Warrior – powerful. Faster to learn. Resistant to fire and astral.
Amazon – agile. Not afraid of water, air, or earth.
Mage – powerful magic. Resistance to fire and the astral.
Witch – resistance to all elements, except the astral.
Your choice of character determines your game strategy. A mage is superior in ranged combat and able to deal area damage spells, but can die quickly in close combat. A warrior, on the other hand, is a powerful fighter in close combat versus one target, but at long range (e.g. against flying monsters like dragon, harpies or bats) he has to use a bow or crossbow, which are quite slow.
A major advantage of mages is that they use the spells from the book, using mana (magic energy; points of magic). Once a character has read the spellbook, he remembers the spell forever and can’t lose it when he dies. So in case of the character’s death you will lose all your equipment (it will be collected in a bag at the place of your death) – and the warrior in such situation becomes completely defenseless, while the mage retains some of his potential thanks to the previously learned spells.
In addition, the mage’s equipment is cheaper and easier to obtain than the warrior’s; thus, the mage is more independent of equipment. Warriors also can use magic – one-time scrolls for their spells that don’t need mana (warriors don’t have any mana). As you can understand, this leans to problem that warrior has to spend a lot more money than mage.
But on the other side, an experienced warrior in a good armor has an impressive health reserve can deal a lot more damage to a single target than a mage of the same level of training. By the way, the weapon of the warrior can have an additional spell, such as vampirism, which drains the life of the enemy and heals the warrior.
Mages are much easier to gain experience than warriors (especially with their area damaging spells). They can immediately fight powerful trolls and ogres, while the warrior at first have to hide from them or be content with attacking them with magic scrolls. And even though in the early stages of the game scrolls do more damage than “raw” magic, with the increasing of magical experience mage will be eventually able to make devastating AoE damage.
And it’s worth mentioning the important feature of the Warrior – he can wear two more items than the mage, which provides more opportunities to combine armor and additional bonuses.
Yes, the task of choosing a character is not an easy one, what will you choose? Mage can focus on gaining experience and buying books, so when you die you won’t lose all your progress, whereas Warrior has to start almost from scratch when you lose items. On the other hand warrior is more survivable, and playing him you will die less often. If you prefer more dynamic gameplay, then Mage will be your choice; however, keep in mind that playing it requires careful micro-controlling and kiting. If you prefer a more meditative and relaxed style, then Warrior is your choice.
It is important to note that the main difference between the male classes (warrior and mage) and the female classes (amazon and witch) is protection against magic. Men do not burn or fear the astral, but are susceptible to water and air magic. Female characters are more resistant to water, lightning and earth. When creating a character, you can only choose a warrior or a mage; the amazon and witch are only available after the first playthrough of the game.
So if the character archetype is chosen, what should you do next? If you chose the Warrior, you need to decide on the main weapon, which will be easier to pump. Among options are Spear (with bonus to Attack and Defense), Swords (the most common weapon, cheap and easy to find), Clubs (easier to level up at endgame) and Axes (more damage).
Blade: This class includes daggers and all sorts of swords: short swords, long swords, bastard swords and two-handed swords. The advantage of the blade is its high precision and short interval between attacks as compared to other types of weapons. Also it’s most widespread type of weapon, easy to find…
Axe: The game features one-handed and two-handed axes. The time between axe attacks is comparatively long; the heavier the axe, the longer the interval. However, the axe inflicts the most damage of all weapon types…
Bludgeon: This class includes plain clubs, spiked clubs, maces, cudgels and morning stars. There are rumors that a lot of monsters are resistant to it, which makes it hard to master later on…
Pike: Spears and halberds belong to this class. They possess good fighting qualities and provide an advantage in defense by keeping the enemy well at a distance. Apart from Damage and Attack attributes, pikes also possess a certain Defense value. The Defense value of a pike is added to the total value of the Defense Attribute for the character. Some people say that with light pike you can read magic scrolls faster…
Shooting: This includes long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows. Shooting weapons allow attacks on distant. You can not choose this skill on character creation.
If you are a Mage, your choice is the main type of magic. You are offered to choose one of four magics: Fire, Air, Water or Earth magic; all of them got great spells in it, so choose what you really like.
FIRE
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WATER
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AIR
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EARTH
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Certain skill values directly influence the characteristics of wielded spells. Spells may affect more distant targets, inflict more damage and have longer duration. Choosing one of the magic spheres increases a mage’s ability to gain experience of this particular element faster, but this does not mean that he cannot use spells from other spheres. Just as a warrior can retrain over the course of the game and master any kind of weapon, regardless of his initial choice, so and a mage can achieve perfection in any area of magic.
Note that your character starts the game with one learned combat spell—the arrow of the element you chose when creating your character. Since on each new server all books (except for healing and the arrow of the chosen element) need to be purchased again, when choosing an element, it makes sense to consider the cost of spells, as the prices of spell books vary on different servers. For example, on the second server:
- Fire Arrow — 1.000
- Ice Arrow — 25.000
- Stone Arrow — 500
- Lightning — 9.000
And on server 7 and above, the prices are as follows:
- Fire Arrow — 1.000.000
- Ice Arrow — 7.500.000
- Stone Arrow — 500
- Lightning — 5.000.000
Therefore, by choosing the element of Water, you will save several million gold (since when entering each new server, this spell will already be learned, whereas others need to be purchased).
Moreover, the effectiveness of these spells differs significantly under various conditions. For example, dragons are vulnerable to Air magic; skeletons—to Water magic; trolls—to Fire magic, and so on. At the same time, the Earth element does not have area-of-effect attacking spells, so it is the hardest to level up at higher difficulty levels. Choosing which element to specialize in is an important decision that will greatly affect your future magical career.
