Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

This guide is for the computer ports. For the NES remake, see Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment.

Any piece of equipment can be sold for half its purchasing price.

Weapons

Every character can use two pieces of equipment: one weapon and one armor. A character can change weapon during combat, but he/she would use up his/her turn.

Ranged weapons

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 halberd can attack across walls or obstacles, with a range of two tiles; it can be very useful in dungeons. The magic axe and the magic wand deal the same damage both at long and short range.

In the Master System port, all ranged weapons can shoot diagonally, but flaming oil, slings, and bows have limited range.

Ranged weapon	Price	Shops	Ma	Dr	Ba	Ti	Pa	Ra	Fi	Sh
J) Flaming oil	5	Vesper, Buccaneer's Den	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
D) Sling	25	Britain, Vesper	Y	Y	Start	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
H) Bow	250	Trinsic, Vesper	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	-
K) Halberd	350	Minoc, Jhelom	-	-	-	Y	Y	-	Y	-
I) Crossbow	600	Jhelom, Buccaneer's Den	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	-
N) Magic bow	2000	Buccaneer's Den	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	-	-
L) Magic axe	1500	Minoc	-	-	-	Y	Y	-	-	-
O) Magic wand	5000	Buccaneer's Den	Y	Y	Y	-	-	-	-	-

Close-combat weapons

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

The dagger can be thrown, but it will be lost, and the character has to purchase another one.

The Mystic Swords can only be wielded after the Stranger reaches Eight-Parts Avatarhood.

Melee weapon	Price	Shops	Ma	Dr	Ba	Ti	Pa	Ra	Fi	Sh
A) Hands	0	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
B) Staff	20	Britain	Y	Start	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Start
C) Dagger	2	Britain, Vesper	Start	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
E) Mace	100	Trinsic, Minoc	-	Y	Y	Start	Y	Y	Y	Y
F) Axe	225	Trinsic, Jhelom	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Start	Y
G) Sword	300	Britain, Trinsic, Jhelom	-	-	Y	Y	Start	Start	Y	Y
M) Magic sword	2500	Minoc	-	-	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	-
P) Mystic sword	7000	(Quest)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Armours

The Mystic Robes can only be worn after the Stranger reaches Eight-Parts Avatarhood.

Armour	Price	Shops	Ma	Dr	Ba	Ti	Pa	Ra	Fi	Sh
A) Skin	0	-	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
B) Cloth	50	Britain, Buccaneer's Den, Paws, Trinsic	Start	Start	Start	Y	Y	Y	Y	Start
C) Leather	200	Britain, Buccaneer's Den, Paws	-	Y	Y	Start	Y	Start	Y	Y
D) Chain mail	600	Britain, Buccaneer's Den, Trinsic, Jhelom	-	-	-	Y	Start	-	Y	-
E) Plate mail	2000	Jhelom	-	-	-	Y	Y	-	Y	-
F) Magic chain	4000	Jhelom, Trinsic	-	-	-	-	Y	-	Y	-
G) Magic plate	7000	Jhelom	-	-	-	-	Y	-	-	-
H) Mystic robe	9000	(Quest)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Combat strategies

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 would better switch to melee weapons, that deal more damage.

A smart strategy against close-combat enemies could be the following:

• At the beginning of the combat, let the enemies get near, because if they're heavily wounded too early, they would escape out of weapons range.
• While the enemies approach, arrange your characters on two lines: a smaller number with strong armor on the front line, and a greater number on the back line.
• When an enemy is just one step from your front line, shoot!
• (In the unlikely event that many enemies get in touch with your front line, have them switch to melee weapons, while the back line should keep attacking with ranged weapons.)

A completely different strategy is required against long-range enemies:

• First of all, seek cover behind rocks to avoid the projectiles; split the party in two if necessary;
• Let enemies walk around the rocks, so that they can be taken down one by one.

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.