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Runemaster FAQ By Alvis_of_Galahad (Alvis, 50 Runemaster of Galahad) Current as of the 1.52 patch. Overview: The Runemaster is the primary nuking class in Midgard. However, unlike their cousins the Wizard (Albion) and Eldritch (Hibernia), the Runemaster has a great deal of versatility. It is truly the only caster class that can specialize successfully in any of its three lines, or even as a balanced mix of all three potential specializations. Therefore, the usual question of what is the "best" specialization, or race, or play style are all answered in the same way: What kind of Runemaster do you want to be? I. CHARACTER CREATION
II. SPELLS
III. EQUIPMENT
IV. SOLOING
V. GROUPING
VI. RvR
VII. REALM ABILITIES
VIII. MISCELLANEOUS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. CHARACTER CREATION I.a. What race makes the best Runemaster? There is no "best" race for a runemaster; each of the three potential races (Kobold, Dwarf or Norse) has advantages and disadvantages. Here's a summary: Dwarf - Many chose the short and stout Dwarf as their Runemaster due to the races naturally high Constitution (higher hit points). However, Dwarves have lower base Dexterity, and therefore will not be able to cast as fast as the wiley Kobold. Kobold - The higher Dexterity of this crafty race comes at the price of their Strength and Constitution (and thus hitpoints). These are the fastest Casters in Midgard, only slightly being out cast by the little Lurikeens in Hibernia. Norse - Norse are the middle ground between Dwarves and Kobolds. You gain more Strength and Constitution at the cost of Dexterity. Some think it is an advantage in RvR to be a "human" type race that is less readily identifiable as an enemy at a distance (because all realms have human-type races). I.b. How should I spend my ability points? Start with 10 points each in PIE (which determines your power pool and
affects the damage you do with spells) and DEX (which determines casting
speed). After that, you have several choices. Remember, though, that putting
more than 10 points into a single stat results in diminishing returns;
the second 10 points give you 1 higher ability for every 2 points spent.
You can
Put 10 points into CON, to get more hitpoints, or Put another 10 points into PIE, to get more POW for spells, or Put another 10 points into DEX, to cast spells faster
It’s really a matter of preference. I personally chose the CON, because I like the extra HP. I.c. How does DEX affect casting speed? Taken straight from the Camelot Herald:
Q: Would you please give more detail as to how dex affects a caster? For instance, I understand that when I have my dex maxed I will cast 25% faster. How does this work incrementally? And will a lurikeen be able to cast faster in the end than another race? A: From a dex of 50 to a dex of 250, the formula lets you cast 1% faster for each ten points. From a dex of 250 to the maximum possible (which as you know depends on your starting total), your speed increases 1% for every twenty points. So, as you can see, a lurikeen may be able to cast A VERY TINY AMOUNT faster than another race, but just barely, and even then depending on the starting stat. By the way, this same explanation works for the quickness stat for weapon
users.
I.d. What about QUI? It's listed as our tertiary ability and goes up every 3 levels. Quickness was originally planned as the stat that would affect casting speed (Dexterity was only going to affect the chance of a bolt hitting). However, Mythic changed this several months after release, and QUI has almost zero value to any runemaster. Its only effect is to make you swing your staff a little faster, and you do NOT want to be in a situation where that matters. Unfortunately, Mythic says that it is very difficult or impossible for
them to change the primary/secondary/tertiary stats for various classes,
so this mistake is now a permanent part of the runemaster class.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. SPELLS II.a. What do the various spell lines do? Darkness: Direct damage spells (some of which debuff darkness resist), and a damage add for melee characters. The Darkness DD spell is the fastest casting DD spell in the realm, and is tied for fastest in the game. Suppression: A melange of spells to hamper opponents. The primary damage in this line is a DD/snare spell (in both single target and AE versions). It also includes the extremely valuable bladeturn line, the nearsight line (very valuable in RvR), and the Confusion line, which can be wonderful in PvE. II.b. How should I spec my character (what template should I shoot for)? There are probably more "templates" (level 50 character specs) for the
runemaster than for any other cloth-wearing caster. Here are a few that
people shoot for.
