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[Magery] Magery FAQ

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Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Magery is one of the most complex skills within Ultima Online and amongst the numerous questions we get on this Forum some can reappear time and time again.
The purpose of this FAQ is to act as your first port of call for any questions you need answering.
If after reading these FAQ's your question still remains unanswered then please post it on the forum and it will be answered as fast as you can say "Kal Ort Por"


Magery Related FAQ

Q - What level of Magery do i need to be able to cast each circle of magic successfully?

This is easily answered. Please follow the link below to find the answer
http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/magery.php

The only exception to this is if you are casting a spell from a scroll.
Scrolls are cast as if they're 2 circles lower, use this knowledge in conjunction with the calculator above to determine what skill you need.

Q - What Spells are Affected by Magery?

Mind blast (Damage based on Magery + Intelligence)

Poison (Chance of poisoning = Your Magery vs Targets Resisitng Spells)
(Strength of poison = Magery + Poisoning / 2)
Less than 65.1 : Level 1 poison
65.1 to 85 : Level 2 poison
85.1 to 99.9 : Level 3 poison
100 and higher : Level 4 poison

Poison field (Strength calculation same as Poison spell)
(Duration 3 + (Magery * 0.4)) seconds

Heal (Hit Points healed = Magery/10 + 1-3)

Greater Heal (Hit points healed = Magery*0.4 + 1-10)

Cure (Chance to cure % = (Magery * 0,75) + (110 - (Poison level * 33))

Arch Cure (More reliable at higher levels of magery)

Unlock (Magery determines what level of chests it can open)

Q - Whats the best way to gain Magery?

There isn't a set way to gain Magery as everyone plays the game differently.
However the information below is proven to optimise your chances of gaining in Magery.

Magery Skill 0 - 30 = Buy this from a NPC
30 - 50 = Mixture of 3rd & 4th circle spells
50 - 65= 5th Circle spells
65 - 80 = 6th Circle spells
80 - 92 = 7th Circle Spells
92 - 100 = Mixture of 7th & 8th Circle Spells
100 - 120 = 8th Circle spells

Q - What is LRC?

Lower Reagent Cost (LRC) items.
This property can be found on both jewelry and armor.
Each 1% LRC gives a 1% chance of a spell not requiring ANY reagent to cast.
So at 100% LRC you will not require ANY reagents to cast any spell whatsoever.

Q - What is LMC?
Lower Mana Cost (LMC) lowers the mana it costs by adding up however much LMC you have.
and subtract that from the total mana cost.
Example, if you have 35% LMC and cast a flame strike, you will only have to pay 40 -
35% = 26 mana for it.
This ability was capped at 40% in publish 25.

Q - What does Spell Channeling do?

An item with Spell Channeling lets you retain the item in your hands whilst you cast a spell.
Items that are Non-Spell Channeling will unequip when you cast a spell.

Q - What are Mage Weapons?

Mage weapons are weapons that use your Magery skill as your defensive attribute.
Mage Weapons -0 such as the Staff of the Magi do this without affecting your Magery skill level.
Others may lower your Magery skill.
A Mage Weapon -25 would lower your magery by 25. i,e 120 - 25 = 95 Magery whilst it is equipped.
You can use them to gain in melee.
You can actually hit things with a mage weapon and gain just like a warrior would.
How you gain basically relies on the same gain chart as melee.
Special Moves associated with the weapon will still require the wielder
to have the required amount of skill points in the actual weapon skill.

Q - What is Mage Armour?

Mage Armor items eliminate an item's Meditation penalty.
For example, a plate tunic with the Mage Armor property will no longer reduce
the effectiveness of the wearer's use of the Meditation skill to regain mana..


Q - What are the current caps for common Magery related attributes?

For Humans all Resists are capped at 70
For Elfs all resists are capped at 70 except Energy which is 75
The 3 stats are all capped at 150, however you can go past these but they won't show.

Defense Chance Increase is capped at 45%.
Hit Chance Increase is capped at 45%.
Faster Casting is capped at 2.
Faster Casting Recovery is capped at 6.
Hit Point Increase is capped at 25
Lower Mana Cost is capped at 40
Spell Damage Increase from items is capped at 15 in PVP, no cap in PVM

There is NO hard cap for mana regen however it is subject to diminishing returns.
For example the difference between 0 MR and 3 MR is substantially greater than the difference between 15 MR and 18 MR
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Evaluate Intelligence related FAQ

Q - What Spells are affected by Evaluate Intelligence?

Eval Int is the skill that allows a mage to function offensively.
Almost all offensive spells (except Mind blast and Poison (See Magery FAQ))
Every spell that has anything to do with resisting spells such as curse-type
spells, paralyze and mana draining spells

Q - Do i need Eval Int if i am a mage?

