Miscellaneous Information

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      This is Pumpkinhead, don't be afraid... he's just a demon. Anyway, since Hector has no magic and it not quite familiar with the basics of the miscellaneous information, he's letting Pumpkinhead take it over from here.

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Magic Slots and Spellcasting

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      When you look around for Magic (remember, only Mancers, Disciples, and Mages have magic for default) you will see something like (Slots: 1). What does that mean? Well first we need to explain what a slot is. For that we will use Pumpkinhead's stats for an example.

-Strength: 2 (Average/Low)
*Accuracy: 3 (Average)
-Endurance: 4 (Average/High)
*Agility: 3 (Average)
-Speed: 5 (High)
*Stamina: 3 (Average)
-Magic: 7 (Very High!) <--- Look Here
*Faith: 3 (Average)

      Pumpkinhead has a whopping 7 in magic, as discussed before this is an amazing sight and quite rare in Fantasma. Now, this default of 7 in Magic grants him 7 Magic Slots. I know what you're thinking, I've still not explained a Magic Slot. Slots are the power of magic that can be obtained at default. For example let's grab a few random spells from the Fantasma Magic pages.

#1. Faux (Slots: 1)
When target is effected, the Caster can make any ailment of their choosing.
#2. Strengthen (Slots: 2 (4 for higher level effect))
Basic: Increases Strength and Stamina by Magic Level # for Magic Level # turns.
Higher Level: If Basic Spell casted, allows caster to use Stamina to cause Strength Level # Damage to targets at farther ranges.
#3. Smoke (Tier 1)
Drops all accuracy within the smoke cloud by Magic Level 50%.

      Now that we have our spells, time to explain a few things about each. First we have "Faux", a basic spirit magic spell of illusion. Notice the (Slots: 1)? That means if Pumpkinhead wanted this spell for default, then he would use 1 of his available 7 default slots, taking him down to 6. Now, on to Strengthen, where we see a (Slots: 2 (4 for higher level effect)). What does this mean? As read, 2 slots for the basic spell (taking Pumpkinhead down to 4) or 4 slots total to have a higher level version of Strengthen. Amazing? yes, because while it doubles the slot use, it allows a great power while the spell lasts. Most spells last about the magic level in turns, unless otherwise specified. Lastly, we see a (Tier 1), don't panic. While different, it is essentially the same with only one difference. This spell has more versions of itself, interested now? Well, what you see here is the basic Tier 1 fire spell. What if you want to get a better version for default? do you need to earn it, of course not. The only difference is that Tiers require a great amount of slots to get the better versions.

For instance, Tiers are described as...

Basic
Advanced
Expert
*Environmental (Available to Mancers only)
Ultimate

For Tier 1 spells, we see something like this...

Smoke (1 Slot to have)
Cinders (+1 Slot to have)
Embers (+1 Slot to have)
*Firestorm (Must have Fire Spirit Attribute)
Heat (+1 Slot to have for those with Fire Spirit, +2 to have for anyone else)

      As you can see, to obtain an Ultimate in Tier 1 requires 5 Magical Slots. Obviously this present a problem to characters who want to get all of the Fire Spells, but you are not without hope as the next section explains.

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Victory Points

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      We left off with the dispair of not having enough Magic Slots, but do you remember the words "for default"? That means you only start that way. Now, the incentive for gaining more spells is to have higher levels of what is commonly referred to as "experience". In Fantamsa, the word "experience" refers to knowing the difference between using a cutting damage attack against cutting resisting armor, and using piercing damage attacks against cutting resisting armor. Now what is the point of going through battles and how do you upgrade from a basic class to an advanced class? The term is "victory points" often abbreviated as "vp".

VP is earned in amounts based on battles of varying degree...
0 vp = Odds in favor, 2 against 1 for example, or defeating weaker threats.
0.5 vp = Fair fight, anyone's game.
1 vp = Odds against, 1 against 2 for example or defeating 1 Threat Level higher.
1.5 vp = Dangerous fight, 1 against 3 or defeating 2 Threat Levels higher.
2 vp = Strenuous fight, giving all you have and barely defeating the enemy.
3 vp = Killing a unique monster or changing the world.
5 vp = Defeating a god.

      As you can tell, you're more than likely to only get 0.5 or 1 vp per battle. So you will need alot of battles to get what you want. Why does this matter? Well if you want more spells for your magic, you need to earn vp because vp can be used interchangably for Magic Slots. However, vp is also used for a number of things to "upgrade" a character. This upgrading includes many of the following list.
- Upgrading Class from Basic to Advanced. (5 vp)
- Upgrading Class from Advanced to Veteren. (7 vp)
- Upgrading Class from Veteren to Expert. (10 vp)
- Hybridizing Class with another. (5 vp) <--- be careful when you do this.
- Upgrading Hybrid Class to Advanced Hybrid Class. (7 vp)
- Learn new signature attack or effect. (Ranges from 3 to 5 vp depending on power.)
- Learn new Spells. (Slots Required = vp amount)
- Learn fancy spellcasting. (Ranges from 1 to 5 vp depending on spellcasting type.)
- Learn advanced attacks. (Ranges from 1 to 5 vp depending on advanced attack type.)
- Learn new Attribute. (Varies depending on power)
- Starting with Magic for Classes that do not default with it (Magic Level # vp) <--- remember that lower Magic Levels may learn faster, but will never have the power to use them well.
- Open new type of Magic for learning (Starting Spell Slot x 2 vp)

      Obviously, only characters with great power seem to benefit. Although characters with great luck also benefit from vp gained. Now a big question asked is, "What do I get if I lose?". Depending on the level of the fight, it is normally what you would earn from winning, but subtracting 0.5. However if your character dies, this means very little to you because you'll be dead. Reincarnation has an ill ailment which drops any vp you have accumulated previous to dieing, so the risk to gain more vp is omnipresent.

