Shattered Kingdoms

What is the different between 'magical resistance' and 'magical protection'. Resistance is all spells and protection is just harmful spells? Eh?
Why is one desirable and the other not (which will probably become clear in the answer to the first question)?

Also, does the 'protection' spell work against melee and magic of the opposite aura?

Magical resistance is exactly that -- ALL spells.

Magical protection is basically a thicker armor against magical attacks: it reduces the damage you take in from spells AND magical attacks from weapons.

Protection is (I believe) is just a magical protection boost that checks against opposite auras (or if you're a grey, half of each aura). It sort of like armor and how its a dodge boost. Or spellward and magical resistance.

In the past, MP was more desireable because MR meant you could resist healing. As a warrior, it was absolutely deadly. Any competent warrior would make sure that they would have no more than 1 rune of MR on their entire suit because the risk of resisting something as integral as a heal in battle would be too great. Now that there's been an tweak to MR, I don't know -- but I would still assume that MR would still be bad for that type of class. (However MR has GREATLY increased the awesomeness of enchanting MR on Necro's and Sorcs.)

Why specifically those two classes? A play a warlock, would MR be good for me too?

Because sorcs and necros get Spell Ward which adds a crapload of MR to them.

MR is basicall a % based thing and it takes an awful lot to be really effective. Spellward on top of having greater resistance to each piece is the only way to have any consistancy to knowing you're protected.

It is my experience that MR on armor pieces assist in defense against magical weapons as well. This may be a quirk of trying to associate, and wrongly so. So don't hold it against me if it is faulty please!!

Yup. If a darkie has a lot of MP on his/her suit, hammer of light will do very little damage.

Magical Resistance is a chance to resist all spells except magma spray, even beneficial ones. The drawbacks to MR are obviously the chance to resist heals and other beneficial spells. MR also does nothing to lessen spell damage if you are hit by a spell. The bonuses include a full resist to a spell you save against. Meaning you take 0 damage. MR is all or nothing.

Magical Protection is always active, think of it as a passive buff. It will lower the damage of any offensive spell you are hit with, and lessen the damage you take from magical weapons. If you have enough MP on your suit you have a chance to take 0 damage from offensive spells. MP also does not affect beneficial spells such as heals. MP however does not help you save against instant kill or fail/succeed spells such as petrification, charm person, dispel magic, any sort of spell that places an effect on you without doing damage.

The popular line of thinking is that necros and sorcerors should go for MR while all the other classes should load MP. Given that both necros and sorcs have spell ward, which further adds to their MR.

Having played a couple GM sorcs myself, I'm of the opinion that sorcs should go MP/saves as well, leaving only necros to stack full MR. If you can enchant, there is no reason to take the slacker route and go MR. With enough time invested into a suit a sorceror stacking MP and saves can become immune to pretty much every spell out there, and still have the benefit of not resisting heals and beneficial spells.

Only now if you resist a heal you still get healed because of the absorbtion factor.

If I'm interpreting this new change correctly that is.

Really? With MR? I haven't read any of the new changes.

I believe the affect you are talking about only comes from stat trains in MR.