Question about increasing magic skills

[Tough Guy]

Can I just sit somewhere and cast spells( and camp and repeat) like light to increase fire skill or is there a plateau at which a level 1 spell won't increase skills?

Can I cast heal on a fully healed player and raise that skill?

I started the game a little while ago but have not raised certain skills enough.

thanks.

Yes.

Altho its easier to just try it than to log onto a forum and ask about it hehehhehe

Just a joke.

[vesselle]

don't know if there is a plateau. i just know that it keeps working through out my game. [img]smile.gif[/img] however, it does take longer to achieve the same results as you get better. in that case, it seems its quicker to up your skills by battling.

in the beginning, its a good idea to get at least one non-combat spell for each realm, if you can. believe me, it gets plenty boring, but it's very useful early game.

remember, it's more efficient to cast at the highest level. and fizzles are good. they count towards your experience in improving. in fact, i would always see an improvement after a fizzle. it's just that as you get better, you fizzle less. so, utilize them to your benefit when you are starting out.

V***V

~~magiK~~

ROFLMAO!

[ 01-17-2002: Message edited by: vesselle ]

[catzenpewters]

I thought a spell had to be necessary in order to help up you a level. For example, light couldn't have already been cast, and heal would have to be used on someone who actually needed healing. Am I wrong?

[Diplomatic Immunity]

Catzen,

My spell power goes up even when I cast a spell that's already in effect.

For example, even if I have a light spell active, I'll get increases in Wizardry and Fire if I keep casting them - even if the spell fizzles. Light is the only fire realm spell my bishop has and (at level 10) I have a fire realm in the upper 30s or lower 40s. Before and after every rest I just cast light at the highest level possible until I blow all my fire spell points. At some point I'll probably have a use for the fire realm.

Keep in mind that the higher your caster's intelligence (I think), the faster you'll get skill points. The same technique has done very little for my Fairy Ninja.

Caveat: I've never seen it work for spells like stamina or heal when the character you cast on has no need for extra stamina or hit points. Maybe someone else could speak to that issue.

Ciao!
D.I.

[Merkin]

This is also my experience. Healing spells (heal, stamina, cures) don't improve unless they're needed. Other non-combat spells, such as light, armor, screens, sonic boom, etc. have a chance to improve even if one is in place. I'm not sure if this is a design oversight or not, but it's sure one you can exploit to your advantage.

[Strider_314]

I've only got one comment -

Thank god you dont need regs! [img]graemlins/scream.gif[/img]

Edit: argh..bad grammar

[ 01-18-2002: Message edited by: Strider_314 ]

[Warhammer]

To my experience too you can only cast heal and stamina on characters that need them, just jumpd down from high placer and run around a little bit to create that need.

I really think it is awfully boring to sit around casting light (btw Hypnotic lure is even better) and knock-knock for 3 in-game monthes, 3 real time hours. It is much funner to find something to kill, and practice in real combat!

With regard to Armorplate (and spells like it) I've noticed that you can gain Earth/Divine points by recasting it even if it is active, but only after a while.

[Brak]

I imagine the reason that spells with a duration, like armorplate or light give spell points even if they are already active is because they ARE having an effect. It's no design oversight or exploitable bug. If you cast light, and lets say it is going to have a duration of 8 hours, then 3 hours later you cast it again at the same power, you are extending the remaining duration of the light from 5 hours back to eight, so you are adding those three hours back and having an effect. Very similar to casting heal on someone who is only down to 70% of their health, you are having an effect. And that would explain why warhammer said "you can gain Earth/Divine points by recasting it even if it is active, but only after a while". Is it possible that you are being awarded points based on those three hours of benefit your 8 hours worth of spell costed (kind of a rip-off)? This poses an interesting question, if you cast a heal that would heal (i dunno) 40 points but the recipient of the heal spell is only down 20 points, are you going to only be awarded spell points as if you had cast a 20 point heal?

This would be important to know, because after some battles I've got several wounded party members and it would be nice to give everyone some nice low level heals. But I have been casting max heal on one person under the assumption that casting spells at maximum power is best for practicing magic. But I wonder if that is actually true if the person doesn't need it, or if the armor plate spell still has a long time left, etc. Could this even extend to damage spells, like a critter with 80 points taking a 120 point crush spell to the noggin. It really is only going to do 80 points of damage to that critter so will you be awarded points based on that effect rather than the cost of the spell. Warhammer has already given initial indications that this may be true (at least for duration type spells like armor plate). Perhaps I am just taking my observation about why a duration type spell gives points even when active too far. Maybe what Warhammer was noticing about it only giving spel points if it has been a while is simply the on off switch of the spell name being blue and unable to give practice points if you cast it too recently...Well, I'm sure my observation that duration spells giving points even when active is not a bug or an exploitatin of some kind is correct.

[vesselle]

i'm not exactly sure what yall mean by saying "when the spell name is blue"....
when i go into any of my chars' spell choices and select a spell to cast, it turns blue. i thot that meant, "why, hello V***V! you just chose me for your special spell. thanks! [img]smile.gif[/img] ".

i took a bishop, ran thru all her "private" castings, then let her rest for 10 full rest periods, where all running spells had been inactive for at least 5 of those. again, when i click on "armorplate" it immediately goes blue.

from there i tested it further, and it happens to all my spellcasters, in all my groups, in all my games. but, lo, (ha ha! i said "lo") when i cast it, as blue, i get a sweet little message saying "Kara ZorEl's Earth Realm has increased +1" (or something to that effect).

therefore, since this is me we're talking about [img]graemlins/1dizzy.gif[/img] aka Lead Blonde in the Blonde Brigade [img]tongue.gif[/img] i think that i am completely looking in the wrong place for the "blueness" to show up.

please help. [img]graemlins/help.gif[/img]


V***V