Does shock squall have a set duration?

First of all, I'm not a smn and I really don't know that much about the job's intricate details. I know the basics, but not much more.

I am currently engaged in an argument with another player over whether or not shock squall has a set duration (like elegy) or a randomized duration (like stun). I have done some testing myself on a friend's SMN, but I would rather not reveal what my findings were or who my opponent in this argument is because I don't want any bias in the results.

So, if you would be so kind, please tell me your expert opinions, summoners. Does shock squall have a basic duration which can only be unresisted, all-out resisted, 50% resisted, 75% resisted or 87.5% resisted?

I don't have any information, but I'd like to say that this is a really great question. Good luck getting a good response!

The answer even has ramifications and such, because normal resist mechanics could make things to increase Ramuh's magic accuracy relevant.

I think Shock Squall duration is random, roughly between 8 and 26 seconds. This can be seen by doing Shock Squall on a large group of TW monsters, Stun will wear off at different time for each of them. Constant use could shorten the duration on some NMs however.

when it was on the test server, it was reported to vary up to 8 seconds or something. Don't recall any reports of testing after it went live though.

From my usage of Shock Squall, it has a set amount of time that can be resisted. Resist rates are dependent on SMN skill of course. Typically on some NMs I don't start getting resisted until the 5th-7th squall, however I have yet to see it completely resisted yet(except against stun-resistant mobs of the many varieties).

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Originally Posted by Saiken253

From my usage of Shock Squall, it has a set amount of time that can be resisted. Resist rates are dependent on SMN skill of course. Typically on some NMs I don't start getting resisted until the 5th-7th squall, however I have yet to see it completely resisted yet(except against stun-resistant mobs of the many varieties).

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If I may ask, what is that set amount of time that it lasts?

Not exactly the fountain of answers I was hoping for, so I'll share my test results.

First sample of 10 tests, all done in E.ronfaure on the level 0 bunnies right outside the gate. Recorded all 10 samples on Fraps, then went back over the video with VDub to find the exact frame when ramuh's staff went fully forward in the animation (my start time) and the exact frame where the bunny started turning (my end time). Technique was summon ramuh, immediately use shock squall, immediately dismiss ramuh before he could kill the bunny. Times I list are given in minute : second, and the seconds are accurate up to 3 decimal places, though keep in mind this was recorded at 30 fps, so it's technically only accurate up to 1/30th of a second.

0:14.933 >> 0:28.400 (13.467 seconds)
1:21.800 >> 1:45.167 (23.367 seconds)
2:25.700 >> 2:37.233 (11.533 seconds)
3:31.500 >> 3:43.633 (12.133 seconds)
4:35.233 >> 4:45.867 (10.634 seconds)
5:39.633 >> 5:54.733 (15.100 seconds)
6:46.867 >> 7:10.600 (23.733 seconds)
7:53.533 >> 8:04.033 (10.500 seconds)
8:58.433 >> 9:15.200 (16.767 seconds)
10:13.967 >> 10:35.567 (21.600 seconds)


Now when I did a second type of test (large number of enemies, squall >> run away and watch as they unstun one by one), I noticed something strange... the stun was wearing off sooner than it was with one target. It seems that shock squall's duration decreases for each target hit by it. If I feel unlazy, I might run some tests with 10 targets at a time, but that would be even more hellish to crunch the data on.

Edit: A video showing 14 level 0 targets getting hit by shock squall: http://youtu.be/XwElp5Jxdr0

I haven't had much use with it against groups of mobs. as per your question, it usually lasts between 15~20 seconds on NMs(which is what I mainly hunt on SMN). The fluctuations is simply from partials as there is always going to be a partial resist on SMN abilities until we get something like Elemental Seal for our BPs lol...