Stone Curse

Stone Curse is a spell in Diablo I, and, Hellfire spells aside, the only type of Crowd Control effect that does not appear in subsequent games (effectively being replaced with Freeze and Stun, and arguably reborn as Petrify in Diablo IV).

General Information
Stone Curse, when cast, temporarily turns the target into stone (visually, it gives them a grey appearance). No creature has resistance to this spell, save the Dark Lord of Terror and Na-Krul, as well as players. The target cannot move or attack, making them easy prey. Duration grows with the spell level, to a maximum of 12 seconds. Damage taken will not break the curse prematurely.

The usefulness of this spell is only offset by its tremendous Mana cost, and the fact that it has to be cast again to continuously keep the target paralyzed. It is therefore most effective against single powerful foes, such as. It cannot be applied to an already petrified monster until the previous Stone Curse wears off.

Immunities are ignored by this spell, and the Armor Class of the victim will be decreased to 0 for the duration. They remain material objects, and must be walked around by other monsters. A row of stoned monsters can provide a useful barrier or wall against enemies.

Monsters that are already petrified, or which are charging or phasing in or out, are temporarily immune to Stone Curse. Mages will dodge it when teleporting, for example.

Unsurprisingly, it also does not work on a, although it is hard to think of a reason to petrify it anyway. However, Winged Demons can be turned to stone with Stone Curse, and in that case, they will not regenerate lost Life any faster than in their normal state.

, when cast on a monster under Stone Curse effect, will instantly break the Stone Curse, removing it from the victim.

Monsters killed while under the effect of Stone Curse will not give players any experience.

Duration:
 * 4.8 + (0.8 x Spell Level) seconds (12 sec maximum)

As such, Stone Curse reaches its maximum duration at Spell Level 9, and its lowest cost even earlier, so there is little point in upgrading it afterwards.