--------------------
I. Basic Information
--------------------
A. Author's Note (Read This!)
B. Quick Info
C. Skills, Leveling-Up, & Promotions
D. Statistics & Probabilities
E. Statistic Thresholds
F. Food & Rest
G. Conditions & Ailments
H. Time & Aging
I. Reputation & The Law
J. Shopping in Might & Magic VII
K. Building a Team that Works for You
L. "Lost-Forevers" (Definitely Read This!)
--------------
II. Characters
--------------
A. Knight
B. Monk
C. Thief
D. Ranger
E. Paladin
F. Archer
G. Druid
H. Cleric
I. Sorcerer
-----------------------------------
III. Walkthrough (Main Line Quests)
-----------------------------------
A. The Scavenger Hunt
B. Harmondale's New Lords
C. The Elf-Human War
D. Path of Light
E. Path of Darkness
F. Colony Zod & The Shoals
--------------------
IV. Promotion Quests
--------------------
A. Knight Promotions
B. Monk Promotions
C. Thief Promotions
D. Ranger Promotions
E. Paladin Promotions
F. Archer Promotions
G. Druid Promotions
H. Cleric Promotions
I. Sorcerer Promotions
--------------
V. Side Quests
--------------
A. Emerald Isle Quest (The Missing Contestants)
B. Harmondale Quests
C. Stone City Quest (Troglodyte Slayer)
D. Tularean Forest Quests
E. Erathia Quests
F. Tatalia Quests
G. Nighon Quest (Haldar's Remains)
H. Bracada Quest (Seasons' Stole)
I. Deyja Quest (Kill the Griffins)
------------------
VI. Little Secrets
------------------
A. Trap & Perception Reference Chart
B. Wells, Altars, & Cauldrons
C. Games, Contests, Tests, & Challenges
D. Obelisks
E. Trading Goods
F. Secrets of the Genie Lamps
G. Artifacts & Relics
-------------
VII. Arcomage
-------------
-----------------
VIII. Skill Lists
-----------------
A. Weapon Skills
B. Armor Skills
C. Miscellaneous Skills
D. Magic Skills
-------------------------
IX. Expert Teachers Lists
-------------------------
A. Weapon Skill Experts
B. Armor Skill Experts
C. Miscellaneous Skill Experts
D. Magic Skill Experts
Thank you for choosing a BTB FAQ. From the name of the section, "Stuff You
Definitely Should Know Before Playing", a few things should be apparent. Here,
I shall convey useful information about the game itself which is not readily
apparent to the player. This is information that would greatly behoove the
player to know and does not reveal anything, either story-wise or anything that
may give you an unfair advantage while playing (for those of you who hate that
sort of thing). In short, it is highly recommended that you look this section
over before you begin playing.
The walkthrough is the "meat" of the guide, containing in-depth strategies,
directions, and so on. It is also generously littered with spoilers and
profanity, and seeing as you have thusly been warned, I tend not to tolerate
bitching about either of them. The appendices, or in other words all the parts
of the walkthrough that are not the walkthrough, contain supplemental
information that may be often referenced in the walkthrough. However, take
note that during the walkthrough, I generally assume that my reader possesses a
basic knowledge of the information found within the appendices, so please keep
that in mind when using the walkthrough.
Lastly, I must stress that in addition to providing help and information
with the game itself in the walkthrough, I also keep a very good running tab on
whatever plot may exist, often adding insight and commentary. This is meant to
assist you, the reader's understanding of not only the technical aspects of the
game, but also the finer details (namely the plot). Many people often say that
my various commentary makes the game more enjoyable for them, which is indeed
my intent. If you do not wish to partake of my commentary, I most certainly
understand, and hope you at least find the answers to your question in the
various non-plot-related parts of my FAQ. If, however, your distaste for my
writing style leads you to bitch about my "filler-laden" FAQ, then my advice to
you is quite simply to go fuck yourself and find something better to do with
your time.
The following list is a quick run-off of general things to bear in mind about
this game:
About halfway through the game, you will make a seemingly in
consequential choice, which will In fact have a huge effect on the
entire game. You will choose one of two paths, and follow that path to
the conclusion of the game. Which path you choose will have a huge
impact on the rest of the game, and some notable differences are as
follows. Different quests will be available to you on either path,
different promotion quests will also be present (see section I.C. for
more on promotion quests),
---
The damage formulas in this game are a derivative of D&D rules. While
most of this is explained in detail in section I.C. of the FAQ, a quick
introductory note bears mentioning. That is, the concept of dice. When
a weapon, for example, does 3d4 + 5 damage, it does the combined total
of a four sided die rolled three times, plus five. This means that the
potential damage output for this particular weapon ranges from 8 to 17
points of damage. Coversely, a spell that does, say, 5 + 1-8 damage per
skill point would do a guaranteed 5 damage, plus 1 to 8 points of damage
for each skill point in that particular school of magic. Don't worry, I
talk about skill points in a little bit, just hang in there.
---
A, C, and S (default) are three of the most important keys in the game,
along with the Spacebar (mentioned below). The A key, most importantly,
is your attack key. When you press it, whichever character is
highlighted on the bottom of the screen will attack with whatever weapon
they have equipped (or attack with their bare hands should they not
possess a weapon). If your character has a bow equipped, then her or
she will attack with the bow unless they are standing within melee range
of any attackable creature. This includes friendly creatures, so be
warned. Lacking a bow, your character will just attack (and miss) with
their melee weapon or bare hands (assuming that you are not standing
within melee range of anything, that is). The C button will bring up
the highlighted character's spellbook, from which you can choose a spell
to cast. You can navigate the spellbook via the tabs located on the
right side of the spellbook (there will be one tab for each school of
magic your character has learned). Lastly, in the spell menus, you may
notice that you can set a "quick spell" to the S key. When you press
the S key, a character will attack normally as if you had pressed the A
key unless you have a quick-spell set, as well as enough MP to cast that
spell, in which case the character will let loose with the spell
instead. As you might expect, this is a very quick way to eat up your
MP in the midst of a tough battle, so be wary of that when selecting
your spell (good candidates include Heal, and low-level attack spells,
in my opinion).
---
The Spacebar would be the other extremely important key in the game.
Anyone who has ever played a game like Doom knows this already, but as if
it begged reiteration, the Spacebar is your general-all purpose
interaction key. It does everything from talk to people, to open
chests, to open doors, throw switches, etc. The mouse can also be used,
though there are times when if the mouse does not work, the Spacebar
usually will (this pertains especially to the Walls of Mist quest, which
many claim to be bugged, though I personally have never experienced any
problems with it because I use the Spacebar).
---
Take note of the color of the small area surrounding the portraits of
each of your characters. Under normal circumstances, it will be green.
When enemies are near, it turns yellow. And when an enemy is in very
close proximity, it turns red. This is important both as a warning to
your party, and also due to the fact that certain things (such as
resting, or casting the Town Portal spell) cannot be done while enemies
are near. Also note that the color around your characters' portraits
will go away for any particular character experiencing recovery time
(discussed further just below).
---
The vast majority of the game will take place in a "real-time"
environment. You may move your characters about at all times, but
whenever one of them acts (attacks, casts a spell, etc.), they suffer a
"recovery time". This is a short period time in which they cannot act.
You'll notice that the area around their portrait loses its color at this
time. It will return to color again when they are ready to act. For
more on recovery time, refer to section I.D. of the FAQ. By pressing
the enter key (default), you may switch the game to a more traditional
RPG style turn-based mode. In this turn-based mode, your characters'
recovery times become far more noticeable, as your quicker characters
will be able to act more often than your slower characters. You are
also allowed a small movement phase before your attacks. Using the
turn-based mode is not necessary for victory in Might & Magic VII, but
it does slow the action down a bit and allows for more thought-out
spellcasting tactics. All in all, you are advised to experiment with
both modes and use whichever you feel the most comfortable with.
---
One important thing to note about turns is that just about any action
will cost a character his or her turn, including drinking a potion
(potions are discussed a little later on in this section). However, any
desired number of additional potions may be consumed by a character
whose turn has passed. This is useful if you are really hurting and
need to pump one or more of your characters back up to good health. The
catch, of course, is that you must still have at least one character who
is still in the green. This is because you cannot access your party's
inventory via an inactive character, but you can access the inventory of
another character and then switch to the inventory of any other
character on your team, even if they are inactive. Keep this
information in mind as you play.
---
As with just about every other RPG ever made, there are treasure
chests, boxes, crates, and all other forms of containers scattered
throughout the land just brimming with goodies for you. Be warned,
however, that almost every last one of them is armed with a trap which
will damage the ntire party. The damage done is random, but often it
is quite severely damaging- easily enough to wipe out your party if
you're not lucky. That being said, characters with the Disarm Trap
skill have a chance to disarm these traps, providing they are the active
character when you open up a chest, crate, or other treasure-filled
container. For more specific information, refer to section VI.A. of the
FAQ. The master level Earth spell Telekinesis can also be used to open
chests without fear of harm. Characters with the Perception skill stand
a chance of avoiding the trap damage, but this is as a general rule not
a good thing to rely entirely upon.
---
Aside from the aformentioned traps, some traps also exist hidden
throughout various dungeons, often triggered when you step on certain
areas of the floor. These parts of the floor will be revealed if any
character in your party possesses a high enough skill in Perception
(refer to section VI.A. of the FAQ for more information on this).
Perception also causes other hidden features, such as secret doors and
the like, to be revealed. As you might expect, this is a skill that is
highly valuable to the first-time player, whereas in contrast the
veteran will have little to no use for it.
---
When you first obtain any piece of equipment, excepting that which
you purchase from shops, it is initially unidentified. This is
indicated by the item appearing with a heavy green tint in the item
screen. Information on any particular item in your inventory can be
obtained by right-clicking it with your mouse. If the character who is
holding the item has a high enough level in the ID Item skill (refer to
section VIII.C. for more on how the ID Item skill works), he or she will
identify the item, and information about it will appear. If not, the
item remains unidentified. Unidentified items are still completely
useable- you merely don't know anything about them. Simply by looking
at it, you , the player, might be able to tell what the item is, but you
will still be unaware of any enchantment that may be on the piece of
equipment Enchantments are "bonuses", to put it one way, that enhance
the effectiveness of the equipment. A complete listing of all the
various enchantments is available in section XVI. of the FAQ, and if you
are particularly savvy, you can usually figure out if anything is
enchanted merely by examining its effects on your characters when
equipping them. Still, most find this to be horribly inconvenient, and
either opt for the ID Item skill, or pay shops to identify their items.
---
A handful of things during your quest, usually a certain few enemies
possessing the skill to do so, may cause your equipment to break. This
will be indicated by the piece of equipment in question being displayed
with a deep red hue in your inventory, and also it will read "broken"
when you attempt to right-click it for information. If a character has
a high enough skill level in the Repair Item skill, he or she can mend
the item immediately simply by right-clicking it (for more on how the
Repair Item skill works, refer to section VIII. C. of the FAQ). Broken
items, although equippable, are entirely unusable, and have no effect on
a character whatsoever. So, you'll probably want to fix broken
equipment as soon as possible, either via the Repair Item skill or by
paying a shop to fix it for you.
---
Potions are a fairly big aspect of the game. Basic potion-making is
something any of your characters can do. You'll need a "reagent", which
comes in a variety of different forms (basically, these are the
ingredients to the potion, all of which are listed in section XV.B. of
the FAQ), as well as an empty potion bottle. Simply pick up the reagent
and right-click it over the bottle to make the potion. How some of the
reagents, such as a Meteorite Fragment, are immediately transformed into
a drinkable liquid through nothing more than your character's own will
and self determination is beyond me, but the potion is made on the spot,
and is immediately useable. The "strength" of the potion will be listed
if you right-click it, and stronger potions will have different effects
based on the type of potion in question. Stronger reagents make
stronger potions, and the Alchemy skill level of the character who made
the potion (if applicable) is added to the strength of the potion also.
While red, yellow, and blue potions are the three basic types, these can
be mixed to create a vast myriad of different potions, which are all
listed in section XV.A of the FAQ. Note that the character creating
potions will need the Alchemy skill to create any potions more complex
than red, yellow, or blue, as well as to create or use catalysts.
Catalysts are grey potions and are special in the sense that you cannot
drink them, but rather you mix them with other potions to alter their
strength to that of that catalyst used. Attempting to create a potion
that your character does not have the expertise to mix is a good way to
get yourself blown up. Don't ask me how just two Poppysnaps and some
Widowsweep Berries can be so volatile- just take my word for it.
---
Concerning a glitch in the game, the Haste spell doesn't work. This
includes pedestals, scrolls, and any other way to induce the haste
condition upon your party (this includes the Hour of Power spell, as
well). Not only does it not work, but can actually be counter-
productive in that your characters are weakened when the spell wears
off. The good news, however, is that haste potions do, in fact, work.
And even better, they typically last much, much longer than the spell
does, anyways. The only negative effect is that each potion only
affects one character at a time. So, in a nutshell, haste cast on the
party does not work, whereas haste cast on an individual does.
---
Holding shift (default key) causes your party to run instead of walk.
Some people like to keep the "always run" option on (which will then
swap the function of the shift key to walking whenever you hold it
down), but there is a reason why that may not be such a great idea.
That is, when running, your characters recovery times are doubled. So,
with the always run option on, you will always suffer this penalty while
attacking, unless your party is standing absolutely still. This is just
a friendly warning, and you are advised to, knowing this, choose
whatever option you feel comfortable with.
---
*Pressing the X key (default) allows your characters to jump a little bit
into the air. This is a good way to cross small gaps, but nothing more.
The jump is very small, and for anything further, you should use the
expert-level Air spell Jump. However, it is very important to note that
you can hop onto any body of water and, a'la Jesus, walk right across
it. Your characters' only protests seem to be the occasional "I'm
drowning!" as you trudge across the surface of the water, accompanied by
a slow but steady drain of all your characters' HP. The expert level
Water spell Water Walk will allow you to walk across the surface of
water without taking damage, but as I have clearly stated, water travel
is entirely possible without it, no matter how heavy your armor is. Use
this knowledge to your advantage in the early game when the Water Walk
spell might not be available.
---
Steep terrain is another issue that should be addressed. If the slope
is less than 90 degrees, it is entirely possible for you to climb on up
via pressing yourself up against it, though some of the steeper hills are
still almost entirely impassable. In any event, you'd do best to find
yourself the least-steep side of any hill, cliff, or other big, tall
thing to climb in front of you to scale. From there, it's all a
combination of "hopping" up with the X (default) key, and "wriggling"
your way up the hill by pressing yourself up against it and turning from
side to side with the left and right keys (this is surprisingly
effective). Also, the expert-level Air spell Jump is extremely helpful
in this pursuit, should you happen to posess it. Granted, all of this is
entirely moot when you acquire the master-level Air spell Fly, but
climbing is a useful skill of getting to various locations early in the
game, as well as making traveling in Deyja and Bracada far much easier.
Actually, now that I mention it, it's pretty much impossible to travel
almost anywhere in Deyja without doing at least a little climbing unless
you are flying.
---
The converse to climbing, of course, is falling. And it hurts. The
rule is that for every 10 feet your characters fall, they lose 10% of
their maximum HP. Falls under 10 feet do not hurt, and a fall of 100 or
over will kill you outright. For starters, I should note that water, as
in real life, not only will not break your fall, but often can make the
situation worse when you take the whole drowning thing into
consideration. And, as if it needed mentioning, a foot in Might & Magic
VII is not very far at all. But you can get a fairly good idea when you
consider that the typical building/person in this game is about as tall
as a building or a person might be in real life. The good news is that
the initiate-level Air spell Feather Fall will eliminate damage done by
falling for as long as it is active. The same can be said for the
master-level Air spell Fly. And also, you will not suffer damage from
falling after casting the expert-level Air spell Jump, no matter how far
it is you happen to fall after casting it. That is, while the spell
only takes you 60 feet into the air, you can fall much farther than that
after casting the spell without getting hurt. Keep these things in mind
as you travel.
---
Do peasants wandering about on the street apparently unaware of the
fact that they are standing directly in your way piss you off? Well,
you could kill them, but section I.I. describes why that may not be such
a good idea. Try the Y key (default), which prompts your character to
yell at the idiot standing in your way. Repeated yelling may be
required in the case of severe dipshittedness, but they usually get the
hint pretty fast and move out of your way.
---
Note that the 1-4 keys on the top of your keyboard correspond to one
of the four members of your party. This has various uses. Press the
appropriate key once to activate that character, if he or she is able to
activated at the moment, that is (as opposed to using the tab key to
cycle through your characters), and then you may press the appropriate
key again to bring up their user info screen. But perhaps the most
useful aspect (in my experience, anyways) of this is its usefulness in
sorting your inventory. When you left-click any item to "pick it up",
you may send that item directly to any character's inventory by pressing
the appropriate key. This not only makes sorting your inventory far
more convenient, but also makes looting chests and the like far much
more quick and easy.