47 Runecarving/26 Supression/5 Darkness: Gives you the top end bolt, the top Area Effect (AE) and the 10-second pulsing bladeturn. The master of AEs and bolts, this is probably the most common template. 47 Darkness/26 Supression/5 Runecarving: Gives you the best Direct-damage (DD) spell and the 10-second bladeturn. The master nuker, with groupability from the pulsing bladeturn. 50 Darkness/20 suppression/n Runecarving: Gives you the top darkness AE spell, the top DD spell and the group (not pulsing) bladeturn. Uber nuker, with a little bit of groupability. 50 Supression/20 darkness or Runecarving: Gives you the 6-second bladeturn, the top suppression DD/snare spell, and reasonable damage on the base spells of whichever line is secondary. Much desired in groups, but not the top damage dealer. 37 Runecarving/nn Suppression/nn Darkness: (both suppression and Runecarving
in the 30's, darkness in the high teens): gives you the second-best bolt,
the second-best AE, the 8-second bladeturn, and decent damage on base darkness
nukes. A jack of all trades.
It should be stressed that any of these styles can succeed. It’s a matter of how you want to play your character. II.c. How does quickcast work? Quickcast is an ability that trades off increased mana usage for the ability to get a spell off in half the time, with almost no chance of interruption. To use quickcast, first make a hotkey for your quickcast ability. Then, when you want to quickcast a spell, hit quickcast and then the spell you want to fire. Simple as that. Well, not quite simple as that. Quickcast is on a 30-second timer, so you can't just quickcast all the time. Also, there is a delay after quickcasting, during which you cannot cast another spell (the delay is 1-2 seconds). Quickcast is thus best used as a last resort, either to escape (quickcast root) or finish a target (quickcast DD). II.d. What effect does specialization level have on base spells? Specializing in a spell line has two effects. Most obvious is that it grants you access to the spells in that specialization. You will get new, more powerful versions of each spell as you add spec levels. Specialization also affects the damage done by your "base" spells (the
ones you get just by gaining experience levels). Here's how it works:
If you don't put any points into a specialization, then base spells in that specialization will vary wildly in damage, doing 25-125% of their nominal, or listed damage. Putting points into a specialization will gradually raise the "damage floor." this means that, if you specialize to 2/3 your character's level, base spells will do 75-125% of their nominal damage. Specialization points above 2/3 your character level will increase both the floor and ceiling on damage. A fully specced character (one with specialization equal to character level) will do 100-150% of nominal damage with spells. Specializing above your character level will continue to increase the
damage floor, but you will see diminishing returns.
Note that skill points from items (for example, a ring that gives +1 Darkness) count in the damage calculations, but they do not give you access to higher level spells. Also, specialization-only spells will always start out at 100% spec level, because you have to specialize to have access to those spells in the first place. II.e. How does ground target AE work? The ground target AE (GTAE) spell is in the Runecarving specialization. It is an area effect spell that, instead of being cast on a target, is cast on a particular spot on the ground. This can be useful for uncovering stealthers, or for nuking areas you can't actually see (the GTAE has no line of sight check). Its major limitation is that, because of its 6-second recast timer, it does very limited damage. To get a ground target, hold down the F5 key. You will see a crosshair appear at your feet. This is your ground target. You can move the ground target forward and back by holding F5 and using your move forward/move back keys. Side-to-side movement is accomplished by turning your character. You can even change the height of the ground target using your look up/look down keys. This means that a GTAE can be used, for example, to nuke the tower in a keep. The lack of a line of sight check means that you can slide a ground target under the keep door and nuke whoever is on the other side, without seeing them at all, and without them being able to see you. It is likely that GTAE spells will be changed at some point, as the 6-second timer was really a kluge to get around the massive power of a spell that has no line of sight restrictions. Right now it has some uses, but doesn't do much damage. II.f. What's up with bolts and being "blocked by an attacker?" Bolts have a long range and do a lot of damage. The downside is that they have a long casting time, a 20-second timer, and can be blocked either by a target wielding a shield, or because a target is engaged in melee combat. The latter is cause for much annoyance to runemasters, because the definition of being "engaged in melee combat" doesn't seem to make sense at all. When you solo, bolts will never be blocked in this manner. But when grouped, a bolt can be blocked by a healer stun spell, a debuff, an archer's arrow, or...nothing at all. This has been a problem since day 1, despite repeated promises and attempts to fix it. Feel free to complain about this to Mythic, if it makes you feel