Magicka Spells Complete Guide

Magicka Spells Complete Guide by Stergeary

The Only Combat Spells You’ll Ever Need
(To expedite your efficiency as a wizard, the wall of text comes after this tidbit.)

http://i.imgur.com/YuttF.jpg

If you don’t want to click the link to read a beautifully laid-out Excel chart (And in case it isn’t clear, m2 means to right click your mouse):

Long range against many weak enemies: Q-F-Q-F-S-A-A-m2
The elemental combination that gives the highest damage Beam in the game. Steam Soaks enemies and does damage, Arcane sets the Spell Type as Beam, and Lightning does double damage against Soaked targets.

Long range against a few strong enemies: R-S-A-A-A-m2
Literally a copy of the above spell, except instead of prioritizing damage, this beam will Slow strong enemies that you cannot burst-damage to death, focusing instead on controlling their distance from you and delaying their attacks. Most effective if you can Soak them with Water beforehand.

Short range against a few enemies: Q-R-Q-R-Q-R-Q-R-A-m2
This fires what is literally a 12-pellet shotgun blast of electrified ice shards. If you charge the spell, you can turn it into a 12-round assault rifle burst-fire instead (spread decreases and range increases proportional to charge time). Using this spell uncharged is recommended, since charging takes too long and does not increase damage.

Short range against many weak enemies grouped together: Q-R-A-A-A-A-F-m2
This exploits a mechanic in combining Advanced Elements that allows you to have Water and Lightning in the same spell by adding Fire to Ice (or alternatively, adding Cold to Steam) at the end of the spell. This fires a wet arc of lightning that jumps from target to target and knocks back anything it hits.

Short range against many weak and spread out enemies: Q-F-A-S-S-S-shift-m2
This is the analog to the long range Steam-Lightning-Arcane Beam, except Area Casted with emphasis on blast radius. You can exchange the Arcane elements for Steam and Lightning, but it greatly decreases the effective area in exchange for about 600 damage.

Short range against many enemies: R-D-D-D-D-shift-m2
This is basically your last resort if you are surrounded by enemies from all directions that are too strong to burst-damage to death. This will knock down all nearby enemies since this is a Projectile spell being Area Casted. The Cold element, however, will also Slow the enemy, which causes them to take an incredibly long time to recover from the knockdown. This spell deals no damage, and you’ll have to use one of the other short range spells to finish them off or reposition yourself.

There are obviously many permutations for the order of elements in casting these spells even though I’ve listed only one, just find the order that works best for you to cast naturally and quickly.

Basic Mechanics
(Stuff you would know just by playing for like 30 minutes.)

Every player has a spell bar into which one can conjure up to 5 elements using their arsenal of 8 Basic Elements. Any combination of elements can be used, even repeated elements. The exception to this rule is that each element has one or more Opposites, which are elements that are at odds with that element. Whenever you conjure an element into your spell bar when an Opposite is already in your spell bar, they will cancel each other out stack-wise (e.g. You have Fire-Arcane-Fire in your spell bar, you conjure Cold into your spell bar, now you are left with Fire-Arcane in your spell bar.).

There are two Advanced Elements, being Ice (Water with Cold) and Steam (Water with Fire). As long as you have an element in your spell bar that can combine into an Advanced Element, it will do so stack-wise (last come, first serve; i.e. if you conjure Fire into Water-Water-Earth, it will become Water-Steam-Earth). These Advanced Elements are treated the same as the Basic Elements. They only take up a single slot on the spell bar and can be conjured even when the spell bar is full (e.g. Conjuring Fire into Water-Life-Life-Life-Life makes Steam-Life-Life-Life-Life.)

