Pixie Self Buffing

[aleph_null1]

Has anybody figured out why Pixies can't buff themselves reliably?

To push this test to the extreme, I upped my female Pixie (Tinkerbell ) to Level 364 with about an hour of spamming Erathsmedor, Oakenmir, and the Sphynx.

Yup, she has a couple thousand hitpoints, level 14 everythng, and still can't cast a freakin' Bloodlust on herself better than 1 in 4 times. And even if it works it takes 5-10 seconds to apply.

I love Dodge, and Pixies are just cool period, but this problem has kept me from really enjoying them for over 7 years now!

[Shadow Stranger]

No idea, I don't recall having ever played a Pixie in W&W. The game is full of quirks and bugs, this may be another one of them. On the other hand it might just be magic resistance. I assume it applies to all other buffing spells like Merlin's Shield?

[Bungleau]

IIRC, that's part of the Pixie's natural abilities.... the ability to dodge spells cast at them, even their own. Seems to me that if your sorcery level is higher, your success rate is as well... but then your pixie is higher as well, and can dodge better...

[aleph_null1]

Originally Posted by Shadow Stranger I assume it applies to all other buffing spells like Merlin's Shield?

Some buffs are easier to use than others; Merlin's Shield usually works 1st try, ditto for Lavawalk. Invisibility will sometimes work for an hour straight, sometimes not work at all.

I can usually Frenzy, but Heroic Might & Bloodlust can be damn near impossible sometimes (and sometimes they work fine).

*edit* THAT'S IT!

Originally Posted by Bungleau IIRC, that's part of the Pixie's natural abilities.... the ability to dodge spells cast at them, even their own. (emphasis mine)

I dug out Fendris's old Roster Editor and unchecked Dodge: Sure enough, Tinkerbell casts like everyone else now, and a good deal quicker too @ Lvl 364

She'll obviously stay w/o Dodge since protection isn't exactly an issue anymore, but it'll be a tough call to say whether the hassle is worth the protection for younger units. And when in their progress you should take off the training wheels & remove Dodge ...

[Shadow Stranger]

I think I am right in describing this as a "bug", the Pixie is meant to be a spellcaster above all else. So if they can't buff themselves it detracts from their spellcasting. Dodge is meant to protect them from hostile attacks.

[Radek]

That's why I stopped playing pixies. IMO, the Dodge trait is bugged and it mistakenly causes dodging pixies own spells including the defensive (blue) ones and makes a pixie an impossible spellcaster. This cannot be mended by high skill values or by a high level.

[Shadow Stranger]

You could possibly fix it in the file D6Monster.dat, if you can decrypt the file. If there are any volunteers I can upload the file in the form of an Excel spreadsheet.