Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Magic: Difference between revisions

The Shepherd has no Magic Points, but in the '''NES port''' she is the only character who can use the Sheep Flute, an item that casts the Sleep spell on all opponents.

 

Still in the '''NES version''', when the Stranger becomes an Avatar, his/her maximum MP promptly becomes 99. This holds true for every profession ''(in the subsequent episodes of Ultima, the Avatar will always be the character with the highest MP)''.

In the NES port, the recipes and the price of reagents are different. Furthermore, four spells were removed: Undead (no enemy sets), Open (no trapped chests), Up and Down (game breakers). On the other hand, three new spells were introduced, bringing the total to 25: Reflect, Squish and Defeat.

 

'''Prompt''' specifies whether a spell is available since the beginning of the game ("yes") or if the characters should find something during the game (the recipe and/or some rare reagents). After one or more characters told you about a new spell, it can be learned by going to "Spells Unlimited" in Moonglow, and telling the shop owner the proper ingredients.

 

In the original versions each of the 26 spells names start with a different letter. In the NES version some spell names were modified: for this reason, some spell names in the table below are preceded by the initial letter of the original and a slash (e.g. the original "Resurrect" spell is listed in the table below as "R/Life").

| Light    || 03 || 02: ash            || Field || Lights the dungeon || {{yes}}

| View    || 15 || 09: man, nig      || Field || See map of area or dungeon level || {{no|nig, man}}

| X/Exit  || 12 || 11: mos, sil, ash  || Field || Teleports back to the dungeon entrance || {{yes}}

| Wind    || 10 || 12: gar, mos      || Field || Changes direction of the wind || {{yes}}

| Dispel  || 12 || 17: prl, gar, ash  || Field || Removes any magic/poison field in towns || {{yes}}

!colspan=6| ~ Support spells ~

| Awaken  || 05 || 11: gar, gin      || Support 1 ally || Cures "sleep" status || {{yes}}

| -/Reflect || 20 || 13: gar, gin, ash, nig || Support ? ally/s || Take no damage from projectiles || {{no|Recipe, nig}}

| Protect  || 15 || 14: gar, gin, ash  || Support ? ally/s || Increases defense || {{yes}}

| Sleep    || 10 || 08: gin, sil      || Disable all enemies || Put enemies to sleep || {{no|Recipe}}

| Jinx    || 28 || 18: man, prl , nig || Disable all enemies || Enemies attack each other || {{no|Recipe, nig, man}}

| Negate  || 20 || 26: man, prl, gar, ash || Disable all enem. & all. || Spells cannot be cast || {{no|Recipe, man}}

!colspan=6| ~ Attack spells ~

| K/Destroy || 23 || 09: prl, nig      || Attack 1 enemy || Ranged attack || {{no|Recipe, nig}}

| Missile  || 03 || 11: prl, ash      || Attack 1 enemy || Ranged attack || {{yes}}

| Tremor  || 40 || 17: man, mos, ash  || Attack all enemies || Mass destruction attack || {{no|Recipe, man}}

| -/Squish || 28 || 20: man, mos, sil, ash || Attack all enemies || Reduces HP without killing || {{no|Recipe, man}}

| -/Defeat || 28 || 24: man, prl, mos  || Attack some enemies || Attacks enemies adjacent caster || {{no|man}}

* '''Resurrect/Life:''' sometimes necessary; highly recommended in Dungeon Hythloth.

* '''Open:''' useless; use "Cure poison" instead, that costs the same MP & GP, but is used only after a character actually got poisoned. Both trapped chests and this spell were omitted from the NES port.

* '''Blink:''' useful for short-ranged shortcuts, e.g. cross a river while enemies run after you. In the NES port, it can only be used to flee from battle, without losing Virtue Points.

* '''Y (Up) '''&''' Z (Down):''' possibly game breakers, actually useful to circumvent a bug in the DOS port. Both omitted from the NES port.

* '''Energy field:''' creates one of four magic fields, at the caster's choice; cast it exactly on an enemy, because some enemies can walk around the fields. If an enemy receives fatal damage from a field (poison or fire), the companions earn no experience points (the field itself deserves them...). In the '''NES port''', a large 3x3 fire field is the only available option.

* '''Sleep:''' easy to cast and free from side effects.

* '''Undead:''' useful against the strongest undead, i.e. phantoms and liches; still, when an undead flees, the companions gain no experience. Omitted from the NES port.

* '''Magic missile, Fireball, Iceball, Kill/Destroy''' (sorted by power): ranged weapons are more convenient, because they have infinite ammunition and they consume no reagents.

* '''Tremor:''' good to speed up battles against large numbers of enemies.

 

* '''Defeat:''' if you focus on ranged weapons (tactically advantageous), this close-range spell becomes almost useless.