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                      ~Heretic Weapon Analysis Guide~

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                               by Hoitytoity
                                 ver. 1.1

===============================================================================
--------------------------------VERSION HISTORY--------------------------------
===============================================================================

Ver. 1.1 - (January 12, 2012)
  Fixed a few grammatical errors, updated legal information.

Ver. 1.0 - (December 30, 2011)
  Finalized and proofread guide, submitted.

Ver. 0.9 - (December 28, 2011)
  Finished adding information, organized guide.

Ver. 0.6 - (December 10, 2011)
  Added weapon damage and monster information.

Ver. 0.5 - (December 7, 2011)
  Started guide, gathered weapon information.


===============================================================================
-------------------------------TABLE OF CONTENTS-------------------------------
===============================================================================


 1.    Legal Issues

 2.    Introduction
         2.1) Introduction
         2.2) Frequently Asked Questions
         2.3) Legend
         2.4) Notice

 3.    Weapons
         3.1) Staff
         3.2) Gauntlets of the Necromancer
         3.3) Elven Wand
         3.4) Ethereal Crossbow
         3.5) Dragon's Claw
         3.6) Hellstaff
         3.7) Phoenix Rod
         3.8) Firemace

 4.    Credits

 5.    Contact Information


===============================================================================
--------------------------------[1] LEGAL ISSUES-------------------------------
===============================================================================


Heretic, its characters and all affiliations are copyrighted by, thus property
of id Software, Raven Software and any subsidiaries thereof. All information is
the product of their respective programmers, and if there's anything I missed,
they're protected too.

This guide is also copyrighted by me, Andrew Provisor (Hoitytoity). So far, the
only sites I allow this guide to be posted on is www.GameFAQs.com. and
www.neoseeker.com. If you'd like to use this guide for your page, please email
me first. Contact information can be found at the bottom of this guide.


===============================================================================
-------------------------------[2] INTRODUCTION--------------------------------
===============================================================================


[2.1]    Introduction

Welcome, and thanks for taking a look at my guide! Inside you'll find some
basic information on one of my favorite games of all time, Heretic, but more
importantly you'll find a detailed analysis of each weapon found in the game.
Despite the level of detail I've put in, I've tried to be concise to keep
things organized. Hope you enjoy :3

---

[2.2]    Frequently Asked Questions

i.   "Why Make the Guide?"

To be honest, the short answer is probably boredom. Beyond that though, I
noticed that there really wasn't much information available on the weapons from
Heretic beyond what people have copied from the playing manual. Considering
that this game (in fact, most games from this generation) were more about
killing massive hordes of demons than anything else. I'd hoped to find
something a little more detailed than "this weapon shoots stuff and is cool!"
Not finding that, I decided to just do it myself.


ii.   "Okay, so what is Heretic anyway?"

Heretic is a fantastic first-person shooter created in 1994 by Raven Software
and published by id Software, makers of the ever popular Doom franchise. In
fact, the game uses a modified Doom engine so the style of play is pretty much
identical, except for a few upgrades. Perhaps the biggest difference, and what
makes this game so memorable is the atmosphere. Heretic takes a departure from
the overdone shotgun wielding military dude killing baddies in space or in
the future; here, you play as an Elf trying to free his homeland from the
hordes of demons that've overtaken it. Most of the weapons are magic-based,
leading you on a wonderful fantasy adventure that's a nice change from the
copy-pasted sci-fi shooters that seem to be the standard. Heretic also
spawned two very popular sequels: Hexen and Hexen II, and one not-so popular
third-person sequel, Heretic II.


iii.   "So what makes this game so special, anyway?"

The modified Doom engine. Doom was an amazing achievement in gaming for its
time, and Heretic plays in much the same way: running around with a collection
of weapons in a time before decent strategy and enemy AI was feasible, so to
increase difficulty they pretty much just threw in more and more enemies. The
improvements Raven software made are plentiful, but I'll just note a few here:
interactive environments (ie, being able to be swept away in a rushing river),
the ability to look up and down, the ability to fly (via an item), alternate
firing modes for weapons (also via an item) and perhaps the most unique
feature for its time, the inventory system. This allowed you to hold up to
nine of a large number of items that you could use at your discretion, instead
of being limited to instant use on pickup. These included healing items,
power-up items (invisibility, invincibility, powered up weapons, etc), bombs,
torches (for lighting) and more. There are still plenty of instant-use items
in the game, but this added feature introduced a new level of strategy that
has since become standard in most games.


iv.   "Okay, I'm convinced. Where can I find Heretic?"

