Re: What is Iron Maiden?
I think Wiki would have much more information outside of the game on Iron Maiden, as the heavy metal band probably wouldn't be included in a dictionary definition... and they don't suck! They aren't popular, but they made some memorable music. That said...
In Diablo2, there are forms of taking damage that are associated with successfully attacking a player without the target taking action, themselves. IOW, like Chilling Armor, it's triggered by actions of enemies, and damage return/reflection are two forms.
Damage return simply damages successful attackers a specific amount, usually listed on the item doing the damage. "Attacker Takes {1} Damage of {2}" is the standard terminology, with {1} only being listed if the form is other than physical (all 'damage' in Diablo2 is assumed to be physical unless otherwise stated), and {2} is the amount dealt.
Damage reflection works the same way, except it actually uses a percentage of the damage dealt. This is lethal to almost any character using melee physical damage as their main attack, which includes most Barbarians. Iron Maiden, as a curse, causes
anything the cursed player hits to have his own damage reflected back upon him, as if the target is affected by Thorns, Spirit of Barb, or the like.
The difference is best demonstrated by damage taken when attacking Thorned Beasts (in hell) and attacking anything when cursed with Iron Maiden. You'll quickly see why it's despised in duels, but do
not test this in hardcore - it'll ruin your day.
BTW, when is Blizzard going to put Flamespike the Crawler back into Inner Cloister and Thorns back into the list of possible aura enchantments?
