August 26, 2001 - ***More info
re: Ned's Spellcasting Essay!
Just wanted to drop a line on the spellcasting tips essay by Ned. Excellent article, but perhaps he doesn't know this, and it is SUPER
helpful, so please pass the word to him for me!
When in war mode, the following are also valid commands:
ctrl-insert: go to Last spellbar (V)
ctrl-page up: go to First spellbar (I)
ctrl-delete: go to First spell, current spellbar
ctrl-page down: Go to Last spell, current spellbar
This creates opportunities to further organize spellbars. Needless to
say, spellbars 1 and 5 are my most important spellbars in light of this.
I put 'urgent' spells at the beginning of a spellbar so that they can
be instantly addressed by number (ie: Drain health is ALWAYS 7 for me). I put
frequently used but 'not so urgent' spells at the end of a spellbar (ie: heal others, portals, non-mage related self buffs, true value) where they
are instantly accessible no matter where I am on the current spellbar, with just a few keystrokes (as few as 2! ctrl-pagedown+end to cast the very last
spell on the bar)
I'm sure there are aspects of this that I may be missing which some
other brilliant mind out there may think up or even already know, so keep your
thinking caps on!
Wryan
Solclaim
Mana Conversion Specialized 4
School
Hi Wyran -
Yes, that Ned Cleversun is a smart boy. *I* didn't know some of this stuff!
:-) Great info! I passed your letter on to my vassal who said that he *had*
known about those commands, but just didn't think to put them into his
Tip. He has since revised it, with a mention of credit to you for the
reminder. Thank you very much for the additional information!
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 26, 2001 - Tips on
Spellcasting Key Setups
I read Cleversun's new tips on spellcasting key setup with interest. However, I feel I must add my own 2 pyreals, because I feel I have a nice
alternative. It is less intuitive than using the navigation keys, but here goes:
I reconfigured my AC to use other keys for movement. I prefer to have
my left hand near the TAB key, and the right hand on the mouse. The left block
of my "crooked" Natural Keyboard has these keys
1 2 3 4 5 6
Q W E R T
A S D F G
Z X C V B
Q W E are used for turn left, forward and turn right
A S D are for Step left, back, and step right
Z X are used for sit, rise
Now I use R T for Id and Cast spell.
I use F for prev spell and G for next spell.
I then use V for prev tab and B for next tab.
That means I have spell tab navigation, casting and use of shortcut
keys 1-6 at my left hand's fingertips. That is very efficient since it allows me
to move around and cast all spells with one hand. Also you can move to the END or BEGINNING of any active spellbar by pushing CTRL+F or CTRL+G, and to
spell bar 1 with CTRL+v and to spell bar 5 with CRTL+B.
I have put my recall to lifestone spell on tab 5, last position. In a jeopardy I can quickly recall by pushing CTRL-B, then CRTL-G and lastly T
for casting the spell. This also allows you to put the recall command on a
keyboardmacro, like I use my MS Strategic Commander for. Also it prevents you from
accidentally casting Portal Recall while in a heated combat situation. I have done that a couple of times during a quest that I lead,
because my recall was on shortcut 9. Quite embarrassing.
Immacolata
Wintersebb
Level 45 War Mage
Hi Immacolata -
Thanks for the letter. I'm sure people will really enjoy hearing how someone
else has customized their keyboard commands. I'm not that adventurous with
my commands and stick pretty much to the basics, I'm afraid.
The last point in your letter really caught my eye,
though. I, too, have accidentally hit my portal recall button at the most
inopportune moments! I spent half the day making my way to Rumuba's Hidey
Hole when the Vesayen Isles were first opened. Unfamiliar territory, many,
many bodies to recover, and the routes to the island were still unfamiliar,
so even getting back there was a big ordeal. Finally, my vassal joined me
and helped me make my way to the dungeon entrance. I equipped my wand to
buff. Then, pumped and ready for action I reached for my sword (hot key
5)... remembering too late that I was still in spellcasting mode!!!
Arrgggghhhh! Yes, you guessed it. Portal Recall was in the #5 spot of my
spell bar.
So, I yelled and screamed at my vassal telling him
it was all his fault, logged out of the game and sulked for the rest of the
afternoon. (just kidding)
I have since moved my Portal Recall spell to a new
location on the spell bar. ;-)
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 26, 2001 - Hieromancer's
Armour Quest
Thx for your walkthrough on the Hieromnacer's Quest. I got my Exarch
plate armour in 4 days :)
After using your walkthrough and completing the quest. You may may
want to update it with this information.