This is a bit of a tricky one. It's sincerely doubtful that game stores would
carry an 18-year old game (man, I feel old...) so your best bet would probably
be to check online. Search your favorite torrent site or linkserver and I'm
sure you won't have any trouble finding it. If you'd rather have a legitimate
version, eBay or other online retailers are probably your best chance at this
point. If you do so, make sure to get the 2007 CD release of Heretic: Shadow
of the Serpent Riders. It not only contains the original three episode, but
the expansion pack (adding two more episodes!) and is designed to run on
modern operating systems.

---

[2.3]   Legend

Here's just a simple description of this FAQ's format:


                  ---Weapon: The weapon's in-game name.---

Description: A short description of the weapon, usually containing the standard
            FPS equivalent (ie, pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher, etc.)

Slot: The slot the weapon occupies. This is the button you press to access it.

Type: Magical or Man-Made. The only difference is that man-made weapons cannot
     damage Ghost-type enemies.

Ammo Type: The type of ammo it uses. The numbers in parentheses represent the
          shots gained on pickup.

Dropped By: Enemies that drop ammo for this weapon, if any.

Ammo Cost: How much ammo a single push of the fire button consumes.

Initial Capacity: The amount of ammo the weapon has when initially gained, or
                 given when picked up (if you already have it).

Maximum Capacity: The maximum amount of ammo you can hold. The first number is
                 standard, while the second number is after picking up a Bag
                 of Holding (doubles amount of ammo you can carry).

Rate of Fire: How fast the weapon is, measured in shots per second. This is an
             approximation, gotten by taking the average of 5 sets of 10
             second bursts and using math.

Effect: While this could just be in the Description section, I decided to give
       it its own section to organize things a bit. Here's where you'll find
       information on the weapon's uses, effects, etc.

Tome of Power: The Tome of Power is a wonderful artifact that temporarily
              increases the power of any weapon used. This section details any
              changes made to the weapon's effect when the Tome is in use.

Firepower: This was the most difficult aspect to get; in short, it lists each
          enemy and how many shots it takes to kill (seriously, you try taking
          on D'Sparil with the staff >_>). Like the Rate of Fire, this is an
          approximation and is affected by many things: difficulty, accuracy,
          range, and others. The first number indicates the weapon normally,
          the second while using the Tome of Power.

---

          That being said, below is a short description of all the enemies in
          the game:

*Gargoyle: The first and weakest enemy encountered, you'll see this small, red
          flying foe a LOT. Comes in two forms: Normal, which attacks by
          flying in close and clawing at you, and Fire Gargoyles, who have a
          fireball ranged attack.

*Golem: A humanoid creature that attacks by punching. Apparently they're made
       of stone, but they have blood and souls that fly out when killed (one
       of the more satisfying death animations). Comes in three forms: Normal,
       Nitrogolems, which are a bit stronger and shoot flaming, screaming
       skulls at you, and a Ghost version, which appears semi-transparent. The
       Ghost versions can't be harmed by man-made weapons, only magical ones.
       They will occasionally drop ammo for the Elven Wand.

*Undead Warrior: These are skeletons in armor with axes. They have two primary
                attacks: a close range swipe and a long range axe throw. The
                thrown axe comes in two forms: green (normal) and red (much
                stronger and pushes you back). The Warrior itself also comes
                in two forms: Normal and Ghost, which appears semi-transparent
                and can only be harmed by magical weapons. Undead Warriors
                will sometimes drop ammo for the Ethereal Crossbow.

*Disciple of D'Sparil: These are the robed, chanting, purple-orb tossing
                      wizards you'll be seeing a lot of. Always begin in
                      Normal form, but have the ability to temporarily change
                      to Ghost form at will, making them partially see-through
                      and immune to man-made weapons. They'll occasionally
                      drop ammo for the Dragon Claw.

*Sabreclaw: These are interesting enemies who won't appear until the second
           episode (sorry, shareware users :\). They look a lot like the
           xenomorphs from the Alien movie series, but brown and with sharp
           blades on their hands and tails. You'll see these guys in normal
           form and in Ghost form, semi-transparent and immune to man-made
           weapons. Occasionally, they'll drop some ammo for the Hellstaff.

