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PART II: The Magic of Azeroth [page 3 of 5]

Spells For Humans and Their Allies Continued

Slow
	unit: mage research: mage tower; 500 gold shortcut key: O mana consumption: 50

The knight and the two elven archers are slowed down, and the mage can get away.

The Slow spell reduces the speed of all actions of an enemy unit for a duration of 1,000 program cycles (approximately 25 seconds). The movements as well as the attack speed (number of shots / strikes per time) is set to about half of the normal values. This makes it easier to escape or, depending on your position, to corner and defeat an enemy.

The Slow spell uses 50 mana points to slow one enemy unit. The effect of the spell, while it lasts, is shown by a skeleton hand next to the unit:

You can slow down several units at the same time, but applying the same spell twice on the same unit does not double the time the spell lasts. The time is just reset to 1,000 cycles (25 seconds), but can never assume a higher value.

The Slow spell has a reach of 10 matrices (25 percent farther than a catapult) and affects all units.

Flame Shield
	unit: mage research: mage tower; 1,000 gold shortcut key: L mana consumption: 80

Not only does the flame shield protect you, but it also injures all adjacent attackers.

Even such harmless units as the peasants become powerful when affected by this spell. A flame shield lasts about 15 seconds and consists of five flames rotating in a circle around the unit. Three times per second, each flame causes 1 hit point of damage to the unit under it, regardless of that unit's armor. So a unit that is under or adjacent to the flame shield will continually loses one point after another until it escapes.

When the effect of the flame shield ceases after its relatively short duration, the temporarily dangerous unit is no longer protected and can only escape in a few cases. So the flame shield is, more often than not, a kamikaze weapon. It is especially useful when you have already harvested all resources and need to make good use of your remaining peasants in the final phase of a battle.

Another intriguing option is to put the flame shield on an enemy unit. If the affected unit is surrounded by other units (or is moving towards them), the shielded unit will cause damage without any of your own fighters having to risk their lives.

The flame shield is only applicable to organic ground units, not to zeppelins. The dwarven demolition squads are too fragile for most spells, but the flame shield is one they can live with.

Invisibility
	unit: mage research: mage tower; 2,500 gold shortcut key: I mana consumption: 200

The knight is now invisible to the enemies until he attacks someone, or 50 seconds have passed.

If you've always dreamed about making your way behind the enemy front line without being seen ­ the most costly spell (2,500 gold) ­ Invisibility ­ makes it come true. For up to 2,000 program cycles (approximately 50 seconds), every moving unit can be made invisible. An eye next to the unit indicates its position and lets you know that your enemy can't see it.

As soon as an invisible unit begins to attack another one, the effect of the spell ceases. Another restriction: The dwarven demolition squads fall apart under the pressure of this spell. Why? These units already have the greatest damage power (400!). The added advantage of invisibility would make for an unwieldy combo.

Polymorph
	unit: mage research: mage tower; 2,000 gold shortcut key: V mana consumption: 200

The Polymorph spell is the fastest and safest method for getting rid of all enemy units except wooden ones. Simply turn any foe into a critter (or a seal on winter maps). The unit can continue to exist as a creature but it has no chance to participate in the battle anymore. You can go slaughter that harmless animal but you don't have to (even if the mission objective is to kill all enemies).

The reach of the spell is 10 matrices, so it can be cast from a safe distance. The polymorphed unit is unable to defend itself, and even the enemy units standing nearby will only attack the mage if he makes the mistake of moving close enough to be spotted by them.

If you miss your target, you can accidentally polymorph your own units, which is an absolutely irreversible mistake.

Blizzard
	unit: mage research: mage tower; 2,000 gold shortcut key: B mana consumption: 25 to 250

The poor castle suffers an area bombing by the Texas-size hail shards of a Blizzard.

The company namesake, the Blizzard spell, is a special display of creative programming. This spell allows you to send some nasty weather to a target location up to 12 matrices away (50 percent more than the reach of a catapult). Every Blizzard costs 25 mana points, and the mage auto-repeats that spell at the same location until it runs out of mana or gets a different order.

Each Blizzard consists of 50 "hail shards", meaning you get two shards per mana point (not a bad deal). Ten shards hit each of the 5 target points, which are selected at random from around your target location. Each shard causes continuous damage of 10 hit points where it hits the ground.

Note that 5 new shard target points are selected when the spell is auto-repeated. The points will, however, always be in the proximity of the target location you selected. Buildings are sufficiently large enough to be hit by almost any shard; moving units better escape when they're in for a Blizzard.

In the great showdown of the Human campaign (level 14), the best way to destroy the Dark Portal is with the help of the Blizzard spell. Here you can also try catapult shots, but you need about 70 of those to burn the Portal down. Just send a few mages over and let them cast the Blizzard spell; that's faster. Even the units that guard the Portal can quickly be defeated with the Blizzard.

With their reach exceeding that of catapults, the Blizzards are perfectly suited for razing the dangerous guard and cannon towers. Nearby enemy units will attack immediately when the shards fly, so protect your mages with some ground units when casting the spell.

You can create an apocalyptic scenario for your opponent by having several mages cast Blizzards at the same time. With tons of shards hitting next to each other all at different times your enemy may be overwhelmed.

Continues...

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