---
And lastly, if, for some reason you have lost any quest item you were
carrying, head on over to the Arbiter's Hut in eastern Harmondale and
speak with the judge there. Tell him "I lost it" and he'll give it back
to you.
I discuss skills, leveling-up, and promotions all in the same section, as
they are all inter-related. Let's begin with skills. There are three
different types of skills in Might & Magic VII. Combat skills allow your
character to use a certain piece of equipment. For instance, you cannot use a
Spear, or Chain armor, without the appropriate skill. Note that clubs (crude
melee weapons) and accessories (such as helmets, gauntlets, and cloaks) do not
require skills to use. Magic skills will allow your character to cast magic
spells from their respective schools. Miscellaneous skills, lastly, have
various beneficial effects, either by aiding the character directly, or
allowing the character to perform tasks beneficial to the party (such as
Merchantry or Repairing Items).
Skill levels start at 1, and may be raised using skill points . Skill
points are earned mainly through leveling-up, but can be attained through
other means, as well. Even so, they are a very rare and very limited
resource, so you are advised to spend them wisely. It takes 2 skill points
to raise a skill to level 2, 3 skill points to raise it to level 3, etc.
Raising a skill's skill level has various effects on the skill, and varies
depending on the skill. However, the most important method of refining your
characters' skills is by seeking out teachers (listed in sections IX., X., and
XI. of the FAQ), and enlisting them to promote you to expertise, mastery, and
perhaps even grandmastery of a particular skill. These will often convey very
large and significant bonuses to the skill, as well as allowing additional
skill levels gained for that skill to be even more effective. For example, an
expert of the mace has their skill level added to both their attack bonus as
well as damage done, as opposed to the non-expert, who receives only the
addition to their attack bonus.
Magic skills are of worthy note here, as well. Expertise in magic skills
dictates not only what spells a character may learn, but also the
effectiveness of those spells. For example, an expert in Air magic may learn
both initiate-level spells, such as Wizard Eye, as well as expert-level spells,
such as Shield. As the character's expertise in Air magic increases, he or she
will not only be able to learn higher-level spells, but the spells from lower
levels will often function much more effectively under higher levels of
expertise. In this case, for example, the Shield spell has a much longer
duration when the caster is a master of Air magic as opposed to a mere expert.
The exact way in which each spell will grow more useful with increased
expertise varies per spell, and is thusly detailed in the various lists
throughout section XVII of the FAQ.
Note that different character classes are allowed only attain certain
degrees of mastery in each skill (Sorcerers, for example, may grandmaster
magic skills that Archers are allowed only to master). Furthermore, some
levels of skill expertise will be available to a character only after certain
promotion quests (for more on promotion quests, see below). These are also
successive endeavors, in case you hadn't noticed. That is, you must be
promoted to an expert before becoming a master, and so on. Lastly, note that
in order to be promoted to expertise, mastery, or grandmaster of a skill, in
addition to the appropriate class and promotion requirements, you must also
have achieved a certain skill level in that particular skill. The following
chart illustrates the various requirements.
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| To be promoted to... | ...you must have reached at least this skill level. |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Expert | 4 |
| Master | 7 |
| Grand Master | 10 |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------+
Next, let's discuss leveling-up. Rather than immediately promoting your
characters to the next experience level as most RPG's do when you attain
enough experience points, in the world of Might & Magic VII, you must seek out
a training facility and pay to be promoted to the next level. Of course, you
must have attained to required experience points prior. You can tell if your
characters are ready to level up by bringing up the quick reference card
(default key Z), and any character whose level is listed in green text is due
for a level up. Their experience points will also be listed in green text on
their respective individual statistics screens. Also note that unlike most
RPG's, the only statistics raised via leveling up are HP and MP, though skill
points are also awarded, as well. The other stats can only be raised through
other means, as detailed in section I.D. of the FAQ.
How much HP or MP a character gains with each level-up is dependent on
their class. Knights, obviously, gain more HP than, say, Druids. However,
the skill points awarded for each level-up are the same for all characters,
regardless of class. The formula for determining how many skill points a
character will gain upon level-up is detailed in the chart below.
(Note that even though it is theoretically possible to be attain levels off
this chart, not only should you have figured out the pattern by that point,
you'll probably also have far too many skill points by that time to give a
shit.)
Lastly, we'll talk about promotions. Each character class has three
"promotion quests". These promotion quests are different from regular quests
as, although they don't progress the story line, completing them allows the
character to be promoted to the next "level". A Cleric, for instance, will be
promoted to a Priest, and then later to a Priest of the Light, or to a Priest
of the Dark. Note that a Cleric must first be promoted to Priest before
attempting either the Priest of Light or Priest of Dark promotions, and that
only one of the latter two may be attained (this will be determined by a
choice you make about halfway through the game, as discussed below).
Completing promotion quests allows your characters to learn skills to a higher
level of mastery, as well as significantly raises their HP and MP maxes. For
instance, whereas a Cleric might gain 3 MP for each level up, a Priest will
earn 4. At the time of promotion, the game acts as if every level gained up
to that point had been gained as the newer class, meaning you can feel free to
take your time and complete the promotion quests at your leisure. Also,
Priests may, for example, master magic skills which they could only gain
expertise in as Clerics. Finally note that you may complete promotions quests
for characters that are not in your party- you merely do not see any benefit
from completing them aside from the experience, gold, and items gained.
Concerning the second promotions, as I mentioned above, which of the two
your will be able to attain is dependent on your choice made halfway through
the game. One set of promotions is available to parties on one path, whereas
another set of promotions is available to characters on the other path. The
promotions themselves are almost entirely the same, with only a few scattered
areas in a few different classes that might be a little different. While
these are all mentioned under their appropriate areas in section II. Of the
FAQ, the most important difference rests with Clerics, Sorcerers, Paladins,
and Archers, and concerns the ultimate school of magic which they can study.
Each of the two paths has their own school of magic (Light and Dark) that
contain some very powerful and useful spells, and is exclusive to characters
playing on that path.
One last thing worthy of mention (or reiteration) is that while the second
promotions are path-specific, the first promotions, which must be attained
before earning the second promotions are not. Ergo, both Priests of the Light
and Priests of the Dark must have been earlier promoted to Priests before
attempting their second promotions. I mention this because more than likely,
characters following one path will receive their first promotion from teachers
of the opposite path, and then must seek out new teachers in order to receive
their second promotion. Fear not, this is how things are supposed to work.
This is a subject that is mostly limited to RPG's, and deals with the random
probabilities of things happening in the game and the statistics that they are
based upon. Statistics are important in every RPG, and some other games as
well. Unfortunately for us, statistics are a far different thing in every game
we have ever played, and they can often be confusing. Below is listed every
statistic in the game, how we get it (and/or make it bigger), and what it does
(simple enough for ya?):
HP should be a statistic familiar to anyone who's ever played an RPG
before, and I will therefore refrain from explaining too much about it.
It is important to note, however, that when it falls below 0, your
character goes unconscious. When it falls to a negative number
equivalent to that character's Endurance stat, the character dies. There
is a big difference between the two, as characters who are merely
unconscious can be cured via Heal spells, potions, and other curative
means whereas a character who has died cannot be. Also note that
although HP is visible as an exact number on a character's stat screen,
there is also a bar to the right of each character's portrait on the
bottom of the screen that indicates how much of his or her maximum HP is
remaining. Green indicates good health, yellow is moderate damage, while
red is serious injury. This can be misleading as it is a result of a
character's maximum HP, so a character (such as a Monk) with a lot of HP
could be down in the red, and still be about as well off as, say, a Druid
who is still in the green. Anyways, a character's HP max will go up with
each level-up, as his or her Endurance stat goes up, as his or her Body
Building skill level or expertise increases, and you'll generally
receive a nice bonus to it with each class promotion.
---
MP is another stat that should be familiar to anyone who hasn't been
living under a rock for the last 30 or so years. There's nothing special
about the MP stat in Might & Magic, except that it occasionally jumps up
and down and does tricks when you feed it treats. A character's MP max
rises with each level-up, as his or her Meditation skill or expertise
rises, and a hefty bonus is generally received with each class promotion.
Thieves, Rangers, Archers, Druids, and Sorcerers will also see their MP
maxes rise with the Intellect stat, whereas Monks, Rangers, Paladins,
Druids, and Clerics will see it go up alongside their Personality stats.
---
Might is a fairly self-explanatory stat. The higher this stat gets,
the more damage a character does with melee attacks. A character's Might
stat increases by consuming red liquid, and can receive some hefty one-
time permanent bonuses by visiting a certain altar/well or by consuming
the black potion Pure Might. For more on red liquid, altars, and wells,
refer to section VI.B of the FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to
section XV.A..
---
Intellect causes a character's MP stat to rise as it goes up. This
applies only if the character in question is a Thief, Ranger. Archer,
Druid, or Sorcerer. Knights, Monks, Paladins, and Clerics make no use of
this stat. A character's Intellect stat increases by consuming orange
liquid, and can receive some hefty one-time permanent bonuses by visiting
a certain altar/well or by consuming the black potion Pure Intellect.
For more on orange liquid, altars, and wells, refer to section VI.B of
the FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
Personality causes a character's MP stat to rise as it goes up. This
apppies only if the character in question is a Monk, Ranger, Paladin,
Druid, or Cleric. Knights, Thieves, Archers, and Sorcerers make no use
of this stat. A character's Personality stat increases by consuming blue
liquid, and can receive some hefty one-time permanent bonuses by visiting
a certain altar/well, or by consuming the black potion Pure Personality.
For more on blue liquid, altars, and wells, refer to section VI.B of the
FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
Endurance causes a character's HP to rise as it goes up. It also marks
how far into the negative numbers a character's HP can go before he or
she dies. A character's Endurance stat increases by consuming green
liquid, and can receive some hefty one-time permanent bonuses by visiting
a certain altar/well, or by consuming the black potion Pure Endurance.
For more on red liquid, altars, and wells, refer to section VI.B of the
FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
Accuracy, as you might have guessed, help a character's attacks connect
more often. As this stat goes up, it increases a character's Attack
Bonus, for both melee and ranged (bow) attacks. A character's Accuracy
stat increases by consuming yellow liquid (ewwww...), and can receive some
hefty one-time permanent bonuses by visiting a certain altar/well, or by
consuming the black potion Pure Accuracy. For more on yellow liquid
(again I say, ewwww...), altars, and wells, refer to section VI.B of the
FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
Speed is a stat which shortens a character's recovery time, therefore
making him or her quicker in battle. A character's AC will also go up
with their Speed stat. A character's Speed stat increases by consuming
purple liquid, and can receive some hefty one-time permanent bonuses by
visiting a certain altar/well, or by consuming the black potion Pure
Speed. For more on purple liquid, altars, and wells, refer to section
VI.B of the FAQ. For more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
Luck is a stat that works as a bonus to all resistances (mentioned
below). A character's Luck stat does not receive very many chances to
increase, but can receive some hefty one-time permanent bonuses by
visiting a certain altar/well, or by consuming the black potion Pure
Luck. For more on altars wells, refer to section VI.B of the FAQ. For
more on (black) potions, refer to section XV.A..
---
AC stands for Armor Class, and is a stat most hard core D&D fanatics
should recognize, at least. In short, this stat represents your
character's defense. Only it does not lessen damage- it prevents it
outright. When an attack is made, a check is made with the target's AC
to see if the attack actually hits. I would list the formula except that
you probably don't really care. In a nutshell, the higher your AC is,
the harder you are to hit. Simple enough for ya? AC is affected by a
character's Speed stat, a character's equipment, a character's expertise
in the armor or shield they are using (only if they are using it, mind
you), and the Stoneskin spell. In addition, certain wells provide
temporary bonuses to a character's AC. For more on wells, refer to
section VI.B. of the FAQ.
---
Attack Bonus is the Yin to AC's Yang. Whereas AC determined how hard
a target was to hit, a higher Attack Bonus makes your melee or ranged
attack much more likely to connect. The Attack Bonuses listed on a
character's ranged and melee skills are a sum of all the factors that go
into the Attack Bonus stat. These includes a character's Accuracy stat,
equipped weapon(s), and the Bless spell. Please note that when a
character is attacking with a weapon in both hands, the attack bonuses
for those two weapons are combined to make a larger attack bonus for a
single attack made with both weapons (as opposed to each weapon striking
separately).
---
Damage is a stat that I honestly hope I don't have to explain to you,
lest you probably need more help than this FAQ can provide. The numbers
listed under damage for both melee and ranged attacks are the possible
damage output for your characters attacks at that point, taking things
such as equipped weapons, the Heroism spell, etc. into consideration. Is
does not, however, take into consideration added elemental damage,
usually due to enchantments. For example, a character wielding Broad
Sword of Flames (the "of Flames" enchantment adding 6-12 addition points
of fire damage) will not see the addition 6-12 points of fire damage
reflected in his or her Damage stat. A character's Damage output is
affected by his or her Might stat, equipped weapon(s), expertise with
that weapon (in some instances), by the Armsmaster skill (Master level or
higher), and by the Heroism spell. Please note that when a character is
attacking with a weapon in both hands, the damage output for those two
weapons are combined to make a larger damage output for a single attack
made with both weapons (as opposed to each weapon striking separately).
However, a major disclaimer to this rule involves additional damage done
by enchantments on the weapons. Only the enchantment on the weapon in
the character's main (right) hand will be counted.
---
Air, Body, Earth, Fire, Mind, and Water Resistance should be self-
explanitory enough. These stats work to reduce damage made by spells
from their respective schools of magic. Note that enemies also possess
resistances to Light, Dark, and Spirit magic, as well as physical
attacks. Like AC, the higher these stats get, the more they will help
you. Unlike AC, these resistances do not work to eliminate the damage
entirely, they work merely to lessen it. It is worthy of note how the
resistances work. They do once check to see if a character takes half
damage, succeeding in that check, it makes a second check for a quarter
damage, succeeding that, it makes a third and final check for an eighth
damage. So, insanely high resistances won't almost entirely kill off the
damage done by any particular spell to you, but you can at least feel
more secure in passing more checks. The Luck stat acts as a bonus to all
resistances. Resistances are affected by equipment, and can be
permanently raised by visiting a couple of particular altars/cauldrons.
Many wells can temporarily raise certain resistances, as well. Different
character races start the game with different inherent resistances, to
boot. For more on wells, altars, and cauldrons, refer to section VI.B.
of the FAQ. For more on character races and their starting resistances,
refer to section I.K. of the FAQ.
---
Spirit, Light, Dark, and Physical Resistance both work exactly like
the resistances all mentioned above, but with one notable difference:
they are possessed only by the enemy and never by anyone on your team.
---
Recovery Time, lastly, is a stat that's not mentioned on a character's
statistic screen, but is still of great importance. A character's
recovery time, as mention in section I.B., is the time after a character
acts in which he or she must "recover" and is not allowed to act.
Recovery times are affected by a number of things. First and foremost,
it is a result of the attack used. Each weapon type has a certain
recovery time associated with it (including unarmed attacks), as does
each particular spell. Further expertise in the given school of magic
often helps to reduce the recovery time for said spell, but much more can
be done to reduce a weapon's recovery time. Further expertise and skill
points in the given weapon skill, as well as skill points in the
Armsmaster skill can help to reduce a character's recovery time for
physical attacks. A few enchantments also help to reduce the recovery
rate of a particular weapon. It is worthy of note that when a character
is attacking with two different weapons, the recovery rate for the slower
weapon is used. Aside from what I've already mentioned, there are a few
other bonuses/penalties that apply to both physical and magical attacks.
Being in the haste condition greatly reduces a character's recovery time,
and they will also receive a bonus to their recovery time . Aside from
those two things, everything else pertaining to recovery time aims to
raise it. Armor, depending on the type, will slow you down, though
further expertise in the skill for that particular armor can lower or
even eliminate that penalty. The same can be said for shields. Finally,
as I discussed earlier in section I.B., if you take action while running,
your character's recovery times will be doubled.
Something vitally important to note about stats in Might & Magic VII is
that they do not work as simply as they do in most other games. Whereas you
might be expecting a higher stat to be more effective no matter what, that
isn't necessarily the case. Rather, stats become more and more effective
after hitting certain "thresholds". For example, an Endurance of 17 will
provide 2x (where x is a character's HP gain per level) extra HP to that
character's max HP. The next stat threshold is at 19, so increasing the
Endurance stat will do you no extra good until it reaches 19. So, in short, a
stat of 17 and a stat of 18 provide the exact same benefits. This is very
important to keep in mind while creating your party, as well as a good thing
to bear in mind as you are developing your characters throughout your travels.
