Why is Attenuate considered so good?

[Velorien]

Every guide and comment I've read states that Attenuate is OP (especially with Seal Fate) and worthy of being a Paradox Mage's primary source of damage. But having tried it, so far it seems like a mediocre DoT on a class capable of amazing DPS with the likes of Gravity Spike and Echoes from the Past. I'm sure it's capable of great damage figures with enough duration from Seal Fate, but I feel like I'd die of old age (or, more likely, of the monster I'm fighting) before all of that damage actually gets dealt.

What am I missing?

[0player]

It's about as powerful as DoT come, and thanks to the short duration, Seal Fate can nearly double its damage output easily.
Chronomancers have the tools for recovering in a fight without teleporting out (the safe haven spell, the wall spell, 3000 shields, etc.) so you're pretty good at fighting the war of attrition. It's surefire.

[tabs]

Did you read the part where attenuate can instantly kill any target after it falls below 20% hp? Cause that is epic, and it happens more often than you'd think, in my experience.

Also, it heals you if you have Reality Smearing, and you should.

[bpat]

I believe Attenuate stacks damage and refreshes duration when you cast it on someone who already has the debuff. You can do this easily with Seal Fate which lets you rack up a ton of damage. Also AoE and healing is nice.

[jenx]

Five critical reasons:

1. As said, under 20% it can instakill
2. As said, it heals you
3. As said, reapplying stacks it (think: temporal fugue )
4. As your paradox gets higher, the dmg output gets higher. Like, really really higher
5. The extra turns from seal fate extend the SAME level of dmg. So let's say you do 4,000 dmg over 4 turns - 1,000 per turn. If seal fate hits for 4 extra turns, you get 1,000 per turn for 8 turns = 8,000 dmg.

Enjoy!

[GlassGo]

6. You can descrease cd for Attenuate and get evem MORE damage!