After deciding which elements to use in your spell, you are ready to cast the spell… As soon as you decide which method of casting you would like. There are four ways to cast a spell: Self Cast, Area Cast, Staff Cast, and Weapon Cast. A Self Cast (Middle Click, a.k.a. mouse3) will cast the prepared spell on yourself. This is generally only used for healing yourself, shielding yourself, or activating a Magic Resistance aura. Area Cast (Shift and Right Click, a.k.a. shift+mouse2) will cause the spell’s effect to radiate outward around you, without affecting yourself. This is generally useful against close-range attackers that are swarming you, but is also the most difficult to control, since your allies tend to be near you. Staff Cast (Right Click, a.k.a. mouse2) is probably going to be your most frequently-used method of casting. It usually fires your spell linearly in a direction of your choice, and is the most controlled casting method. Lastly, is the Weapon Cast (Shift and Left Click, a.k.a. shift+mouse1), which you will probably use the least. It will imbue your weapon with the spell, and the next melee attack you perform will fire that spell from your weapon, whatever the spell may be.

When casting a spell, the form that the spell takes will depend on the priority of Spell Types. Each element contributes one Spell Type, the element with the Spell Type that has the highest priority determines the Spell Type of the final spell. The list of Spell Type priorities, from highest priority to lowest, is Shield, Projectile, Ice, Beam, Lightning, Spray. Additional elements that correspond to the highest priority Spell Type can be added to increase the effectiveness of the spell, while all other elements will simply add an auxiliary effect as an auxiliary element to those hit by the spell. Every element adds its own distinct auxiliary effect to a spell, which is explained below in Basic Elements and Advanced Elements.

There are certain special magical spells in the game that are not invoked like other spells, and their effects are not the consequence of the elements involved, though they are often related. These are called Magicks, they are named spells that have their own effects, often differing radically from the sorts of spells that can be achieved normally. All Magicks have a casting time, but some “Great Magicks” have a wide-area or global effect, and requires a longer casting time in exchange for their highly influential effects.

Oh, and you have 1000 health by the way.

Basic and Advanced Elements

Q – Water

• Type: Spray
• Opposite: Lightning
• Soaks non-Ignited targets without Water Resistance. Soaked targets take double damage from Lightning. When Soaked targets have Slowed applied to them, Soaked and Slowed is removed and Frozen is applied instead. When Soaked, target is dealt 250 damage for having any Lightning elements on the spell bar. Attempting to conjure Lightning elements causes the target to receive 250 damage and fail the conjuration. Soaked status can be removed by Fire or by Water Resistance.
• Pushes targets backward.
• Douses Ignited targets, removing Ignited status.
• Removes environmental Fire effects.

W – Life

• Type: Beam
• Opposite: Arcane
• Heals targets without Life Resistance.
• Cures poison.

E – Shield

• Type: Shield
• Opposite: Shield (I.e. Only one Shield element per spell.)
• Reflects Beams.
• Removes environmental Shield effects.

R – Cold

• Type: Spray
• Opposite: Fire
• Deals Cold damage.
• Slows non-Shielded targets without Cold Resistance. Slowed targets move, attack, and cast spells slower than normal. If an Armored unit is Slowed and its armor is destroyed, the unit dies. If an Armored unit carrying a shield is Frozen and its shield is destroyed, the unit’s armor is destroyed as well. Slowed status can be removed by Fire or by Cold Resistance.
• Freezes {Soaked or Frozen} and non-Shielded targets. Frozen targets cannot move, cannot attack, cannot cast spells except on him or herself, and cannot perform Great Magicks. Frozen targets are immune to weak Physical attacks, but receive double damage from powerful Physical attacks. If an Armored unit is Frozen and its armor is destroyed, the unit dies. If an Armored unit carrying a shield is Frozen and its shield is destroyed, the unit’s armor is destroyed as well.
• Freezes environmental water.
• Removes environmental Fire effects.

A – Lightning

• Type: Lightning
• Opposite: Water and Earth
• Deals Lightning damage.
• Electrocutes targets without Lightning Resistance for as long as the attack connects. Electrocution periodically interrupts movement, attacks, and spells.
• Damage is doubled on Soaked targets.
• Destroys the armor from Armored units.
• When Soaked, target is dealt 250 damage for having any Lightning elements on the spell bar. Attempting to conjure Lightning elements causes the target to receive 250 damage and fail the conjuration.
• Can be Blocked (Ctrl), rendering the spell harmless and causing the blocker’s weapon to be imbued with Lightning.
• Effective against environmental Earth effects.

