Spells[]
On your turn, a spell bar at the bottom of your screen shows which spells you have available. Unavailable spells in your spellbook will be shaded out. Some spells can be used a limited number of times, or must be charged for a certain number of turns before they can be used. Hovering the mouse over a spell will display its name and description and, where relevant, the number of charges remaining and turns remaining for it to charge.
Spells have three levels:
- Level 1 - These spells are available as soon as you purchase the respective spellbook, which costs 5 wands. They are found on the left hand side of the spellbook.
- Level 2 - These spells cost 2 wands each, and you must also have the corresponding level 1 spell in your spell list in order to use them. The corresponding spell will be exactly on the opposite side of the book.
- Level 3 - These spells cost 3 wands each, and you must use five spells (not counting level 3 spells) from the same spellbook in order to use them. They are usually single-use. They are located directly on top and the bottom of the spellbook.
Number of spells in each spellbook:
|
Spellbook |
Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
7 |
5 |
0 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
5 |
5 |
2 | |
|
Total |
52 |
50 |
18 |
In addition to its spells, each book except Arcane also has a familiar which grants special abilities to players using the entire book. To gain these abilities it is necessary to sacrifice health, in 20 point increments up to a total of 100.
Ball Spells[]
Balls are projectiles which follow a parabolic trajectory. They are generally among the basic spells in a spellbook. Weapons are aimed and fired with the mouse; the weapon's velocity is controlled by how long the left mouse button is held. You can also right click to cancel fire. Balls explode (or, in a few cases, have another effect) at the point of their first impact with the terrain, an Arcanist, or a minion. If they fall into water or leave the playing area to the left or right then they have no effect. The one exception is the Water Ball: if its first impact is with the water, twice the usual number (12) of water drops bounce off the water.
Bomb Spells[]
Bombs behave similarly to balls, except they bounce instead of exploding on impact. They explode after 5 seconds. Some bombs bounce more than others.[citation needed] Bombs can be very useful for enemies which are at the bottom of a pit, especially as many bombs have a cluster effect. They can be difficult to use against enemies who do not have obstacles close to them. It is highly recommended that you do not use bomb spells in close combat, because the damage done to your opponent may equally be dealt upon your own character. Bombs can also stick to your opponent if used with low power (E.g. Shock bomb will stick on someone if thrown without holding the power gauge and is easier if used with flight). Verification needed
Arrow Spells[]
Arrow spells are essentially homing ball attacks. These spells are excellent at damaging opponents at a distance and can be very accurate when used correctly. However, these attacks curve, which can make their direction difficult to predict without practice, and will be stopped by any obstacle. Players must first click the homing target, and then fire the spell as with the ball spells. These spells are often fired at full power upwards, to allow the arrow to curve over the top of the landscape.
Arrows follow a three-stage flight pattern. First, the spell flies in a parabolic arc. Second, the arrow makes a circular arc, changing its course to fly directly at the target. Third, it goes straight towards the target. Most arrows have a turning circle with diameter approximately the width of 20 Arcanists. Arcane Arrow, however, has a turning circle diameter of about 3 people, making it the only arrow spell to be able to "turn on a dime".
If, for some reason, the arrow does not strike anything when it reaches its target, it will curve back, making a circle back to the target. It will do this several times, with a bit of variation, until the arrow loses its energy. At this point, it reverts to a parabolic trajectory.
Bolt Spells[]
Bolt spells are similar to firearms: they are aimed in one direction and always fire at a set power with a number of shots, normally around 10. They are aimed and fired with the mouse. Some care is required as shots may damage you if you stand too close: in this case, you will usually cease firing. If you stand really close then with some bolt spells the shots may go completely through your intended target, who remains completely unscathed. It is possible to change the power used to fire shots by moving the cursor into your character and the aiming bar should either grow larger or extend farther. The bolt will then go farther.
Enemies may be knocked away mid-shot with these spells, so it is advisable to back them against a piece of scenery.
Arena Spells[]
These spells affect all the players in the game. No aiming is required for them.