better. Otherwise, just don't use bolts while grouped. II.g. How do resists work? There are actually two factors at play when talking about resists. The first, when a target "resists the effect," is referred to by Mythic as the "chance of a spell landing." That is, there is a chance that a spell will fail to affect the target at all. This is based on a comparison of your level to that of the target, with a few modifiers. When you cast a spell on a target of equal level, there is about a 7 in 8 chance that the spell will land. The lower the target, the better chance you have to hit, such that a spell will always land on a gray con target. Orange, red and purple con targets will be more difficult. There is a modifier that improves the chance of a spell landing for each player who is attacking a target. There has never been a formula published for this modifier, but most people do see a difference if they cast a spell once melee types are engaged in combat with the target. OK, that's one kind of resist. The second (the one that Mythic calls resists) is the bonus or penalty that a creature gets against a particular damage type. This can be affected by innate racial bonuses, by armor type, by items, by debuffs and by buff spells. It is important to note that these bonuses have no effect whatsoever on the chance of a spell landing; they affect only the damage or duration of a spell that lands. So, let's sum this up. Say there is a monster that is the same level as you, and that has a 10% resistance to cold. You will have a 7 in 8 chance of landing your darkness based DD spell. When it lands you will see a message stating that you hit for 90 (-10) damage. That (-10) means that the spell would have hit for 100 points, but the 10% cold resistance on the monster knocked your net damage down to 90. II.h. What damage types can I cast? This information is now available in the delve information for each
spell. In a nutshell:
Darkness spells are Cold damage Suppression spells are Energy damage Runecarving spells are energy damage
II.i. Why do I get a heat and matter debuff, when I don't cast heat or matter spells? Mythic's philosophy behind the debuff spells is that they are meant for grouping. That is, no caster should be able to debuff their primary damage type. That is why, for example, the cold debuff spell is in the runecarving spec line, while all of our cold damage spells are in the darkness line. So, why heat and matter? Mostly for completeness. There are spells (such as the shaman DoT, bolt and DD) that cause Body damage, but you are much better off just nuking instead of debuffing damage for a shaman. Likewise, there are items that proc heat damage, or that have charges of heat-based DD spells. But those are generally not available until level 45+, and you are not likely to want to take 2 seconds to cast a debuff when the charged item is an insta-cast. II.j. Does my Runes of Darkness damage add spell (such as 'Rune of Injury') stack with the Skald damage add song? Yes, but the damage added by the Skalds song will be half of what it would be if it were not stacked. Because of this, if your damage add spell does not add more than half of what the Skald song adds (when not stacked) then it is not worth casting yours when you have a Skald in your group. As a general rule, you will only want to stack damage adds if you are a darkness-specced runemaster. II.k. How does the Suppression spell Runic Ward & higher versions of it work? The general name for this type of spell is a 'Bladeturn' (or BT for short) type spell, but they are also called 'Bubble' type spells by some (as that is what it looks like when you cast it). Bladeturn spells basically absorb one melee hit so that you take no damage. The effect disappears once it has absorbed a hit & you must cast it again. The later versions of the spell are 'chant' type spells that refresh themselves every so many seconds once you have activated them (i.e. cast them once). The level 26 spell 'Runic Guard' for example will refresh every 10 seconds once it is activated, so it will therefore absorb a melee hit every 10 seconds. This applies to everyone in your group also as long as they stay in range of the spell (approx the same range as one of our Suppression DD spells). They do slow your power regeneration while active also as they drain a small amount of power each time they pulse. Sometimes a melee hit will 'penetrate the barrier' and you will receive damage. The attacker has a chance to do this if he is higher in character level than the person who has the Bladeturn spell cast on them. Another good thing to remember is that Bladeturn 'chants' (or Pulsing Bladeturn as its also called) will turn off automatically if you run out of power completely or if you change to a new zone via a 'loading' screen. II.l. My running speed buff 'Symbol of Movement' turns off when I cast the Bladeturn spell 'Runic Guard'. Why? You can only have one 'chant' type spell active at once so you cannot use the Bladeturn Chants (such as 'Runic Guard') at the same time as your run buff chant (such as 'Mark of Movement'). II.m. Will Bladeturn chants stack if I have another runemaster in the group that has the spell? They certainly will. If you get the timing right you can stack your
Bladeturn chant so that it refreshes halfway through the other Runemasters
Bladeturn chant. That way you could half the refresh time on the Bladeturn.