Note that stat thresholds apply only to a character's seven basic stats:
Might, Intellect, Personality, Endurance, Accuracy, Speed, and Luck. It does
not affect things such as AC or resistances, so feel free to take any and all
opportunities to raise those particular stats as high as you can. Without
further adieu, the stat thresholds are listed in the chart below.
As the table above demonstrates, 13 is the "average" stat. Anything above
it confers bonuses, whereas everything below it dips into the negative
numbers. It also demonstrates how stat growth starts to slow after about 30.
What does this mean to you? It means that early in the game, every little bit
in stat growth helps. Keep this chart in mind while developing your
characters in the early game.
As for later in the game, it is rarely, if at all possible to achieve
natural stats that go much higher than 125 or so. So a the bottom portion of
this chart more or less just helps to show how effective a seriously bulked-up
temporary stat-boosting potion can be. Gains from 100 to 350 are slow but
steady, but you earn a very nice bonus for breaking that last 50 points to a
stat value of 400. 500 and beyond is nice, but exceedingly difficult to
achieve through just about any means.
Food and rest tend to go hand in hand in Might & Magic VII. First of all,
let's discuss the benefits of rest. In most RPG's, you need only rest when
you become injured; your characters never get tired. In Might & Magic VII,
your characters may become both injured and tired. If your characters go for
24 hours straight with no rest, they will become weak (section I.G. of the FAQ
discusses the "weakness" ailment in further detail). Granted, you have many
means, both magical and otherwise, to simply cure your characters' weakness
and go about as if nothing out of the ordinary just happened, and can
theoretically keep them awake as long as you have to via this method. But
beware that keeping your characters up for too long in sleep-induced weakness
(about 2 or 3 days) can cause them to go insane, or even death. On one hand,
this is a nice way to easily induce insanity upon your characters if you so
desire (again, refer to section I.G. of the FAQ for more on this ailment), but
you should always save first, as death is not an uncommon side effect of sleep
deprivation. As for the sleep itself, it will restore your characters' HP and
MP to their respective maxes, as well as cure any of the following conditions:
afraid, asleep, drunk, unconscious, weak. Don't go expecting sleep to cure
your insanity, death, or whatever other weird-ass ailments you might happen to
be stricken with. Check out section I.G. of the FAQ if you wanna know how to
do that.
And now for the food part of things. Without food, your characters cannot
rest. I find this logic to be questionable at best, but that's just the way
things work. Food can be purchased at any tavern in the game, and depending
on which tavern you are buying from, they will be able to fill your packs to a
certain "maximum" amount. For example, the tavern at Harmondale can fill your
packs to a maximum of 6 food. In contrast, the tavern at Mount Nighon can
fill your packs to a maximum of 60 food. Of course, you end up paying a lot
more in Mount Nighon than you do in Harmondale, so excess food can be kind of
a waste of your money. Food never does spoil, though, which is good.
Granted, the cheapest and easiest way to rest involves staying at a tavern,
in which food is provided, and your personal store of food remains untapped.
Taverns are open most of the day, and staying at one will advance time forward
to the next 6 AM (apparently, your team consists of early risers). However,
providing you have sufficient food supplies, you can camp just about anywhere
where no enemies are near (meaning the area around your characters' portraits
must be green- not yellow or red). Of course, if you're the kind of simpleton
who is going to pitch camp in the middle of a bloody battle, then perhaps a
piece of string may provide more suitable entertainment for you than Might &
Magic VII.
Now, on to camping. There are several points that must be made here.
First of all, as I mentioned above, you can camp anywhere. Even in the middle
of a dungeon, or worse. Of course, if you don't exercise some common sense
when looking for a place to rest, odds are that your slumber is going to be
disturbed by a pack of traveling monsters in the middle of the night. Not
only can this be annoying, but it's also dangerous because you are fighting
without the benefits of a full night's rest. In order to gain the benefits of
rest, your characters must sleep for a full, uninterrupted 8 hours. This is in
contrast to sleeping at a tavern, where each sleep period lasts until 6 AM,
and will be beneficial no matter how long it lasts. Lastly, exactly where
your characters decide to set up camp will influence how much food they use
up. This is detailed in the chart below.
* The castle in question is Castle Harmondale, in which after a certain point
in the game, you may sleep all you want without incurring penalties to your
food stores.
As you can see clearly by the chart, harsh weather conditions make your
characters extra hungry. So, when possible, travel a few tiles over into more
hospitable terrain before resting. Also note that traveling from region to
region uses food, and where you exit a certain region can often dictate how
much food is used. For example, traveling from Bracada to the Barrow Downs
will use a lot less food when you take the road as opposed to traveling
through the desert. If you don't have enough food to make the trip, your
characters will arrive in a weakened condition. However, it does not matter
how long they travel between maps while weakened. You can send your
characters back and forth through maps indefinitely without food, and the
worst that will happen to them is that they will become weak.
There are a wide variety of conditions and ailments which your characters
can be stricken with in Might & Magic VII. There are also a wide variety of
ways to fix them. As you progress through the game, you will (or probably
will, at any rate) develop a wide range of ability in do-it-yourself healing,
but lacking those skills, the one fail-safe way to get yourself fixed up is to
go visit a temple. This will be either due to your inability to handle that
particular ailment yourself, or due to the fact that you've allowed yourself
to be afflicted with the ailment for so long that you no longer are powerful
enough to deal with it. You can see how long a character has been afflicted
with a given condition by right-clicking the character's status in their stat
information screen. Note that only the most severe condition afflicting them
at any given point will be listed here, but you are also given a full list of
whatever ailments the character happens to be suffering when right-clicking.
This is especially useful if you happen to be going around with a condition
you can't cure, as it helps you at the very least keep yourself from racking
up more problems on top of that.
Though I mentioned above that paying the right price at a temple will cure
you of anything, there is a slight exception to that rule involving the Zombie
condition, and is discussed below when I talk about that particular ailment.
And now, without further adieu, I give you the conditions and ailments of
Might & Magic VII, presented in alphabetical order for your convenience
(excepting Good, which is listed first):
Good is the normal condition. If your condition is listed as good,
then everything is normal.
---
Afraid is a condition that's usually associated with the undead. When
you hear one of your characters scream in terror, you can generally
assume they are either plummeting to their deaths or have been stricken
with this ailment. And seeing as if they were falling, odds are you'd
probably be aware of the fact, it's not too hard to tell when one of
your characters has the bejeezus scared out of them. All in all, it's
not really one of the more debilitating conditions. It effects your
stats somewhat, as detailed in the chart at the end of this list, but
that's about it. Cures include the initiate level Mind spell Remove
Fear, the compound potion Remove Fear, resting, and visiting a temple.
---
Asleep is a condition you'll see occasionally, either if your camp is
disturbed my monsters, and there are a select few enemies who have the
ability to inflict this upon your characters. Not the most debilitating
of all ailments, as all it really does is prevent the affected
character from acting until he or she is attacked, force-fed the complex
potion Awaken, or had had the initiate-level Water spell Awaken cast on
them. Resting and temples are two other ways to cure this condition.
---
Cursed is a pretty nasty condition, and fairly common to run across,
seeing as a variety of enemies (usually undead, but not always) have the
ability to afflict it upon you. The curse causes any attacks or spells
cast by the character to automatically fail 50% of the time, so you'll
want to clear this thing up pretty fast, either with the complex potion
Remove Curse, the expert-level Spirit spell of the same name, or by
visiting a temple.
---
Dead is fairly self-explanatory, if you ask me. It is caused when a
character's HP falls to a negative number equal to their Endurance stat.
Characters suffering from this condition can't really do much except
decompose until you find some way to bring them back to life. Early on,
your only real solution will be visiting a temple, though for reasons I
get into later it's probably bad to visit a temple in the Deyja, Nighon,
or Pit regions concerning this matter. But later on, the master-level
Spirit spell Raise Dead will also do the trick.
---
Diseased is worse than being poisoned, but not as bad as syphilis
(which, thankfully, your characters are unable to contract). Characters
suffering from this condition suffer a pretty bad blow to their stats,
which is detailed in the chart at the bottom of this list. Left
untreated, it also gets progressively worse. While not the most common
of ailments, expect to see it at least a couple times during your
journey. The causes are pretty obvious: various disease-ridden enemies,
and digging around through huge piles of trash without the aid of an
adequate Disarm Trap skill. Cures include the complex potion Cure
Disease, the master-level Body spell of the same name, and of course
visiting a temple.
---
Drunk is a condition you won't run across too often, mainly because
your characters rarely have time to pause a heated battle to have a few
brews, and whenever you go to a tavern, the "get plastered" option is
noticeably absent. There are a select few enemies whose toxic attacks
are the equivalent of a shot of Everclear, however, and can get your ass
drunk in no time. It might also interest you to learn that you can
sometimes get pretty wasted going around drinking out of every well,
trough, and other various pools of standing water you find, but odds are
that if you're doing this then being drunk is probably the least of your
worries. That being said, drunkards are pretty worthless in battle,
seeing as their stats take a pretty significant nosedive while
intoxicated, as detailed in the chart at the end of this list. It is
also worthy to note that nobody bothered coming up with a "Sobriety"
spell or potion, meaning that your only methods of ridding yourself of
this condition are rest or visiting a temple.
---
Eradicated is an interesting condition, to say the least. It's like
being dead, but worse. Because not only are you dead, but your body has
also been destroyed way past the point of an open-casket funeral. If
this has happened to you, odds are you had an encounter with a real
badass, or your stupid ass tried mixing a potion that didn't agree with
the blood stains on the sidewalk that used to be you. Visiting a temple
is usually the only way you're going to be able to fix this, unless
someone with you happens to know the grandmaster-level Spirit spell
Resurrect.
---
Insane is a delightful condition to witness, if not purely to see your
character(s)' reactions. They will laugh manically and foam at the
mouth, which amuses me to no end. Insanity is somewhat rare, and is
caused mainly by a select few enemies and sleep depravation (I discuss
this in section I.F. of the FAQ). Stat-wise, this is the one and only
ailment that can actually be beneficial to some of your characters,
providing you don't really much care about them magically. Might,
Endurance, and Speed (with a huge emphasis on Might) are all boosted at
the expense of pretty much all of your Intellect and Personality, which
you probably wouldn't expect an insane person to have, anyways.
Insanity is a great way to boost a character's stats (especially Might)
temporarily, which can be extremely helpful when you're checking out all
the things I mention in section VI.C. of the FAQ. And like I said, it
is more or less entirely beneficial to any character that doesn't use
magic, but can be horribly inconvenient in that every time you go to
visit a priest, they'll find your demeanor displeasing and rid you of it
even though all you wanted was just a damn health boost. Aside from the
aformentioned priest, other cures for this condition involve the
compound potion Cure Insanity and the master-level Mind spell of the
same name.
---
Paralyzed is a condition which will completely stun your character,
making him or her entirely unable to act. Usually caused by enemies,
and somewhat rare, this is a condition you'll probably want to get fixed
up ASAP. Because if all of your characters are incapacitated in any way
(dead, unconscious, stoned, or paralyzed), then you still lose. Can be
remedied with the white potion Cure Paralysis, the expert-level Mind
spell of the same name, or by seeing a priest.
---
Poisoned is a fairly common condition that has a negative effect on
your stats, though not as bad as disease does. Like disease, however, it
will continue to get progressively worse if left untreated, so you might
want to fix it up as soon as possible. Poison is caused by a number of
sources, mainly enemies, and can be cured with the complex potion Cure
Poison, the expert-level Body spell of the same name, or by seeing a
priest.
---
Stoned is a condition most commonly caused by medusas and pot. And
seeing as the latter does not exist in this game, chances are you ended
up this way due to an encounter with the former. Not the most common
ailment, as medusas aren't exactly easy to come by, but being stoned can
really put a damper in your plans, as it entirely prevents the affected
character from acting. In more severe cases, the victim will also grow
long hair and become a hippy. And as I mentioned before, if all of your
characters become incapacitated, either through death, unconsciousness,
paralysis, or stoning, you still lose. Cure this with the black potion
Stone to Flesh, the expert-level earth spell of the same name, or by
visiting a temple.
---
Unconscious is something you'll be dealing with quite a bit in the game.
This is what happens to your characters whenever their HP falls below 0.
Under this condition, they cannot act, and are pretty much
incapacitated, but there's still hope. Using any curative means you
have at your disposal, you can raise their HP above 0 to cure this
condition. However, if their HP falls to a negative number equal to
their Endurance stat, they die.
---
Weak is another common condition you'll see at least a few times in
your adventures. Characters which are in a weakened state gradually lose
HP over time, and their attacks do half damage. Causes are numerous, and
include enemy attacks and sleep deprivation. Cures include the simple
potion Cure Weakness, the initiate-level Body spell of the same name,
resting, and visiting a temple.
---
Zombie is a condition which you'll probably be freaked out the first
time you see. That's because, well, your characters literally turn into
zombies. It's unnerving. Though this condition has no conventional
causes, odds are you contracted it by trying to have one of your dead
characters resurrected at the wrong temple. Of course, it only should
take this happening to you one time before you learn that necromancers
are probably not the best people to be visiting for your revival needs.
To avoid this condition, which reduces you to a dull, boring, stat-
barren lump of rotting flesh completely devoid of any and all magical
abilities, just simply avoid getting yourself revived at temples in
places that are noticeably evil, namely Deyja, The Pit, and Nighon. To
fix this condition, hurt the afflicted character a little bit, and then
visit a temple that isn't, you know, evil. On a fun little side note,
you can practice do-it-yourself zombification on your own character
with the initiate-level Dark spell Reanimation. It's a real piss-poor
substitute for Raise Dead, but it's helpful if you're in a serious jam.
As noted above, several conditions can adversely affect your characters'
stats. The chart below details these conditions and exactly what percentage
each of your stats will rise or fall to under each ailment. Please note that
multiple conditions are not compounded- you are only given the stat alterations
of the most severe condition your character is afflicted with (you can see
which condition this is by checking the character's stat screen). Of course,
statistics aside, any other negative conditions brought about by your multiple
ailments are compounded. That being said, I give you the chart.
Time is yet another concept in Might & Magic VII that must be addressed.
As you might have noticed, time passes in this game. And there's really
nothing you can do about it. The game starts on January 01, 1168. There are
twelve months, each having 28 days. Time passes at the rate of approximately
one game minute for every two real-life seconds. Of course, time also passes
quite rapidly when you rest, travel from region to region, or just simply by
waiting. You can advance the speed of time by pressing the R key (default)
and clicking on a denomination of time in which your characters are instructed
to hang around where they are and wait (5 minutes, an hour, or until the next
5:00 AM). Note that unlike camping, your characters can wait without fear of
being ambushed by enemies, although you still cannot choose to have them wait
while enemies are near.
Anyways, as time progresses, you are inevitably going to start noticing
some changes, which aren't necessarily bad, but you'll still want to be
prepared for them. First off, the most noticeable effect time has on your
travels concerns shopping. Whether shops need it or not, they will restock
their wares once every two weeks. However, for the two-week clock to begin,
you must enter that shop. After the shop restocks, you must enter it yet
again to start the clock again, and so on. This phenomenon, otherwise known
as "respawning", can also be applied on a much larger scale. Whenever you
enter a certain region, it starts a clock on that region. When that clock
this two years, the region respawns. Enemies and treasures will both
repopulate the map at this point, meaning you can go back for more experience
and gold if so desired. Also note that the one area that will never respawn
is inside Castle Harmondale. This is very important, as you can use the
treasure chests inside the castle to store your excess goods.
By the by, on a somewhat separate note, section III.C. of the FAQ is also
strictly timed. It is the only part of your quest with time several time
limits working at once, so you are advised to go into that particular area of
the walkthrough fully prepared.
Aside from what I've already mentioned the only other real effect time has
on you is age. Your characters, believe it or not, will age just as people
would in normal life. Your characters age naturally as the years pass by, and
certain forces throughout the land also have the capability to magically age
your characters. Your actual age and your current (magically-enhanced) age
are both statistics kept on a characters stat screen. In the event that your
current and actual age are different, your current age will be listed in
green. It is possible to reverse unnatural aging with the black potion
Rejuvenation. Natural aging cannot be reversed.
And so, inevitably, your characters will age as you play through the game.
Not that it will have any cosmetic effects on your characters whatsoever- I've
honestly seen characters in their thousands looking as young as they day they
were 20, which is at the very least profoundly astonishing. Statistics are
another issue, however. They remain fine for most of their life, but after
awhile, age will begin to alter their statistics. The chart below details how
your stats will alter to various percentages of what they once were after
reaching certain age thresholds.
