The following is for you wizards out there that want to create
and develop a wizard that will come into their power fully as they approach
maturity around level 30 or so. Following this path will not be easy. Your
first several levels will be slow and frustrating at times. But as you grow
up your power will grow as well. In time you will reap the benefits of choosing
a path that leads to being optimized later on when you are older rather than
take other viable paths that allow for faster and easier initial advancement.
The following is just one of many strategies that wizards can use to enjoy
a fulfilling career in Elanthia.
I. Rolling: Its more than a
random event.
First thing you will see in the Character Manager is a set of 10 numbers. Their starting values are weighted so that the first three numbers can be as high as 90, the next three up to 60, the next 3 up to 50 and the last number up to a 100. Most wizards starting out new without a supporting family will want to start with 4 numbers that are 80 or greater and 3 numbers that are 55 or better. Put the highest number in Discipline, next highest in DEX, then Reflexes, then Aura. Put the three 55-60s, in Strength , Logic and Wisdom. Put the next best numbers in IN and CH. Put the lowest one in CO. Aura and IN are prime stats for Wizards and will not only get a boost of +10 but also have a faster rate of stat gain. All stats have the potential to reach 100.
Stat gain rate is very much profession dependent. Aura, IN, DEX, and Logic gain at the fastest rate. Strength, Wisdom, Charisma, CO the slowest. Reflexes and Discipline not as slow. The above stat distribution is intended for optimizing the wizard's stats/skills for when they reach maturity at around level 30 given the constraint of the need to be able to hunt effectively at lower levels. DI gains slowly yet is a determinant of both Physical and Mental Training points, so the highest number goes to DI. Higher numbers in DEX, RE and ST will allow a young wizard to survive the lower levels. By the time this young wizard reaches level 30 their Aura and DE, the two stats that matters the most to a wizard will be 100. IN gets a lower number because it gains at a much faster rate than Wisdom and the initial starting number will get a +10 boost since it, along with Aura, is a prime stat for wizards.
Wizards derive their mana points from their Aura stat. The best you can
do is 3 mana points per level with an Aura of 100. As long as you put
a 80 or better in Aura, you will do fine since the starting Aura will be
boosted by +10. Dexterity is to wizards what Strength is to warriors. The
DE stat bonus plus the racial stat bonus is added to your training in Aim
Spells skill and that is the wizards Attack Strength There are eight races to choose from. The hafling is the most difficult
to advance at the lower levels with their -20 racial ST bonus. They also
have the potential to be the most powerful bolt casting wizards at the highest
levels. Dark Elves are an excellent choice for wizards. Their only real
downside is their slow Spirit level recover rate. The sylvan kind is also
a good race for wizards. So are the half-elves. All the elf races make fine
wizards. Highman are more suitable for warrior wizards. Only reason to be
a common man or a dwarf wizard is for role-playing. Most skills require a combination of Physical and Mental Training
points. Higher stats means more TPs with a possible max of 60 MTPs and 60
PTPs. That's with a 100 in every Stat. The above suggested initial stat
distribution will provide about 40 or so TPS of each type. Because some
of the lower numbers are in Stats that have the faster rate of gain, the
available TPS will grow rapidly. The Physical Training points are derived
from your Aura, ST, RE, DI, DE and CO stats. The Mental TPs from the Aura,
DI, LO, IN, CH and WI stats. . You can also convert PTPs to MTPs at a cost
of 2 PTPs for each MTPs gained. The skills wizards train in have a higher
MTPs component so they end up trading most of their PTPs for MTPs.
Double train in Spell Aim every level. Train in Shield Use every level.
Learn 2 spells every level. Train in Edged Weapons every level till level
20 or so. The Edged Weapon skill will help you advance at the lower levels
when a young wizardling has little mana and never enough wands. It is possible
to do without weapons training altogether but it will make advancing at lower
levels very slow and difficult. Train once per level in Magic Items and
Scroll Skill. Train in Physical every level till you have 30 or more hit
points. Then train in it now and then till you have at least 100. Climbing,
Swimming , and Perception are important secondary skills. No need to train
every level in those skill but try and train every other level to every
third level in them. If there are TPs left after training in the above skills
then start training in Mana Share, First Aid and Trading which are tertiary
skills. Mana Share allows you to send and receive mana from others. With
24 ranks <100%>, Mana Share allows you to send and receive
100% of the mana as long as the other party also has 100% skill in Mana Share.
