December 4, 2016 March 26, 2023
Aegis and Indemnity in PvE
In the 2016 summer update we received a new set of astral spells for our wizards to learn. The sun spells Aegis and Indemnity happened to catch my eye the most. This might be a bit overdue but I do think they might have been overlooked in their worth. So let’s take a look at what they are and what they can do!
Terminology
Firstly let’s clarify some general terminology!
- Positive charms are blades, e.g. +30% Storm blade or +30% outgoing heal (Guiding Light).
- Negative charms are blades that reduce stats, e.g. Weakness, Infection and Black Mantle.
- Positive wards are shields, e.g. Tower shield, Absorb and Glacial Shield.
- Negative wards are traps, e.g. Feint, Windstorm and Curse.
Aegis protects positive charms and positive wards from being removed. Indemnity protects negative charms and negative wards from being removed. It is easy to confuse the two, so try to remember that Aegis is (+) and Indemnity is (-)!
Personally I have found a lot of uses for them while questing or farming some cheating bosses. However, did you know you can use both of them on a vast amount of compatible spells rather than just blades, shields and traps? If a spell has an after effect it might possibly mean that they are compatible, depending on the after effect of course.
Compatibility
I made a list of all compatible spells that go with Aegis and Indemnity. If you notice anything missing, feel free to comment below!
Incompatible Spells
There are a few spells that had the potential of being used with Aegis and Indemnity but unfortunately didn’t make the cut! These are spells such as single/mass prisms, dispels, global spells and stun shields.
Some uses in PvE
Both spells can be used to counter a lot of bosses and their annoying cheats. Many bosses come to mind, such as Exalted Rattlebones, Malistaire the Undying in Darkmoor and Omen Stribog. Then there are more simpler uses, such as countering the after-effect of an earthquake or protecting blades from an enfeeble. The uses are almost always universal, so here are a few examples:
Malistaire in Darkmoor
Some of his cheats include stealing universal shields/blades aka tower shields and balance blades. He also cleanses feints off. As you probably already have guessed, you can use indemnity on feints, so that he doesn’t remove it. You can also use aegis on balance blades and/or bladestorms to prevent him from stealing them.
If you are finding the fight more difficult than expected, a couple of aegis shields could help!
Omen Stribog
Omen removes feints from anyone on his team, so while he is still alive you should always use indemnity on feint. As for blades, it’s not as simple! You will only be able to use aegis on the hitter once. This is because the sentinel uses enfeeble for every blade cast. Your first protected blade will be safe. However, the enfeeble will remove all the blades after the first protection is gone. Luckily, you can always use bladestorms to give your hitter an additional boost! 😉
Rattlebones Exalted
As for Rattlebones, you can always use indemnity on a feint to avoid the good old switch-a-roo! In addition, you can stack up your hitter with aegis blades. A few storm dispels on the Fairy Queen can always guarantee a safer hit! For a more detailed look at this fight I highly recommend taking a look at Misthead’s article!
Mirage!
As you are questing through Mirage you might want to keep a copy or 2 of both spells. Many different bosses tend to cheat by removing or switching traps and stealing blades.
A good example would be Overlord Xerxes in Alkali Barrows who steals blades and removes feints. Against him, feint won’t work neither with indemnity because he uses the feint. You can only blade one at a time with aegis as he will keep stealing EVERY blade that is cast.
Another good use of indemnity feint will be against the Scorpion himself! If you cast any feint on him, he will interrupt saying “The Rat warned me of that!”. Then, he proceeds to removing it with a shadow respell.
Let’s not forget the last few bosses in Mirage either! There’s Shadowbones, who seems to be competing with Malistaire as to who does more returns. Then there’s the last boss himself… Both these bosses have the same switch-a-roo cheat on feints, so either pack ice dispels or use indemnity!