*Weredragon: These are big, hulking, fire-breathing behemoths that frankly
            don't look all that much like dragons. Then again, I'm not sure
            what they look like so I suppose this name is as good as any. They
            won't show up until the second episode, and I can't recall them
            ever appearing in any other forms (feel free to correct me on this
            if I'm wrong!) Pretty easy to deal with, as long as you dodge
            their fireballs.

*Ophidian: You'll learn to hate these guys very, very quickly. Not only are
          they difficult to kill, but they're powerful and usually appear in
          large numbers. They look like half man, half serpent creatures
          wielding tridents that can shoot energy blasts at you - either a
          three way blue blast or a more powerful, single red blast. Like the
          Weredragon, I don't believe there are Ghost versions of Ophidians,
          but someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Occasionally they'll
          drop ammo for the Phoenix Rod.

*Iron Lich: The boss of the first episode, these giant floating skulls become
           regular enemies starting from episode 2. They're pretty hardy but
           overall not that difficult to kill, and easily have the most
           annoying attacks in the game. They'll shoot one of three attacks at
           you: a pillar of fire (easy to evade), a blue spiked ball that
           bursts into a four-way energy attack (similar to the Dragon Claw's
           upgraded attack) and a tornado. The tornado is homing and does no
           damage by itself, but will wildly thrash you around the area. This
           makes it insanely frustrating to keep your eyes on your opponent,
           or really anything for that matter until the tornado dissipates.
           Sometimes upon death, you'll be rewarded with ammo for the Dragon
           Claw, or if you're really lucky a Morph Ovum (turns your enemies
           into chickens!)

*Maulotaur: I'm sure you've heard of the fictional minotaur, a giant half-man,
           half-bull monstrosity. Well, imagine that with a huge mallet and
           with the ability to shoot horrible, fiery death at you. Probably
           the most difficult enemy in the game, the Maulotaur is the boss of
           the second episode and a semi-regular enemy after that. For added
           fun, the expansion pack graces you with a level where you need to
           defeat no less than eight of these at once. Their attacks include
           charging (damage and knocks you back) and several different forms
           of ranged fire attacks, including fireballs and a stream of fire
           that travels along the ground. They've been known to drop ammo for
           the Phoenix Rod, and even a Mystic Urn on occasion. Good luck.

*Chaos Serpent: This guy only appears once in the game, at the end of the third
               episode as D'Sparil's mount, though they're regular enemies in
               the sequel, Hexen (much weaker, thankfully). Pretty much just
               runs around chasing and trying to bite you while D'Sparil
               attacks from its back. Unfortunately, you need to kill this
               sucker before you'll have a chance at the big baddy himself.

*D'Sparil: The youngest of the three Serpent Rider brothers that comprise the
          boss of this game as well as its two sequels, you first see this guy
          (surprise!) riding a serpent. After obliterating the two of them
          into a pile of bones, D'Sparil will ressurect himself and you'll
          face him alone. His attacks include energy orbs, teleporting around
          the arena and summoning his Disciples, two at a time. There doesn't
          seem to be any limit to the amount of Disciples that can be around
          at one time, so clearing them out before they become too much of a
          hassle is mandatory. The frequency of his teleportation and his
          summons will increase the closer he gets to death. But hey, after
          that you've beaten the game! Congratulations! Unless you have the
          expansion pack.

---


[2.4]   !Notice!

Please note that all information has been gathered on Thou Art a Smite-Meister
difficulty (second most difficult). If you're playing on a lower or higher
difficulty, this will affect the data more than anything else. Also all numbers
are merely an approximation and should be taken as such; there are simply too
many variables to get exact numbers without knowing precise programming
information such as enemy HP and actual damage variables, which is inaccessable
by just playing through the game.


===============================================================================
----------------------------------[3] WEAPONS----------------------------------
===============================================================================


[3.1]                               ---Staff---

Description: A simple, reliable quarterstaff. There's some debate as to whether
            or not this is the butt-end of the Elven Wand or a separate
            weapon. Most analagous to a fist, knife or other simple melee
            weapon in other games.