Start out by wearing light leather Wizards have three spell circles to learn from: Wizard's Base, Major
Elemental, and Minor Elemental. What spells to learn and in which order is
as much a matter of style as it is substance. The wizards primary attack
spells, the Spell Aim bolt spells from MinorShock to MajorShock are in the
Wizard's Base list. Do learn at least one spell each level from the
base list till you learn Call Familiar, the 20th spell. The Minor Circle
has the better protective and offensive spells, crowned with the Elemental
Targeting and Elemental Barrier spells which currently provides +1 times
level of caster to their AS and DS/TD respectively. At level 50, that means
+50 to AS, all types of DS and TD for a duration of 30 seconds per level
of caster! The Minor also has the Word of Disarm and Word of Opening and
Essence Wave. The Major Elemental List has the better utility spells such
as Magic Disk and Charge Item. The Sleep spells and Strength spells are
very nice too. So are TelekineticDisarm and RapidFire. SleepTrue then a
MeteorStorm is the most deadly combination in Gemstone. Nothing can survive
that. At first you will only be able to learn 2 spells per level but there
is flexibility on which spells to learn and in what order. But if you plan
to forgo weapons training to free up even more TPs for that third spell
every few levels, then you will need the protective spells in the Minor
Elemental list.
Now that you have rolled up the wizard of your hearts desire you
will want to use the ADV command and visit all those places. Along the way
you not only learn more about Gemstone you will also earn enough EXP to train
for level 1. Then start running errands for the clerk in the office at Moot
Hall. Try to discover the various locations that the clerk sends you without
ESPing or yelling for directions. Yelling and ESPing for such directions
is consider rude and is very annoying to others and part of this errand
thing is for you to learn how to get around on your own and becoming self
reliant. Never ever push the Call GM button to ask where the runner is or
for other directions. That's not what that buttons there for. Do push it
if you need help with a system bug or problems caused by bugs or system slowdowns
and crashes. And to report abuse of game mechanics by thieves and other
inappropriate behavior by players. Remember we have players of all ages here,
from preteens to blackbeards so use "G" rate language at all times.
About now you should be well on your way to level 2. Make sure you go
to the temple and see the goddess behind the tapestry. Look for the black
arch. Listen carefully to the folks behind the tapestry. Deeds are a must
before you get to level 2. Everyone gets 5 free deaths till they reach level
2. Then each death costs deeds. If you no have deeds, you no return from
the dead. So gets lots of deeds before level 2. Never ever have less than
3 deeds. The best way to pay for deeds is using cheap gems and stones. If
you must, you can use silvers. For the very first deed at level one, a few
hundred silvers should do it. Each addition deed will cost more. You can
with a bit of trial and error discover the formula for how much more those
additional deeds cost. The level of the player is also a component of that
cost. This formula seems to work till you reach level 6 and/or have more
than 6 deeds. Then the deeds cost more than this formula calls for.
Young wizardling will find hunting rats the easiest. At least till
level 3 or 4. Then they may want to try out the lesser orcs on mine road,
the hobgoblins or the Grave Yard. The skeletons, phantoms, ghouls and goblins
outside of the crypt are good EXP and so are the level 6 mummies inside
the crypt. There are a number of areas that you will want to check out.
Preferably with someone who already been there..;) Find Zepath's maps
in the
Information libraries and keep them handy.
The combat mechanics is at the same time simple and complex...a rather
elegant system actually. Start with getting a good grasp of the Stance system.
There are 5 levels of Stance, from Stance Defensive to Stance Offensive.
Stance DEF means you are using 100% of your offensive weapon skill to parry
melee attacks. You can lower your parry by increments of 20% all the way
to parry 0 by going to Stance Offensive. This is the berserk mode. You are
now using all of your offensive skill to hit your target. The most common
combat style for young wizards is to use a Magic Edged sword in right hand
and a shield in left hand. Stay at Stance DEF while looking for a monster.
See monster, Prep Minor Shock and while spell is preparing, go to Stance
OFF, swing sword at monster, cast MinorShock at monster then swing sword
at monster again. Once monster is dead, go to Stance Def. Before looking
for another monster. Hint: Type Stance What to have the 5 Stances listed
for you. In the more dangerous areas where the monsters AS is such they can
hit you at Stance DEF, then you will have to either set parry to a higher
level or use the combat tactic called "Parry Tagging." This is where you
know the monsters round time is greater than yours so that you can wait at
parry DEF till the monster attacks, go to Stance OFF and attack the monster
and return to Stance DEF before the monster can attack again.
There are several types of attacks. The three main ones I'll discuss here
are: Melee attacks with hand held weapons and claws and fangs etc; Aim Spell
attacks used by wizards; and CS attacks used by sorcerers and clerics and
others.
