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-=* Mazes of Fate *=-
Spell Guide
Version 1.0
October 26, 2007
By PsychicRutabaga
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+==============+
| Introduction |
+==============+
Mazes of Fate is a first person, western style dungeon crawler RPG for the
Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It has been compared to such classic series as
Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, Eye of the Beholder, and the BioWare Infiniti
Engine games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. The game is rich with
dungeons, quests, non-player characters, and story. It is considered to be
a hidden gem by old school gamers and D&D fans.
+==================+
| Schools of Magic |
+==================+
The world of Akhiel is home to three distinct schools of magic. These are
Akhina, El and Daim. Each school has a number of spells, grouped as Basic,
Intermediate and Advanced. There is some overlap in that all of the schools
have forms of "buffing" magic, but the spells themselves differ and each
school has a distinct specialization and style.
Just as not everyone has the physical strength or endurance to wield a two
handed axe as a front line fighter, special traits are required to learn
magic in Akhiel. Only certain characters possess the proper disposition or
background to learn the secrets of magic.
+------------------+
+ Player Character |
+------------------+
The player character is the only one in the game who can potentially study
spellcraft in all three schools. Naveral the mage starts with rudimentary
skills in Akhina, whereas Katja the rogue and Dumar the warrior do not.
However, the player character will have other opportunities to learn any
of the three schools as the game progresses. In addition, if the player
opts to create a custom character, that character also starts with basic
Akhina skills.
In my first playthrough, Katja was able to learn basic skills in all three
schools of magic. She had the disadvantage of not having skills in either
meditation (increases mana recovery rate) or Mana Training (determines maximum
mana), but still could learn from any of the three schools. Training in
magic can be obtained from the following sources.
Altreph - Located in the Underworld, he will teach you skills in El magic in
exchange for a favor. Note that Graymalkin2's FAQ indicates that the skill
taught by Altreph may be random.
Suriben - A priest of Ael in the city of Rulme can teach you Daim magic.
Master Yalom - The headmaster of the Magic School in Zarki. He can teach
Akhina Magic. [I need to verify this in another run through, but I
believe this is where Katja both learned and instantly mastered Akhina in
my first playthrough.]
In Mazes of Fate, the role of the magic user pretty much fits the standard
stereotype. While in Mazes of Fate there are no armor restrictions, their
offensive abilities are generally quite a bit weaker than a comparable level
fighter. However, they do have one significant advantage. While melee
attacks may or may not actually hit based upon the combat stat (similar in
purpose to THAC0), magical attacks always seem to hit. So even though a
fighter may be hitting for 10-20 damage initially versus your mage's petty
3 points, your mage is generally landing all those attacks. And as your
mage grows in experience, the damage doled out grows considerably.
By the last third of the game, mages have pwnage over fighters. They
accurately dole out massive damage against foes while the fighters seem
to struggle to get a hit. Of course, all those pinpoint attacks do come
at a price, that being the consumption of mana. As the spells become more
powerful, your mage will be burning mana at a faster rate. This is where
putting points into meditation and mana training will be of benefit. Mana
training will increase the maximum mana points your character has, and
the meditation skill will increase the rate in which the character's mana
pool recovers.
In my first run through the game, Katja and Sarina were both slinging powerful
spells, Katja using Akhina and Sarina with Daim. However, Katja would tap out
of mana by the third casting of the more powerful spells, while Sarina would
be able to keep going much longer. This is because Katja had no skills in
either meditation or mana training, unlike Sarina who did. Katja was able to
replentish her mana by gobbling up all the Markia and other mana restoring
herbs and potions that I'd stockpiled during the earlier part of the
adventure, but those stockpiles eventually ran out. Having said that, there
are ways to maximize mana use by choosing spells that are more mana efficient
or take less mana to cast. I found Ice ball to be fairly efficient for run
of the mill monsters, and saved the heavier artillery for the stronger
opponents.
+==============================+
| Spell Descriptions by School |
+==============================+
Spells are grouped by school and by level. Each magical school has three
levels of spells, basic, intermediate and advanced. Each spell costs a
certain amount of mana to cast. The format is as follows.
Name: The name of the spell.
Type: Combat, healing, buff, anti-buff (foe weakening), and other.
Range: The range the spell can be cast from and the area of effect.
Touch means single foe within melee range, proximity will hit multiple foes
within melee range, ranged will hit single foes at a distance, ranged/splash
is a ranged spell that can affect multiple foes, and locational spells are
cast immediately in front of the party and the effects remain in that
location.