Without evaluate intelligence, your spells will most of the time do less than 10 damage
Without Eval Int, your magery skill will be nothing but heals,
mind blasts, poisons and summons.
Even bless and curse type spells rely on Evaluate Intelligence for their powers.

Q - What is the damage bonus for Eval Int?

((Evaluate Intelligence * 3) / 100) + 1.

If you have 120 Evaluate Intelligence, your base damage would be increased
by ((120 * 3) / 100) + 1 which would be 4.6.
Your damage would be more than quadrupled, and that before any other damage source was added to your spells.

Q - How are curse & bless type spells calculated?

Bless stat spells = Your Evaluate Intelligence)/10 + 1 = % Increase
Curse stat spells = 8 + (Your Evaluate Intelligence/10) - (Targets Resisting Spells)/10 = % Reduction

Q - That sounds complicated, can i have an example of both?

You certainly can
Lets say You have 120 Evaluate Intelligence, and 100 Intelligence, and cast "Cunning" on yourself.
We get: (120/10 + 1) = 13% Increase.
We then apply that to yuor Int, and get
(100+13%) = 113
Your new temporary intelligence score is 113

You have 120 Evaluate Intelligence, and your opponent
has 100 Strength and 100 Resisting Spells and you cast "Weaken" on your opponent.
We get (8 + (120/10) - 100/10) = 10%.
Then we apply those numbers to your opponent and get
(100-10%) = 90
Your opponent is now down to 90 strength temporarily.

Q - How do i gain Evaluate Inteligence?

You will have a chance to gain this skill whenever you cast any of the spells affected by it.
This includes offensive spells and those listed above.
If you're solely looking for gains in evaluate intelligence cast the 1st Circle spell
Magic Arrow as this only requires 1 sulphurous ash and 4 mana to cast.
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Meditation related FAQ

Q - Does Meditation and Focus stack?

Yes they do. With 120 medi/int and 120 focus, you will have 2.1 passive mana regen.

Q - Can i calculate my mana regen?

Just click on the Mana Regen Calculator below
http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/meditation.php

Q - Is Mana regeneration capped?

No, there is NO hard cap for mana regen however it is subject to diminishing returns.
For example the difference between 0 MR and 3 MR is substantially greater than the difference between 15 MR and 18 MR

Q - Whats the best way to gain Meditation?

Meditation is very simple to train. You have a chance of gaining in meditation every time you gain a point of mana.
This means that, as a mage, all you have to do to have a chance of gaining is lower your mana below your maximum.

Q - Do i need a special type of armour to benefit from Meditation?
Spined, Horned & Barbed leather armor and clothes are fine to actively meditate through
studded leather, bone armor, ringmail, chainmail and plate will prevent you from meditating.
The only exception is if the above armor has the magic property "Mage Armor".
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Resisting Spells related FAQ


Q - What spells are affected by Resisting Spells?

Curse type spells, poison spells, paralyze, mana draining spells.
As well as the necromancer spells, blood oath, corpse skin, mind rot and pain spike.

Q - Why do I have points in physical/elemental resist when I'm not wearing armor?

The skill resisting spells adds a "minimum" resist level based on your resisting spells
skill; this minimum resist will not stack with armor.
At 120 skill this minimum is 44.

Q - Why is my displayed resisting spells lower than my real resisting spells?

You have protection applied to you either through the protection or arch protection spell.
Simple recast this spell to remove it and your skill level will return to normal.

Q - How do i gain in resisting spells?

This is possibly one of the most debated topics in the world of UO skills.
0 - 30 = Buy from an NPC, don't be cheap !
30 - 120 = Hunt spell casters. Imps, daemons, meer eternals, liches, lich lords.
Any spell casting monster that will cast debuff spells, poisons, mana drains and paralyze will get you gains

OR

If your too lazy to do this do the following.
Cast the 1st Circle Spell Weaken on yourself and then Repeat. Yes it's that easy.

Q - Will that Weaken method really take me to 120?
Yes it will take you all the way to 120 assuming you have eaten the correct powerscroll.
However this method is very boring and you may prefer to raise it passively through fighting monster who cast magic.
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Melee Defense related FAQ

Q - Do I need any melee defense?

It basically comes down to what your character does.
In PvP it's mandatory, any warrior out there will be capable of killing you if you don't have it.
It's not a requirement in PVM but if you find yourself being too close to monsters
for a large portion of the time you might want to consider picking up one
or the other melee defense sort.

Q - What is the anatomy/evaluate formula?

(Anatomy + Evaluate Intelligence + 20) / 2 = defensive wrestling (capped at 120.0)

Q - Does the anatomy/evaluate formula equal wrestling?