II.n. When my Bladeturn chant is active I get lots of text in the upper chat box telling me who it has refreshed on and when it fades every time it refreshes. How can I stop this? Right click the upper half of the chat box with your mouse. Uncheck
the little gray boxes next to 'Spell Pulse' & 'Spell Expires'. This
should stop any repetitive 'spam' from chant type spells.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- III. EQUIPMENT III.a. How do focus staves work? Focus staves reduce the amount of mana it takes to cast a spell. If
you "delve" for information on a spell (right-click on the spell icon,
and then hit shift-I), you will see a power cost listed. That cost is affected
by use of a focus staff as follows:
If you have no focus staff, or a staff with no focus in the specialization of the spell being cast, then power cost will be 120% of the delve information If you wield a staff with any focus levels in the specialization of the spell being cast, then power cost will be 100% of the delve information If the spell being cast is at or below the "focus levels" provided by
the staff, then power cost is 90% of the delve information.
There has been some discussion in the past about changing the way focus items work, such as making it a sliding scale. This has not yet been implemented. III.b. My armor just turned blue. Should I get new armor? One advantage of playing a cloth-wearing caster is that we are cheap to maintain. You don't have to buy new armor just because your current stuff turned blue, because the AF on a piece of armor is secondary to the stat bonuses or resists that it provides. This is not to say that AF is irrelevant; only that it should be secondary to the other bonuses that an item provides. So, don't replace armor just because it turns blue. Balance the stat bonuses, skill bonuses and resist bonuses on the piece of armor against the AF it provides. Most armor should be replaced once it turns green, and sometimes you will have piece to replace a blue-con item. But it's not nearly as imperative to keep your AF up there as it is for melee classes. III.c. Is it OK for me to use equipment that is purple to me? Purple-con equipment (items that are way above your character's level) can be very useful to a runemaster. The benefit to using higher-level items is that they will usually have better stat bonuses. For example, any focus staff that has focus levels equal to your character level will likely be orange, red or purple to you. And, you won't find many lower level items that give a bonus to runecarving skill (darkness and suppression items are easier to find). The only downside to high-level items is that they wear out more quickly. A focus staff will wear out based on how many times you swing it in battle or cast a spell. Armor, however, only seems to have a chance of losing CON when you are attacked in melee. There is also a point at which an item is too high a level for you to see any benefit. If this happens, you will see a message when you equip the item, saying, "the magic of the SuchandSuch fails to affect you." Higher-level items are thus generally a Good Thing for casters. III.d. I have a Staff that has Spell Proc. on it. How do I make the Proc. work? First of all the staff has to be yellow to you (i.e. the same level) for it to work. Check this by delving on the staff (right-click the staff and hit shift-I) and checking the level requirement. Then you have to Melee with the staff & the spell will cast randomly. Yes, stop laughing; I did say you have to melee with the Staff. You may remember how to do this from when you were level 1. Have some fun beating down grays with it. III.e. I have a Staff that has Spell Charges on it. How do I use them & can I recharge them afterwards? Follow these steps to use any charged item.