Now, a few things are apparent from this chart. For starters, your
characters will be pretty much fine until age 50, and that's when age this
them like a ton of bricks. There's a bad over-the-hill joke just waiting to
be made here, but I digress. Though the odds are fairly slim that your
characters will actually break the 50-year age point, it's actually not such a
bad deal for your magically-inclined characters, if you can handle the slight
dip in Might and Endurance. From age 100 and on, though, your character just
gets progressively worse and degenerates into a crippled mess of althzheimers
and Matlock reruns.
Ah, the good ol' law of the land, and the reputation which comes with it.
We'll talk about the law first. As you might expect, there are a number of
things you can do in this game which are, suffice it to say, illegal. After
committing these heinous acts, you will be fined a certain amount of money.
The money is not taken directly from you, but you might want to go find a
courthouse (it doesn't matter in which region, as all the courthouses are
interconnected) and pay off your fine. Attempting to visit any castles in
this game excepting your own with an outstanding fine will inevitably lead to
prison time, which is not fun to say the least.
What exactly causes fines? Two major things, really. Failing in an attempt
to steal, and killing somebody. While nothing more needs to be said on the
former, the latter merits a bit of an explanation. Killing a peasant carries
a generally small fine, if at all. Killing a guard is much more heinous, and
is always fined and fined heavily. Needless to say, when you off a peasant,
the guards will come after you, but like I said, sometimes you are not fined
for killing the peasant. I mention this only because there is a time in
section III.A. of the walkthrough in which this information may come in
valuable. That being said, I've also seen some strange instances in which
killing peasants actually lowered my outstanding fines. But to stay on the
safe side, one should generally avoid killing random people in the first
place. There are a few special exceptions scattered throughout the game, but
I mention them all in the walkthrough, so worry not.
And of course, hand in hand with the law comes reputation. Illegal
activities not only impose fines upon your characters, but it also makes them
less liked in the region in which they committed those crimes. Granted,
reputation is not global, but local, meaning you can go on mass killing sprees
in one region while remaining relatively liked in another. This also works
the other way. Just as your reputation can go down, doing things such as
completing quests and donating to temples will cause your reputation to go up
in a particular region. But then again, what you do to get you liked in one
region makes you liked in, well, that region.
And why do you care? Simple. As you'll discover in section I.J. of the
FAQ, the better your reputation is, the better prices you'll get in shops in
that region. So it's generally in your best interests to be liked in at least
one area, lest you blow a hole in your wallet.
Reputation is represented as a number. Your reputation in each region
starts off as 0, or neutral. When this number goes up, it means you are less
liked. When it goes down, you are liked more. To get a general indication of
your reputation, you can check the quick info screen by pressing the Z key
(default) and checking what it says about your reputation. I shall call this
your reputation ranking, for future reference. Again, for every region, it
will start off being listed as neutral. Reputation rankings in green text are
better than neutral, whereas reputations in red text are worse than neutral.
Neutral in white text indicates, you guessed it, a completely neutral
reputation. When your number reaches certain thresholds in either direction,
your reputation ranking will change from neutral to something else. The
following chart indicates what your reputation number must be to achieve the
various reputations.
Of course, all this means nothing until you figure out exactly how what you
do will affect your reputation. I have also complied a chart for this,
describing the various actions that can alter your reputation, and how
severely (and in which direction!)
+---------------------+-----------------------+
| Action | Reputation Adjustment |
+---------------------+-----------------------+
| Succeed at Stealing | +1 |
| Fail at Stealing | +2 |
| Kill Someone* | +2 |
| Complete a Quest | -5 - -10** |
| Donate at a Temple | -1*** |
+---------------------+-----------------------+
* Please note the difference between hit and kill. You can strike someone and
still be ok, providing they are still alive; this applies only if you actually
kill whatever you hit. The same can be said for fines incurred- only if you
make the kill. They'll still get pretty pissed off at you, though, so watch
out.
** Whereas most quests will shave 5 to 10 points off your reputation, the
exception to this rule is the Troglodyte Slayer quest in Stone City, which
shaves a generous 25 points off your reputation.
*** While you may donating to a temple infinitely, you will only receive the
benefits to your reputation a maximum of five times per region, at -1 a pop
(for a total of -5 overall, if you donate 5 times).
Shopping in Might & Magic VII is a fairly complex system. Complex enough,
at any rate, that I saw fit to dedicating an entire section of the FAQ to
explaining how it works. First, I'll go over the basics of pricing and what
affects it. Then we'll move on to how to get the most out of your money
throughout the game. That will be followed by several tables detailing the
best regions to find whatever it is you're looking for. Finally, the section
will close with the travel schedules for horse-drawn carriages and boats
across the continent of Erathia. Shall we get started?
Each and every item in the game has a value, which you can view when you
right-click it for information. Shops tend to want to sell things at much
higher than their value, and buy them for much lower. The two major factors
which tip the odds in your favor, allowing you to sell for higher prices and
buy for lower, are the Merchant skill of the character making the transaction
and your party's reputation in the current region. Better reputations make
for better prices, as do higher merchant skills. Please note that this also
applies to services, as well. Services all tend to have a (albeit hidden)
value, and better reputations and Merchant skills will lower the cost of
these things, such as training, boat rides, and room and board at the local
tavern.
Another factor would be the specific region you have to be in. Each
region has its own "multiplier", which indicates how greedy the local
merchants all are. The higher the multiplier, the higer above the value of
the item or service in question shopkeepers will tend to charge, then the
farther below the value they will want to purchase things for. Regions such
as Celeste, The Pit, Deyja, Bracada, Avlee, and Nighon tend to have very high
multipliers, so expect to pay much, much more for what you get as opposed to
things you might buy in places like Harmondale, Erathia, and the Tularean
Forest. However, as you might have guessed, the regions with the higher
multipliers tend to have the better goods, so shopping in them is more or
less something you'll probably want to do, anyways.
Though which region you shop in will more or less be dictated by what you
want, which region you sell at should be a different story. For the highest
possible bang for your Might & Magic VII dollar, it would be in your best
interests to sell to a region that will give you the most money for what you
have. Due to the massive reputation boost you can recieve for completing a
relatively easy quest there, that place would be Stone City (located in the
Barrow Downs). With a halfway decent Merchant skill, you can sell things
for just about their base value, which makes Stone City the place you should
try to do most of your selling at. If you haven't the time nor the patience
to travel that far, the next best place is right at home in Harmondale. But
still, for the more expensive hauls, there's a lot to be gained by taking the
effort to head out to Stone City. If you save up a lot of money early on,
you'll usually be glad you did later on.
And now, we move on to the specific locations to find all the good stuff
you're looking for. Different weapons and armors, specifically, are
generally more prevalent in certain areas. The chart below details the best
places to go when you're looking for something in specific.
+----------+----------------------------------+
| Item | **Best Region(s) to Shop |
+----------+----------------------------------+
| Sword | Erathia / *Tidewater / Nighon |
| Spear | Tularean Forest / Avlee |
| Axe | Stone City |
| Mace | Stone City |
| Dagger | Erathia / *Tidewater / Nighon |
| Staff | Nighon |
| Bow | Tularean Forest / Avlee |
| Leather | Tularean Forest / Avlee / Nighon |
| Chain | Stone City / *Tidewater |
| Plate | Stone City / *Tidewater |
| Shield | Stone City |
| ***Misc. | Deyja / Bracada / Celeste |
+----------+----------------------------------+
* Tidewater is the small island off the coast of Tatalia. I mention it
specifically as the shops located there are much better than the ones on the
mainland.
** The shops at Emerald Isle and Harmondale contain good early-game
selections from everything listed on the chart above. Conversely, the shops
in Celeste and The Pit contain the best selections available (excepting the
notably crappy magic shop at The Pit, which provides very poor wares).
*** Acessories such as gauntlets, cloaks, and boots tend to be much more
generally common throughout the land. However, that being said, those which
bear the most powerful enchantments are to be found in the regions with the
best magic shops: Deyja, Bracada, and Celeste.
And now, the flip-side of the weapons and armor business is magic. Each
discipline of magic (excepting Light and Dark) has four guilds located
across the continent, one for each level of devotion. Initiate guilds sell
only initiate-level spells, expert guilds sell expert and initiate-level
spells, and so on. However, you are strongly advised to buy spells of a
certain tier from their respective shops. This is because of the massive
price gaps between guild tiers. Buying an expert-level spell from a master
guild could prove far more costly than taking the time to seek out the
respective expert guild, so it would be in your best interests to take
note of where the various magic guilds are located. The chart below lists
all of the guilds and their respective regions.
+--------+----------------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+
| School | Initiate Guild | Expert Guild | Master Guild | Paramount Guild |
+--------+----------------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Fire | Emerald Isle | Harmondale | Tularean F. | Nighon |
| Air | Emerald Isle | Harmondale | Tularean F. | Celeste |
| Water | Harmondale | Tularean F. | Bracada | Evenmorn Island |
| Earth | Harmondale | Tularean F. | *Stone City | The Pit |
| Spirit | Emerald Isle | Harmondale | Deyja | Erathia |
| Mind | Harmondale | Erathia | Tatalia | Avlee |
| Body | Emerald Isle | Harmondale | Erathia | Avlee |
| Light | N/A | Bracada | N/A | Celeste |
| Dark | N/A | Deyja | N/A | The Pit |
+--------+----------------+--------------+--------------+-----------------+
* Though I mentioned above that it is often best to purchase spells from the
lowest-tier guild possible, the one exception that can be made is the master
Earth guild of Stone City. Due to your party's high reputation there,
spells purchased from the master guild can actually be cheaper then those
purchased from the initiate or expert guilds.
The final thing I'd like to talk about as far as shopping goes is training.
As you might have noticed, the skill levels of the Training Halls in various
regions are all different. And as your party becomes more and more skilled,
they will have to seek out more and more skilled trainers to train them. The
chart below lists the various regions and the maximum levels to which they
will train your characters.
+--------------------------+-----------+
| Region | Max Level |
+--------------------------+-----------+
|Emerald Isle / Harmondale | ? |
|Erathia / Tularean Forest | ? |
| Stone City | ? |
| Tatalia / Avlee | ? |
| Nighon | ? |
| Celeste / The Pit | ? |
+--------------------------+-----------+
* Sorry, I really need to find out that information. I'll make a minor update
when I do.
Lastly, we have the preferred methods of travel across the continent: boats
and horse-drawn carriages. Granted, it is almost possible to spend the game
doing nothing but walking or warping from place to place, but early in the
game, when time and/or convenience is an issue, odds are you'll find yourself
dropping a negligible amount of coinage for easier travel. And also note that
it is impossible to reach Evenmorn Island without using a boat, so either way,
at one point, you're pretty much going to have to rely on these methods of
travel. The two charts below list the stable and boat schedules across the
continent.
+=================+
| Stable Schedule |
+=================+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
| Origin | Destination | Days Available | Travel Time |
+-----------------+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
| Erathia | Harmondale | Tue, Thu | 2 Days |
| | Tatalia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 2 Days |
| | Bracada | Tue, Wed | 3 Days |
| | Deyja | Mon, Thu | 3 Days |
| | | | |
| Tularean Forest | Harmondale | Thu, Sat | 2 Days |
| | Avlee | Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri | 3 Days |
| | Deyja | Tue, Fri | 2 Days |
| | | | |
| Harmondale | Erathia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 2 Days |
| | Tularean Forest | Tue, Thu, Sat | 2 Days |
| | The Arena | Sun | 5 Days |
| | | | |
| Avlee | Tularean Forest | Tue, Thu, Sat | 3 Days |
| | Deyja | Wed, Sun | 5 Days |
| | | | |
| Tatalia | Erathia | Tue, Thu, Sat | 2 Days |
| | | | |
| Bracada | Erathia | Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun | 3 Days |
| | Harmondale | Tue, Sat | 5 Days |
| | | | |
| *Deyja | Erathia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 3 Days |
| | Tularean Forest | Tue, Thu, sat | 2 Days |
+-----------------+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
* Deyja is a tricky region when it comes to the stable schedule. Because the
region is nocturnal, the stables will be open when one day becomes the next,
more or less meaning that each "day" in Deyja offers two different fares.
+=================+
| Boat Schedule |
+=================+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
| Origin | Destination | Days Available | Travel Time |
+-----------------+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
| Erathia | Avlee | Mon, Fri | 4 Days |
| | Tatalia | Tue, Thu, Sat | 2 Days |
| | Bracada | Wed | 6 Days |
| | Evenmorn | Sun | 7 Days |
| | | | |
| Tularean Forest | Avlee | Tue, Thu, Sat | 3 Days |
| | Bracada | Mon, Wed | 6 Days |
| | Evenmorn | Sun | 7 Days |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| Avlee | Erathia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 4 Days |
| | Tularean Forest | Tue, Sat | 3 Days |
| | Tatalia | Thu | 5 Days |
| | | | |
| Tatalia | Erathia | Tue, Thu, Sat | 2 Days |
| | Avlee | Fri | 5 Days |
| | Bracada | Mon, Wed | 4 Days |
| | Evenmorn | Sun | 5 Days |
| | | | |
| Bracada | Erathia | Sun | 6 Days |
| | Tularean Forest | Sat | 6 Days |
| | Tatalia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 4 Days |
| | Evenmorn | Tue, Thu | 1 Day |
| | | | |
| Evenmorn | Tularean Forest | Sat, Sun | 6 Days |
| | Tatalia | Mon, Wed, Fri | 4 Days |
+-----------------+-----------------+--------------------+-------------+
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
\ \/ / O~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|Section I: Basic Information|/ /\ \
_\ /_ | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯/ \¯
\ \/ / | O / /\ \
_\ /_ | K. Building a Team that Works for You | ¯/ \¯
\ \/ / O ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | / /\ \
_\ /_______________________________ | ¯/ \¯
\ \/ /|Section I: Basic Information|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O / /\ \
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
One of the most important aspects of the game takes place before the game
even begins. I'm talking, of course, about building a team that works well for
you. The proper team combination in Might & Magic VII can literally make or
break you. Thus, this section is dedicated to helping you build that team,
from start to finish. First, we'll take a look at the nine character classes,
and which combinations of them tend to work the best. Then we'll look into
the other issues that go into making your party, namely race, starting skills,
and yes, even your characters' voices.
First and foremost, of course, there are the classes that make up your
party. Lots of different combinations can work, and depending on your play
style, that combination is going to be different. While I can't tell you
specifically which classes to choose, I can point out some of the skills
and traits which most good parties should possess. What follows is a short
list of some of the more important things to look for in a party, and you're
strongly advised to take them into consideration:
* A character who can at the very least master the self magic schools of
Mind, Body, and Spirit. Paladins, Druids, and Clerics can all do this,
with Clerics even being able to grandmaster them.
* A character who can at the very least master the elemental magic
schools of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. Archers, Druids, and Sorcerers
can all do this, with Sorcerers even being able to grandmaster them.
* A character who can at the very least master the Repair Item skill.
Clerics, Paladins, and Knights can all do this, with Paladins and
Knights even being able to grandmaster them.
* A character who can at the very least become an expert in the Disarm
Trap skill. Classes capable of this include Archers, Rangers, Monks,
and Thieves, with Thieves even being able to grandmaster in the skill.
* A character who can at the very least become an expert in Alchemy.
Thieves, Clerics, Druids, and Sorcerers can all do this, with Sorcerers
being able to master and Druids being able to grandmaster the skill.
* A character who can at the very least become an expert Merchant.
Knights, Paladins, Archers, Druids, Thieves, and Clerics can all do
this, with Thieves being able to master and Clerics being able to
grandmaster the skill.
* At least one character (preferably two) with a decent amount of HP
and good fighting/armor capabilities. These include Knights, Monks,
Thieves, Paladins, Rangers, and Archers.
Moving right along, how exactly do the nine classes stack up against
one another? Section II. of the FAQ goes over each class in-depth, and
section VIII. of the FAQ contains the lists which detail exactly how
far each class can advance in all of the game's various skills. The
chart below, however, gives you a general overview of the classes' HP
and MP. It lists the starting HP and MP for each class, and then the
amount by which it will go up each level for the unpromoted, first
promotion, and second promotion classes:
Now that you've at least put some thought into what kind of team you might
want to travel with, I would like to stop to note that most classes fall into
one of five different categories, which I will do into detail about below. Note
that for each category, I give a primary example as well as some suggestions on
how that particular team can be "tweaked" to better suit your style, but that
doesn't necessarily mean that those are the only possible team combinations that
would fall under that category:
The Default Team: KTCS. This team is set as Might & Magic VII's default team
for a reason: it's likely the most effective party combination in the entire
game when played well. The main components of this team would be the two
specialized magic classes (the Cleric and the Sorcerer) playing off the trengths
of the specialized fighting classes. While the Knight and the Thief are the
default applicants for this slot, either one may be replaced with a Monk for
more or less the same results.