Defensively yes they are the same but
unlike wrestling it does not give you any offensive prowess at all.

Q - What is the best melee defense to have?

Every Melee skill has it's good & Bad points.
Fencing, Swordsmanship, Archery and Macing would require you to have a Spell Channeling weapon otherwise
you would drop the weapon everytime you cast a spell and therfore lose your defensive capability.
To execute the primary special move of these weapons require the player to have at least 70 Weapon skill & 70 Tactics.
To execute the secondary special move of these weapons require the player to have at least 90 Weapon skill & 90 Tactics.
The Tactics requirement isn't applied to Wrestling.

Q - So how good is wrestling?

The Wrestling skill allows you to equip spellbooks with stats and buffs which make it easier to build a good suit.
You can also get slayer spellboooks to do more damage to certain monster types.
You cannot be disarmed unlike the above weapon skills.
For this very reason Wrestling is seen to be the favourite Melee defense for Mages.

Q - What about Parrying?

The Parrying skill is checked during combat to determine whether an attack
can be fully blocked.
Melee and archery attacks can be fully parried if the defender is using a Shield or a melee weapon.
This is obviously useful for a mage as the less times your hit the less likely you will be to get disrupted during spellcasting.

Q - Whats the formula for the chance to Parry a melee attack?
Blocking with a shield:
% Chance = Parrying / 4 (If less than 0, the chance is 0)
(Add 5% if Parrying is 100 or above)

Therfore at 120 Parrying you will have a 35% chance of parrying an attack with a shield

Q - Is there anything else i should know about Parrying?

Yes a very important one, the parrying skill relies on a minimum amount of Dexterity to achieve it's full potential.
The Dexterity Modifier if dex is less than 80: (80 - Dexterity) / 100
(If Dexterity is higher than 80, the modifier is 0)
Final % Chance of blocking = Base Chance * (1 - Dexterity Modifier)

Due to this equation if you have below 80 Dexterity your Parry chance will not be optimised for your skill level.
This requirement makes it hard for a mage to take up Parrying because 80 Dexterity is a large chunk of yuor stat points.

Q - How much Defense Chance Increase do i need?
As a mage the more the better however be aware that DCI is currently capped at 45%.
DCI also can be reduced by the "Hit Lower Defense" property on weapons.
This loss equates to -25% DCI however it only lasts 5-10 seconds.
You can calculate yuor chance to be hit by an opponent by following the link below
http://uo.stratics.com/content/arms-armor/combat.php
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Miscellaneous related FAQ

Q - What is UO Assist?

Uo Assist is an EA approved program that allows player to do common tasks
at the touch of a single button.
This can allow mages to cast spells alot quicker than clicking manually.

Q - Where can i get this program?

The UO Assist homepage can be found by following the link below
http://www.tugsoft.com/

Q - That looks complicated is there a guide i can read?

Yes, Chandalir has written a good guide that beginners should read before attempting to use the program
This guide can be found below
http://uo.stratics.com/content/professions/mage/uoa.shtml

Q - How does the Inscription skill affect my spells?

Inscription can add SDI onto your spells as well as affect the result of buffs.
Grandmaster Inscription adds 10% to damage spells. This is not on a pure sliding scale,
the damage bonus is 1% for every 20 points of Inscription with a 5% GM bonus.
This 10% SDI bonus at GM isn't part of the PVP SDI cap.
Which means if you take the 15% SDI cap in PVP and add the 10% from GM Scribe on
you get 25% SDI, which hurt's.... ALOT.

TO find out about the other affects the Inscription skill has on your spells please click the link below.
http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/inscription.php

Q - Do you have any other links that you may think useful to a beginner?

Certainly here are some of the more important ones.

Item Properties - http://uo.stratics.com/content/arms-armor/itemproperties.php
Casting Requirements - http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/magery.php
Spell Damage - http://uo.stratics.com/content/basics/spelldamage.php
Meditation Rate - http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/meditation.php
Spell Descriptions - http://uo.stratics.com/content/guides/magic.shtml#1
Combat Calculator - http://uo.stratics.com/content/arms-armor/combat.php
Power Scrolls - http://uo.stratics.com/content/skills/scrollsofpower.shtml
Stat Calculator - http://uo.stratics.com/content/tools/statscalc.shtml
PVP Templates - http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/...mp;view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
Ava Straden's Magery Guide - http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/...mp;view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
Scribe Forum - http://boards.stratics.com/php-bin/uo/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=uoscribe
 

Hex_Europa

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Special Thanks to:

Chandalir for his previous FAQ & Stratics Content. Alot of this FAQ is based on his original.

All the Stratics Staff for their work in gathering formulas and calculations.

Everyone else on the Mage Forum that has contributed to this FAQ.
 
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