Powerful artifacts, useful trinkets and epic weaponry forged by holy and unholy beasts alike can be found in all corners of Thera. Expect rare treasures to be well guarded by hordes of fierce creatures, traps and mind twisting labyrinths. Certain areas will turn into a slaughter house, if you have not reached the hero standing (level 51) and brought a friend along. But not all of Thera is dangerous and there are friendlier places for the adventurous. Those allow even the very young to fight their way through for a good piece of armor or weapon. However, be warned, if you are able to come across a very rare armor or weapon, expect nothing but trouble as greed corrupts even the noblest souls. Bounty hunters, skilled fighters and perhaps even someone you considered a friend might seek to take your life and rob you of your belongings. Be prepared to defend yourself and your precious assets.
If you desire to parade around the streets of Glyndane in dirty rags, begging wizards for magical mushrooms and drinking fountain water then go right ahead. For all others who wish to develop strong and powerful characters capable of exploring and killing other players you will need armors, weapons, potions and other artifacts.
To give you a better idea just how much difference armor can make, take a look at these (slightly extreme) examples:| a single headed flail Vs. the great flail named Diamond Eyes | |
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Object 'a single headed flail' is type weapon, extra flags noremove inventory. Weight is 8, value is 10916, level is 34. Material is iron. restrict flags none. Weapon type is flail. Damage is 5d7 (average 20). |
Object 'the great flail named Diamond Eyes' is type weapon, extra flags humming magic bless nonmetal nolocate. Weight is 0, value is 221024, level is 60. Material is energy. restrict flags none. Weapon type is flail. Damage is 9d6 (average 31). Affects save vs spell by -5. Affects hp by 40. Affects damage roll by 4. Affects hit roll by 2. |
| a rough-steel ring Vs. a serpent entwined ring | |
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Object 'a rough-steel ring' is type armor, extra flags none. Weight is 0, value is 54, level is 6. Material is steel. restrict flags none. Armor class is 1 pierce, 1 bash, 1 slash, and 1 vs. magic. Affects hit roll by 4. |
Object 'a serpent entwined ring' is type armor, extra flags dark evil invis magic anti_good. Weight is 0, value is 114377, level is 57. Material is steel. restrict flags none. Armor class is 1 pierce, 2 bash, 1 slash, and 21 vs. magic. Affects constitution by 2. Affects moves by 30. Affects hp by 20. Affects hit roll by 2. Affects damage roll by 3. Affects mana by 20. Affects save vs spell by -5. |
| a pair of falconer's gloves Vs. a pair of green dragonskin gloves | |
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Object 'a pair of falconer's gloves' is type armor, extra flags nonmetal. Weight is 2, value is 44, level is 15. Material is leather. restrict flags none. Armor class is 4 pierce, 5 bash, 7 slash, and 0 vs. magic. Affects damage roll by 1. Affects dexterity by 1. Affects hit roll by 1. |
Object 'a pair of green dragonskin gloves' is type armor, extra flags nonmetal. Weight is 2, value is 24871, level is 54. Material is flesh. restrict flags none. Armor class is 9 pierce, 9 bash, 12 slash, and 10 vs. magic. Affects strength by 2. Affects hp by 45. Affects damage roll by 4. |
| an onyx bracelet Vs. the blood bracer of Matrenpalanion the Malicious | |
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Object 'an onyx bracelet' is type jewelry, extra flags magic nonmetal. Weight is 2, value is 2380, level is 20. Material is onyx. restrict flags none. Affects damage roll by 3. Affects armor class by -2. |
Object 'the blood bracer of Matrenpalanion the Malicious' is type armor, extra flags humming evil nonmetal. Weight is 1, value is 110010, level is 60. Material is blood. restrict flags none. Armor class is 10 pierce, 10 bash, 10 slash, and 20 vs. magic. Affects mana by 75. Affects hit roll by 4. Affects damage roll by 4. |
| a pair of red sleeves Vs. a pair of strange bracers | |
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Object 'a pair of red sleeves' is type armor, extra flags nonmetal. Weight is 2, value is 1739, level is 29. Material is cloth. restrict flags none. Armor class is 8 pierce, 8 bash, 8 slash, and 3 vs. magic. Affects hit roll by 2. Affects damage roll by 2. |