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Quickstrike

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      For the purposes of this tutorial, we shall enlist another character with a weapon that is labelled for "quick attacks." Here she is, Azura Monikos.



      She is armed with a steel rapier, a fine pirate sword with a good chance for dealing additional strikes. While the rapier is a lower damaging weapon compared to other weapons per strike, it makes up for it in sheer amount of strikes.

      With a quickstrike of (x3), the rapier allows Azura to attack multiple times in addition to a regular attack. This is the closest thing to a "berserk" that most characters will get a chance to have at default. What does the (x3) mean? It means that during a fight, Azura can choose to increase the amount of attacksup to 3 times in a battle. For example, she may choose to do a double-attack up to three times in a battle for a total of six. Or if she really needs the hellstorm of attacks, she may choose to use all three in one flurry of attacks for a total of four in one turn.

      As you can tell, this makes a quick weapon very useful in the right hands with the right planning. The best part about the quick attacks is that no stamina is used at all for those points. So while the small amount of damage the rapier has, it can still deliver damage equal to the amount of much heavier weaponry with a single strike.

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Hybrid Weapons

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      Remember Pumpkinhead up top? He has a strange looking weapon, doesn't he? While his weapon is technically a "city leader weapon", it is essentially a hybridized weapon. A hybrid weapon is the combination of two weapons, no more. Certain weapons are more prone to deliver improved results my hybridization, such as Pumpkinhead's combination of a Morning Star Flail and a Quarterstaff. Other combinations, such as a sword and an axe might provide results which seem to be less effective than twin swords into the coveted "butterfly sword". While this is available for default, weapons can eventually become hybridized later on.

      You might ask yourself, why not hybridize my default weapon? For one, they are much heavier and much bigger than average weapons so the space to carry a spare is much more limited. On top of that, if a Hybrid Weapon is damaged or broken, they cost much more money to repair than an average weapon. So while they may have a unique appeal, they do have many downsides with comparison to regular weapon varieties.

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Short Range Combat

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      Characters with short range weapons might notice that once they get into battle, these weapons can seem pretty insignificant. Not only that, but there is no way to distinguish what the difference between SR1, SR3, or SR5 is on minimaps. Look no further, for I am about to tell you what it all means. Short Range weapons generally have more desirable attacking capabilities, along with some modestly high attack damages. Members who understand this can exploit it completely, but the range of these weapons is mainly a delicate waltz with defense and offense.

      Each short range can defend bordering numbers with a fairly good amount of ease. Here is a chart explaining this.

Short Range 1: Defends against Short Range 2 well, Defends poorly against Short Range 4, and horribly against Short Range 5.
Short Range 2: Defends against Short Range 1 & 3 well, Defends poorly against Short Range 5.
Short Range 3: Defends against Short Range 2 & 4 well.
Short Range 4: Defends against Short Range 3 & 5 well, Defends poorly against Short Range 1.
Short Range 5: Defends against Short Range 4 well, Defends poorly against Short Range 2, and horribly against Short Range 1.

      Ask you can tell, Short Range 3 is your best option in defending since it is not poor or horrible in defense against any short range weaponry. You might ask, why does Short Range 5 not defend well against Medium Range 1? Despite my telling you "because I said so", there is an actual legitimate reason. Short Range combat is short range, when you exit short range, there is not only a better chance to evade longer ranges but an equal chance to defend against them as a neutral range. So to say that Short Range 5 defends well on a range that all other ranges defend equally on would be unfair. Think of it in terms of an arrow shot deflection, would a shorter weapon or longer weapon improve chances in deflecting that arrow? It is a mute point, because so long as the weapon is there to deflect the arrow, it is no longer a chance for short range balance improvement but a test of weapon quality.

      What do I mean by balance improvement after I just spent 3 paragraphs telling you it was defense improvement? Balanced weapons will have a far improved defensive short range quality (Balanced ranged weapons will not "wobble" accuracy). So a balanced Short Range 3 weapon will defend very well against SR2 & SR4, and well against SR1 & SR4. Looking better to have the SR3 weapon balanced, isn't it? This is merely a way to outclass warriors who depend on brute force, and is a mathematical way to have dueling without introducing a bunch of silly "skills".

      BUT WAIT! How do the ranges defend against their own range? Good question, glad you were thinking. Against their own range, they defend well (very well if balanced). Also, if a weapon is poorly balanced, fix it immediately as it will have a reverse effect of balancing, only defending well against its own range number and accelerating that which it defends poorly against.

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Return Link: Fantasma Combat Tutorial
Home Link: Fantasma