---
The Alternate Team: RAPD. Basically, "Alternate Team" refers to any team
that is a strong departure from the Default Team. Whereas the Default Team
consisted of two specialized spellcasters and two specialized fighters, I
give you as a prime example for the Alternate Team Might & Magic VII's four
poster children for diversity: the Ranger, Archer, Paladin, and Druid. Of
course, this is the most loosely-defined team, and just about any character
on this team can be switched out for someone else at whim. However, too
much change will probably cause this team to fall under one of the other four
categories.
---
The Magic Team: RSCD. This is a team more focused on the magical side of
things as opposed to the physical. The Druid accompanies the specialized
spellcasting of the Cleric and Sorcerer, and the Ranger offers not only
additional magical support, but an important role as the lone fighting-
oriented character on the team. The Ranger can be replaced with a Monk, a
Thief, or an Archer for similar effect, but Knights and Paladins are not
reccomended on the grounds that neither of them can disarm traps very well.
The Druid can also be replaced with another specialized spellcaster, if
desired. A slightly distant, but still very workable variation of this team
consists of a Paladin, Archer, Cleric, and Sorcerer, or PACS.
---
The Power Team: KAPT. The flip side of the coin from the Magic Team is
the Power Team. This team focuses as much on fighting as possible without
handicapping your team too badly in the magic department, but even so, the
reliance entirely on the Archer and Paladin for spellcasting, as well as the
lack of a master alchemist might make this a somewhat difficult team to play
for the novice player. While the Archer and Paladin are more or less
intregal parts of the team, the Knight and Thief are still pretty much
interchangeable with the Monk. However, it is reccomended that you not
replace the Thief, as that would leave your team entirely lacking in the
Alchemy and Identify Item skills.
---
The Extreme Team(s): CSSS or KMTR. The Extreme Team is generally created
for the sole purpose of challenge, and is generally not reccomended for
novice players. Though there are many, many different team combinations that
fall underneath this category (including most teams that are tweaked beyond
fitting in any of the other four categories), the two main versions, as shown
above, are more extreme versions of the Power and Magic Teams. A Cleric with
three Sorcerers is a vet favorite in which magic rules supreme... if you live
long enough to use it, that is. For customization, one or two of the
Sorcerers on the team may be replaced with any combination of additional
Clerics or Druids. In any event, the lack of the ability to disarm traps,
among other things, will pose a problem for this team. Conversely, the
Knight, Monk, Thief, Ranger team is probably one of the hardest teams in the
game to play as. Expect to rely heavily on scrolls, wands, and potions if
you want to survive, and as a last-ditch effort, consider lessening your
problems by replacing the Monk or the Thief with a Druid (replacing the
Knight is not reccomeded as it would leave your team without a good Reapir
Item skill). Not only will this give you a decent amount of magical power to
work with, but because the magic is all weighted down on one character, it
will also force you to take a hard look at the seven main schools of magic
and determine which ones truly deserve the highest priority, and which ones
can either wait until later or be left to the Ranger. A learning experience,
to say the least.
Once you've decided which classes to assign to your party members, the next
consideration would be race. You may choose from the human, elf, dwarf, and
goblin races to create your party. Race, unlike class, does not have such
long-ranging effects on the game. Rather, it merely affects the character's
starting stats and resistances. Different races have different strong and weak
points, which I will discuss more throughly below. This will be followed by
a chart detailing each race's specific starting statistics, and then another
one detailing each race's exact starting resistances:
Humans are the most balanced race of them all. They have no strong or
weak points, and are generally suitable for just about any of the nine
classes. Humans also start off with a small resistance to Body magic.
---
Elves are, as to be expected, the most magical of the races. They
possess high levels of Intelligence and Accuracy, which make them ideal
Sorcerers and Druids. They make fairly good Archers, as well, though
their poor Might and Endurance stats make them a poor choice for just
about any other class. Elves also possess an inntate resistance to Mind
magic.
---
Dwarves are a very sturdy race, possessing high Might and Endurance
statistics. This, unfortunately, is offset by their poor Accuracy and
Speed. They are a decent choice for any of the heavy fighting classes,
though you should consider going with a goblin instead, but dwarves do
make fairly ideal Clerics, at the very least. Dwarves also begin with
slight resistances to Earth and Water magic.
---
Goblins are the ideal fighters of the game, with strong Might and
Speed skills. Their Intelligence and Personality is poor, more or less
relegating their use mainly to the heavy fighting classes. Goblins
make ideal Knights, excellent Monks and Thieves, and good Rangers, as
well (by the time a goblin Ranger delves into the realms of magic,
you'll have likely been able to compensate for their low Intellect and
Personality). Goblins tend to make poor choices for just about any of
the other classes, however. On a final note, goblins begin with small
resistances to Fire and Air magic.
*All stats which begin as 14 are strong points for that particular race, and as
such will go up by 2 for evey 1 bonus point spent, and will add 2 points to the
pool for every point taken away below 14.
**All stats which begin as 7 are weak points for that particular race, and as
such will only go up by 1 for every 2 bonus points spend, and will only add 1
point to the pool for every 2 points taken away below 7.
Next up, we'll address the issue of starting skills. While skills can be
picked up quickly and easily not too long into the game, that's still no reason
not to put at least a little thought into the skills you choose to start off
with. For each class, two skills are predetermined- a weapon skill and some
other skill descriptive of the class. Past that, you may choose two additional
skills from a preassembled list with which to begin the game with. Each skill
will start your character with something in their inventory which will allow
him or her to utilize said skill. The Shield skill, for example, starts your
character off with a shield in their inventory, making weapons and armor good
choices for starting skills (though, as we've already noted, each class already
starts out with a weapon skill, so choosing a second usually isn't a good idea).
From both a financial and usefulness standpoint, magic skills are by far the
best choices for starting skills. Not only are magic skills expensive, but you
also get two spells for free. Failing a magic skill, the next best selections
for your magicians are Learning and Meditation, again because of their higher
cost to learn during the game. For your fighting-oriented classes, the best
choices, again from both a financial standpoint and also considering what you
might actually be using early on, include some of the more useful miscellaneous
skills (like Disarm Trap) and armor skills. Though as a notable exception, I
should make note that because the Archer does not start with a melee weapon, the
Spear isn't a bad choice to start with, though financially it makes more sense
to start with two schools of magic.
Whatever your selections for skills, attempt to think somewhat ahead when you
choose. Don't pick skills you won't end up using or developing. A Paladin, for
example, can probably stand to skip Leather armor and go straight for Plate at
first chance. And furthermore, there are a lot of questionable additions to the
starting skill lists for each class, as I mentioned earlier. Just because a
character can start with a particular skill doesn't neccessarily mean they're
going to be very good with it at all. For a good example, starting a Monk off
with the Sword skill is for all practical purposes a pretty bad idea. On the
flip side of things, there are a lot of good skills for each class that you are
unfortunately unable to start with. Paladins, for example, can't start off with
Mind or Body magic, which really sucks.
The chart below details the possible starting skills for each class, as well
as each class's two "predetermined" starting skills:
And lastly, though one might not think it such an important consideration,
please believe me when I say that the voices you choose for your characters are
indeed something to strongly think about before setting off on your adventure.
There's nothing like getting far into a game of Might & Magic VII, only to find
yourself restarting because if that whiny bitch on your team says just one more
thing, you're going to wring her Goddamn neck. To the best of my ability, I
have listed the various voices the game offers for your characters below, and I
make some attempt to steer you away from some of the worse ones. Though the
voices are interchangeable with the portaits, each portait has its own
"default" voice to go with it. For the purposes and ease of listing them out,
each voice is identified by the portait it goes with:
The first human male voice is your general, all-around typical hero-type
guy voice. With a go-get-'em attitude and a hearty taste for adventure, this
is a great voice to lead your team to victory.
---
The second human male (discernable from the first guy because he has a
scar over his eye) has a voice a lot like the first guy, only with a fun
English accent. And it's not one of those pompus accents, it's more like a
80's hair metal rocker accent, which is quite kick-ass to say the least. A
good choice, so long as you don't have anything against the Brits.
---
The third human male (it's becoming very hard to tell these guys apart) is
where the voice acting starts to fall apart. The first two guys were good
actors. They pulled off the "kick-ass typical hero guy" voice quite well.
This guy tries, and more or less fails. He sounds more like what he is- a
bad actor painfully delivering his lines.
---
The fourth human male (the Arab guy) has one of the most kick-ass voices
In the game, in my humble opinion. The overall tone of the voice is laid
back and calm, but still with that underlying tone of how dead he's going to
make you. Highly reccomended.
---
The first male elf (the one with the absolutely blank and empty stare on
his lifeless face) has a voice and personality more or less descriptive of
his portait. It gets on my nerves pretty fast, but then again, that's just
me.
---
The second male elf (the one suppressing an obnoxious grin) has about five
seconds before I drop-kick his miserable little ass across the room. There's
just something about a guy with an extremely high-pitched, extremely over-
excited voice that fills me with a burning desire to destroy him. I doubt
you'll be overly fond of him, either.
---
The first dwarven male (the one with the darker hair) has a quite
stereotypical dwarven voice. Brash, raucous, but overall not that
irritating. Reccomended, if that's the style you're going for.
---
The lighter-haired dwarven male has a voice more like the first human
male. Think a dwarf voice with more of a "typical hero guy" tone to it. Not
that bad, overall, but I'd just as soon go for the first guy over him.
---
The fat goblin male (the first one) has a voice that's too forced to sound
particularly pleasant. The second one is a lot better.
---
The skinnier goblin male has one of the best voices in the game. He's got
the IQ of a below-average toaster, and he probably won't be able to tell you
what something is until he stabs you with it, but there's just something,
well, downright loveable about his comical "big, dumb guy" voice. If you
don't find his mind-shattering idiocy annoying, I'm confident you'll find his
voice both kick-ass and pleasantly amusing.
---
The redhead human female is likely the worst voice in the entire game.
She tries to be sarcastic, but ends up just being a complete pain in the ass.
She's whiny, annoying, terribly overacted, and she sounds like she'd rather
be at a chili cookoff than adventuring. Avoid her like the plague.
---
The attractive brunette female has one of the better voices in the game.
Genial, pleasant-sounding, and not a complete pushover, either. Reccomended.
---
The little asian female possesses one of my favorite voices in the entire
game. Upbeat and spunky, with just the right amount of sassy. And unlike
someone else I could mention, she manages to pull this off without sounding
like a total bitch.
---
The black human female has one of the more laid-back calm voices in the
game. She has a pleasant baroque vocal quality characteristic of the black
race, and makes for a fine choice.
---
The redhead female elf: the infamous whiny bitch. Many gamers refer to
her as the poster child for how annoying some of the voices in this game can
be, though compared to some of the others, I never found her to be that
irritating. But she is quite whiny, and if that kind of thing is going to
bug you, pass this voice up.
---
The brunette female elf has likely the most soothing, relaxing voice of
all the females in the game. It is a very fitting voice for an elven female
and has a very gentle, kind tone to it. Always a pleasure to listen to, and
guaranteed never to annoy. Highly reccomended.
---
The blonde female dwarf sounds more like my grandmother with a pack a day
smoking habit. Nice, if you happen to like that sort of thing... freak.
---
The redhead female dwarf has, well, let's not lie to ourselves, the vocal
equivalent of gonhorreha of the ear. She sounds like she's made of helium,
and I can only thank the gods that half of what she says is so high-pitched
as to be inaudible to the human ear. In case you haven't picked up on my
subtle indications, this probably isn't the best voice to go with.
---
The first female goblin (the nastier-looking one) is actually worse than
the blonde dwarf, because you can tell that the rasp in her voice is forced.
And no, the results aren't particularly pleasant on the ears.
---
The second female goblin sounds a lot more pleasant than the first female
goblin (and looks a lot better, to boot). With a voice and attitude that's
still distinctly goblin, she pulls it off without hacking up a lung in the
process.
In most games, normally RPG's, there are an abundance of things to collect,
acquire, do, find, and see. While most of these can usually be done at your
leisure, this section is dedicated to helping you find certain things that can
no longer be done after a certain point within a game:
* Everything on Emerald Isle is a lost-forever. Once you leave, you cannot
go back.
* The entirety of the events depicted in section III.C. of the walkthrough
are lost-forevers running onder a strict time limit. Be warned before
entering that portion of the walkthrough.
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T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
B / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B /\ | | \/ B
T \ * * \ T
B /\ | ~~Coming Soon~~ | \/ B
T \ * * \ T
B /\ | | \/ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / B
T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
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The following sections/subsections are currently under construction and
will be featured in future updates:
II. Characters
A. Knight
B. Monk
C. Thief
D. Ranger
E. Paladin
F. Archer
G. Druid
H. Cleric
I. Sorcerer
III. Walkthrough (Main Line Quests)
A. The Scavenger Hunt
B. Harmondale's New Lords
C. The Elf-Human War
D. Path of Light
E. Path of Darkness
F. Colony Zod & The Shoals
IV. Promotion Quests
A. Knight Promotions
B. Monk Promotions
C. Thief Promotions
D. Ranger Promotions
E. Paladin Promotions
F. Archer Promotions
G. Druid Promotions
H. Cleric Promotions
I. Sorcerer Promotions
V. Side Quests
A. Emerald Isle Quest (The Missing Contestants)
B. Harmondale Quests
C. Stone City Quest (Troglodyte Slayer)
D. Tularean Forest Quests
E. Erathia Quests
F. Tatalia Quests
G. Nighon Quest (Haldar's Remains)
H. Bracada Quest (Seasons' Stole)
I. Deyja Quest (Kill the Griffins)
VI. Little Secrets
A. Trap & Perception Reference Chart
B. Wells, Altars, & Cauldrons
C. Games, Contests, Tests, & Challenges
D. Obelisks
E. Trading Goods
F. Secrets of the Genie Lamps
G. Artifacts & Relics
VII. Arcomage
VIII. Skill Lists
A. Weapon Skills
B. Armor Skills
C. Miscellaneous Skills
D. Magic Skills
IX. Expert Teachers Lists
A. Weapon Skill Experts
B. Armor Skill Experts
C. Miscellaneous Skill Experts
D. Magic Skill Experts
X. Master Teachers Lists
A. Weapon Skill Masters
B. Armor Skill Masters
C. Miscellaneous Skill Masters
D. Magic Skill Masters
XI. Grandmaster Teachers Lists
A. Weapon Skill Grandmasters
B. Armor Skill Grandmasters
C. Miscellaneous Skill Grandmasters
D. Magic Skill Grandmasters
XII. Weapons Lists
A. Swords
B. Spears
C. Axes
D. Maces
E. Daggers
F. Staves
G. Clubs
H. Bows
I. Blasters
XIII. Armor Lists
A. Leather
B. Chain
C. Plate
D. Shields
XIV. Accessories Lists
A. Helmets
B. Gauntlets
C. Boots
D. Cloaks
E. Belts
F. Amulets
G. Rings
XV. Item Lists
A. Potions
B. Reagents
C. Wands
D. Books & Scrolls
E. Gems
F. Ore
G. Other Items
XVI. Enchantment Lists
A. Weapon Enchantments
B. Non-Weapon Enchantments
C. Universal Enchantments
XVIII. Hireling List
XIX. Bestiary
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B / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B /\ | ~XVII~ ~XVII~ | \/ B
T \ * * \ T
B /\ | XVII. Spell Lists | \/ B
T \ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * \ T
B /\ | ~XVII~ ~XVII~ | \/ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / B
T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
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* Normal--- Increases the aura of light surrounding the party. The effects are
only visible when it is dark.
* Expert--- Brighter light.
* Master--- Brightest light.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Does 1-3 damage per point of skill in Fire magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Fire Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Fire magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Fire Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Fire Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Fire Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Fire Resistance is one of the more
useful amongst them all, mainly due to the general prevalence on creautres who
attack with fire-based spells and attacks. Useful in many situations, but as
with the rest of the resistance spells, it generally isn't worth the effort to
cast until you have achieved at least a skill level of 4 and an expert ranking
in Fire magic.
* Normal--- Imbues a weapon with the "of fire" enchantment for one hour per
point of skill in Fire magic.
* Expert--- Enchantment is "of flame".
* Master--- Enchantment is "of Infernos".
* Grand---- Enchantment is permanent.
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I can safely and honestly say that this is the worst spell in the game. And
I say that because the spell does not produce any positive effects whatsoever (I
mentioned earlier in section I.B. of the FAQ that this spell doesn't actually
work). In fact, it's actually counter-productive in that when it wears off, it
leaves your party in a weakened state. Avoid this spell at all costs.