-- Exarch Plate has no war 270+ requirement. Only Thaumaturgic Plate
does. The only requirement for Exarch is war specialized.
-- Took me three days to find the acid. Best to look around the
Slaughterhouse which is where most people go to get to Heiromancer Hall.
Acid can be found on Virulent and Bane Grievvers, not just Harrowers.
-- I got my stones first. I concur that its best to get the armour
before the stones. 50 stones weren't enough to make my armour Exarch at war 280.
-- Exarch can be unkindled. 1st stone makes it Thaumaturgic, 2nd
Exarch and 3rd unkindled. Possible to unkindle it at any stage as you
know.
-- All golems at training halls are very weak to frost. Good idea to
frost vuln and magic yield them.
-- Guardian Golems outside are easy to defeat. Just bolt them and run
behind wall and repeat until dead.
-- Dont die! The final golem got me to 22 health hehe :)
Iseri Shasar
Wintersebb
Level 37
Hi Iseri Shasar -
Thanks for the great information on the Hieromancer's
Armor quest. I've been meaning to do an update to it for quite some
time; it's "on the list." ;-) I've added a few of your points and
hope to add more info soon. I've noticed that the link to the walk-through
for the Hieromancer's Hall is now dead, so that part now definitely needs a
good buffing. Congratulations on your new armor!!
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 26, 2001 - Mage Armor Quest
Maggie,
How much can one mage say to express his thanks for the incredible web site
you run? Simple words are not enough, were you on the Harvestgain server I
would shower you with kisses, gifts and buffs innumerable!
I have another piece of advice for completing the Lyceum. Take 4 or more
gems of stillness in particular for the last and most difficult of the three
dungeons. It may be common sense, but I have not seen it printed. The last
dungeon was easy with these in hand but could have been disastrous without
them.
Other web sites have noted that the golems can be drained, this is true, but
for me they only gave up one point of health per drain. So mages should plan
on strictly taking the vapor golems out with war, AFTER THEY HAVE VULNED the
baddies as they can be vulned rather safely from a distance. I used the
quiddity orb to vuln them then changed to my war V orb to take 'em out.
Keep up the incredible work my dear! You are quite an asset to my life in
Dereth!
Samaritan
Harvestgain
Level 45 Battlemage
Hi Samaritan -
Thank you for all the effusive praise on the site! And thank you for your
suggestion to bring a few Gems of Stillness to the dungeons. I've added that
tip to the quest write-up. Congratulations on your armor!!
*makes a new character on Harvestgain in
anticipation of some phat lewt!* ;-)
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 26, 2001 - Fan mail baby!
Hey Maggie,
Well my printer is still going. I was so impressed with your website I
have been printing my favorite pages for the last 2 days! :)
One suggestion, on your pages describing quests, articles, etc. The
width is a bit too wide for my browser to print the entire page and it cuts
off the right side, thus I don't get the tips section in most cases.
Any chance of putting your links on the top or bottom instead of the left?
Either way it is a great website, I would say the best AC website on the
net. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.
Embraer
Frostfell
Level 50 War spec mage
Hi Embraer -
Thanks very much for the compliments on the site! I love fan mail!! I do
understand that there may be printing issues with some of the pages, but at
this time, I have no plans to redesign the site. I can only say a solution
to the printing issues is "on the list."
I actually get mail quite frequently from people
who want me to change this or that. Most of the people unhappy with the
navigation actually just want a big fat QUESTS ARE HERE link at the top of
every page. ;-) And for every letter I get from people who want changes, I
get two letters from others saying they LOVE how the site is set up and how
easy it is to navigate. I do take suggestions into consideration, but
ultimately, design decisions about the site are based on what *I* like, and
currently, I still like the site design. ;-)
Thanks again for the fan mail!