For buffs and healing spells, self can be cast only on the caster, individual
can be cast on any single member of the party, and party affects all members
of the party.
Mana: The mana cost for casting an instance of the spell.
Skill: The skill level of Akhina, El or Daim at which a character learns the
spell. Note that I am populating skill levels as I earn the spells in my
current play through, so skill information is incomplete right now.
Desc: A description of the spell, its effect, and any other relevant
information.
+========+
| Akhina |
+========+
Akhina is the school of magic that is related to energy, matter and time.
Practitioners of this school use magic for offensive combat, defensive
shielding, and enchanting weaponry. An Akhina mage is analogous to a
Wizard in western style RPGs, or a Black Mage in eastern style RPGs like
the Final Fantasy series. Most of the spells in Akhina use energy in
the form of fire, lightning, or ice.
Name: Shock
Type: Combat
Range: Touch
Mana: 3
Skill: 1
Desc: Shock is a very basic electrical attack, and the first Akhina
spell available in the game. The foe must be within melee distance to
be struck with this spell.
Name: Armor
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 6
Skill: 3
Desc: This spell temporarily increases the target's defense stat.
Name: Magic Weapon
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 10
Skill:
Desc: Temporarily improve the might of a party member's equipped weapon.
Name: Fire Wall
Type: Combat
Range: Locational
Mana: 25
Skill:
Desc: The caster raises a wall of fire in front of the party. The fire
will continue to burn, damaging creatures that stand in or walk through
the wall, including the party.
Name: Spray of Fire
Type: Combat
Range: Proximity
Mana: 35
Skill:
Desc: The caster unleashes a swirling vortex of fire that surrounds the
party and damages any foes within immediate striking distance.
Name: Fireball
Type: Combat
Range: Ranged/splash
Mana: 8
Skill: 5
Desc: The caster hurls an explosive ball of fire that damages all enemies in
its path.
Name: Lightning Bolt
Type: Combat
Range: Ranged/splash
Mana: 13
Skill:
Desc: This is a ranged electrical attack. It is actually more like a ball of
lightning than a bolt.
Name: Meteor
Type: Combat
Range: Proximity
Mana: 20
Skill:
Desc: The caster summons a meteor which strikes all foes within melee range
of the party.
Name: Iceball
Type: Combat
Range: Ranged
Mana: 22
Desc: This spells conjures a great ball of ice that hurtles forth to crush
a foe.
Name: Team Armor
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 30
Desc: This spell increases the defense of each member of the party.
Name: Creeping Fire
Type: Combat
Range: Ranged/splash
Mana: 40
Desc: A wall of fire erupts in front of the caster and travels forward,
scorching foes both near and far that are in its path.
Name: Entangle
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Locational
Mana: 28
Desc: The wizard summons forth a great ivy from the ground to stop enemy
movement.
+====+
| El |
+====+
The school of El focuses on life forms, space and stability. A person skilled
in El magic will often fill a support role. He can strengthen or speed up
allies, or conversely weaken or slow foes. They most closely resemble Clerics
in western RPGs, or White Mages in eastern RPGs, with the exception that they
only cast buff and anti-buff spells and know no healing magic. This is the
only school that does not posess spells capable of inflicting direct damage.
+-----------------+
| Basic El Spells |
+-----------------+
Name: Weaken
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Touch
Mana: 3
Skill: 1
Desc: The caster decreases the strentgh of an individual foe. This spell is
actually quite useful, especially in the early parts of the game. It
noticably decreases the damage of physical hits. The effects seem to
stack with multiple castings.
Name: Strength
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 8
Skill:
Desc: This spell increases the target's strength.
Name: Slow
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Touch
Mana: 12
Skill:
Desc: This spell slows the target's speed.
Name: Quickness
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 10
Skill:
Desc: Increases the targetss speed, analogous to a haste spell.
+------------------------+
| Intermediate El Spells |
+------------------------+
Name: Endurance
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 10
Skill:
Desc: This spell increase the endurance of the targeted party member.
Name: Mass Strength
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 25
Skill:
Desc: This spell increases the strength of all party members.
Name: Sacrifice
Type: Other
Range: Self
Mana: 0
Skill:
Desc: The caster sacrifices some of his health and turns that energy into
mana.
Name: Invisibility
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 40
Skill:
Desc: This spell will turn the entire invisible, allowing them to sneak past
monsters undetected. This allows you to get within striking distance
before attacking. It is unclear whether there is a residual evasion
bonus after attacking.