* Expert--- Does 1-6 damage per point of skill in Fire magic. Will explode
when it connects to damage anything nearby.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Drops a spike on the ground. When another creature touches it, it
will explode, doing 1-6 damage per point of skill in Fire magic to
everything nearby (excluding your party).
* Master--- Does 1-8 damage per point of skill.
* Grand---- Does 1-10 damage per point of skill.
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* Master--- Surrounds your party with a hot fire that periodically deals 1-6
damage per point of skill in Fire magic to anything standing near
you. Duration is 1 minute per point of skill.
* Grand---- Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill.
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* Master--- 16 rocks fall from the sky in a large radius around the closest
target, each doing 1-8 damage per point of skill in Fire magic.
* Grand---- 20 rocks are summoned.
Basically, this spell summons flaming death from the heavens to smite a large
area of enemies, which will automatically be centered around the closest one in
front of you. The good news, obviously, is the vast capability for destruction
this spell has. The bad news, of course, is that if you're not careful, you
will be caught in the impact zone yourself. The meteors fall slowly enough that
you should be able to escape the damage if you move quickly enough, but then
again, so can your enemies. In a nutshell, this spell has great possibilities,
so long as you exercise care and caution while using it.
* Master--- Deals 12 + 1 damage per point of skill in Fire magic to everything
in sight. Only works indoors.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Grand---- Deals 15 + 1-15 damage per point of skill in Fire magic.
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* Normal--- Causes automap to reveal the locations of creatures. Duration is
1 hour per point of skill in Air magic.
* Expert--- Locations of treasures is shown.
* Master--- Other points of interest are shown.
* Grand---- Casting cost is 0.
One of the more generally useful spells, Wizard Eye causes creatures to
appear on your little automap in the corner of the screen as colored dots.
Green dots are friendly creatures, red dots are hostile, and yellow ones are
dead. At expert level, this spell becomes even more useful by showing treasure
on the automap as blue dots. Granted, it suffers the fact that the autopmap is
a top-view, so it is impossible to know the altitude of the treasure (or what
floor the treasure is on, so to speak). That said, it's still extremely useful
in helping you nab all of the treasure in any given area.
* Normal--- Protects your party from damage taken from falling. Duration is 5
minutes per point of skill in Air magic.
* Expert--- Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Air Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Air magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Air Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Air Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Air Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Air resistance will be quite useful,
even versus a lot of foes that aren't necessarily air-based. This is because,
much like the fire element, a lot of creatures tend to attack with air-based
spells and attacks, including the fearsome titans. Use it whenever necessary,
but as with the other resistance spells, unless you have at least a skill level
of 4 and an expert ranking in Air magic, it's probably not worth the hassle to
cast.
* Normal--- Fires 3 sparks which bounce around until they hit something or
dissipate. Each spark does 2 + 1 damage per point of skill in Air
magic.
* Expert--- Fires 5 sparks.
* Master--- Fires 7 sparks.
* Grand---- Fires 9 sparks.
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* Expert--- Your party jumps 60 feet into the air, taking no damage when they
fall.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Halves damage done by incoming missile attacks. Only effective
against physical damage. Duration is 1 hour + 5 minutes per point
of skill in Air magic.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour + 1 hour per point of skill.
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* Expert--- Does 1-8 damage per point of skill in Air magic.
* Master--- Faster recovery.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery.
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* Master--- Makes party invisible to creatures. Will be broken if the party
speaks, attacks, casts spells, or comes into contact with any
creature. Cannot be cast when hostile creatures are nearby.
Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill in Air magic.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
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* Master--- Party can fly for duration of the spell (1 hour per point of skill
in Air magic). See comments below for instructions on flying. For
every 5 minutes in the air, 1 spell point is drained from the
caster.
* Grand---- No spell point drain.
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* Master--- Does 10 + 1-10 damage per point of skill in Air magic. The spell
will always hit.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
Of all the attack spells that claim to "always hit", Implosion is the one
and only spell that actually delivers what it promises. While it does only a
little more damage than Lightning Bolt and costs more than twice as much to
cast, you do get the reassurance of a guaranteed hit with Implosion.
* Grand---- 20 stars fall from the sky in a large radius around the closest
target, each doing 20 + 1 damage per point of skill in Air magic.
Think of Starburst as an extremely souped-up version of the Meteor Shower
spell. It, like Meteor Shower, automatically targets the closest creature in
front of you, has a very wide range of effect, and can hit your party if you're
not careful. The two major differences include greater damage done, and the
stars fall at a freighteningly high velocity. Unlike Meteor Shower, escaping
the blast radius of this spell once it is cast is pretty much impossible, which
is bad for your enemies, and equally bad for you if you happen to be standing
anywhere near the blast radius.
* Normal--- Cures the Asleep condition for the entire party. Works only if the
target has been asleep for less than 3 minutes per point of skill
in Water magic.
* Expert--- Works for 1 hour per point of skill.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Normal--- Does 2 + 1-2 damage per point of skill in Water magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate. Fires 3 shots (in a spray pattern).
* Master--- Faster recovery rate. Fires 5 shots.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate. Fires 7 shots.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Water Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Water magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Water Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Water Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Water Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Water Resistance is not one of the
more commonly useful amongst them, seeing as not too many enemies are prone to
using water-based spells and attacks. That being said, many of the enemies
that do use such attacks tend to be rather powerful (Water Elementals,
especially in the early game come to mind), so it's good to have around, despite
that fact. However, as with the other resistance spells, it really isn't worth
the effort to cast until you have at least a skill level of 4 and an expert
ranking in Water magic.
* Normal--- Does 1-4 damage per point of skill in Water magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Allows your party to walk on water without taking damage. Duration
is 10 minutes per point of skill in Water magic. For every 20
minutes your party is on water, 1 spell point is drained from the
caster.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Grand---- No spell point drain.
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* Expert--- Recharges the uses on any wand. Each time this spell is cast, the
wand permanently loses (50% minus 1% per point of skill in Water
magic) of its charges.
* Master--- Wand loses (30% minus 1% per point of skill) of its charges.
* Grand---- Wand loses (20% minus 1% per point of skill) of its charges.
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* Expert--- Does 9 + 1-9 damage per point of skill in Water magic.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Master--- Teleports the party to the central fountain of any one of six
regions that you have already visited. Chances of success are 10%
per point of skill in Water magic. Cannot be cast while hostile
creatures are nearby.
* Grand---- Can be cast when hostile creatures are nearby.
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* Master--- Randomly enchants a non-enchanted item. See comments below for
restrictions. Chances of success are 10% per point of skill in
Water magic. Enchantments are level 4.
* Grand---- Enchantments are level 5.
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* Master--- Fires a ball of ice which explodes when it hits something, sending
7 shards flying in all directions. Shards ricochet until they hit
a creature or melt. Each shard does 12 + 1-3 damage per point of
skill in Water magic.
* Grand---- Ball explodes into 9 shards.
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* Grand---- The ultimate teleportation spell. See comments below for
instructions on use.
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* Normal--- Stuns the target, knocking it back and forcing it to recover before
taking any action.
* Expert--- Stronger effect.
* Master--- Stronger effect.
* Grand---- Strongest effect.
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* Normal--- Halves movement speed and doubles recovery time for target
creature. Duration is 3 minutes per point of skill in Earth magic.
* Expert--- Duration is 5 minutes per point of skill.
* Master--- Target reduced to 1/4 speed.
* Grand---- Target reduced to 1/8 speed.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Earth Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Earth magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Earth Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Earth Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Earth Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Earth resistance is probably the
least useful of them all. Not many enemies tend to use earth-based spells and
attacks, and fewer still will pose much of a threat to you, anyways. But hey,
you might as well keep it around just in case. As always, until you have at
least a skill level of 4 and an expert ranking in Earth magic, it's generally
not worth the bother to cast.
* Normal--- Does 5 + 1-3 damage per point of skill in Earth magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Increases party's AC by 5 + 1 per point of skill in Earth magic.
Duration is 1 hour + 5 minutes per point of skill.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour + 1 hour per point of skill.
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* Expert--- Does 1-9 damage per point of skill in Earth magic.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Cures stoned condition on target character. Works if target has
been stoned for less than 1 hour per point of skill in Earth magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Master--- Fires a rock which will bounce around until it hits something or
dies out. When it hits something, it explodes and does 1-8 damage
per point of skill in Earth magic to anything standing nearby.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
Rock Blast is similar to the Fireball spell, but with one notable difference:
it cannot be targeted. Rather, a rock is simply unleashed forward, and travels
at a high velocity, bouncing around until it dies off, leaves the map, or hits a
target, in which case it will explode, damaging everything around it. Due to
the higher cost and the fact that it's not much more powerful than Fireball,
Fireball still is the preferable spell in most occasions, but Rock Blast is
simply great for nailing your enemies from around corners or for making other
tricky, non-linear shots that Fireball is incapable of making.
* Master--- Allows you to manipulate objects from afar. See comments below for
more details.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
Why Telekinesis is an Earth spell and not a Mind spell is beyond me, but I
digress. Telekinesis allows you to manpiulate objects from afar: throwing
switches, picking up items, looting bodies, etc. The two major uses involve
using this spell to collect items or loot bodies that fall outside the map range
and would otherwise be uncollectable, and using it to open chests, crates, and
other boobie-trapped goodie grab bags without fear of having them explode in
your face. Unfortunately, casting it while the Invisibility spell is active
will still cause the spell to wear off, so there are some situations where it's
still nice to have someone along with the appropriate Disarm Trap skill. But
that being said, unless you develop either a grandmaster skill or high master
skill in Disarm Trap, you're still going to reach a point in the game where the
skill will fail you, and you're just going to have to fall back on Telekinesis
else take the damage, anyways. So this is a great spell to have, and possibly
one of the most compelling reasons to develop mastery of the Earth magic skill
ASAP, especially if you don't have a character on your team with a strong Disarm
Trap skill.
* Master--- Fires a magical stone into the air which explodes over a target
creature, showering the area and doing 20 + 1 damage per point of
skill in Earth magic to anyone caught in the blast. Can only be
cast outdoors.
* Grand---- Damage is 20 + 2 per point of skill.
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* Grand---- Deals damage equal to (25% + 2% per point of skill in Earth magic)
of a target's current HP.
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* Normal--- Allows you to see any creature's current HP when you right click on
them. Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill in Spirit magic.
* Expert--- Duration is 30 minutes per point of skill.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Grand---- Creature's currently active spells are shown.
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* Normal--- Increases target character's Attack Bonus by 5 + 1 per point of
skill in Spirit magic. Duration is 1 hour plus 5 minutes per
point of skill.
* Expert--- Spell affects entire party.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour + 1 hour per point of skill.
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* Normal--- If cast on a character, Attack Bonus is increased. If cast on a
creature, Attack Bonus is decreased. Bonus (or penalty) is 20 + 1
per point of skill in Spirit magic. Duration is 5 minutes or until
target attacks
* Expert--- Bonus or penalty is 20 + 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Bonus or penalty is 20 + 4 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Bonus or penalty is 20 + 6 per point of skill.
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* Normal--- Causes all undead creatures in sight to flee from your party for
duration of the spell (3 minutes + 1 minute per point of skill in
Spirit magic).
* Expert--- Duration is 3 minutes + 3 minutes per point of skill.
* Master--- Duration is 3 minutes + 5 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Cures cursed condition on target character. Works if target has
been cursed for less than 1 hour per point of skill in Spirit
magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Expert--- When cast on a character, prevents death due to massive HP loss for
the duration of the spell (1 hour + 5 minutes per point of skill).
* Master--- Spell affects entire party.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
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* Expert--- Increases damage dealt by the party's physical attacks by 5 + 1 per
point of skill in Spirit magic. Duration is 1 hour + 5 minutes per
point of skill.
* Master--- Duration is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Duration is 1 hour + 1 hour per point of skill
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* Master--- Does 10 + 2-8 damage per point of skill in Spirit magic. Target
must be within melee range for the spell to work.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
The most damaging of the direct damage self spells suffers from the lone
drawback that it must be cast at very close range for it to be effective, else
the spell will fizzle without draining any MP. For Clerics and Druids, this
shouldn't be much of an issue- both classes could stand to add a powerful melee
attack to their arsenal, anyways. Paladins are probably better off sticking
with the Mace, though. That issue aside, Spirit Lash is an extremely powerful
spell, has a very reasonable MP cost for the damage it deals, and given that the
damage dealt is Spirit-based, resistance to the spell is rarely an issue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raise Dead
* Type---Healing
* MP-----20
* Master--- Raises target character from the dead. Works only if character has
been dead for less than 1 day per point of skill in Spirit magic.
Revived character will be weak after casting.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Master--- Takes your party's combined HP, pools it, adds to it 3 HP per point
of skill in Spirit magic, and redistributes it as equally as
possible amongst your characters.
* Grand---- Pool size is combined HP + 4 per point of skill.
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* Grand---- Raises target character from eradication. Revived character will
be weak after revived.
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* Normal--- Cures afraid condition on target character. Works if target has
been stoned for less than 3 minutes per point of skill in Mind
magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 hour per point of skill.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Normal--- Does 3 + 1-3 damage per point of skill in Mind magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Mind magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Mind Resistance is at least more
useful than the general lack of practicioners of the discipline might lead you
to believe. More enemies than you think attack with mind magic spells (no mind-
based attacks, strangely enough). And while Pshycic Shock, as mentioned later
in this section, is not much of a threat to worry about, resistance is still
nice, especially when you consider that titans can still cast it at a very high
level. But perhaps the best use of this spell s that it is useful against any
creatures whose attacks can paralyze you. This includes, but is not limited to,
ghouls, medusas, and certain gargoyles. Naturally, however, the spell won't do
you much good until you have at least a skill level of 4 and an expert ranking
in Mind magic.
* Normal--- Caster reads targets mind, telling you how much gold it has.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate and casting cost is 0.
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* Expert--- Removes any hostile feelings target has towards the party. Spell
will be broken if party attacks creature. Duration is 5 minutes
per point of skill in Mind magic.
* Master--- Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Spell lasts until party leaves map.
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* Expert--- Cures paralyzed condition on target character. Works if target has
been paralyzed for less than 1 hour per point of skill in Mind
magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Expert--- Causes target creature to go crazy and start attacking the closest
thing to it. Duration is 5 minutes per point of skill in Mind
magic.
* Master--- Duration is 10 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Spell lasts until party leaves map.
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* Master--- Cures insane condition on target charachter. Works if character
has been insane for less than 1 day per point of skill in Mind
magic.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Master--- All creatures in sight flee from the party for the duartion of the
spell (3 minutes per point of skill in Mind magic).
* Grand---- Duration is 5 minutes per point of skill.
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* Master--- *Does 12 + 1-12 damage per point of skill in Mind magic.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
*While Psychic Shock claims to deal 12 + 1-12 points of damage for each
skill point in Mind magic, the damage it deals in reality is actually
significantly lower. Exactly what the real damage formula for this spell is I
cannot say, suffice it to say it ends up being about on par with Mind Blast, if
that gives you any kind of idea. And as if that weren't damning enough,
despite how fast the spell's missile flies, it just doesn't seem to connect
that often. Skip this one; you'll be glad you did.
* Grand---- Target creature will fight creatures hostile to the party, and the
spell will not be broken if you attack it. Duration is 10 minutes
per point of skill in Mind magic.
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* Normal--- Cures weakened condition on target character. Works if target has
been weak for less than 3 minutes per point of skill in Body magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 hour per point of skill.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Normal--- Cures HP to target character. HP restored is 5 + 2 per point of
skill in Body magic.
* Expert--- Cures 5 + 3 HP per point of skill.
* Master--- Cures 5 + 4 HP per point of skill.
* Grand---- Cures 5 + 5 HP per point of skill.
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* Normal--- Increases your party's Body Resistance by 1 per point of skill in
Body magic. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Expert--- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 2 per point of skill.
* Master--- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 3 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Increases your party's Mind Resistance by 4 per point of skill.
One of the six basic resistance spells. Body Resistance is effective against
a very wide variety of foes. While you will never find yourself running into
any Body Elementals, or anything of that sort, you should still cast this
anytime you are fighting enemies that attack with body-based spells or attacks
(which includes a wide variety of creatures), enemies that can cast Hammerhands
(monks, mainly), and creatures that can poison you with their attacks (such as
troglodytes). But of course, it is again worthy of note that unless you have at
least a skill level of 4 and an expert ranking in Body magic, the spell won't do
you much good, if any.