You first need to find out what your 'Use' key is set to. Do this by typing /keyboard. It defaults to ‘E’. Equip the item in the appropriate slot. It won’t work fromyour inventory; you have to wield it or wear it. Place a copy of the Icon for your Staff on your Hotkey Bar. Now whenever you want to use a charged item press the 'Use' Key &
then the Hotkey Button & you will use a charge on your staff.
This applies to any charged Item. You can only use a charged item once every 2 minutes. If you switch charged items (for example, if you equip a different charge staff), the 2-minute timer still applies. So, don’t go into a battle thinking you will chain insta-cast with your bag full of charged staves. Charged Items can be recharged at a 'Recharger' NPC. There are several of these NPC's around Midgard, such as in Jorheim & at Gna Faste. Recharging items is not cheap so make sure you have plenty of money; staff charges cost anywhere from 10-50 gp. Once Spellcrafting is added as a trade skill, players will be able to
recharge items.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. SOLOING IV.a. How should I solo as a Dark-specced RM? Darkness specced runemasters don't have quite the range of runecarving specced runemasters, but have spells that cast faster. The general pattern for soloing a darkness-specced Runemaster is DD-DD-DD-quickcast DD if needed That will take care of just about any blue or yellow CON creature. If there are resists, you may need to DD-DD-Root-back off-DD-DD-quickcast DD or some variant thereof. The damage add that dark specced RMs get even makes it viable to finish a creature with your staff in some cases. But this is risky, and is not advised. IV.b. How should I solo as a Suppression-specced RM? Suppression spec runemasters rely on their DD/Snare spell for soloing. The snare component of the spell lets them "kite" targets a bit, but be aware that snare doesn't show an appreciable effect until the target is at or below 50% health. There are a couple of common soloing patterns for specced-specced RMs: DD-DD-DD-<run a little>-DD-DD....
When running, be aware of the anti-kiting code added to the game. See the section on anti-kite code, below. When starting with a Bolt, suppression RMs will want to be at maximum DD range -- NOT maximum bolt range. The reason for this is that you want to use the time that the bolt is in the air to start casting your DD/snare spell. If you are at maximum bolt range, you will be out of DD/snare range, and the MOB will be running at you full bore by the time you start casting your DD/Snare. IV.c. How should I solo as a Runecarving-specced RM? Runecarving-specced RMs are, in my opinion, the best solo class in the game. A fully RC-specced runemaster can consistently take down orange con targets (but this is not advised, because it is not efficient in terms of mana usage and downtime). The pattern for soloing a runecarving RM is always the same: Spec Bolt-Base Bolt-DD-DD if needed That will kill 90+% of all yellow con targets before they reach melee range. If they stop to cast, so much the better. If you get a resist, or a missed bolt, then stick a root in there after the first DD spell. IV.d. How should I solo as a Balance-specced RM? Interesting question. Advice needed here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- V. GROUPING V.a. Why can't I get a group? There is a lingering perception that runemasters don't group well unless they have the pulsing bladeturn spell (spec level 26 in suppression). This is a problem shared by our cousins in other realms, as well as other classes (assassins in all realms are another example). It's a matter of education (there is a place for people who can deal out lots of damage, after all) and of building a reputation as a good player. And if you can't get a group, start one! V.b. Why do I keep dying when I group (aggro management 101)? In a group, you generally want the tanks (warriors, thanes, even skalds) to get the attention of the target before you start nuking. This is because, in a group, you are usually fighting orange, red or purple-con creatures that can squash you like a bug if they get into melee range. It therefore is vital that a runemaster not nuke a target too early or too much. For most orange or red con targets, 2 nukes will do, and will save your mana for the next encounter. A purple con target may require a third nuke. Depending on the makeup of the group, debuffs are another great option. These will generate less aggro, and will help the tanks keep aggro by letting them hit the target harder (in the case of a DEX debuff) or have to be healed less (STR debuff). If you are specced in runecarving and are grouped with a darkness-specced RM or a spiritmaster, pulling with a cold debuff is a good option. You can still go for the kill shot with a couple of nukes at the end. Another note about nearsight: this is a great spell for pulling because it has a very long range, generates very little aggro, and consumes very little power. Plus, if you are pulling casters (such as Fenrir Prophets, Icestriders, Blodfelag Windcallers or Haxas, Svartalf Enchanters, and many more) it cripples their ability to damage you before your party can get aggro. V.c. What do I need to change in a group versus soloing? First of all, bolts are still broken for grouping. Unless you are pulling for the group, you should just forget about using bolts -- and even when pulling, it's usually better to pull with a debuff or nearsight spell, so that you don't' generate huge aggro or even a Call for Help by doing lots of damage with your first cast. Other than that, it's all about aggro management and mana management.