Name: Mass Slow
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Proximity
Mana: 36
Skill:
Desc: The caster slows down the movement and attack rate of enemies within
melee range of the party.
+--------------------+
| Advanced El Spells |
+--------------------+
Name: Mass Weaken
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Proximity
Mana: 20
Skill:
Desc: Similar to the basic El "Weaken" spell, this spell diminishes the
strength of all foes within striking distance of the caster.
Name: Mass quickness
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 30
Skill:
Desc: The caster can casts haste on the entire party.
Name: Mass Endurance
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 30
Skill:
Desc: The caster raises the endurance of all party members.
Name: Paralyze
Type: Anti-buff
Range: Ranged
Mana: 40
Skill:
Desc: The caster fires a ball like ray that has a chance of temporarily
turning a foe to stone. This skill is similar to the Akhina spell
Entangle, but seems to stop certain enemies that Entangle seems doesn't
seem to affect.
+======+
| Daim |
+======+
The forbidden magic school of Daim is related to the soul, knowledge and
life itself. Daim has elements of both combat and support magic in the form
of unique and powerful spells. A Daim magician can hold her own in battle,
transforming into a powerful fighter or draining the life from an enemy.
She can also heal the party, cure deadly toxins, and even cast spells to
assist in uncovering hidden secrets in the darkest dungeons. The student
of Daim might be considered similar to a multiclass Wizard/Cleric or a Red
mage in the western and eastern styles, respectively.
+-------------------+
| Basic Daim Spells |
+-------------------+
Name: Heal
Type: Healing
Range: Self
Mana: 3
Skill: 1
Desc: The caster can heal her wounds during or outside of battle through
the use of this spell.
Name: Shield of Life
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 6
Skill:
Desc: The caster protects an individual by lessening the impact of melee
attacks. This differs from the Akhina Armor spell in that it acts by
reducing damage rather than increasing defense.
Name: Holy Light
Type: Combat
Range: Ranged
Mana: 8
Skill:
Desc: The caster uses holy light to damage a foe.
Name: Cure Poison
Type: Healing
Range: Individual
Mana: 12
Skill:
Desc: This spell completely neutralizes poison in an individual.
Name: Restore
Type: Healing
Range: Individual
Mana: 30
Skill:
Desc: The caster refreshes a party member, completely healing all wounds and
eliminating all status ailments such as poison.
+--------------------------+
| Intermediate Daim Spells |
+--------------------------+
Name: Bless
Type: Buff
Range: Individual
Mana: 14
Skill:
Desc: This spell increases both combat and defense stats for an individual.
Name: Awakening
Type: Healing
Range: Individual
Mana: 12
Skill:
Desc: This spell can be used to awaken a party member who is under the
effect of a magical sleep spell.
Name: Divine Warrior
Type: Buff
Range: Self
Mana: 24
Skill:
Desc: The caster increases both her combat and might abilities to become
a proficient fighter.
Name: Divine Sight
Type: Other
Range: Party
Mana: 20
Skill:
Desc: The caster reveals the unknown to the party by improving both their
collective search skills and revealing false walls.
Name: Punishment
Type: Combat
Range: Proximity
Mana: 35
Skill:
Desc: The caster channels the corruption of the world to harm opponents
within melee range.
+=====================+
| Advanced Daim Magic |
+=====================+
Name: Life Drain
Type: Combat
Range: Touch
Mana: 35
Skill:
Desc: The caster drains life force from a foe with a touch, replentishing
her own vitality with the energy of her foe. Note this is one of the
most impressive spell animations in the game.
Name: Shields of Life
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 35
Skill:
Desc: This spell reduces the damage of melee attacks for the entire party.
Name: Mass Heal
Type: Healing
Range: Party
Mana: 50
Skill:
Desc: This spell instantly the wounds of all party members, restoring them
to full vitality.
Name: Major Bless
Type: Buff
Range: Party
Mana: 40
Skill:
Desc: This spell greatly improves the party's combat and defense skills.
+=========+
| Credits |
+=========+
Sabarasa deserves an immense thank you for taking on such an ambitious
project as bringing the experience of a true, western style dungeon crawler
to the GBA platform. It is a remarkable piece of work.
I would also like to thank the many fine folks on GameFAQs such as graymalkin2
and q 3 for their FAQs and contributions to the message boards.
+=======+
| Legal |
+=======+
Copyright 2007 by PsychicRutabaga
This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
Mazes of Fate is Copyright 2006 Graffiti Entertainment, LLC.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are
owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders.
