SK Disease Cloud = Aggro? Huh?
 

My understanding of aggro, I thought was a bit clear (built by taunting, damage, sometimes healing, but someone mentioned today that Disease Cloud builds aggro.

I don't quite understand how. It does 1 tick of damage over time. There is nothing in the spell that seems to indicate it generates aggro, so I guess it's bothering me that I don't understand how a 1 damage DoT spell is a staple for building aggro for the SK.

If someone could please explain, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks :)

Maybe it's the act of a dot being applied rather than the strength of it. Shit's classic though, it's always been the cheap go-to for a SK, particularly at low levels or with low INT.

Interesting.. so is it more of an unintended type of thing than a "by-design" aggro builder? When the dude mentioned that, I scoured the guides and Google and I felt kinda silly for not knowing it. Turns out, it really isn't so obvious..

And so the act of applying any old DoT is the aggro builder? Not the damage itself?

Spell aggro is front-loaded - you get all the hate of the spell upon casting.

65 damage aggro plus 1 disease counter for 10 mana is legit.

not entirely true, in the sense that you also get aggro from dot ticks. But there is an initial aggro component on disease cloud (and presumably lots of other dots) as well.

Good info - has anyone figured out exact or approximate threat gains from casting stuns, slows, stat debuffs, or snare effects?

I have a feeling (no proof) that one component is based on the duration of the spell. Maybe even exponential. Snare (which does no damage) and DC both last a really long time and generate a really huge amount of hate. Other DoTs generate a lot less hate but do a lot more damage. Shadow Vortex (the other SK go-to hate builder) also generates a metric buttload of hate, does no damage, and lasts a while (half as long as DC).

Or the spells just have a specific amount set, which seems a less efficient way to do it to me. So that's probably the way it works. :)

The hybrids get aggro spells at level 9.

SK - desease cloud

PAL - Flash of light

RNG - Flame lick

Not sure how or why it works, just know that it does.

SKs also get Vortex.... something? It's an AC leech I think. That also draws a ton of aggro

Good stuff guys. I think I understand it much better now. Appreciate the insight.

Any stat debuff (Flash of light, Flame lick) produces lots of aggro. Not entirely sure about disease cloud though... maybe it's really because of it's long duration.

RNG can also use snare to taunt, almost as good as flame lick with added benefit.