Elemental Magic Skill

Elsewhere, I've read that skilling-up on elemental magic takes a lot of time. This is true enough, especially if you do it in marathons, but we do have some help:

The Wand of Frost will not destroy a greydwarf nest, and takes multiple hits to kill greydwarfs. It does destroy other kinds of spawners, for those who like the extra challenge of not hitting the spawner.

It takes multiple shots and lots of dodging on a stamina budget to bring down trolls, berserkers and lox with the Wand of Embers. My idea of fun.

The Wand of Embers is the best way to catch misthares—unless you're also skilling-up on the arbalest, which is also the best way—unless you're trying to maximize fun, in which case running them down in fenris gear is hands-down the best way: They're good dodgers, and the Mistlands can be a risky place for fenris gear.

(Of course, taking misthares with the bow, leading your shots and hitting those tiny, zig-zagging hit boxes is the biggest challenge, and therefore the best way.)

When I want to skill-up fast on a new weapon, I don't do it in huge marathons. I just make it my go-to offence for everything and go about my business. However, my business includes being a warrior. That means taking resources from the enemy whenever possible.

Mining copper (or whatever) in the daytime after destroying a nearby spawner is a recipe for boredom for me. I like to mix it up with fighting. And if I don't get enough fighting, I might go over for a quick game of "Kill-the-Mobs-but-not-the-Spawner."

What's more fun that goofing-off from a chore?

You get the idea. Skilling-up on elemental magic (as on any new weapon) adds new challenge to old biomes, plus the first 50 skill points are easy to get.

Which said, the devs will surely tweak all kinds of balances as time goes on.
3:13 am, February 19, 2023
Polonius Ulf 0 comments 0 likes

Servant of Seraph replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 8:34:36 am PST

Stone Golem + 4x4 house w/ campfire + Frost Staff = Value
6:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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rexpiscator replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 5:06:12 am PST

...I agree, I've noticed: the bigger the better/faster. I found myself leveling up 'faster' with the Staff of Embers than the Ice Staff[which I made first and used first]. I think this works for all weapons and XP gaining; the more damage it delivers[not enemies current HP total], the faster the Skill upgrades, or so it seems to this gamer. So, I use the weapons in each class with the most damage delivered to upgrade that Skill. I'm currently using the Carapace Spear(I NEVER used the spear before, lowest Skill on board) and it only takes a few hits, in an early biome to upgrade the Skill....and this weapon seems to deliver the most damage for type of all the weapons. It seems to be upgrading incredibly fast...

You 'might' think that the XP would be based upon current NPC health level and not a broad sweeping, 'one size fits all' approach...pleeze don't!
3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Rhapsody replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 5:23:26 am PST

Yeah, the new pure physical weapons have a magic of their own too. I'm not sure which has the most DPS, it might be Krom, but it also has high stamina cost as a two-handed weapon.

I don't have an opinion whether lightning spells will actually make it. Some other games build "elemental magic" entirely around fire and frost and it wouldn't be that surprising in Valheim. Staff of embers already deals half its damage as blunt, so it's not as inflexible as a pure fire spell would be (which is another reason why the frost staff falls behind at this time).
3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Nerevar replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 5:37:02 am PST

Originally posted by rexpiscator:
...I agree, I've noticed: the bigger the better/faster. I found myself leveling up 'faster' with the Staff of Embers than the Ice Staff[which I made first and used first]. I think this works for all weapons and XP gaining; the more damage it delivers[not enemies current HP total], the faster the Skill upgrades, or so it seems to this gamer. So, I use the weapons in each class with the most damage delivered to upgrade that Skill. I'm currently using the Carapace Spear(I NEVER used the spear before, lowest Skill on board) and it only takes a few hits, in an early biome to upgrade the Skill....and this weapon seems to deliver the most damage for type of all the weapons. It seems to be upgrading incredibly fast...