Dart gets his sword from his large sack and removes his shield from his
back.
Dart now has a sword in his *right* hand and a shield in his *left* hand.
ATTACK Dart swings a sword at a giant rat:
AS: +40 vs DS: -10 with AvD: +35 + d100 roll: 49 = +134
........and hits for 11 points of damage!
Slashing blow to rat chest knocks foe back a few paces!
AS is Attack Strength and is the sum of Dart's Racial strength and Stat
strength bonus plus skill in Edged Weapons and any magical effects. For this
illustration lets say Dart is a level 2 half-elf with an 80 ST stat with
3 ranks of Edged Weapons Skill and using a sword that he cast Magic Edge
on. Half-elves have a +5 racial Strength bonus. With a ST of 80 he would
get another +5 to his Strength, for a total of +10 Strength bonus. Add +15
for the 3 ranks in Edged Weapons to reach an AS of +25. Then add the +15
for the Magic Edge on the sword for an AS of +40.
Each monster has been assigned a Defensive Strength Spell Aim AS is the sum of a wizards Spell Aim skill, there racial and
stat dexterity bonus and any magical bonus:
Dart checks to see if he has enough power points by typing MANA.
Prep 901
You concentrate on a Minor Shock spell....
[Spell preparation time 10 seconds]
Cast You gesture at a giant rat.
You hurl a small surge of electricity at a giant rat!
AS: +50 vs DS -10 with AvD: +45 + d100 roll: +50 = +155
........ and hits for 17 points of damage!
Heavy spark to the left leg. The giant rat cringes in surprise.
The giant rat falls back into a heap and dies.
Lets say Dart here is a level 2 half-elf wizard with a 90 in Dexterity
with 6 ranks of Spell Aim Skill. That's +30 for 6 ranks of Spell Aim, +5
for the half-elf racial dexterity bonus and +15 for the 90 DEX stat bonus
for a total Spell Aim as of 50. And again, after the AS and DS and the AvD
and the d100 roll is summed up, the end results must be over `100. It was
+155 above and the rat is dead. Keep in mind that bolt attacks that use Spell
Aim cannot be parried like melee attacks. Only way to defend against bolt
attacks is with shield and Shield Use skill, and magical DS enchanted into
your armor, cloak etc. and magical protective spells.The racial and stat
reflex bonus is also added to your Aim Spell DS.
Note that Dart checked his mana. Wizards must know at all times how much
mana they have. There is a Mana Pulse every 2 minutes. If you are out in
the field you regain 10% of your max mana points. If at a node 20% every
2 minutes. So by level 20, most wizards will have a max mana of 60.
<20X3> and will regain 6 mana points out in the field and 12 points
if at a node. A level 70 wizard will have a max of 210 and regain 21 out
in the field and 42 mana points at a node every 2 minutes! So do what I do...get
a good stop watch and know when the next mana pulse is due..;)
The CS spells are the most dangerous in Gemstone other than the Major
Elemental Meteor Storm spell. Casting Strength is a function of the casters
level and the number of spells ranks they have learned. It looks like this:
CS= ( 3 X level ) + ( 1 X rank in spell list ) + ( .5 X all other spell
ranks ) +Aura
Rank in spell lists is the number of the spell ranks known in the same
list that the CS spell you are casting is in.
Aura racial and Stat bonus for Wizards and others of the Elemental Realm.
Wisdom is used by Clerics and Healers and Rangers instead of Aura.
The target of the CS attack defends with their Target Defense
Wands can be almost as dear to wizards as their familiars. Especially
during the lower levels. The most common are the iron and silver wands that
have 10-15 charges of minor shock when fresh. Gold wands have the spell Minor
Fire and metal has ColdBall spells embedded in them. These wands usually
hold 10-15 charges when fresh but a lord level wizards can use the Charge
Item spell to charge them up to 40 charges. Then duplicate them once to end
up with two 40 charge wands. But doing a charge item session is not just
a simple matter of knowing the spell. You have to have a diamond or a emerald
to go to 40 charges and a grot potion to prepare the gem. Then if the gem
had magical potential you now have after a 8-12K of silver investment, a
Charge Item orb that can last anywhere from 1 second to 15 minutes depending
on the quality of the gems magical potential. Finally, the mana that goes
into the items being charged has to come from the wizard. 40 charges in a
gold wand takes 240 mana points. To put 40 charges in a ruby amulet takes
2000 mana points. MinorFire is a level 6 spell and the Wall of Force in the
ruby amulet is a level 50 spell.
