Bolt spell: Difference between revisions

The official GemStone IV encyclopedia.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (Moved to Basic Mechanics / Magic category.)
Line 754: Line 754:
: *<i>(L) is living targets and (U) is undead targets.</i>
: *<i>(L) is living targets and (U) is undead targets.</i>


==Behind the Scenes: tactical considerations==
==Behind the Scenes: Tactical Considerations==


Analysis of the ball spells' splash situation leads to the conclusion that having at least one rank of the relevant Lore skill plus one rank of MOC will guarantee a splash to an additional creature--assuming that at least two creatures are in the room--because even if a 0 is rolled the first time the "possible" range is 0-1 (due to the full Lore benefit being added); on the second roll (a range of 0-1) even if 0 is rolled again then the rank of MOC will enable the splash effect.
Analysis of the ball spells' splash situation leads to the conclusion that having at least one rank of the relevant Lore skill plus one rank of MOC will guarantee a splash to an additional creature--assuming that at least two creatures are in the room--because even if a 0 is rolled the first time the "possible" range is 0-1 (due to the full Lore benefit being added); on the second roll (a range of 0-1) even if 0 is rolled again then the rank of MOC will enable the splash effect.

Revision as of 15:09, 25 June 2015

A bolt spell is any attack spell that is based on the caster's Spell Aiming skill. These spells benefit from a more offensive stance, but only result in a three (3) second cast roundtime, rather than a true three (3) second roundtime. There are two types of bolt spells: true bolt spells and ball spells.

Lore Ranks and Damage Factor Bonus

The Damage Factors for many of the bolt spells can be increased by training in the appropriate lore skill. The amount of this bonus is based on the number or ranks trained. For the following spells the DF increase is 0.001 per rank up to 50 lore ranks, 0.001 per two ranks for ranks 51 to 100 and 0.001 per four ranks for ranks greater than 100. A character with 200 lore ranks would see a total DF increase of 0.100.

For the following spells the damage factor increase is 0.001 per two ranks up to 100 ranks and 0.001 per four ranks for ranks greater than 100. With 200 lore ranks the DF bonus is 0.075.

Since there is a minimum requirement of 20 ranks of EL:Air for the bolt version of Hand of Tonis (505), they are excluded from the DF bonus. Therefore the DF bonus is 0.001 per rank for ranks 21 to 70, 0.001 per two ranks for ranks 71 to 120 and 0.001 per four ranks for ranks greater than 120.

Ball Spells

Ball spells are a subgroup of bolt spells that do less damage on a single target but have the ability to perform additional splash damage on several creatures (including the original target) due to explosion of the ball upon impact. Two rolls determine how many creatures you hit, and there is a skill that influences each of the two rolls.

Note: Major Acid (1710) has no influencing lore.

  • The second roll determines how many creatures are actually splashed, with the first roll determining the maximum of the second. The appropriate Lore skill increases the maximum for the first roll, while Multi Opponent Combat (MOC) increases the result for the second roll.

The normal--no additional training ranks in either Lore or MOC--base range of results is 0-8. The roll is weighted in favor of the lower end numbers. The second roll is then 0 to <the results of that first roll>.

For example, assume you have trained enough in Elemental Lore, Fire to increase the maximum possible number of creatures splashed with Major Fire by five, and have trained six times in MOC.

  • With twenty creatures in the room, your first roll can be between zero and thirteen (base of 0-8 plus 5 for Lore skill, or 0-13); you cannot possibly hit creatures numbered fourteen through twenty.
[Note that at this step it is always actually a 0-8 die roll; the full Lore benefit is simply added.]
1) The result rolled is a ten, meaning you can hit up to ten creatures.
  • The next roll can be anything between zero and ten.
2) A one is rolled, but your six ranks of MOC result in splash damage to seven creatures.

On the other hand, when facing a smaller group all of your Lore skill benefits are still applicable: if there are only 7 creatures in the room and your Lore skill gives you the possibility of +15 targets, your first die roll will be 0-23 [base of 0-8 + 15 from Lore skill]. This makes it very likely that you will actually splash all seven targets most of the time, even if you have no MOC in this instance.

It should also be noted that the first roll takes precedence, such that if your maximum possible number of creatures hit is two, you will not hit more than two, regardless of MOC training.

"A lousy die roll... is a lousy die roll."

For those who prefer a more intuitive explanation, the appropriate lore determines the minimum size of the explosion caused by the spell whereas MOC determines how well you can place the explosion such that it hits the most targets. (A practical example: water balloons. The appropriate Lore skill determines what size water balloon you can throw; MOC ranks determine how accurately you place it within the group of targets with which you are dealing.)