You 'might' think that the XP would be based upon current NPC health level and not a broad sweeping, 'one size fits all' approach...pleeze don't!

weapon and skill exp is not related to dmg dealt. its purely the amount of hits. the wiki is on point in that regard if you wanna read up on it.

you just get some bonus exp for doing certain actions. for example a perfect block gives more exp in block than just holding down the button.

but for offensive attacks its always the same amount of exp regardless of dmg dealt. the amount of attacks matters. not the dmg per attack.

since you need to hit a stronger foe more times you also gain more. this leads to people believeing its dmg related. but its the amount of hits.

and for elemental magic there is the golem exploit currently aswell which is the same as hitting a rock to level up melee back then before it got patched out. so theyll remove this method too soon enough.

the hp bubble is currently beyond broken tough. this thing needs a nerf sooner or later. haveing a shield thats like nearly 3 times as strong as the best hp foods in the game is just not balanced in anyway. and you simply cannot balance future enemies around such numbers either.

3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Rhapsody replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 5:55:03 am PST

Originally posted by Nerevar:
the hp bubble is currently beyond broken tough. this thing needs a nerf sooner or later. haveing a shield thats like nearly 3 times as strong as the best hp foods in the game is just not balanced in anyway. and you simply cannot balance future enemies around such numbers either.

It can be tuned at some point certainly, but damage received by the bubble isn't reduced by armor or resistances, so the comparison to health isn't entirely accurate.
3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Nerevar replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 5:56:22 am PST

Originally posted by Rhapsody:
Originally posted by Nerevar:
the hp bubble is currently beyond broken tough. this thing needs a nerf sooner or later. haveing a shield thats like nearly 3 times as strong as the best hp foods in the game is just not balanced in anyway. and you simply cannot balance future enemies around such numbers either.

It can be tuned at some point certainly, but damage received by the bubble isn't reduced by armor or resistances, so the comparison to health isn't entirely accurate.

do you know the dmg isnt reduced by armor ? was this tested somewhere? like was there a difference between wearing carapace or the eitr set ?
3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Rhapsody replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 6:07:23 am PST

Originally posted by Nerevar:
Originally posted by Rhapsody:

It can be tuned at some point certainly, but damage received by the bubble isn't reduced by armor or resistances, so the comparison to health isn't entirely accurate.

do you know the dmg isnt reduced by armor ? was this tested somewhere? like was there a difference between wearing carapace or the eitr set ?

I tested it some time back so I don't remember the details, but it's easy enough to try again.

My skill level of 19 tops off the barrier by 5 per level, so it absorbs almost 300 damage.

Deathsquito deals 90 damage per attack, the barrier lasted 4 hits.

Eitr-weave armor which provides 56 armor value is enough to reduce damage from direct stings to less than 30. If armor was taken into account for the barrier, it would last many more hits than 4.

I did the same thing earlier with root harnesk and different armor, when my skill level was like 2. It lasted three attacks then.

But, if anyone can provide more structured test results or other information, feel free to add to discussion. :P
3:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Hobo Misanthropus replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 1:57:15 am PST

Originally posted by mister_Haladriel:
I know this is different subject, but can i improve blood magic by farming spawners with skeletons? I haven't checked this so that why i am asking

Also if you pick elemental magic as your primary weapon you will pretty quickly up it to 30-35 points

Yes, what I do to level my blood magic, is I go to a swamp, find one of those triple spawners, and let the skelebros have at it. Eventually they'll destroy the spawners on accident, but it's still good skilling. Make sure you're spamming barriers as needed. Typically one archer and one melee is best.

My blood magic is currently 61, which is way overkill for anything in the game right now. The barrier has half the health of a Lox (500), and I can summon skelebros with just Seeker Aspic. (Though by 15minutes remaining I don't have the Eitr anymore)
12:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Hobo Misanthropus replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 1:59:45 am PST

On a different note, Blood Magic is VERY USEFUL for Animal transport. Wolves, Boars, even a Lox. You can turn on friendly fire, cast barrier, and harpoon things. They take no damage, and still get harpooned. You can then load them on a boat, and sail where you need to go. Keep the barrier up though, to protect the animal from instant death collision damage.

Armored Cavalry Lox Charges are also 100% viable, or you can have a pack of wolves all protected by a strong barrier absolutely shred a goblin camp or seeker hive. (I haven't tried bringing them inside a dungeon, I don't think they'll zone with you)

With how strong the barrier is, I can basically guarantee there will never be a healing spell in this game. Not only is it not needed because the barrier functions as a de-facto healing spell, it would make an already incredibly strong spell even stronger.

If I had to guess, the next Blood Magic Spells will be:

Summon a "Large" undead (Possibly the Ashlands Moregen) (Weapon grade improves its health, skill improves its damage)

A new Buff that improves physical damage. % Boost based on Skill, duration based on weapon quality.