Slot: 1

Type: Man-Made

Ammo Type: None

Dropped By: N/A

Ammo Cost: N/A

Initial Capacity: N/A

Maximum Capacity: N/A

Rate of Fire: 4 strikes per second

Effect: The standard fallback weapon, it's weak and has limited range but
       requires no ammo and you start with it, so you'll always have it. Only
       really useful to conserve ammo against Gargoyles.

Tome of Power: The Tome of Power actually turns this piece of wood into a
              pretty formidable weapon. The staff glows a really cool blue and
              creates an energy impact wherever it strikes. The range is
              extended and it has the added bonus of pushing enemies back with
              each hit. Despite this, it's still only really useful for
              conserving ammo, but at least you can take on bigger enemies
              with this.

Firepower
---

*Gargoyle: 3 / 1
*Golem: 9 / 2
*Undead Warrior: 12 / 6
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 15 / 4
*Sabreclaw: 12 / 4
*Weredragon: 15 / 5
*Ophidian: 20 / 5
*Iron Lich: 80 / 14
*Maulotaur: 200 / 70
*Chaos Serpent: 161 / 41
*D'Sparil: 220 / 65

---

[3.2]                    ---Gauntlets of the Necromancer---

Description: A pair of spiked gauntlets. You won't be punching with these,
            though. This game's equivalent to a chainsaw.

Slot: 1 (Press 1 again to go between the Staff and the Gauntlets)

Type: Magical

Ammo Type: None

Dropped By: N/A

Ammo Cost: N/A

Initial Capacity: N/A

Maximum Capacity: N/A

Rate of Fire: Constant

Effect: As soon as you find these you'll probably forget you even have a staff.
       These powerful gauntlets shoot a constant stream of green lighting from
       your extended fingertips, and have the interesting added effect of not
       only drawing enemies in, but also locking onto them until either they
       die, you take your finger off the trigger or something pushes you out
       of the way. A much better option when it comes to conserving ammo.

Tome of Power: Under the Tome of Power, the green lightning changes to red. The
              change isn't merely aesthetic though: you'll also receive
              increased power, extended range, and any damage you cause to the
              enemy gets drained and given to you as life. The perfect way to
              conserve not just ammo, but healing items as well.

Firepower (Note: since this weapon fires in a stream, firepower is measured in
          seconds instead of number of hits)
---

*Gargoyle: 1s / 0.5s
*Golem: 3s / 2s
*Undead Warrior: 3s / 3s
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 4s / 4s
*Sabreclaw: 3s / 2s
*Weredragon: 3s / 2s
*Ophidian: 5s / 5s
*Iron Lich: 18s / 14s
*Maulotaur: 90s / 70s
*Chaos Serpent: 43s / 39s
*D'Sparil: 66s / 65s

---

[3.3]                             ---Elven Wand---

Description: Basically, your pistol. In other words, the simple, weak ranged
            weapon you start with.

Slot: 2

Type: Magical

Ammo Type: Wand Crystal (10)
          Crystal Geode (50)

Dropped By: Golem, Nitrogolem, Ghost Golem

Ammo Cost: 1

Initial Capacity: 50

Maximum Capacity: 100 (200 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 3 blasts per second

Effect: A decent weapon, but easily overshadowed by every other weapon so you'd
       expect to only be using it in the beginning, if you die or to conserve
       ammo. There is one major, overlooked advantage to this weapon however:
       the shots are instant, requiring absolutely zero travel time (ie, the
       time it takes for a shot to go from your weapon to your enemy). Because
       of this, as long as your aim is solid it can't be evaded, making it the
       perfect weapon to weaken an approaching enemy from a safe distance
       before switching to something more powerful.

Tome of Power: The Tome of Power changes this weapon considerably. Instead of a
              single instant-shot, the wand fires two yellow energy orbs in an
              expanding V-arc. In between these orbs is an invisible band of
              energy, appearing only if it connects with an enemy. This means
              that your opponent will be damaged as long as you get them
              anywhere within the range of the blasts. Since it travels in a
              V-arc, the range expands as it travels with a maximum of 5 shots
              per fire. If you're having trouble imagining this, here's a
              simple diagram:

              Normal Shot:                      *

            Upgraded Shot:            0-0, expands to 0-*-0, until 0-*-*-*-0

              (As previously mentioned, everything between the 0s is invisible
              until it hits something.)