References

Damage Factors

Bold indicates highest value, italics lowest value

Spell Robes Soft Leather Hard Leather Chain Plate Splash Lore DF Bonus
Fire Spirit (111) 0.400 0.333 0.270 0.256 0.244 Yes Yes (Summoning)
Web (118) 0.520 0.420 0.330 0.300 0.210 No No
Holy Bolt (306)(L)* 0.455 0.345 0.283 0.242 0.173 No No
Holy Bolt (306)(U)* 0.750 0.500 0.405 0.400 0.265 No No
Hand of Tonis (505) 0.520 0.420 0.330 0.300 0.210 No Yes (Air)
Hurl Boulder (510) 0.710 0.520 0.460 0.435 0.440 No Yes (Earth)
Cone of Lightning (518) 0.750 0.555 0.434 0.415 0.433 No Yes (Air and/or Water)
Balefire (713) 0.435 0.360 0.325 0.310 0.295 Yes Yes (Demonology)
Minor Shock (901) 0.149 0.133 0.111 0.122 0.128 No Yes (Air and/or Water)
Minor Water (903) 0.455 0.345 0.283 0.242 0.173 No Yes (Water)
Minor Acid (904) 0.525 0.383 0.314 0.350 0.197 No No
Minor Fire (906) 0.667 0.455 0.345 0.323 0.303 No Yes (Fire)
Major Cold (907) 0.445 0.350 0.245 0.217 0.208 Yes Yes (Water)
Major Fire (908) 0.400 0.333 0.270 0.256 0.244 Yes Yes (Fire)
Major Shock (910) 0.750 0.555 0.433 0.415 0.433 No Yes (Air and/or Water)
Empathic Assault (1110) 0.680 0.490 0.365 0.280 0.205 No Yes (Transformation)
Minor Steam (1707) 0.600 0.550 0.383 0.333 0.267 No No
Minor Cold (1709) 0.667 0.460 0.385 0.375 0.355 No No
Major Acid (1710) 0.600 0.333 0.275 0.370 0.196 Yes No
*(L) is living targets and (U) is undead targets.

AvDs

Spell Robes Soft Leather Hard Leather Chain Plate
AsG 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Fire Spirit (111) 70 60 59 58 57 50 48 46 44 45 41 37 33 40 34 28 22
Web (118) 52 44 43 42 41 39 37 35 33 44 40 36 32 52 46 40 34
Holy Bolt (306)(L)* 30 30 29 28 27 29 27 25 23 31 27 23 19 25 19 13 7
Holy Bolt (306)(U)* 40 38 37 36 35 35 33 31 29 37 33 29 25 32 26 20 14
Hand of Tonis (505) 52 44 43 42 41 39 37 35 33 44 40 36 32 52 46 40 34
Hurl Boulder (510) 40 40 39 38 37 40 38 36 34 40 36 32 28 40 34 28 22
Cone of Lightning (518) 50 40 39 38 37 45 43 41 39 48 44 40 36 51 45 39 33
Balefire (713) 65 55 54 53 52 45 43 41 39 38 34 30 26 30 24 18 12
Minor Shock (901) 35 25 24 23 22 30 28 26 24 33 29 25 21 36 30 24 18
Minor Water (903) 30 30 29 28 27 29 27 25 23 31 27 23 19 25 19 13 7
Minor Acid (904) 40 38 37 36 35 35 33 31 29 37 33 29 25 32 26 20 14
Minor Fire (906) 55 37 36 35 34 33 31 29 27 42 38 34 30 44 38 32 26
Major Cold (907) 65 55 54 53 52 45 43 41 39 40 36 32 28 35 29 23 17
Major Fire (908) 70 60 59 58 57 50 48 46 44 45 41 37 33 40 34 28 22
Major Shock (910) 50 40 39 38 37 45 43 41 39 48 44 40 36 51 45 39 33
Empathic Assault (1110) 55 45 44 43 42 30 28 26 24 15 11 7 3 7 1 (-5) (-11)
Minor Steam (1707) 70 60 59 58 57 50 48 46 44 45 41 37 33 40 34 28 22
Minor Cold (1709) 45 40 39 38 37 35 33 31 29 40 36 32 28 30 24 18 12
Major Acid (1710) 65 55 54 53 52 45 43 41 39 42 38 34 30 33 27 21 15
AsG 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Spell Robes Soft Leather Hard Leather Chain Plate
*(L) is living targets and (U) is undead targets.

Behind the Scenes: Tactical Considerations

Analysis of the ball spells' splash situation leads to the conclusion that having at least one rank of the relevant Lore skill plus one rank of MOC will guarantee a splash to an additional creature--assuming that at least two creatures are in the room--because even if a 0 is rolled the first time the "possible" range is 0-1 (due to the full Lore benefit being added); on the second roll (a range of 0-1) even if 0 is rolled again then the rank of MOC will enable the splash effect.

Players might regard this as the effective spell-casting equivalent of MSTRIKE.

Given that all of the Lore skills that affect splashes are seed 1 progressions, the rate at which additional targets are added is quite quick. A modest investment of training points for ten (10) ranks of Lore skill yields +4 targets--a +50% addition to the "possible" target pool--and guarantees that at least four (4) targets will always have the capability to be splashed ("possible" roll will be 0-8 with +4 added).