There are two things at work when using the wands with bolt attacks. You
first have to fire it off. Then once you fire it off you have to be able
to aim it well enough to hit the target.
Dart get his iron wand from his large sack.
Wave Wand AT You wave the iron wand at the giant rat.
[d100 = 37 + skill bonus 15 + mod 30 - spell level 1 = 96]
The spell does not fire, but you do learn it will cast Minor Shock.
>wave wand at rat<
You wave the iron wand at the giant rat.
[d100 = 42 + skill bonus 15 + mod 30 - spell level 1 = 101]
You hurl a small surge of electricity at a giant rat!
AS: +50 vs DS: -10 with AvD: +45 + d100 roll +40 = +145
.........and hits for 19 points of damage!
Painful shock to rats tail. Rat jumps in surprise.
The first line you see above after Dart waves the wand at the rat is the
calculation to see if Dart fires off the wand. The d100 roll is added to
Darts +15 skill in Magic Item Use plus Dart gets a +30 modification to the
roll since he already knows the MinorShock spell. Then the level of the
spell is subtracted and then Darts Aura bonus is added After the wand fires, then the AS and DS comes into play. And it is exactly
the same calculations as when Dart prepared a MinorShock and then casted
it at the rat. So to be able to use bolt type wands you need both Magic Item
skill and Spell Aim skill. You will also note that when Dart failed to fire
off the wand on the first try he was able to wave it again immediately and
without incurring a round time. Dart at level 2 with an aura bonus of only
15 and only 3 ranks of Magic Item Use skill, already has a 58% chance to
fire off that wand. So stop double training in Magic Item use! Same with
Scroll reading skill. Scroll reading is similar to firing off wands. First
you have to have the skill to read the scroll. If you can decipher the spell
number on the scroll then with just the scroll in your hands INVOKE <
spell/ > and Cast < target >.
Gemstone uses a 10 level EXP curve. If the player is the same level
as the monster than it is worth 100 Field Experience Points. For every level
the monster is higher than the player, add 10 points. For every level the
monster is lower than the player, subtract 10. Once the player is 10 levels
above the monster then that player cannot earn experience from it. As your
Field EXP reservoir fills up your state of mind will move from Clear as a
Bell to muddle to Must Rest. You do not have to rest. You can keep hunting
and suffer no ill effects even if it says your are state of mind says Must
Rest. Just means that if your Head is at Must Rest, you will not gain more
Field Experience from kills till your head gets back to at least Numbed.
A percentage of the Field EXP is absorb once a minute and that's when the
player actually gets credited with earning that experience. The fuller your
head, the larger the chunk that is absorb each minute. So you can actually
earn EXP faster by staying at numbed by staying out on the hunt than to run
back to town to absorb. Though, you do absorb larger chunks of EXP if you
are at a node like the Town Square. But hunting 100% of the time gets old
eventually. Taking breaks when your head fills up and role-playing and just
having fun with your fellow adventurers adds a lot to the Gemstone Experience.
Up to 8 players can earn experience from a single kill. If all did their
share of the damage of the kill then all 8 would earn as much experience
as if they had killed the monster by themselves. So if 8 level 2 players
attacked a level 4 lesser orc and each then 10 points or so of damage then
everyone would get 120 points of Field EXP. That's assuming the orc has a
total of about 80 hit points. Note that I used the term "10 points or so."
Its not necessary to be exact. As long as you do *about* your share of the
damage you will get full credit for the kill. Even if one of the above
players did only 5 points of damage, they would still earn 60 EXP points.
So if there are 6 adventurers in a small area, all 6 would do better to
form a hunting party and working together and sharing the EXP, Loot and
Fun! The hardest thing to share is the fame which is earned only by the player
that deals the killing blow. But even fame tends to even out over the long
run. Nothing more silly than having a bunch of players running around madly,
each rushing to kill a monster before someone else does, instead of taking
the opportunity to make friends and having fun by helping each other by working
together as a team. Many players now in lower and mid levels are getting
frustrated and becoming antisocial by competing for kills and loot when
they all could share in the fun loot and experience. Adventurers must
never forget that Gemstone is a Multi-Player Online world that focuses on
Multi-Players vs. Monsters, *NOT* Players Vs Players.
II. Training: Flexibility is the key to long term viability
III. ADVICE: All new players need it.
IV. Game Mechanics: Got Magics, Got Skills. What now?
which is the sum of 3 times the target's level plus any magical
protection plus their Aura or Wisdom bonus depending on the nature of the
CS spell.
V. Experience: Sharing is the thing.
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