- Maggie the Jackcat
Amendment to response: My clever vassal has solved
the printing problem!! This is cool. All you need to do is upgrade your
browser to IE 5.5. It has a built-in smart print preview option which allows
you to format your page setup so that everything prints properly. Once you
have Internet
Explorer 5.5 installed go to File, then Page Setup on your Internet
browser. If you change the left and the right hand margins to .4" then
the page should display correctly. (Top and bottom margins can remain the
same.) I also recommend going to Tools/Internet Options/Advanced and make
sure that the "Print background colors and images" is not
selected. Now go to your favorite page, choose the Print Preview option and
voila! You should see a nice printable version of your favorite page. Pretty
slick! And certainly a lot easier than redesigning the whole site! ;-)
August 12, 2001 - Exporting Images from Portal.dat
I noticed you have a section of information about the new images found in
the portal.dat file. I was wondering what you used to export the images.
Btw I have some stuff (armor) that I could get pics for your website, to
help fill in the holes in the armor section, and possibly add or update
your database. Pleas e-mail me if you're interested.
From a local resident of Thistledown, Thanks. :)
Chaz al-Archania
Thistledown
Level 19/Full Suit Light Blue Plate Armor/Axe Fighter
Hi Chaz al-Archania -
I don't actually extract images from the portal.dat file. All the images on
the new patch pages are from in-game screenshots. One of the reasons is that
sometimes there will be new information in the portal.dat file, but it
hasn't actually made it into the game yet. Using in-game screenshots helps
to ensure that whatever I'm sharing has actually been verified to be in the
patch.
If you'd like to help contribute to the site, I'm
always grateful to the people who help me fill in the gaps. I also keep a page
called Stuff I'd Like where I list specific items I
know I'm missing. If you don't know how to take screenshots, I have
instructions on my October 2000 Letters
page to help. Thanks for the offer! :)
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 12, 2001 - Moo
Maggie,
Just a note to say moo.
Moo
Love, Henry
Henry Kissinger
Thistledown
Level 32 Skullsplitter
Hi Henry -
Moo to you too. ;-)
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 12, 2001 - Linking To Your Site
I am working on an allegiance web site and was wondering what your
feelings were on me linking to your site from ours.
You have the best quest section on the web and I would like to point our
allegiance members to it from our quest section. (Actually, I don't want to
do a quest section at all; why reinvent the wheel, I say.) Rather, our quest
link would go directly to your quest page. I do not wish to copy the info
to our site and I will gladly credit you on our linking page. I just do not
want to do this without your permission.
The site url is http://www.gameloons.com
if you want to take a look. It
is a new site, so there isn't a lot of content there yet and the pages are
still a little messed up (am still learning how to do this....)
I also would like to put a link to your site in the right navigation bar
on the homepage - do you have an image or banner that you would like me to use or can I make one of my own?
Sorry for the long windedness, and thanks for your help.
Dolphineus
Frostfell
Hi Dolphineus -
Thank you for the compliments on the site! I get letters like yours several
times a week, and I've long been meaning to put up a page somewhere which
explains my policy on linking, and so forth. Here it is in a nutshell: I
love links! You may link to any page on the site you choose. What I don't
allow is any reproduction of any portion of the site, even with credit. In
addition, please do not link directly to images on my site. It eats
bandwidth that I have to pay for. The worst offenders of this are the
eBay-ers, and they're very hard to track down, unfortunately.
If you want to use a banner, I have one here.
I've been meaning to make some smaller graphics for people to use, but just
haven't gotten around to it yet. It's "on the list." ;-) Thanks
again, and good luck with the site!
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 12, 2001 - Shackles of Obedience/Shallow Rift Dungeon Shortcut
If you jump all the way down into the caged room at the first jump, you can kill the
Warden through the cage and loot him through the cage. Then recall out. You can't summon a portal in the cage, nor can you get out without using
recall.
Thanks for having such a great AC site! Its the only one I go to for my allegiances quest info.
Enter the Dragon
Harvestgain
Level 55 Unarmed 3 School
Hi Enter the Dragon -
Thanks for the compliments! And thanks for the tip! I have a feeling
that poor Warden is going to be busy. ;-)
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 12, 2001 - Great Website!
I love your website Maggie. It treats AC as a world, not a game,
and totally envelopes you into it. I probably sound like some wierdo
boffin droning on like this, but you deserve a big well done.
From, Xan al-Zah
Xan al-Zah
Harvestgain
Level 25 / UA Brawler
Hi Xan al-Zah -
Thank you very much. You don't sound like a wierdo to me! I love hearing
stuff like this! I'm glad you like the site.