              The final and most important change in this weapon is that it
              now has travel time, so despite its considerable range and power
              it can now be evaded by a quick enemy.

Firepower
---

*Gargoyle: 4 / 3
*Golem: 9 / 3
*Undead Warrior: 20 / 12
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 20 / 10
*Sabreclaw: 15 / 5
*Weredragon: 22 / 8
*Ophidian: 25 / 13
*Iron Lich: 105 / 35
*Maulotaur: 270 / 112
*Chaos Serpent: 138 / 93
*D'Sparil: 310 / 150

---

[3.4]                          ---Ethereal Crossbow---

Description: The first truly decent weapon you get, and easily a staple. Think
            of it as a long-range shotgun.

Slot: 3

Type: Magical

Ammo Type: Ethereal Arrows (5)
          Quiver of Ethereal Arrows (20)

Dropped By: Undead Warrior, Undead Warrior Ghost

Ammo Cost: 1

Initial Capacity: 10

Maximum Capacity: 50 (100 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 2 shots per second

Effect: This will be your primary weapon for most of the first episode, and
       honestly a good choice all-around. It fires three bolts with every
       shot: one large bolt in the center surrounded by two smaller bolts. The
       center bolt obviously does the most damage, but anything that hits will
       harm whatever it touches. In addition, each bolt tends to target
       independantly, meaning it's good for both hitting multiple foes and
       bombarding a single target.

Tome of Power: With the Tome of Power, instead of firing three bolts the
              Crossbow now fires five in a similar pattern: three large bolts
              in the center surrounded by two smaller ones on the outside.
              Besides a nice power boost and some sparkly aesthetic changes,
              there's not much else to say. Always a reliable choice.

Firepower
---

*Gargoyle: 2 / 1
*Golem: 2 / 1
*Undead Warrior: 6 / 3
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 5 / 3
*Sabreclaw: 3 / 2
*Weredragon: 4 / 3
*Ophidian: 5 / 4
*Iron Lich: 12 / 10
*Maulotaur: 48 / 28
*Chaos Serpent: 38 / 22
*D'Sparil: 59 / 37

---

[3.5]                            ---Dragon's Claw---

Description: The most powerful weapon you'll receive in the first episode, and
            pretty good in the other four. Basically a machine gun.

Slot: 4

Type: Magical

Ammo Type: Claw Orb (10)
          Energy Orb (25)

Dropped By: Disciple of D'Sparil, Iron Lich

Ammo Cost: 1 (5 upgraded)

Initial Capacity: 30

Maximum Capacity: 200 (400 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 6 shots per second (4 per second upgraded)

Effect: This is your first true rapid fire weapon, which means despite its
       large capacity you'll go through your ammo quickly if you're not
       careful. Like the Elven Wand, the unupgraded version of this weapon has
       instant-shot, so as long as you have good aim you'll always hit your
       target.

Tome of Power: Nicknamed "The Ripper", the Tome of Power transforms this simple
              magical machine gun into a room-clearing dream weapon. The
              Dragon's Claw now fires out spiked balls that, upon impact,
              shoot out four smaller spiked balls in four directions.
              While the power boost isn't as significant as other weapons (in
              one case it actually takes MORE shots in this mode), the ability
              to fill a room with spikey death in seconds more than makes up
              for it. Like the Elven Wand, the Tome also robs this weapon of
              its instant-shot ability, though the travel time isn't anything
              to worry about. Besides that, keep in mind that the cost rises
              to 5 energy per shot - not too bad, but by holding down the fire
              button you can rip through your ammo even faster than normal.

Firepower (Note: Since the upgraded form has a cost of 5, the second number is
          the amount of SHOTS to kill, NOT the energy cost. For the energy
          cost, simply multiply the number by 5.)
---

*Gargoyle: 3 / 2
*Golem: 6 / 2
*Undead Warrior: 10 / 6
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 10 / 7
*Sabreclaw: 8 / 4
*Weredragon: 13 / 5
*Ophidian: 15 / 9
*Iron Lich: 45 / 50 (This isn't a typo - it really does take more shots in
                    upgraded form. Not sure why.)
*Maulotaur: 210 / 80
*Chaos Serpent: 130 / 35
*D'Sparil: 294 / 132

---

[3.6]                             ---Hellstaff---

Description: The first of the more powerful weapons that only appear in
            episodes 2 and later. A rapid fire weapon, this skull on a staff
            is to the Dragon Claw what Doom 3's Chaingun is to its Machine
            Gun. If you haven't played Doom 3, just think of it as a heavy
            machine gun.