S – Arcane

• Type: Beam
• Opposite: Life
• Deals Arcane damage.
• Causes explosion on kill.

D – Earth

• Type: Projectile
• Opposite: Lightning
• Deals Physical damage.
• Area Cast removes Lightning environmental effects.

F – Fire

• Type: Spray
• Opposite: Cold
• Deals Fire damage.
• Ignites non-Soaked non-Shielded targets without Fire Resistance. Ignited targets receive damage over time. The amount of damage per tick depends on the amount of Fire targets were hit by, and decreases with time. Targets will become Panicked for as long as they are receiving more than 65 (approx.) damage per tick.
• When Panicked, target will run about randomly, be unable to control his or her movements, be unable to attack, and be unable to control the direction of his or her Staff Cast spells. Target is still capable of casting Magicks, and in fact can cast Great Magicks without the usual casting time.
• Removes environmental Water effects.
• Removes environmental Cold effects.

There are two Advanced Elements in the game, Ice and Steam. They are formed by conjuring the two necessary Basic Elements to form the desired Advanced Element.

Q-R – Ice

• Components: Water and Cold
• Type: Ice
• Opposites: None
• Deals Physical damage.

Q-F – Steam

• Components: Water and Fire
• Type: Spray
• Opposite: None
• Deals Steam damage.
• All other properties are identical to Water.

Spell Types and Effects

A spell’s Spell Type greatly influences the effect of that spell in that Spell Types work together with Cast Types to determine a spell’s mode of delivery, whereas the total elemental composition of the spell determines the effects and the magnitude of those effects. Each element has a Type associated with it, and the Spell Type of a spell is determined by the elements used in casting that spell. Namely, every spell has its final Spell Type determined by the Type with the highest priority that occurs in its elements. Every Type is contributed by one element in the spell. The priority list is as follows, from highest priority to lowest priority: Shield, Projectile, Ice, Beam, Lightning, and Spray. What this means is that if a spell has an element with a Shield Type, then the final spell will have Shield Type effects, whereas if a spell has an element with a Beam Type, then the final spell will have a Beam Type effect as long as there are no elements with a Shield Type, Projectile Type, or Ice Type. The higher priority Type overrides all others to determine what the Spell Type will be (e.g. If you make a spell of Shield-Ice-Earth-Arcane-Water, the resultant spell will be a Shield Type, since Shield overrides the Projectile Type of Earth, the Ice type of Ice, the Beam Type of Arcane, and the Spray Type of Water.).

1. Shield
   • Elements: Shield
   • Effect:
     Self Cast – Enchants the player with differing types of protective barriers, depending on the auxiliary elements used.

     Shield only -> Enchants the caster in a mobile barrier that has 500 durability. Attacks dealing more damage than the barrier can endure will break the barrier, but not harm the caster’s health. The barrier loses 10 durability per second. The shield will deflect Beam spells. Taking damage will cause the caster to become knocked down, regardless of how weak the attack is.
     With Earth or Ice -> Encases the caster in an immobile barrier of rock and/or ice with (unknown) durability. The barrier loses an (unknown) amount of durability per second. The caster cannot move or attack. The barrier disappears if the caster casts another spell or casts a Magick.
     With any other element -> Grants the caster 12 seconds of a Magic Resistance aura against the selected element. Effects of the chosen element become completely ineffective while the aura persists.

Area Cast – Surrounds the caster with a 360-degrees barrier of varying types, depending on the auxiliary elements used.