* Normal--- Does 8 + 1-2 damage per point of skill in Body magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
One of the two low-level direct damage spells from the self magics, Harm does
just a tiny bit more damage than Mind Blast at twice the cost. The increase in
damage probably isn't enough to justify the MP cost, so Mind Blast is probably a
better idea if the caster also delves in Mind magic.
* Expert--- Target character regenerates 1 HP per minute for the spell's
duration (1 hour per point of skill in Body magic).
* Master--- Character regenerates 3 HP per minute.
* Grand---- Character regenerates 10 HP per minute.
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* Expert--- Cures poisoned condition on target character. Works if target has
been poisoned for less than 1 hour per point of skill in Body
magic.
* Master--- Works for 1 day per point of skill.
* Grand---- No time limit.
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* Expert--- Enchants target character's unarmed attacks to do an additional
amount of Body damage equal to the damage dealt by the unarmed
attack. Duration is 1 hour per point of skill.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Spell affects entire party.
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* Master--- Cures diseased condition on target charachter. Works if character
has been disease for less than 1 day per point of skill in Body
magic.
* Grand---- No time limit.
The only real problem with this spell is that by the point in the game you
actually are able to learn it, you're about as likely to see a naked midget line
dancing with Elvis as you are to catch disease. And the money you spend on the
spell may or may not justify the rare occasion you might actually have to use it
(a Cure Disease potion is one of the easier potions to mix, if you'll recall).
But if you've got the money to blow, by all means go for it and save yourself a
reagent or two. Besides, the bottle in the spell illustration in your spellbook
does a good job of covering up the naughty parts of the naked man in the
spellbook's background.
* Master--- Grants party immunity to the poisoning, disease, stoning,
paralysis, and weakness. Spell will negate one such attack of each
type per point of skill in Body magic before the spell is broken.
* Grand---- Also grants immunity to death and eradication effects.
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* Master--- Does 30 + 1-5 damage per point of skill in Body magic.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
One of the more comical spells, Flying Fist quite literally assaults your
enemies with a giant flying bitch-slap. The missile flies at a reasonable
speed, and the damage it does is very high. If Psychic Shock actually worked as
advertised, then it would be a serious contender with this spell, but as it
stands, in the field of direct-damage self spells, this is the best one you've
got aside from Spirit Lash. The drawbacks of the spell are pretty standard: a
high MP cost and an abundance of creatures that are immune to Body magic.
* Grand---- Restores 10 + 5 HP per point of skill in Body magic to the entire
party.
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* Normal--- Does 1-4 damage per point of skill in Light magic. Undead take
double damage.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
For the casting cost, Light Bolt deals fairly low-end damage, unelss you're
using it on the undead, in which case you might as well just whip out Destroy
Undead on them. For Sorcerers and Archers, elemental spells are usually a far
better deal unless resistance becomes enough of an issue. Clerics and Paladins,
conversely, given the few attack spells they already have (and the fact that
many enemies tend to be immune to all of them), may find themselves with a
fairly decent addition to their arsenal, especially at higher levels of skill in
Light magic.
* Normal--- Does 1-16 damage per point of skill in Light magic. Only works on
the undead.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Removes spell effects from all creatures in sight.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
This is one of those spells that's really, really annoying to have cast
against you, but somehow isn't as annoying to the enemies. Probably because
you're the one who usually stands to suffer the most from the effects of a spell
that nullifies the effects of any supportive magic you've cast upon yourself.
Very few enemies tend to bother with supportive magic, but against those that
do, this is a fairly nifty spell to pull out.
* Normal--- Prevents a target from attacking or moving. Duration is 3 minutes
per point of skill in Light magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Expert--- Summons a Lesser Light Elemental which will fight creatures hostile
to the party. Each caster can have 1 elemental summoned at a time.
* Master--- Summons a Light Elemental. Can have up to 3 elementals at a time.
* Grand---- Summons a Greater Light Elemental. Can have up to 5 elementals at
a time.
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* Expert--- Increases each of your characters' stats by 10 + 3 per point of
skill in Light magic.
* Master--- Stats are increased by 10 + 4 per point of skill.
* Grand---- Stats are increased by 10 + 5 per point of skill.
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* Master--- Deals 25 + 1 damage per point of skill in Fire magic to everything
in sight. Only works indoors.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Master--- Casts Protection from Magic, the six basic resistance spells (Fire,
Air, Earth, Water, Mind, and Body), Wizard Eye, and Feather Fall on
your party. Resistance spells increase party's resistances by 4
per point of skill in Light magic.
* Grand---- Resistances are increased by 5 per point of skill.
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* Master--- Casts Haste, Heroism, Stoneskin, Bless, and Shield on your party,
all at 4 times the caster's skill in Light magic.
* Grand---- Spells are cast at 5 times the caster's skill in Light magic.
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* Master--- Does 20 + 1-20 damage per point of skill in Light magic. Only
works outdoors.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Grand---- Restores party to full HP and MP, removes any averse conditions,
and ages the caster 10 years. Can only be cast 3 times a day by
the same caster.
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* Normal--- Creates a zombie out of a lifeless creature that will fight
creatures hostile to the party until it is slain again. Creature
will have 20 HP per point of skill in Dark magic, up to its normal
maximum amount.
* Expert--- Zombie gets 30 HP per point of skill.
* Master--- Zombie gets 40 HP per point of skill.
* Grand---- Zombie gets 50 HP per point of skill.
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* Normal--- Does 25 + 1-10 damage per point of skill.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Enchants a weapon with the "Vampiric" property. Duration is 1 hour
per point of skill in Dark magic.
* Expert--- Faster recovery rate.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate.
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* Normal--- Shrinks a creature so that it deals only half its normal amount of
damage. Duration is 5 minutes per point of skill in Dark magic.
* Expert--- Creature deals 1/3 its normal damage.
* Master--- Creature deals 1/4 its normal damage.
* Grand---- Can be cast on a group of creatures.
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* Expert--- Fires 5 metal fragments in a spray pattern. Each fragment does
6 + 1-6 damage per point of skill in Dark magic.
* Master--- Fires 7 fragments.
* Grand---- Fires 9 fragments.
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* Expert--- Target creature will fight creatures hostile to the party, and the
spell will not be broken if you attack it. Duration is 3 minutes
per point of skill in Dark magic. Only works on the undead.
* Master--- Faster recovery rate. Duration is 5 minutes per point of skill.
* Grand---- Fastest recovery rate. Spell lasts until party leaves map.
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* Expert--- When cast on a character, any creature that deals damage to that
character will recieve damage equal to the amount dealt. Duration
is 1 hour + 5 minutes per point of skill in Dark magic.
* Master--- Spell affects entire party.
* Grand---- Duartion is 1 hour + 15 minutes per point of skill.
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* Master--- Slays a single NPC hireling. Caster's HP and MP are fully restored
and all averse conditions and magical aging is removed. Also, the
party's reputation in the current area will decrease significantly.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Master--- Does 1-25 damage per point of skill in Dark magic.
* Grand---- Faster recovery rate.
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* Master--- Deals 50 + 1 damage per point of skill in Dark magic to everything
on the map, including your party. Can only be cast outdoors, and
can only be cast 3 times per day by the same caster.
* Grand---- Can be cast 4 times a day.
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* Grand---- Does 25 + 1-8 damage to every creature in sight. Party regains HP
equal to the total amoung of damage done, distrubted as evenly as
possible amongst your characters.
The attack spell to end all attack spells, Souldrinker has almost
frieghtening destructive power. Not only do the spell's effects target every
enemy in sight and do tremendous damage to them all, it also heals your party by
evenly distributing to them HP equal to the amount of damage done, which as I
just mentioned, is quite a bit. As you might expect, the MP cost is ungodly,
but the effects are well worth it. While you probably won't have the MP supply
to use this spell on a constant basis (unless your cheap ass is using Lloyd's
Becaon to go recharge at a temple every five seconds), you'll be glad to have
access to it in many a sticky situation.
BTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
B / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B /\ | ~XX~ ~XX~ | \/ B
T \ * * \ T
B /\ | XX. Other Stuff | \/ B
T \ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * \ T
B /\ | ~XX~ ~XX~ | \/ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B \ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ / B
T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
BTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
A number of characters and various NPC's in this game are either vague or
direct references to various areas of pop culture, inside jokes, or just pure
irony. Some examples:
* Various NPC's in the Tatalia region, such as Wacko and Your Conscience,
were names of posters on the 3DO message boards.
* The original arbiter, Judge Grey, has a name that is more or less
synonymous with neutrality. While this is not only relevant to his job
as arbiter, it is farther relevant taking into consideration that it is
under his watch that your team remains on a neutral (undecided) path, as
opposed to later in the game.
* The masters and grandmasters of all the magic skills for the most part
tend to have names descriptive of the schools of magic under which they
study. Avalanche, Blayze, Torrent, and Gayle are the best examples.
* Many other teachers tend to have names descriptive of the skills they
teach, such as Dalin Keenedge, Petra Cleareye, Gizmo, and Raven the
Hunter.
*The Barrow Downs was taken directly from a book in The Lord of the Rings
trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring).
* Harli Quinn, a resident of Deyja, refers to either the Batman villian or,
more likely, whoever the hell she's named after. Some clown, I think.
* William Setag, the evil Villain is a veiled stab at the one and only Bill
Gates. Setag is "Gates" spelled backwards.
* The Crusader/Hero, Charles Quixote is an indirect reference to that idiot
who ran into a windmill in a book once.
* The grandmaster of the Body Building skill, Evander Holyfield, is a
direct reference to a boxer of the same name.
* The grandmaster of the Unarmed skill, Norris, is a reference to Chuck
Norris.
* The master of the Disarm Trap, for some unknown reason is a more or less
direct reference to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Apparently, the makers of Might &
Magic VII think that Lynyrd Skynyrd and its fanbase are all a bunch of
backwater, toothless hicks, much like the in-game namesake, and... well...
they're probably right.
* Is it me, or does the lady from the Air Guild look exactly like Angelina
Joilee?
* Also, it is my opinion that Silk Quicktongue, the grandmaster of the
Disarm Trap skill, strongly resembles Owen Wilson.
* The Strange Temple area, accessible by using the Temple in a Bottle item
hidden in the final region of the game, strongly resembles the 3DO office
complex and is full of people whose names correspond with people who
worked on the game. There are a few Blaster Guys wandering around here,
though.
* Lastly, a lot of the NPC's got messed up in one way or another. Usually
it's just a female wandering around with an obviously masculine name or
vice versa. Don't even get me started on the creepy guy/girl from the
Mind guild. In more severe cases, the NPC portraits obviously don't fit
the character or region. For example, a male goblin in the pit turns
out to be a human female when you talk to him/her?. For that matter, a
few NPC portraits, as I'll allude to in section XXIII. of the FAQ,
weren't even used in the game at all. It's a shame, too, because at
least one of them is a pretty good-looking lady.
BTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
T / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T
B / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \ B
T \ *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* \ T
B /\ | ~XXI~ ~XXI~ | \/ B
T \ * * \ T
B /\ | XXI. Hints & Tricks | \/ B
T \ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * \ T
B /\ | ~XXI~ ~XXI~ | \/ B
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As you might have figured out, the enemy A.I. for this game is painfully
simple. The result is that there are a number of ways you can exploit it. In
short, whenever you reach a certain proximity of an enemy, they will notice you
and break away from where they are standing to hunt you down and kill you, or
at least try to. Their two major exploitable flaws are that they will advance
directly towards you in as straight of a line as possible, and that they won't
take the time to alert anyone around them before charging after you. Examples
of exploiting both of these behaviors are given below, both taken from Emerald
Isle.
The massive Dragonfly hordes that occupy the northwestern marshes of Emerald
Isle are far easier to deal with little by little as opposed to one gigantic
swarm. As you near the hordes, slow your movement rate and inch towards them.
When you get near enough, the ones on the outer fringe will break away to fight
you, while the rest of them stay put. Why they don't think to alert their
friends as to your presence is beyond me, but the major point I'm trying to
drive home here is that the "divide and conquer" approach works wonders in
Might & Magic VII.
The second example takes us to the Temple of the Moon, and towards the one
and only Sal Sharktooth. Pop an arrow in his ass and then let him chase you
back to the main chamber of the Temple of the Moon. Hop down to the bottom of
the small ledge (to the right of the small stairway) and wait until Sal makes
his way over. He'll stand at the edge of the ledge and swing futilely at you
rather than heading on down the stairs a few feet over so he can actually
approach you and make mincemeat out of you. Granted, a lot of creatures do
have the capabilities to hope down ledges or fly even, but the "head for you
in a straight line" mentality is still there. This fact is exploitable in
many possible ways, another example being attacking a part of a large enemy
sticking out from around a corner while the enemy remains safely on the other
side running its retarded ass into the wall.
One might also consider it a flaw that creatures far beneath you still
suicidally throw themselves at you, honestly thinking they can kill you. Of
course, in that same vein, this is not something unique to Might & Magic VII.
Even easier to exploit than the game's horrifically simple A.I. is it's
insanely greedy economy. So many things are possible to do to cheat your way
into huge sacks of free cash money that it's not even funny. But before we get
into any get-rich-quick schemes, we're going to start with a little trick that
I think I can safely say a lot of us are guilty of, myself included. As I
discussed in section I.H. of the FAQ, shops will change their inventories on a
fairly rigid schedule once you have entered it and started the clock. And
then, once their inventories are updated, the clock won't be started until you
enter that shop again. Well, you should also note that the shop's inventory
won't be set until you enter it to start the clock, as well. This means that
you can save just outside a shop, the go through a process of saving and
reloading until you see some wares in the shop that you might want. To me,
this is merely an issue of convenience moreso than anything else, as shops will
always sell at a consistent treasure level, anyways, as I discussed in section
I.J. of the FAQ. But that being said, if you have the patience for it, you
will be likely be able to find some really good buys, especially in places like
Deyja and Bracada, to the point of which I would almost consider this tactic to
be cheating.
Note that this exact same tactic can also be used with the oresmiths in
Erathia, as each the item, weapon, or piece of armor each piece of ore will
become is not determined until the ore is actually transformed into said item,
weapon, and piece of armor. And when you consider some of the large amounts of
powerful ore available throughout the land (namely in Bracada and Deyja), if
you are the kind of person with the patience to do this with each individual
piece of it, you can get a serious advantage in the equipment department very
early in the game. At this point, I honestly and seriously do consider this
tactic to be cheating, and limit myself to going and having all of my ore
processed before looking at all of the results and determining whether or not I
want to keep it all.
The final application of this trick applies to looting carcasses. Granted,
most caracasses are barely even worth the effort to try this with, but when you
consider that the best items in the game are available almost exclusively from
the bodies of slain dragons, this suddenly becomes a very interesting prospect.
Of course, if you're going dragon hunting, you're also advised to check out the
next section (XXI.C.) below, as it also deals with this very subject.
With that out of the way, let's move on to some of the quick and easy ways
to make yourself lots of money. Your options in the early game are fairly
limited, unfortunately, but Alchemy is still a fairly good way to turn a
profit. Consider that 3 gold's worth of ingredients can be mixed by someone
with the Alchemy skill into a complex potion that can be sold for a bit more,
and you at least have a way of making a tad bit of money early on. It's not
much, but early on, it's all you've got. Complex potions are a step up, so if
you're interested, you might make it a point to become an Alchemy expert as
soon as you can (if you can, that is). Even better is the ability to mix white
and black potions, as their values are 750 and 2000 gold a pop, respectively,
which isn't bad given that they all cost around 10 to 20 gold to make, assuming
you buy the ingredients and use the cheapest ones available.
More effective ways of increasing your wealth involve either a grandmaster
skill in the Merchant skill, the master-level Water spell Enchant Item, or
both. In the event of both, you're dead set, and need never worry about money
ever again. Hell, even with just the grandmaster Merchant skill alone, odds
are you're not going to have much financial worries from here on out, but I
digress. If you ever find yourself in need of money, simply buy something,
enchant it, and sell it back to the shop at a profit- simple as that.
Grandmastered versions of the Fire Aura or Vampiric Weapon spells also work,
but only with weapons. However, even without grandmastery of the Merchant
skill, you can still turn over a nice profit by enchanting everything you sell
beforehand. Of course, you should take care to carefully read the directions
of the Enchant Item spell before you use it so you don't accidentally end up
breaking whatever you were trying to enchant. And if you're really greedy,
you can try the save/reload trick I mentioned earlier in this section until
you end up with the really good, pricey enchantments (namely the "antique"
enchantment, which multiplies the item's value by 10).
