative. So in your case, you'd start with the 100 magnitude spell, then multiply by 0.5 (100% + 25% weakness - 75% resistance), giving you 50 damage, then multiply 0.8 (100% - 20%) for the magic resistance, leaving you with a total of 40 shock damage. – Robin Hood↝talk 02:45, 4 June 2012 (UTC)

Spell absorption

Does Weakness to magicka make you gain more mana when a spell is absorbed by the skill Spell Absorption. in other word, may a High elf with the Atronach Ability will receive more mana than let say, a breton with spell Absorption when the same spell is absorbed? — Unsigned comment by 50.101.215.123 (talk) at 02:24 on 27 November 2014

Can someone confirm?

All on self weakness to magic/element no longer work. I've ran multiple tests on my 360 character and none of my test spells work. Example 100 Weakness to fire (self) 10 Fire (self) =10 damage If confirmed can someone edit (weakness) pages to reflect these facts. 82.42.218.116 01:16, 16 February 2018 (UTC)