You don't want the monsters attacking you, and you don't' want to be the
one everybody is waiting for between pulls. Mana regenerates much slower
than does the endurance that melee classes use for styles, so nuke just
enough and not too much.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. RvR VI.a. What's the most important thing to know about RvR? Keep moving! If you stand still, you become a target for assassins. You stay in range of archers and other casters. You can be rushed by melee types. You can be watched by the corpses of your victims. Keep moving! When you are in a big battle, move (or at least turn a bit) between each spell you cast. When you complete a battle, resurrect your dead and move out of sight of the enemy corpses. When you run down a road, go serpentine and vary your path. Never stand still. Keep moving! One other thing: KEEP MOVING! ! VI.b. What can a Runemaster do in a keep attack? Runemasters have the versatility to fill several rules in a keep attack. First, it is a huge help to have pulsing bladeturn for the group. Keep archers can cause a lot of damage and keep healers busy if you don't have bladeturn. This is a godsend for keep attacks. Second, you can use nearsight on archers and enemy defenders. This really helps the attackers at the doors. Third, you can nuke nuke nuke. Keep archers make great AE targets, because they are stationary. Use an AE on them to hit any enemy defenders hiding near them behind the walls. Help handle the guards when they pop. And nuke any defenders who show their faces. A favorite technique for killing defenders is to nearsight/bolt/quickcast bolt. The nearsight is a fast spell that eliminates their ability to attack you from a distance. The bolt and quickcast bolt will usually land if you don't fat-finger a cast. The ground target AE can also be useful in keep attack, though you will likely have yourself in harms way when you use it. When those pesky defenders are resting up inside the keep, you can fish around with your GTAE and hope to get lucky. You can plant the GTAE on the usual archer and caster spots. Once inside, you can GTAE the Lord room and weaken any defenders inside. VI.c. What can a Runemaster do in a keep defense? Keep defense is one place where runemasters shine. Let the AE spells fly and cause havoc among any attackers in range. Nearsight enemy casters and healers. Use GTAE to hit the people attacking your keep doors. A runemaster can get a great deal of realm points in a keep defense. There are a couple of things to watch out for in a keep defense, though. Don't stand too close to the keep archers (see the note in keep attacks, about using archers for AE targets). Be aware of assassin climb points in keeps, too. It's helpful to have a runemaster with GTAE to keep climb points clear (it will destealth assassins, so they will have to run or die). And, never stay visible for longer than it takes to cast a spell. Even better, cast only when you can quickcast, once every 30 seconds. Hide behind the ramparts until quickcast is available. Hit your quickcast key, then move and cast your spell, and hide again. A dead runemaster gains no RP. VI.d. What can a Runemaster do in group versus group battles? In small group battles you can deal damage with DD spells. You can root enemy tanks, and debuff them as well. You can nearsight enemy casters, healers and archers. You should probably NOT use your AE spells. The reason for this is that non-keep RvR battles are a place where single-target and AE mesmerize spells can make all the difference. If one group gets all or part of the other group mesmerized, they will win. If you break an AE mez with your AE damage, you will likely lose the battle for your group. VI.e. What can a Runemaster do in large scale battles? This is the same as with group versus group battles. You generally will never want to be the first to cast and AE spell, because you may break a LOT of mezzes with it. It may look great to have a stream of 12 lines saying that you did 90 points of damage to an enemy. But that 90 points doesn't compare to having the enemy asleep for a minute or more. It's best to focus on one target at a time and nuke them until they