Elemental magic will probably (Almost certainly IMO) be a Lightning based spell. And then maybe upgraded/alternate version of the Frost and Ember staff that have a secondary spellcast using M3 like other weapons. Or possibly a Yagluth Meteor staff, which would be dope.
12:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Rhapsody replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 3:29:21 am PST

They might make higher tier magic weapons available in similar way as other weapons, but with less power curve. Their use could cost more eitr while having more advanced or specialized effects. Alternatively, they could function identically to currently available magic weapons, but have their own secondary spells with advanced features.

But yeah the frost staff is a bit on the weak side. It's not bad when you actually need to have something slowed down, but that's it. Bad accuracy, and worse damage for durability and eitr cost. It may be much better in ashlands of course.
12:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Hobo Misanthropus replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 1:19:58 am PST

Originally posted by Polonius Ulf:
The SoE generates more XP per hit, but has a much lower rate of fire. The staff of frost can rapidly generate multiple hits with a single activation. So it is not true that the SoF is worse for skilling-up than that the SoE. They are about the same.

Each of them also need some player skill. With the staff of frost, you want to learn how to dish out just enough hits to do the job and conserve eitr. Another player skill is dealing with multiple foes by freezing each of them with just a touch of frost. "I'll get back to you later." With the staff of embers, you have to both lead and loft your shots to score hits.

It's not just about the rate of fire, in fact, the rate of fire is what makes the Skill up on the Staff of Embers faster. There's a brief window between casts where you will actually regenerate some Eitr, This means for a full manadump (~180 Eitr) the Staff of Embers produces 25% to 50% more elemental XP per bar.

There's also the overkill factor. It's not really possible to overkill with the Staff of Frost, but a hit on a mob with 1% health still gives full XP, so it's XP per hit advantage really starts to pay dividends while leveling it up, especially on trash that the Staff of Frost will just as likely kill in one hit as well.
12:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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mister_Haladriel replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 1:30:39 am PST

I know this is different subject, but can i improve blood magic by farming spawners with skeletons? I haven't checked this so that why i am asking

Also if you pick elemental magic as your primary weapon you will pretty quickly up it to 30-35 points
12:13 pm, February 19, 2023
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Polonius Ulf replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 19, 2023 @ 12:36:10 am PST

The SoE generates more XP per hit, but has a much lower rate of fire. The staff of frost can rapidly generate multiple hits with a single activation. So it is not true that the SoF is worse for skilling-up than that the SoE. They are about the same.

Each of them also need some player skill. With the staff of frost, you want to learn how to dish out just enough hits to do the job and conserve eitr. Another player skill is dealing with multiple foes by freezing each of them with just a touch of frost. "I'll get back to you later." With the staff of embers, you have to both lead and loft your shots to score hits.
9:13 am, February 19, 2023
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Hobo Misanthropus replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 18, 2023 @ 8:15:28 pm PST

For skilling up, you should only be using the Fire Staff. The Frost staff is an important tool for magic users as well, since its superior in single-target situations, and once you hit 50 skill, its DPS skyrockts by 20% by virtue of shaving off 1 Eitr point of its 5 point cast. But the Fire Staff generates way more XP per hit, and does seem to scale with multiple hits, where as the frost staff gains a penalty per hit.

Just to be clear, you should not be religiously trying to skill up your magic skills over 50. You can certainly do it, but it's clear the intent for the ashlands is people to be going in with 40-60 skill, when most assuredly new spells, and spell upgrades will be available.
6:13 am, February 19, 2023
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Honorable_D replied to Elemental Magic Skill February 18, 2023 @ 6:14:33 pm PST

I ended up skilling elemental magic up in an old Swamp biome I had cleared of iron a long time ago. I still had a portal there and remembered a circle of stones that had 2 draugr spawners and 1 skeleton spawner.

I've killed so, so many skeletons and draugr and got my elemental magic into the high 40s. I also had tons of entrails and bone fragments to toss into the obliterator for extra coal.

If I had known the greydwarf nests were immune to frost damage and you can shoot it with the frost staff forever I might have done that instead. Either way, it was pretty damn boring but for sure way faster at leveling the skill than just running around like you normally would.
3:13 am, February 19, 2023
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