Shadow Master bad in party hell?

[FFFlame]

Hi. I always played solo, but recently I've been using a lvl 92 assassin on multiplayer Baal runs. Last night a player got mad that I had my shadow master up in the throne room, and said that it was slowing down the game and that I should know that. I thought a lvl 40 SM would be a help against Lister, but what's the story?

[ShadowHM]

The only reason I can think of for a Shadow Master to be slowing down the game is because she can and will cast Mind Blast. This could slow down play because of the necessity of waiting until monsters revert to kill them off.

On a personal note, I rather like the tanking abilities of a high level Shadow Master. :)

[Chesspiece_face]

some stupid battle net jockeys get mad no matter what you do. i'm pretty sure they are just angry that your shadow master casts traps and spells that can possibly add some computer slowdown. if they are pathetic enough to whine and moan about this you should just tell them that your SM isn't slowing the game down, their crappy computer is.

[LavCat]

Since I am currently playing a horking mf barbarian, I have to say shadow masters speed up the game -- but I dearly hate them for it.

In general I find mind blast an annoying spell that even my assassins don't use. I realize however that there is not much one can do about the shadow master. They never seem to listen.

[Rinnhart]

In general I find mind blast an annoying spell that even my assassins don't use.

Matter of opinion, then, for I love the spell with all my being.


...granted I hate when my shadow master starts charming things.

[Legend_of_Lugia]

Nah, it isn't that bad. People that say something like "j00 SM lags!" just like to act like jerks these days.

Shadow Master is a good tank, though. Better than Shadow Warroir, IMO. I'd say to ignore them, and if they continue on... squelch them. Should they hostile you... just laugh. They're probably too chicken to fight you face-to-face with a bunch of party members on your side, anyway.

[Baajikiil]

Some of my assassins have gotten very tired of their shadow masters actually. My BF assassin goes fairly slowly in hell(though I don't mind, she is safe, and it is HC), and my shadow seems to convert every monster just as it's about to die. I can understand how some could be annoyed, but it also has alot to do with the party involved.

If there are already several good tanks(a skellymancer for example), I'd say go with a warrior instead. If you have a lvl 40 master, you'll have a lvl 21 warrior. That's plenty to be a decent tank. But, if the party is having a rough time, the added advantages of a master might be worth it.

As for lister anyway, the minions of destruction can't be converted, so a Master is a go for them at least.

PS: One thing I do get very worried about is converted dolls in hell. If a low hp doll uncoverts right next to me and my merc nails it, I've just lost my single HC life. In doll areas, be very careful with your master--especially in a party.

[ak404]

As I've often said on the Basin forums, Shadow Masters are like free boxes of porn: you'll get some complaints if you bring it out when you're in a party, but when you're by yourself, there's nothing better.

Having an extra body is extremely useful, especially when it can cast traps like DS and mind blast things when you're too busy to remember to remember where your hotkeys are. The SM to the sin is like the valk to the zon: sure, you can play without one, but once you try it, you'll never go back.

IOW, screw the comments about slowing down. Kicking Baal's butt in is nice, but you want to survive the trip down there. You know what really slows a game down? Having to retreive your corpse.

[whyBish]

In general I find mind blast an annoying spell that even my assassins don't use.

Well I only play HC, so mindblast is a core skill for my assassins. Intantly knockback and stun a group of oncoming frenzytaurs, that's a nice low risk skill to use (or cloak of shadows if it didn't have the stupid timer problem)