Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment

Name changes
The NES remake follows the old naming format for magic equipment ("+1"/"+2" instead of "magic"). 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴 🇨🇴

Weapons
Every character can equip up to three pieces of equipment: a ranged weapon, a melee weapon and an armor (respectively labeled as Bow, Sword and Armour in the menu). A character can carry up to 6 weapons and/or armors.

Characters in bold start the game with the corresponding piece of equipment.

"Shops (1)" are in towns on the mainland, and can be accessed since the beginning of the game, while "Shops (2)" are on the islands and can only be accessed when pirates ships start appearing in the seas, i.e. when the characters reach Level 4.

Bows

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

Ranged weapons give the strategic advantage of hitting the enemy before it can reach you. If all the party is equipped with bows, the battle will be often won before the enemies can land even one blow on the heroes.

The Axe+1 and the Wand are actually melee weapons that can double as ranged weapons if no bow is equipped.

Differences from the original version:
 * The flaming oil is now considered an item, instead of a weapon; during combat, it has to be selected from the "item" menu.
 * The Bard cannot use the magic wand anymore.
 * The Tinker cannot use the magic bow anymore.

Swords

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

If the enemies manage to get close the heroes, the melee weapons actually deal more damage and will finish them off quite quickly.

The Axe+2 can be obtained only by giving the scale to the smith in Minoc. For the scale, see the page about ../Side quests/.

The Sword of Paradise can only be obtained by the Stranger once he/she reaches Avatarhood.

Armours

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

The Exotic Armour can only be obtained by the hero once he/she reaches Avatarhood.

Three armors were introduced in the remake: the Ring of Protection, the Magic Cloth, and the Shepherd's Robe. They can be worn by the classes who were originally limited to cloth and leather armor. The Robe can be obtained for free, but the player must cross a poison swamp and then open a door using the magic key.

Combat strategies

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

Ranged weapons offer tactical advantage over enemies capable of melee attacks only, and also they remove the same disadvantage against long-ranged enemies. As Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone could say: "When the man with the bow meets the man with the sword, the man with the sword is a dead man".

On the other hand, if the enemies manage to get close to the companions, they will use melee weapons, that deal more damage.

Support and disabling spells can be useful against the most powerful enemies. Direct attack spells, instead, can be avoided, being less reliable than long-ranged weapons and expensive on the long run.