Shield only -> Seals the caster in a bubble barrier, trapping everything near him or her inside and everything else outside. The barrier only lasts for a limited time, and it also starts with very little durability. Durability can be increased by using Life spells or by Boosting (Space Bar). The shield will absorb all incoming and outgoing attacks and spells, while Beam spells will be deflected.
With any other element -> Creates a

Staff Cast – Identical to above, except the effect surrounds front 180-degrees of the caster instead.
Weapon Cast – Identical to above, except the barrier is a placed in a line parallel to the direction the player is facing.

• Effect (Shield with Earth or Ice):
  Self Cast – Confines the player in a protective barrier of rock and/or ice. The player cannot move or attack, and the barrier will be destroyed if he or she casts a spell or uses a Magick. The barrier slowly loses durability over time. These two effects can be stacked in a single spell (e.g. Shield-Ice-Earth will create a barrier of ice and rock, but the ice has a shorter lifetime than the rock.).
  Area Cast – Surrounds the player with a 360-degrees wall of rocks and/or ice, which vary in toughness for Earth and in duration for Ice depending on the number of repeated elements.
  Staff Cast – Identical to above, except the barrier covers 180 degrees.
  Weapon Cast – Identical to above, except the barrier is placed in a line parallel to the direction the player is facing.
• Effect (Shield with non-Earth and non-Ice Elements):
  Self Cast – Creates a Magic Resistance aura of the element or elements chosen for 12 seconds. The radius of the aura depends on the number of that element used in the spell (e.g. A spell with Shield-Fire will have a smaller radius than Shield-Fire-Fire-Fire-Fire.). This effect can be combined with several different elements and can also be combined with Earth or Ice barriers (e.g. Shield-Rock-Water-Water-Arcane will create a small Arcane Resistance aura, a moderately sized Water Resistance aura, and encase you in a rock barrier.).
  Area Cast – Creates a lasting elemental effect in a 360-degrees around the caster. Any unit passing through the effect of the spell will become afflicted by the relevant element (Soaked if element is Water or Steam, Slowed if element is Cold, Electrocuted and damaged if element is Lightning, and Ignited and damaged if element is Fire. In the case of Life and Arcane, a ring of 12 landmine-like orbs will be dropped around the caster. These orbs are triggered by other elemental shield effects as well as by proximity to any unit. Life Orbs will heal in an area when they explode, whereas Arcane Orbs will damage in an area when they explode.)
  Staff Cast – Identical to above, except only 4 orbs are created in a 180-degrees wall in front of the caster.
  Weapon Cast – Identical to above, except only 3 orbs are created in a line parallel to the direction the player is facing.
• Projectile
  • Elements: Earth
  • Effect:
    Self Cast – Drops a rock on the caster.
    Area Cast – Causes an earthquake around the caster, knocking down all nearby units. This spell itself does not do damage.
    Staff Cast – Fires a rock in front of the caster. Can be charged before the spell is released to increase distance traveled and damage of the rock.
    Weapon Cast – Fires a fissure in front of the caster, knocking down all units in a line. This spell itself does not do damage.
• Ice
  • Elements: Ice
  • Effect:
    Self Cast – Fires shards of ice from all directions on the caster.
    Area Cast – Causes sharp blocks of ice to break up from the ground in a radius around the caster.
    Staff Cast – Fires shards of ice forward. Can be charged before spell is released to increase accuracy of shards.
    Weapon Cast – The caster performs a downward slash with a giant icicle.
• Beam
  • Elements: Life and Arcane
  • Effect:
    Self Cast – Heals/damages self. Life will heal 179 health instantly on Self Cast, with increasing healing ticks afterward for each additional Life element. Arcane will deal 200 damage to self or 600 if Frozen.
    Area Cast – Causes an explosion around the caster that heals/damages all nearby units. The caster is unaffected.
    Staff Cast – Fires a Beam that heals/damages the first unit it hits.
    Weapon Cast – Caster performs a horizontal slash that heals/damages all units in front of him or her.
• Lightning
  • Elements: Lightning
• Spray
  • Elements: Water, Cold, Fire, and Steam