Remember that when creating a character, the skill you choose becomes “primary”—this means it will level up much faster. In addition, Archery and Astral magic also level up faster than “secondary” skills.
In the lower right corner of the attributes screen you can see your character’s portrait. This is how he /she looks at the beginning of the game. Later you will be able to adjust their weapons and armor (clothing) to your preference. You can either have your character’s portrait displayed or your character’s attributes displayed at any moment during the game by pressing the Tab key (good for low resolution screens).
When you create a character you are not allowed to choose advanced skills Astral and Bow, but all characters got bonus to them. As a result, after creating a character, you will have one parameter (which you chose as a specialty) equal to 20, and the advanced skill (Ranged for a Warrior or Astral for a Mage) will be equal to 10, and the rest – 0.
Parameters (Body, Reaction, etc.) when creating a character can be in any ratio – you will still start with parameters of 15-1-15-1 (at second server you will be able to improve them up to 15-15-15-15 by drinking potions from shop).. What they affect:
- Body: This attribute determines the build and muscle capacity of the character. The greater the Body value, the more vitality the character can show and the greater amount of damage he can inflict.
- Reaction: This attribute controls the Reaction level and vigilance of the character. A high Reaction value results in faster movement, wider sight range and a better ability to avoid blows and to carry out precise attacks. Reaction also determines the interval between the attacks of the character.
- Mind: This attribute controls the ability of logical thinking and decision making. Mind value determines how fast the character can acquire new skills. It also affects the sight range. The power of a magical spell cast by a Mage also depends on the Mind value.
- Spirit: This attribute controls the magic abilities and magic resistance of the character. It is especially important for a Mage. The higher the Spirit, the greater the amount of magical energy (mana) the Mage can accumulate and the more complicated spells he/she is capable of casting. For Fighters, the Spirit attribute only affects his/her magic resistance.
In addition to the base attributes of Body, Reaction, Mind and Spirit, your character has a number of secondary attributes. These values are calculated from the base attribute values plus the experience values gained by the character. All base and secondary attributes are brought together in a table at the bottom of the screen.
Secondary Attributes
Hit points: The number of hit points determines the character’s vitality and health. If this number equals zero, the character collapses. If the hit points value amounts to less then zero, the character will lie unconscious, ignore any commands and slowly die as the last remnants of his/her life gradually fade away. If the hit points value totals minus 10, the character is irrevocably lost. The starting hit points number is in proportion to the initial Body value (i.e. approximately twice as big). As the Body value increases, the hit points number augments accordingly. In the course of the game, the hit point number grows in proportion to gained experience.
Mana: Mana is the supply of magical power. It always equals zero for a Fighter. The greater the amount of Mana the Mage can accumulate, the more potent the spell he /she is capable of casting. Mana supplies are replenished over time without additional effort. The starting Mana value is approximately twice that of the Spirit value. Mana also grows in proportion to the total amount of experience gained throughout the game.
Attack: This attribute determines the precision of the character’s attacks. The higher the Attack value, the greater the probability of a successful hit, and hence, of more substantial damage inflicted by the character. The ‘innate’ Attack value depends on base attributes of Body and Reaction. In the course of the game, the Attack value grows with the Skills value. Certain types of weapons and magic items can also increase it.
Defense: This attribute controls the ability to avoid hits. A character may use Reaction to dodge a blow or Fighters may protect themselves with armor and weapons. Mages are likewise shielded by their garments. All these factors constitute the total defense value. The initial defense value depends on Reaction. However, it may vary greatly due to different weapons, armor, spells and magic items.
Absorbtion: If the blow passes through a character’s Defense, it still may be partially absorbed. Some monsters have a natural, ‘innate’ absorption. As for humans, they have to create it by using armor or magic.
Damage: This is the amount of injury your character is capable of inflicting with one hit. The initial minimal damage value is calculated from the base attribute of Body. It shows the amount of injury the character can inflict upon the enemy with his bare hands. In the course of the game, weapons and magic items possessed by the character can also strongly influence the damage value. It should be noted that the damage attribute for any type of weapon can vary within a certain range of values. The amount of injury inflicted with any weapon type can be either increased or decreased by certain spells.
Weight: This value shows the total weight of items worn and carried by the character. If the Weight value is equal to Body, the character’s Speed decreases by one. If the Weight value is greater than Body, the Speed decreases by two, etc. When in the backpack, items weigh less than when being worn or used by the character.
Sight: Sight range is the limit to which characters can see terrain, buildings and other characters (see ‘Mission – Battle Screen – Visible Terrain’ section for details). This value depends on the base attributes of Mind and Reaction. Certain magical items can alter it.
Speed: This value shows how fast the character can move. Speed depends on the base attribute of Reaction. It can also be strongly affected by the type of terrain. Ragged terrain or hill slopes will slow down the passage of your character. Conversely, the character will move faster along a well-trodden track or down a hillside.
Skills: A Fighter can develop his skills by wielding different types of weapons, while Mage can cast various magic spells. When creating your character, you can choose one weapon type for your character to wield best. Skills values grow during the course of the game as a character uses them successfully more frequently. The greater the skills value, the greater the effort required to raise it even higher.
Resistance: The Resistance value indicates the percentage of damage inflicted by a specific Magic Sphere that will be absorbed by the character. For example, if your resistance to the Sphere of Fire equals 60, and you are hit by a Fireball spell (25 points of damage), you will receive 10 points of damage. The absorbed damage in this case would be 60 percent of 25, or 15. If your resistance to fire is zero, then you would suffer all 25 points of damage. The initial Resistance value is half the Spirit value. It is equal for all Magic Spheres. The Resistance value can be raised by means of spells and magical items.
Experience: This is a sum total of your character’s knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during the game. Experience grows mainly through battles with foes.
You’ve created a character, what’s next? Read the following guides 🙂