- Maggie the Jackcat
August 12, 2001 - Ned's Picture -- 606 Points of Damage
If you don't mind, I would like to know HOW Ned Shot a shadow for 606 pts
damage? I mean, what spell was thrown onto the shadow, what arrow did he
use, and what his bow skill is. I am in a dungeon with Drudge Raveners by
the dozen, all by myself, and am trying to find the best arrow to kill them
with. First I tried slashing: 24-34 damage with some crits as high as 70. Then
greater slashing, and still the same
range. Then fire arrows, with the
same range. Then greater fire arrows, with average 40 pts damage, sometimes as high as 80.
How does someone do 606 pts damage???? I am using the Comp
bow with a 230 buffed skill level. I think I have about a 13 damage
modifier. What am I doing wrong? Are vulns really that big a difference in
the damage that you do? And how does a person throw a spell and switch to a bow in time to kill
something? What am I missing here??? Anyway any help you can give will be
cool. LOVE THE SITE!!!! Read your info ALL THE TIME. CONGRATS TO NED AND YOU!
Zangsho Deathbringer
Harvestgain
Level 35/ Archer (deadeye)
Hi Zangsho Deathbringer -
Thanks very much for your kind words! I know very little about the ins and
outs of Archery, so I asked Ned Cleversun if he would address your questions
himself. His response is below.
- Maggie the Jackcat
----------------
Hello, Zangsho -- Thanks for writing. I'm glad you like the site; Maggie works
hard on it and has done well. I remember when she put the first group of pages
and tables and lists on the web -- to help me get around in the game -- and I must
say, it has grown! She is a fine monarch.
I liked your letter so much I decided to turn the reply into
a future essay for the "Sermons, Essays and
Tips" feature. If you don't mind, I'll include your game name
and server in the Essay and quote from parts of your letter. The
answers to some of what you ask will run a bit long, and I thought there may be
a LOT of archers out there who would like to refer to the answers. The info will
be more accessible outside of the monthly letters section.
But I think you deserve some faster answers in exchange for such a fine letter,
so here is an abbreviated reply.
> If you don't mind, I would like to know HOW Ned Shot a shadow for 606 pts
damage?
The 606 was my personal best against an Umbris. As the
infomercials on TV say: these results are not typical. A lot of factors came together.
I have pretty good Life and Item magic. I start with Greater frog crotch arrows and
a composite bow made from the finest materials crafted by specialists (not me!) with
very high skill. Then I add BD7, HS7, Def7, and SK7. My working bow skill is 301,
exactly. The resulting package is so horrible that many monsters turn and run when I
bring the bow out. Before shooting this particular Umbris, I dropped Imperil 6 on it,
followed by Blade Vulnerability 5.
Using this system, Umbris sometimes die with one shot and usually die in fewer than
4 or 5 shots. The trick, of course, is not to die yourself. That is not always easy!
> I am in a dungeon with Drudge Raveners by the dozen, all by myself, and am trying
to find the best arrow to kill them
with.
I have standardized on Greater frog crotch arrows, and use
Greater Armor Piercing or Greater blunts for special situations. Greaters work better,
enough better to make them worth whatever trouble it takes to get them. I avoid elemental
arrows.
> are vulns really that big a difference in the damage that you do?
Vulns make a breathtaking difference. A good, solid Imperil
can easily triple or quadruple the damage done by each shot. The problem is that it
can be difficult to get past the resistance of any particular monster. Vulnerability
spells and Imperils have created a lot of dead archers, let me tell you! Half of my
deaths (currently over 1200) came while I was standing on the battlefield failing to
Imperil a monster. It is a wretched, embarrassing way to die. But when you hit,
ahh ...then they are toast.
> and how does a person throw a spell and switch to a bow in time to kill
something? What am I missing here???
This is an excellent question. There is a trick to it, as
you inferred there might be. Use the control key to switch between the wand and the
bow, with each assigned a shortcut number. My bow has been in the #8 slot since I
started, with my wand or orb in #1.
Ctrl/8 brings up the bow straight from the wand.
But it is not instant, beware! It still takes a steady heart and strong nerves to
stand firm while a monster is charging and attacking. Many times I've had to grit my
teeth and tense my body to resist the visceral urge to break and run. It is a scary
business. But if you do it right -- WHACK! You get some monster beat-up that is very
cool.
- Ned Cleversun