Object 'a pair of strange bracers' is type armor, extra flags humming magic bless pulsing. Weight is 6, value is 100000, level is 51. Material is metal. restrict flags none. Armor class is 5 pierce, 5 bash, 5 slash, and 5 vs. magic. Affects armor class by -6. Affects save vs spell by -5. Affects damage roll by 3. Affects dexterity by 2. Hidden effect: Grant haste (one of the best spells in the game) |
| a meat cleaver Vs. The Claw of Khisanth | |
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Object 'a meat cleaver' is type weapon, extra flags none. Weight is 2, value is 6560, level is 23. Material is iron. restrict flags none. Weapon type is dagger. Damage is 9d3 (average 18). Affects damage roll by 3. Affects hit roll by -2. |
Object 'The Claw of Khisanth' is type weapon, extra flags glowing humming evil magic nonmetal. Weight is 1, value is 66202, level is 48. Material is black dragonscale. restrict flags none. Weapon type is dagger. Damage is 4d13 (average 28). Weapons flags: sharp poison Affects mana by -30. Affects damage roll by 6. Affects hp by -30. Affects hit roll by 1. |
| a brass belt Vs. Cries of a Forgotten Soul | |
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Object 'a brass belt' is type armor, extra flags humming magic. Weight is 10, value is 73, level is 15. Material is brass. restrict flags none. Armor class is 5 pierce, 5 bash, 6 slash, and 0 vs. magic. Affects hp by 6. Affects constitution by 1. Affects strength by 1. |
Object 'Cries of a Forgotten Soul' is type armor, extra flags humming evil invis magic anti_good nonmetal nolocate. Weight is 1, value is 114159, level is 54. Material is energy. restrict flags none. Armor class is 1 pierce, 1 bash, 1 slash, and 15 vs. magic. Affects intelligence by 1. Affects armor class by -5. Affects saves by -5. Affects damage roll by 7. Affects hit roll by 4. |
You should begin to see why the quality of equipment matters so much ...
There is thousands of other items out there which are better, worse and in between. The above list is nothing but a tiny drop in the ocean. Dozens of different weapon types, artifacts with hidden resistances/vulnerabilities and much more await those who are willing to explore and kill. Discovering secrets and gaining a deep understanding of equipment is one of the many joys and challenges of living in Thera. A player can literally spend years exploring and studying the constantly evolving world of Thera without feeling bored.
If your class has the identify spell, you can cast it on the item to see its effects. If the item can't be identified ( item is too powerful/your level is too low ) or you don't have the identify spell, try wearing and removing it while typing 'score' to see how your score stats (hit/dam/hp/mana/mv/saves/spell-power/holy-power/armor) change. Note: you won't see many of these stats until you reach a certain level. Numerous items have special and hidden effects which can be discovered through "testing". For example, if you believe you found an item that grants resistance to fire, go find something that breathes fire and see how much you get hurt with and without the item. A good indicator of a potential hidden effect is the item's level. The higher the level, the more likely it grants some hidden power. To keep things in respective, not every high level item grants special powers. In fact the majority of items will only affect your stats.
There are two ways: exploring the lands or killing/looting another player. Killing other players is usually faster, as some of the best items in the game have already been gathered by them. Exploring on the other hand is usually safer and easier. If you consistently explore, you are bound to come across good equipment sooner or later. It's recommended to start exploring first ( make a character for exploring purposes only), and later on pick up player killing ( perhaps with another character ). Killing requires practice, quick thinking and decent equipment. Knowing the lands will enable you to obtain decent equipment to stand a chance in combat. Focusing only on exploring has a serious draw back, you never learn how to defend yourself and kill your opponents. The number of your enemies will grow quickly as you end up with good equipment. If you aspire to have a nearly perfect set of equipment, you will need to master both exploring areas and killing players.