Slot: 5

Type: Magical

Ammo Type: Lesser Runes (20)
          Greater Runes (100)

Dropped By: Sabreclaw, Ghost Sabreclaw

Ammo Cost: 2 (Technically 1, but two shots come out w/ each press, 5 upgraded)

Initial Capacity: 50

Maximum Capacity: 200 (400 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 9 blasts per second (2 per second upgraded)

Effect: This is easily my favorite weapon in the game. It's powerful, looks
       cool and the ammo is plentiful. The only real downside is that the
       firing animation takes up most of the screen, so when rapid-firing you
       may have a bit of trouble seeing your enemies. Not too big of an issue,
       though.

Tome of Power: Here's where things really start to get fun. The Tome of Power
              changes the Hellstaff's small projectiles into large ones,
              decreasing the firing rate to 2 shots per second and increasing
              the cost to 5 per shot. The advantage? Anything this baby hits
              will create a cloud above it, pouring acid rain on the point of
              impact for a few seconds. The rain does MAJOR damage, the only
              downside being that it doesn't track so you'll have a hard time
              getting enemies to stay in one spot. On the upside, any enemy
              that happens to walk into the shower will take damage so it's
              excellent for filling a room with (temporary) traps.

Firepower (Note: The Hellstaff's upgraded form causes damage both from the
          blast itself and the rain, which is inconsistent considering that
          enemies can just walk out of the shower. As usual, consider these
          numbers as a reference, not set in stone. Also, since the cost
          raises to 5, the numbers are for the SHOTS, not the COST. For the
          ammunition cost, just multiply the second numbers by 5.)
---

*Gargoyle: 4 / 1
*Golem: 7 / 2
*Undead Warrior: 15 / 4
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 15 / 3
*Sabreclaw: 10 / 3
*Weredragon: 20 / 4
*Ophidian: 24 / 5
*Iron Lich: 50 / 6
*Maulotaur: 260 / 36
*Chaos Serpent: 175 / 33
*D'Sparil: 330 / 123

---

[3.7]                             ---Phoenix Rod---

Description: An interesting weapon, combining man-made and magical properties.
            This game's equivalent to a rocket launcher.

Slot: 6

Type: Man-Made (Splash damage and upgraded form are Magical)

Ammo Type: Flame Orb (1) (Flame Orbs dropped by enemies give you 5)
          Inferno Orb (10)

Dropped By: Ophidian, Maulotaur

Ammo Cost: 1 per shot (1 for an up to 10 second blast upgraded)

Initial Capacity: 2

Maximum Capacity: 20 (40 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 2 shots per second (Constant upgraded)

Effect: The Phoenix Rod fires a fiery ball of death at your enemies, exploding
       on impact (the explosion looks like a bird, too - awesome!) While this
       can turn most lesser enemies into a pile of goo in one shot, it does
       have a few drawbacks. Firstly, this is the only weapon with a noticable
       kickback, pushing you back with each blast, so be careful around
       ledges. Secondly, the splash damage CAN hurt you, so be careful in
       tight areas. Thirdly, and most importantly, at best you'll only get 40
       shots with this baby, and ammo is rare. Best saved for difficult
       enemies and bosses.

       Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this weapon though is that it's
       dual-natured - both Man-Made and Magical. What this means is that if
       you're fighting Ghost-type enemies, the rocket itself will pass right
       through them. However, if you hit a wall, object, or another enemy
       close enough that the Ghost gets caught in the splash damage, the
       explosion WILL harm them. Takes a bit of getting used to, but a devious
       tactic once mastered.

Tome of Power: The Tome of Power changes the function of this weapon
              completely. Instead of a rocket launcher, you now have a
              flamethrower with surprisingly impressive range. This form is
              easily the most powerful weapon in the game in terms of pure
              damage. The cost is affected too: pressing the fire button will
              unleash a stream of flame, costing only 1 unit for up to 10
              seconds, after which you'll need to press fire again to start
              another stream. Keep in mind that if you let go of the button
              before the 10 second mark, you'll still be charged 1 unit, so
              sometimes, it's better to just keep the button held down even if
              enemies are far apart to conserve ammo. Finally, the Tome
              changes the Phoenix Rod to a completely Magical weapon, so
              Ghosts won't give you any more trouble.

