Just started Arcanum.... need some explanations please

Discussion in 'Arcanum Hints & Tips' started by jwh, Apr 8, 2008.

Remove all ads!
Support Terra-Arcanum:

GOG.com

PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!
  1. jwh

    jwh New Member

    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2008
    I keep seeing armor, like Dread Armor or Barbarian Armor, that says Magic Power 100% .... what does this mean? Does it affect my fatigue? What are the difference magic types/ratings on items I can expect to avoid confusion?

    I saw references here (while searching) that talk about mana.... is this on other items? (I tried finding the Dread Helm but the Wise Woman didn't have it at the time) or does Dread Armor somehow help a spell caster?

    Once someone has a high tech rating will my magic still affect them - or should I also specialize in a combat skill (throw, bow, melee) ?

    I was going to play a "pure" mage but noticed a few times that my magic doesn't seem to work.... for example: I found a building in Tarant (I've only played about 7 or so hours and am level 10 or so) with a locked door and unlocked it with a spell. I tried summoning an Ogre to protect me and he would appear and immediately disappear??? Then out came mechanized spider things and my magic seemed weird??

    Thanks!

    J
     
  2. team a

    team a New Member

    Messages:
    580
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    May 10, 2007
    Hopefully this will clear up some of your questions.

    In general, if you are good at technology, magic items will not give the bonuses they say they will, and if you are a mage, technological items will cause critical failure if you use them. How magically or technologically inclined you are can be seen on the far right of your character sheet and is referred to as MA (positive for mages, negative for technologists).

    The bonus on magic items is something like this: "AC 15 (+30) DR 5 (+3)" etc. This means that for a very powerful mage, the armor will give 45 AC and 8 DR. But, for someone who isn't magically inclined at all or who is technologically inclined, the armor won't give the bonus in parentheses. So, it'll be just AC 15 DR 5. The magic power part is what percentage of the bonus you get. So, if it says 50% for you, then you get a +15 bonus to the AC and a +1-2 bonus on the DR.

    Technoligcal items like weapons and armor can work for people who aren't inclined in eaither direction - hence the rise of technology in Arcanum - but for mages, they'll start to cause critical failure, generally meaning that you're really going to hurt yourself when in combat, and your spells will fail more.

    There are some places that affect your MA. For example, in Tarant, your MA will drop, because it's a technological place. Your spells are much more likely to fail, and they're especially unlikely to work on mechanized arachnids, which are themselves technoligcally oriented, so be careful.

    Dread armor is the only kind of "dread" item - there are no helmets, gloves, etc, although there are different variations on the barbarian chestpiece. In Arcanum, there are generally no sets of armor, although for magic users, there is a scale from "charmed" to "arcane" (being the best) that indicates how good the enchantment is, and how much bonus you get. For these items, there are gloves, rings, chest armor, weapons, etc, but don't go looking for a whole set.
     
  3. jwh

    jwh New Member

    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2008
    Thank you for the reply!

    One last question: so are there items that will increase my fatigue? My resevoir for magic casting? And, if so, any minor spoilers for the beginning of a game where I could find one?
     
  4. team a

    team a New Member

    Messages:
    580
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    May 10, 2007
    There is generally only one way to do that, and it's weapons. Magic items that are charmed, magick, mystic, arcane, etc. and some special ones have a built-in mana reservoir. To find out if the weapon you have has one, equip it, and the part of the interface in the lower left that normally shows your money/ammo will show the amount of "fatigue" stored in the item. When you cast a spell, it'll use up this first, then go to your fatigue, and the mana charge comes back over time. Don't expect to get much, though; arcane items only have 16, and i think charmed have 4. Items can also have spells on them; next to the 10 quick-use buttons, on the left is a circle that looks like decoration, but can become the magic symbol with certain magic weapons, and clicking on it will give you the list of spells.

    So, in general, don't expect much fatigue. Every time you add willpower and constitution, your fatigue increases slightly, but not many items add to these. If you want more fatigue, you can put points in constitution, which regenerates your fatigue quicker, and try to find some blue fatigue potions. If you're in a long dungeon, you can't rest or advance time to get your fatigue back, so you're gonna want to ration it, and sometimes take a breather - head outside to rest, or even let your game idle for a few minutes while your character catches his breath.
     
  5. jwh

    jwh New Member

    Messages:
    37
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2008
    Another question: I have tried Conjure Spirit - but all it does is bring up red ghosts who say "spam" comments of no real value.... is this spell worth anything???

    Okay, one more, for players who have played through - is disintegrate or quench life more effective?
     
  6. rroyo

    rroyo Active Member

    Messages:
    3,319
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2006
    Before it gets forgotten: Welcome to the forum, jwh!

    I rarely play as a mage but, once in a while....
    Here's my thoughts on your questions.

    With the Conjure Spirit, there are NPC's here and there who actually have dialog scripted for their ghosts. But they are far and few between.
    Gaylin, in Shrouded Hills, is one and you can use the spell to torture the location of Qintarra from her.

    As for which spell is more effective - For me at least, it depends upon what I'm battling. Assuming the situation justifies the use of such power:
    If it's just a monster - hit it with Disintegrate and call the job done.
    If it's a bandit or such with possible loot - that's where I'd use Quench Life. It leaves all their personal effects in place.
     
  7. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

    Messages:
    10,796
    Media:
    34
    Likes Received:
    164
    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2002
    Actually, I never bother with Constitution when I play as a mage. Regular elven coughing-blood-when-I-run-up-stairs constitution of 6 works just fine. Fatigue potions are cheap and it's easy to buy large quantities from vendors, and once your level is high enough the fatigue increase from leveling offsets the low Con. The only real downside is the regeneration, but I probably wouldn't have the patience to wait for mana to grow naturally even if I were a half-orc female with 22 Con.

    Having a few Arcane staffs in your inventory certainly helps though.
     
  8. Haron

    Haron New Member

    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2008
    To put it simply:

    Use Disintigrate on things you REALLY REALLY want dead or can't loot anyway . It costs a ton of fatigue but it instantly kills any unit in hthe game.

    Quench life is useless.
    Better spam Lightning bolt from force school, or if you want to have a REALLY easy game spam Harm. Yes, the first spell in dark necro school. Quench costs 50 ftg (ftg-fatigue). If you use that 50 ftg for harm you will do about 10x times more dmg :) . But I would not do it, makes the game dull.
     
Our Host!