Targeted Spells[]
These spells are not directed from your character. Instead, they come from the terrain, for example, from the sky or the water. For this reason, they are very useful for players hiding in an enclosed space, as they do not require any line of sight from the player, although they may require a line of sight from somewhere else (for example, attacks from the sky can be blocked by scenery above the player).
Personal Spells[]
These spells affect the player that casts them. They are often some kind of defence against attacks. All personal spells, with the exception of Lichdom, Shining Power and Arcane Energiser, are cancelled when they enter the aura of a Sanctuary. Also, all shields except Static Shield are destroyed if their owner falls into the water or off the side of the playing area.
Minions[]
Minions are creatures that you summon to aid you in different ways. Control of these creatures is cycled by using the N or C keys. Minions are moved in the same manner as your Arcanist, although some have limited abilities (for example, many giants cannot jump very well). Minions will generally have a limited move-set consisting of 1-4 moves, which may use ammunition from your Arcanist's spells.
Some minions are capable of transporting their owner or certain other minions belonging to their owner. To mount such a minion it suffices to bring the rider and the mount into contact by moving your player into the minion you wish to mount. To move the pair, the mount should be controlled. To dismount, use a jump - generally a long jump, as a high jump will usually result in landing on the mount again. A mounted minion will take damage in place of its rider (so double damage overall); however, the rider may be knocked off of a mount by a strong impact.
Most minions become zombified when killed by death damage. For more information, see below.
Most minion summoning spells have a recharge time of 5 turns. However, some stronger minions have one use only, and Brine Goblins can be summoned every turn.
Note: There are currently three kinds of minions in Arcanists.
1. Arcane Minions- These minions can not be turned into undead minons (via Aura of Decay, Raise Dead, etc.).
2. Living Minions- These minions can be zombified and controlled by other players via death damage.
3. Undead Minions- These minions take 5 damage at the start of the controlling Arcanist's turn. The undead are healed by death damage (this makes it impossible for another player to take control of an undead minion), and take double damage from light damage.
Towers[]
Towers (except the Clock Tower) render the Arcanist immobile. They have a limited amount of health of their own, which is added to that of the player for display purposes. This is the only way to make your Arcanist appear to reach health of over 250. When damage is dealt to an Arcanist in a tower the tower's health is depleted rather than the Arcanist's; when the tower's health reaches 0, the tower vanishes. If more damage is dealt by a single source (e.g. a single fire ball) than is needed to destroy the tower, the surplus damage is not carried over to the Arcanist.
A tower spell cannot be cast if the tower would overlap a living organism (an Arcanist, a minion, or a living tree).
Towers are damaged by the Quake spell (except the Clock Tower), and many spells from the Book of Stone have increased damage against towers such as Pebble Shot.
Pressing any jump key will cause you to leave your tower.
Note that although selecting Arcane Gate while in a tower will give a large targeting circle, the Arcane Tower is the only one which you can take with you when gating.
Damage Types[]
Many damage-dealing spells affect all Arcanists and minions equally, but others have special effects.
| Type of damage | Spells | Special effects |
|---|---|---|
| Arcane Damage |
|
Does not hurt the caster, with the exception of imps' self-destruct; heals Imps, Arcane Towers and Arcane Master Moderators. |
| Pebbles |
|
Double damage to towers. |
| Storm Damage |
|
Cyclops and Storm Dragons are immune. |
| Snow Damage |
|
Heals Frost Giants, Sylphs, Frost Dragons, and Ice Castles. |
| Death Damage |
|
Will zombify a minion instead of killing it if the minion isn't already a zombie or an arcane minion. It also heals undead minions and liches. |
| Light Damage |
|
Deals twice the usual damage to liches and zombie minions.*The healing sphere heals 25 health; however it deals 50 damage and provides high knock-back against undead minions and liches. |
| Water Damage* |
|
This damage is reduced/prevented by the Seahorse familiar. At level 3, no damage is received from Deluge or English Summer; and at level 5 the user is completely immune to all water damage spells.
*The information available in game incorrectly states that Maelstrom and Ocean's Fury deal water damage. There is a conceptual difference in that they use salt water rather than fresh water; the damage that they do is indistinguishable from normal damage. |