Firepower (Note: Since the upgraded form is a stream of fire, the second number
          represents seconds to kill instead of shots, like the Gauntlets.)
---

*Gargoyle: 1 / 0.25s
*Golem: 1 / 0.5s
*Undead Warrior: 1 / 1s
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 1 / 0.75s
*Sabreclaw: 1 / 0.75s
*Weredragon: 1 / 0.75s
*Ophidian: 2 / 1s
*Iron Lich: 4 / 2s
*Maulotaur: 36 / 13s
*Chaos Serpent: 23 / 7s
*D'Sparil: 67 / 23s

---

[3.8]                              ---Firemace---

Description: The last weapon you'll find, and the fastest rapid fire weapon. A
            metal mace that fires bouncing steel balls.

Slot: 7

Type: Man-Made

Ammo Type: Mace Spheres (20)
          Pile of Mace Spheres (100)

Dropped By: None

Ammo Cost: 4 (Technically 1, but 4 spheres fire with each shot, 5 upgraded)

Initial Capacity: 50

Maximum Capacity: 150 (300 w/ Bag of Holding)

Rate of Fire: 12 spheres per second (3 per second upgraded)

Effect: You'd think the last weapon would also be the most powerful, but in
       this case it's only half true. The Firemace is actually a decent
       weapon; its firing speed is unmatched, does good damage and has a
       homing feature: each sphere will always bounce in the direction of an
       enemy until it hits an enemy, object or wall, and will continue
       bouncing until it hits something. The two major weaknesses this weapon
       faces is that it has the rarest ammo of any other weapon, and
       interestingly enough, water. If any of your shots happen to fall into
       water, they'll disappear, so make sure if you're using the Firemace on
       a water level to just hit the enemy directly.

Tome of Power: The Tome of Power is what makes this weapon actually worth it.
              The cost rises to 5 ammo per shot and the firing speed falls to
              only 3 per second, but instead of a plethora of tiny spheres the
              weapon now fires huge steel orbs. These seem to have an even
              more accurate tracking mechanism, and best of all, they will
              kill ANY non-boss enemy in a single hit, every time. Always keep
              a Tome handy and save your ammo for when you need to clear a
              room of baddies and want to conserve your other weapons.
              Unfortunately, the lack of ammo and weakness to water are still
              in effect, so use sparingly.

Firepower (Note: Since the upgraded form has a cost of 5, the second number is
          the amount of SHOTS to kill, NOT the energy cost. For the energy
          cost, simply multiply the number by 5.)
---

*Gargoyle: 8 / 1
*Golem: 8 / 1
*Undead Warrior: 18 / 1
*Disciple of D'Sparil: 20 / 1
*Sabreclaw: 18 / 1
*Weredragon: 22 / 1
*Ophidian: 28 / 1
*Iron Lich: 84 / 10
*Maulotaur: 385 / 50
*Chaos Serpent: 220 / 30
*D'Sparil: 550 / 111


===============================================================================
----------------------------------[4] CREDITS----------------------------------
===============================================================================


Well, that's about it. Hope you enjoyed! Here's a few people to whom I owe my
thanks:

- mr_oh_so_ice, TLaufert and Lord Zero for their Heretic FAQs currently on
 GameFAQs. Though all data was gathered myself, they provided some good
 information and the inspiration for this guide. Thanks, guys!

- ZackScott, for his Resident Evil 4 Weapon Analysis Guide that gave me the
 basis to create this one.

- Emma Rutabega, for being a wonderful corgi and keeping my lap warm while I
 worked on this.


===============================================================================
----------------------------[5] CONTACT INFORMATION----------------------------
===============================================================================


Email: [email protected]

AIM: fattyinaball

Telepathy: Think about sushi and you'll probably find me. Please don't appear
          in my dreams, though; they're scary enough as it is >___>

..and that's it. I'm going to bed.
===============================================================================

Copyright 2011 by A. Provisor (Hoitytoity) (c).
All rights reserved.