are dead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. REALM ABILITIES VII.a. What are Realm Abilities & how do I obtain them? Realm Abilities are extra abilities that you can 'purchase' with Realm Ability Points. You get 1 Realm Ability point for every Realm Level you obtain, so if you are Realm Rank 2, level 5, you should have 15 Realm Ability points to spend ( Rank 1, level 0, is your realm Rank start point so Rank 2, level 5 is 15 levels above it ). A full list of Runemaster Realm Abilities can be found on the Camelot Herald. VII.b. It says in the manual that we get Trap type spells. What are these & which spell line are they in? The Trap spell 'Rune of Decimation' is a Realm Ability, which you must purchase with Realm Ability Points. Some people view the ground target AE spell as the fulfillment of this line in the manual, but that is open to debate. VII.c. How do I use the 'Rune of Decimation' Trap? When you purchase the ability the Icon appears on your Abilities Panel (not on your Spells Panel). Place the Icon on your Hotkey Bar. When you press the correct Hotkey Button the trap will appear at your feet as a bag. Whenever an enemy goes near the bag (Player or NPC) the Bag will explode with an Area of effect Damage spell that is quite powerful. The center of the explosion will radiate from the person who triggered the Trap, not from where the Trap was set down. The Trap will last for 9 minutes if an enemy does not set it off. You
can lay a trap once every 15 minutes, regardless of when your previous
Trap was triggered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. MISCELLANEOUS VIII.a. What is anti-kite code? Some time in the 1.4x patches, Mythic introduced "anti-kite" code. The idea was to prevent people from using movement reduction spells (root or snare) to "kite" monsters by nuking a couple of times, rooting, moving back, nuking some more, rooting again, etc. Why this was viewed as a problem isn't clear; it is not mana efficient to kite a monster, and all these spells had diminishing returns on their duration. But enough editorializing; the fact is that anti-kite code is in the game, and you need to know about it. Monsters who have not been engaged in combat in the past few seconds start to regenerate health at an alarmingly fast rate. So, you can't run for more than a few seconds before this code kicks in and you find the monster gaining health quite quickly. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is usually lag between the monster's real health and what you see on his HP bar. Another part of the anti-kite code is that the monster will turn and run if you get too far away. And, because it's running, the snare component doesn't have the huge effect you might think (monsters never seem to run out of endurance to sprint). Once a monster turns to run, you get basically one shot to quickcast a bolt. Otherwise it will regenerate up to around 3/4 health and come back after you, so you better be ready. VIII.b. Why does power take so long to regen? Power regenerates at different rates, depending on how much you use. If you stay at 75% power or higher, you will see it regenerate quite quickly. At half power or better it is quite palatable. Drop below half power, however, and you can go brew a pot of coffee while you sit and regenerate power. Below a quarter, and you can enjoy a nice nap. There are two ways to improve power regeneration. The first is to keep your power above 75%. That means resting between each kill while solo, and managing your mana while grouped. It's better to sit for 10-20 seconds between kills while solo, than to kill 3 in a row and have to wait for 2 minutes. The second way to improve power regeneration is to get a mana buff. These come from healers, in their Pacification spec line. Group with a healer; they need your offensive output, you need their mana buff. VIII.c. Why don't we get robes like casters in other realms? This was a decision by Mythic that Midgard casters are more "rugged" than our counterparts in other realms, and that robes are not appropriate. You will see some NPCs wearing robes (such as the Hagbui runemasters in the Vanern Swamp), but no robes are available to characters. Not yet, anyway. However, ask yourself why you want a robe? A robe immediately identifies
you as a caster (with low HP and AF) from a mile away. And, if you see
the Hagbui runemasters, you will find that they look like a kobold in a
dress. Yuck.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- END of Runemaster FAQ
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