And lastly, the quickest and easiest way to make money in this game is, for
all practical purposes, cheating. This trick is only available to players on
the path of light, and concerns the Archmage promotion quest. You may or may
not have noticed that the object you are instructed to retrieve is also an item
which can be sold for lots of cash money. And for as long as it remains a
quest item (read: before you hand it over to Thomas Grey), you can keep getting
replacements from Judge Fairweather if you somehow lose (sell) it. Hell, you
can go inside, get one, toss it on the ground outside, then go back in for
another. Stockpiling lots of Divine Intervention books will lead you, the
player, to large cash rewards, but I think the question that is on everyone's
minds right now is how is it that Mr. Fairweather have a virtually infinite
supply of a long-lost artifact that you went to great risk to rediscover after
eons of it being away from its rightful owners?
Yet another fun bug in the game to exploit, and again one I am very guilty
of exploiting is the infamous "multi-loot" bug. This refers to the fact that
sometimes when you loot the bodies of fallen dragons, they sometimes don't
disappear, meaning that whatever you just got was an added bonus in addition to
whatever you eventually end up getting from the dragon. The bug works
infinitely, but like I said, it doesn't always happen. Assuming you're using
the "save-reload" trick I discussed in the section above (XXI.B.), simply save
your game after multi-looting and continue on as if nothing had just happened.
I'd still advise you to stop whenever you loot something that you really want,
and just accept anything you might have gotten as a result of multi-looting as
a nice bonus. If you loot something that you find you could really use, don't
let your greed allow you to give it up merely for the sake of continuing to
multi-loot, as that's a very good way to pass up on some kick-ass treasure. I
mean, if it's Wormthrax, I might understand your hesitancy, as it's the last
dragon you'll see until later in the game, and you want to maximize your
profits from him. However, if it's later in the game, then it's no contest;
there's plenty of dragons abound for you to kill in the name of treasure, so
tally ho!
And lastly, the deadliest glitch in Might & Magic VII's arsenal. It
involves, as you might have guessed, blasters. If you thought they were fast
before, you ain't seen nothing yet. You'll need a pretty damn high skill in
Armsmastery, meaning you'll either need a Knight or at least a piece of
equipment with a strong "Of Arms" enchantment on it. Unfortunately, I do not
know the exact number this has to be, so if anyone can give me any information
concerning that, I'd much appreciate it. Anyways, what you're after is the
Armsmaster bonus to weapon recovery time. You'll also need a Dagger expertise
of at least expert, or a Sword expertise of at least master. With a blaster in
your main hand, another weapon in your off hand, and the appropriate skill in
Armsmastery, the game gets confused and slices your recovery time on down to 0.
In case you haven't already guessed, that pretty much equals a nasty beam of
death emanating from your party at all times. Ouch.
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Have you played through Might & Magic VII more times than you can count?
Looking for new ways to spice up the game you think you've mastered inside and
out? Well, if you've answered at least "maybe" to these questions, then this
section is for you, my friend! In this section, I will discuss a number of
things one might do to add challenge to the game, ranging from simple rules and
handicaps, to the most extreme challenges thinkable for all you hardcore vets
out there. Let's get started, shall we?
First and foremost, you'll notice that a great deal of the game's challenges
lie within the party you choose to guide you to victory. I talk in great
detail about party creation in section I.K. of the FAQ, and in there I mention
the concept of a party created with the sole intention of a good challenge in
mind. Challenge teams are not limited to the two I mentioned there, but they
are the two more popular ones, at any rate (and in the grand scheme of things,
probably the least challenging). If you really wanna bust your chops, try an
all-Ranger team. The possibilities are, well, virtually limitless. So go with
whatever strikes your fancy. And keep reading.
Most of adding challenge to the game, aside from the afformentioned team
issue, more or less involves rules the player establishes for themselves.
Basically, you play the game in such a way as to make it more challenging.
This takes a certain amount of self-discipline, as you might expect. For
example, one of my personal favorite vet rules is that I won't use any
unidentified equipment. Now, I know I certainly can, but it's just one of
the things I do to add challenge to the game. Other things I do include
avoiding things that make the game way too easy. Which, again, takes some
amount of restraint. But hey, I assume we're all here because we wanted a
good challenge, am I right? Let's move on.
There are a lot of things in the game that are, well, let's not kid
oursleves, completely cheap shots. The hardened vet might consider avoiding
some or all of these things for the sake of a decent challenge. For starters,
just about everything I mention in section XXI. of the FAQ falls into this
category. If I'm not on drugs, then Lloyd's Beacon (or at least absuing it)
does, as well. If I am on drugs, throw in Divine Intervention and Souldrinker,
too. Grandmaster Regeneration is a damn cheap shot in my book, also, but
assuming you've already got a party on your hands consisting entirely of low-HP
classes, then in the grand scheme of things, it ain't that bad, I guess.
The cheap shots that don't involve magic spells all pretty much involve
skill points. The major no-no is abuse of the wishing well at Eeofol, where
enough patience and lots of saving and reloading can ultimately net you enough
skill points to mow down an army of titans in .03 seconds. Not as bad as that,
but still bad to varying degrees involve other various methods of earning lots
of skill points. The genie lamps, used at the proper date(s), are worth a
hefty 8 skill points each, and a decent alchemist won't have much problem
tracking down and easily winning all of the various contests, tests, and
challenges. The horseshoes are a gray area here. The skill point bonus from
them isn't significant enough to be considered cheap, per se, but is still is
kinda cheap to start off the game by travelling to each region and picking all
of the horseshoes up.
One last cheap shot I really wanna talk about (before we get into the good
stuff, that is) is the exploitation of the various ore located throughout the
land. I made specific note of this in section XXI.B., but it couldn't hurt
to mention it again. There is almost nothing cheaper, in my opinion, than
collecting all of the Eurodine-laced ore from Deyja, Tatalia, and Bracada
extremely early in the game and using it to gain a severe drop in the
equipment department nearly right off the bat. That being said, there's
still plenty of good stuff one might still not hesitate to legitimately
locate ASAP, such as the Faerie Ring, the Ghost Ring, the bows from the
Tularean Forest, and the powerful equipment sold in places such as Avlee and
Stone City. That isn't really cheap so much as it is good planning.
And last but not least, the challenges for the truly hardcore. The first
challenge I'll mention is the solo game. That is, as you might expect,
traveling through the game with only one character, killing off the other
three at the outset of the game and never reviving them. A less-challenging
variant of this game would be to travel with just two characters, but there's
probably not much point in going for a three-character game, seeing as by that
point most of the challenge is gone. I digress, however. If you are going to
attempt a solo game, the one thing you must put some serious consideration into
is the character class you will be using. Each class has their own advantages
and disadvantages in a solo game. Druids can hold their own in the magic
department fairly well, but the floor will get mopped with them in the physical
department. Knights, conversely, have a tough time what with their total lack
of magical abilities. Thieves have the advantage of possessing a lot of the
skills either necessary or extremely useful to have while playing through the
game, and seem like the kind of class that should be traveling alone, anyways.
That being said, no matter what class you choose, you're going to have a lot of
weaknesses to compensate for throughout the game. Whether you be Sorcerer or
Monk, odds are you're going to find yourself scouting out hirelings to make up
for the skills you lack, so be sure to take full advantage of them. Any and
all physical classes should make heavy use of potions, scrolls, and wands, with
a very strong emphasis placed on potions. Of all the physical classes, the
Thief gets the nod here for their ability to create compound potions for
themselves, the effects of which you should know mimic a variety of useful
expert-level magic spells. And seeing as creating potions for one is a lot
easier than for four, it's almost as if the entire potion list was created with
a Thief solo game in mind.
Another big challenge involves a four-character party, but completing the
game with them at level 1. Contrary to what I said above, Horseshoes and Genie
Lamps, along with contests and the like may very well be your only salvation in
a game like this. The wishing well at Eeofol is also something you might want
to strongly consider using. Extremely low HP and MP maxes are yet another
outstanding issue to worry about. Having at least one Sorcerer amongst your
ranks with the Lloyd's Beacon spell, while in my opinion one of the cheapest
shots in the entire game, is probably something almost necessitated in this
situation. You'll probably get a nice score if you don't take a gazillion
years to finish the game like this, but if it's a high score you're interested
in, keep on reading.
The final major challenge is a speed game, or a score game. The two are
closely related, given that your time is a major factor in your final score
(the other factor being your characters' fame). Basically, the formula for
calculating your final score is your fame (visible from the quick info window
that pops up when you press Z) divided by time. The majority of your fame
comes from completing quests, with just a little bit of it coming from
defeating powerful monsters. And seeing as just about everyone and their dogs
who are reading this section can acquire lots of fame from completing all the
quests, the only real way to increase your score is to decrease the amount of
time it takes you to play through the game. While you can't expect to have
very high levels at all, this challenge does differ from the level 1 hero
challenge in that with a speed game, you're probably going to want to find time
to level up at least a little bit. A good opportunity for this involves the
mandatory four months spent dealing with the Elf-Human War. Now, I mean, don't
get me wrong, it may very well be possible to pull off a speed game at level 1,
it's just that I've never known anyone crazy enough to try it, and it more than
likely involves heavy abuse of the wishing well at Eeofol.
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Here's a nifty little piece of software, created by the one and only
St0rmcat. With this, you can open, examine, and alter the game's save files as
you wish. You may also use it to view and/or extract the various audio and art
files from the game, though you are sadly inable to use it to view the video
files. As for the background music, those are easily accessible as audio
tracks on the Might & Magic VII play CD, so you don't need a game editor to
listen to those, anyways.
First and foremost, of course, you must acquire the editor. I just happen
to host St0rmcat's Might & Magic VII Editor on my website, and you can download
it at my website. Check the end of the FAQ for a link to my website. From
there, follow the link to my FAQ page where you can download an uncensored
version of this FAQ, along with the editor.
Anyways, once you've got the editor, the instructions contained within are
fairly self-explanatory. Even if you aren't using it for the purposes of
cheating, there are still a gazillion things you can do with it. Granted, if
you plan on using it to cheat, you don't need my suggestions of advice, so dig
right in. You can use this editor for all sorts of game-related things, some
of which don't necessarily have to be cheating. If you accidentally spend
some skill points in the wrong area, for example, you can go edit things to
the way you want them to be. Or change an ugly Peasant Hat to a beautiful
Regal Crown. Or replace a hideously ugly NPC Hireling with a photo of a more
eye-appealing one (though you might want to create a backup copy of the pics
you're replacing so you can put things back the way they were when you're done
or if you fire the hireling later). The possibilities are endless.
Explorarion of the game files alone is a fun function of the editor. There
are so many interesting things to be seen within the various game files. You
can view and export many of the game's files for personal use (I personally
have a few of the game's art fiels I like using as wallpaper), and you can
even check out the many things that are in the game's programming, but for
some reason or another didn't make it into the actual game. Might & Magic VII
got a lot of crap for using the same engine as its predecessor, Might & Magic
VI. Well, if you look close enough, you'll find that it's not just the engine
from Might & Magic VI this game was based on- it was the whole damn program.
And there's a lot of stuff from Might & Magic VI still left in there, which is
perhaps a sign of how lazy video game programmers can be sometimes.
Lastly, perhaps the most useful function this editors serves is as a
workaround to some of the glitches in this game. More specifically, the Lich
promotion quest. I mentionined when I was discussing the Lich promotion quest
that sometimes the game likes to screw up and take away your Lich Jars.
St0rmcat's Might & Magic VII Editor is a nice way to give the glitch the
finger.
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B /\ | XXIV. Game Availability & Tech Support | \/ B
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Though I felt compelled to include both of these subjects in my FAQ, please
forgive my lack of knowledge on either of them. Still, I hope that the meager
information I can provide here will be enough to help you on your way. Game
availability, especially today, is a serious issue concerning this game. As of
the publication of this FAQ, the game is no longer available in stores. It was
released originally in 1999, re-released as part of the Millennium Collection
in 2000 in a package that also included Might & Magic 4, 5, and 6, and it was
re-released one final time in a package that also included Might & Magic 6, 8,
and 9. Unfortunately, none of these seem to be around anymore, and seeing as
Might & Magic's parent company, 3DO, finally went under, I wouldn't hold my
breath waiting for another re-release. So what can a truly determined fan do?
E-Bay is probably your best bet on this one, though as a last result, feel free
to contact me on this matter, and I will help you out (my contact information
is at the bottom of this FAQ).
As far as tech support is concerned, I shall attempt to address a few of the
common issues one might experience while playing the game. By I, I mean the
Might & Magic VII guru, Klaravoyia, because there's certainly no way I could
have explained any of this shit. According to Klaravoyia, most problems in
getting Might & Magic VII to run nowadays are XP-related. The main fixes that
we've been using for years are usually what works, though. In the game
configuration, disable 3D accelerated audio, even if you have no speakers (as
the software for it is still in your computer). If that doesn't work, what
usually will work is changing from hardware mode to software mode. And in all
honesty, you're not missing much in either event. The 3D accelerated audio
isn't much to witness, and the hardware mode produces several strange effects
without showing much improvement at all.
As a last resort, you can right-click the shortcut to Might & Magic VII,
either on your desktop or startup menu, and click on the "compatibility" tab.
There, you can instruct the game to run in compatibility mode for various
former incarnations of Windows. According to Klaravoyia, the best option to
choose for compatibility is "Windows 98/ME".
Another issue I would like to address is the ability to play Might & Magic
VII in a window. It's nice to do, as it allows you to multitask as well as
looking far much better due to it's small size (you never quite realize how
pixelated the game is in full screen mode until you've seen it in a window).
However, a lot of people (myself included) have experienced problems in getting
the game to run in a window. I've discovered two major things that must be
done in order for it to work. First of all, assuming you're playing on a
system with Windows XP, you must be running in compatibility mode, as I mention
above. Secondly, you must be running in 16-bit color. A common mistake people
make is synonmizing "16-bit" with "16-bit or higher". This is not true. Might
& Magic VII cannot be run in a window under 24-bit or 32-bit color- you must be
running in 16-bit, period.
Lastly, one quick in-game issue I'd like to deal with is the turn rate.
Sometimes, players complain that their characters turn at a vomit-inducingly
high rate. This can be remedied quickly and painlessly by pressing escape to
go to the options menu, going to "configuration", and setting the turn rate to
"smooth". I'm not quite sure why 32x or 16x exist, as both of them seem to
make you turn at the speed of sound and light, respectively. I can only
imagine that in 1999, there were some machines that were actually so slow that
those were considered to be relatively decent turn rates. Overall, it really
makes you appreciate the technology we have today... sort of.
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B /\ | | \/ B
T \ * ~Version Info, Credits, & Contact Information~ * \ T
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Well, I hope you all enjoyed version 1.1 of my Might & Magic VII FAQ. For
this version, I have finished up section I. of the FAQ, put up section XVII.
(though a lot of the commentary for it isn't done yet), and I also gave
sections XXII. and XXIII. much-needed overhauls. It'll be awhile before I
start work on my next update, what with pressing issues and all in my life,
but when I do, my main goal is to get section II. done. I'd also like to get
more of the commentary in section XVII. done, as well as whatever else I can
get done. Until then, as always, any and all feedback from you, the reader,
would be greatly appreciated, so feel free to contact me (see below for my
contact information).
Of course, I have a lot of people to thank for helping to make this FAQ all
it could be. For all their help, love, and support along the way, I would
like to thank: Brian P. Sulpher, Privateer, Herry Hardfoot, and the one and
only Klaravoyia. Thank you so much, you all!
I'd also like to give a very special thanks to St0rmcat. Without his/her
most kick-ass MM7 Viewer, I can safely say that the majority of this FAQ
would not have been possible. Check it out.
And lastly, I'd like to send a shout out over to all the folks over at
TELP (The Erathian Liberation Party) for keeping this great game alive in
their hearts. If anyone ever has any questions that can't be answered in
this FAQ, these guys are the ones to go to. Visit them at:
How would you like a Word version of this guide? In addition to being
completely uncensored (the "too hot for GameFAQ's" version, if you will), the
Word version is formatted ten times better than this text crap could ever hope
to be, and as an additional bonus it is extra formatted to look nice and
pretty when printed out. My site is at:
My name is Chad Steele (AKA "BTB"). Those wishing to reach me may do so
via E-Mail, at BTB_Enterprises@Ev1.net, on AIM (screen name: Billy T Bum), or
by telepathy. Feel free to write me with praise, comments, suggestions,
gripes, insults, death-threats, and marriage proposals. On second thought,
the marriage proposals might (will) piss my fiancee' off. Death threats are
still ok, though.
Oh, yeah? That whole legal thing? I encourage the spreading around of my
guide, so long as I get credit for it and you don't change it in any way. And
if you want to host it on your site, I'm all for it. Just please let me know
first. Failiure to inform me that you will be taking my guide is grounds for
an ass-kicking, so save my foot the hassle and inconvenience of kicking your
ass and take heed of my advice. Thank you.
