A question about magic

[Saber Cherry]

Originally posted by OG_Gleep:
Can someone who is familliar with the magic system, post some of their favorite BF spell combos, along with any details such as Nation, Magic req etc, Gem Req combos, and No Gem Req combos, and also any dramatic results that you experienced so we know what to look for.

Ulm: I research enough construction to forge Earth Boots (level 4). Then I build Earth Boots, giving me level-3 Earth, and forge a Dwarven Hammer (forge bonus). Then I mass produce boots for the smiths.

What next? ...=) Blade Wind, of course. Research evocation for Blade Wind, and have a couple Smiths with Boots accompany your armies... one such mage can annihilate an entire enemy army, especially if he is empowered in Earth to level 3 (effective level 4). Expecially good against hordes of undead. Blade Wind rarely hurts Ulmish troops. A single Blade Wind Smith is easily worth 100 archers... and that's BEFORE he gets Heroic Quickness / Endurance / Precision. And he will become heroic.

Some good battlefield spells:

Weak/Cheap/Early:

Paralyze
Blindness
Swarm
Summon Imps
Raise Dead
Holy Pyre (area 3 armor-piercing, long range)
Aim / Eagle Eyes (for mages, before damage spells)
Lightning
Fire Darts

Later/Stronger/Higher level:

Mass Protection
Legions of Steel
Wind Guide
Flaming Arrows
Relief
Terror

A lot of those can mean the difference between losing and winning with no casualties. And they're all fairly low level.

[ January 16, 2004, 22:39: Message edited by: Saber Cherry ]

[Jasper]

If you're looking for combos to convince you, there are some obvious killers. Such things as Poison Immunity + Foul Vapors, Lightning Immunity + Wrathfull Skies, or worse both.

These can be very tough to deal with if you don't have access to the defensive magics yourself. Some of the nations even _start_ with spells that can be quite effective if used well.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Hmmm, what about Petrify?

AOE spell (1 tile) with absolute precision and good range.

Fail your MR check, and you're dead.

Don't, and you're paralyzed - and thus as good as dead.

Something must be done wrt infinite paralyzis duration - as it is know, a pretender equipped with every antimagic toy you an imagine has absolutely no chance vs a naked Cyclops - or even a lowly Dwarven Smith.

[johan osterman]

The paralysation from petrify should only Last 2-4 turns.

[johan osterman]

In case you haven't noticed you can click on the paralysis symbol on the unit to check the duration of the effect.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by johan osterman:
The paralysation from petrify should only Last 2-4 turns.

Should. I've never seen an unit recover from paralysis so far. What about having your pretender being paralyzed [Edit: spell Petrify] in the 3rd round, surviving the whole battle because he regenerates hit points faster than what the opponent can throw at him, and die from autorout in the end because he can't retreat (flying pretender BTW)?

Yes, I've seen that happen. When you're paralyzed for 3 rounds, these rounds Last for the entire battle. Paralysis is bugged and needs to be fixed.

[ January 17, 2004, 00:25: Message edited by: Nagot Gick Fel ]

[johan osterman]

Paralysis from different sources is not identical. Have you actually seen the petrify paralysis effect Last indefinately.