GrumpD wrote:If I'm following the thread clearly, it sounds like Level 9 spells require enough xp to make a character vulnerable or weak for a 3 rune game.
This isn't generally true, which is Sandman's point. What is generally true is that when you get your level 5-6 online, you should spend a while on on training other things. Defences, utility spells and melee/inv/evo/ranged. You can still have plenty of XP for a level 9 in Z:5, especially one of the single school ones.
As a newer player, it's very difficult at times to suss out just how long it may take to effectively skill into something, how directly aptitudes play a role in advancement, and what effect ability scores also have.
Definitely true. But I think the decision of whether/when to skill a level 9 spell up is a relatively minor part of this. Though it is one of the (many) parts people tend to mess up at first.
I think new players may also consider trying to skill into level 9's because they've had poor armor or weapon drops and feel under-prepared, where a level 9 could be the "silver bullet" or "nuke button" to make the character viable.
The advice these people need is that if they have their level 5-6 spells up, that's technically enough offence for the full 3-rune game. If they feel weak, other areas are what you need to buff, not offense. (It tends to be hard to distinguish what you need more of for a newbie. It often feels like you just need more of everything.
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Personally, I'd rather get spellbooks during the 3 rune game, that, ya know, are for the 3 rune game instead of spells that most players consider to be a poor choice.
I suspect newbies have a much higher Zot:5 survival rate with a level 9 spell under their belt. It's just that they need to realize that it will be important for the end of a 3-runer, not right now.
When I get a book that I can't read in-game and is marked as "high level," I think, "Oh sweet, I just got access to some awesome and powerful magic," when I should think "this book has spells in it that I should probably ignore."
Fortunately, the dev team's doing away with the highlevel book label. It didn't do much useful, and could be misleading. If your an FE, and you get a high level EE book, you probably shouldn't try to get those spells up for a 3-runer. Unless already training Earth for bolt of Magma or something. Hiding the highlevel book behind a {highlevel} tag made people pay attention instead of ignore spells that didn't fit their character.
I can't call to mind any equipment or consumables that exist in the game which players know should be used exclusively in extended, so why would a player assume that spells deviate from this standard?
Weapons of holy wrath, rN, and stasis are almost exclusively useful in the late game, with exceptions similar to level 9s (Yeah, HW is good in Crypt which is 3-rune territory. But it's close to the end of 3-rune territory now.)