Not all race/class combinations in Darkmists make worthy explorers. To save you the frustration of making the wrong choice, here are a few field tested classes that make exploring easier at the hero rank:
- paladin
- cleric subclass: zealot
- thief subclass: ninja (note: only class on this list without the identify spell)
- channeler ( all subclasess )
- elementalist ( all subclasses )
- anti-paladin subclass: none or famine (be warned those are very effective but take skill to play)
Every piece of equipment (limited or not) originates from a particular creature or quest. Let's take for example: 'a wide copper bracelet' that is carried by 'a pain elemental' in an area called: 'Rift of Unending Darkness'. If the limit on the bracelet has not been reached you will find a pain elemental wearing the bracelet. Just kill it ( if you can ) and it's yours to have. If the limit was exhausted, it would imply that all 'wide copper bracelets' are in circulation. You either will need to find a different bracelet, continue checking the pain elemental over the next few days/weeks hoping somebody lost their bracelet, or find a player with one and kill them (trading is an option too). Note: the limit is usually based on item's power - some of the best items have a limit of 1 or 2.
If an item has been sacrificed/destroyed it may instantaneously appear on the original owner or after a randomly determined time ( perhaps 10 real life hours later ). Rebooting/restarting the game will not bring back the item any faster. Hence there is no perfect time to check if equipment is about. Everybody gets a fair chance ( due to the random 'repop' timer ). So keep on checking regularly if you want an item badly.
Each race and class combination requires a different 'flavor' of equipment. It only makes sense that a giant warrior will have different needs than a gnome elementalist. While certain armors tend to be superior for a particular class, they are useless to another. Picking the right equipment becomes a delicate and challenging game of trade offs. Realize that every time you decide to wear helmet X over helmet Y, you willingly accept a trade in stats (i.e. more health points in trade to loss of mana and hit/dam). Here are just a few examples to demonstrate why knowing your equipment is important and often vital:
- If you play an illithid necromancer, your primary concern could be extra health points ( necromancers tend to be very fragile ), high spell power ( your maledictions need to land ) and an item to grant you resistance/immunity to fire ( illithids are vulnerable to fire ). You could care less about other stats. Note: this is just an example; other players may focus on different stats for a necromancer if they have a compelling reason to do so.
- An anti-paladin wielding a superb axe (slash attack) prepares to face a giant warrior in battle. Since giants are resistant to weapons (your axe in this case), you should have planned ahead and remembered to carry an alternative weapon with a different attack type. One perhaps that has flaming bite attack or even better mental anguish (giants are vulnerable to mental damage). It pays to know places where you can find weapons with specific damage types (flaming, freezing, shocking, piercing, mental anguish, etc ...). The difference in inflicted damage will be noticeable.
- A grey-elf channeler enchanter just found one of the best daggers (in terms of damage) in the game. But he trades it for a weaker weapon (terms of damage) that grants a lot of health points. The rational would be a channeler will not ditch out very much damage with a weapon no matter how powerful it is, he might as well get a weapon that grants more health which aids in his survival while he casts powerful spells. A thief on the other hand might easily sacrifice health in return for a good dagger and more hit/dam. Just because a particular item is considered to be "the best", does not mean you MUST wear it. Wear items that make sense, not because they are considered "the best" in some player circles.
These were some of the most straight forward choices you will need to make as a player. With experience you should start to experiment with different sets of equipment. Perhaps one that focuses primarily on saves (against spells, maledictions, etc ... ) and hit and dam roll, or another primarily on high spell power and health. You should begin carrying extra equipment that you will switch back and forth depending on your opponent. Never underestimate the advantage you can achieve by using the correct equipment in the right situation.
If you are new to Darkmists and just read up to here, you might feel overwhelmed (perfectly normal). Shrug it off, everybody starts out small and confused. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to learn areas and understand which equipment does what. Try to get to hero standing as soon as possible and begin exploring one area at a time. Learn to get over getting killed by tough creatures and other players who are after your armor. It's just the way of life here in Darkmists. Enjoy the process of learning and getting better. One day you will be able to pay them all back.
-Vlad-