Having gotten through my little explainer it is now time to head out for the hill and the tower in the distance. About halfway across the plains I ran into a pack of 4 dire wolves and their Alpha. Ouch.

Dire Steppe Wolf LV 10 800 EXP

Hp 200 STR 8 DEX 8 CON 8 MOV 50/s

Skills: Slash: 25 damage | Bite: 40 damage

Alpha Dire Steppe Wolf LV 12 1000 EXP

Hp 700 STR 8 DEX 8 CON 8 MOV 40/s

Skills: Slash: 40 damage | Bite: 50 damage

Narrator: Level: 8 Health 290[Rec 1.2/s] Mana 555[Rec 15/s]

I open with an advanced version of my standard plan. I cast Extend, then Arcane Vigor. This costs me 40 mana. Then I cast Quicken. This gains me a 25%*1.5x=37.5%+20%+20%=77.5% boost on my 5s base + 2.5s skill point boosted Haste. This costs me 40*1.5=60 Mana. -100 Mana overall.

Haste(Extended, Vigorous, Longevity) 13.3125s

Then I cast Boost for the damage benefits. Then I cast Arcane Stupefaction for 1.775*(8+1.5) with full duration bonuses, in Phase 2, with 3 skill points of duration. 2 seconds of casting thanks to Haste. The Stun spell costs me 60+1.5=90 mana. -190 mana overall.

Now the wolves were going to hit me fast so I had to be smart. I had Boost up which meant that my Arcane Missile would hit for 140 damage. I had 10% damage mitigation and 290 health. So roughly 319 health. Casting one Boosted Arcane Missile and one regular one would allow me to kill a wolf every 2 seconds. Therefore I made the obvious choice. A second Arcane Stupefaction would put one of the wolves out of commision till I dealt with the others, costing me 1 second.

However, I did have Lockdown. A rare multi target aoe spell. With Extended and Vigrous and Longevity up and a 4 second duration I would be able to contain all the wolves for 7.9 seconds. Not amazing but then it had no skill points and no Phase Boost to power it. At least it was cheap. Then I cast 3 unboosted Arcane Stupefaction spells. 3 wolves down for 11.4 seconds. 180 mana + 60 mana for lockdown was 240+190=430 Mana. I had 125 left.

However with recovery of 15 * 8s = 120+125=245 mana. I had boost for 3 spells so in 4 seconds I killed 2 wolves for 70+70 mana for Arcane Missile boosted, and I ended up casting Splash twice for 25+25, which hit all 4 wolves for 60 damage. I cast them in an order to make sure Splash hit for 25+25+5+5+5+5 or 60 each. I now had two wolves under Stupefaction for 7.4 more seconds and 2 dead.

I had spend 4 seconds so I gained 60 mana. I spent 170 so I had 75+60=135. Splash ticked for 3 more seconds for 15 each. So 50 damage. During that time I cast 2 unpowered Arcane Missiles for 80 each. 200-80-75=45 which another splash would deal before Stupefaction cleared. That left only the Alpha, who would be an issue. 135-25-40-40+45=70 mana. The Alpha was still under a 16.8625 or basically 17 second stun - casting times. I had to figure out what to do.

LD/AS/AS/AS/Spl/AM/AM/Spl/AM/AM/Spl. 11 seconds for 11 spells. Haste was just about to clear so I had to cast again, unboosted. 12 more seconds of haste. 12 seconds. So 5 seconds left on Stupefaction. -40+15 mana equals 45 left. I'd recover 75 before my stun wore off. I cast Envenom unboosted for 25 mana. I needed to deal 700 damage and that was 96. -25+10 so 45-15=30 mana. 4 seconds on stun. I cast Infect. 1.2*1.2*10=14 seconds of 5 damage. 70+96=166. I needed to deal 534 more damage. 30-10=20 mana. 3 seconds left.

I had to wait that long to recover my mana and cast unboosted Arcane Stupefaction 60 of 65 mana right before the Alpha got to me. 10.2 seconds. Basically every time I cast Arcane Stupefaction I recovered 150 mana. So I could cast 90 mana worth of spells each time. Arcane Missile for 80*2 and I had 15 mana left after using 80. Wait it out, this time I could cast Splash again. 320+50=164. Next cycle and I had won. So tedious but scary at the same time since I wasn't initially sure I'd get all the pack members in time.

3200*1.2 for level diff = 3840

1000*1.4 for level diff = 1400

I had made the 5000 exp I needed. Counting trash on the plains? 1000 overflow.

+5240exp (26600/25600) (1000/51200) Lvl Up!!! Lvl 9!!!!

You have gained 25HP, 30MP, and 2 stat points!

You have gained 2 skill points + 1 selection point + 1 magic point(bonus)!

315 Health | 585 Mana

I was annoyed at my stun performance so I boosted Arcane Stupefaction with 2 more skill points. Technically I could add 5 more but I wasn't sure. I definitely decided I wanted to drop an ability point next level on Skilled, for the 5 extra skill points. Stat points ended up going to INT. I needed that sweet mana per level boost. Figured I'd do it for 5 levels. +2+4+6+8+10. 30 more mana and then 10 more every level. Yes please.

I now had a solid 4 selection points waiting for use. Not bad. 3 more levels and I could pick a Phase 2 Miasma skill. Luckily this quest was great for leveling.

So I needed about 50000 exp to hit my next level. That essentially means that I have to wade through a lot of trash or get lucky on quest exp or fight still a large number of tough fights. I know that I can win 5000exp battles. In cases where a few of the enemy wolves are too spread out for Lockdown I have 350EHP. So I could basically engage in the same fight as before but focus on the wolves who dodge Lockdown first so I only take 4 or 5 hits. Still something close to half my health but not really fatal. I could also not cast Lockdown at all and simply cast Stupefaction. That would save me 1 second and 40 mana and I'd take roughly 6 hits.

I end up griding some fights on on the plain because I really want to level up. Level 10 is a good level. 1 Ability will allow me to gain 2.5 levels of skill points. Now, because I only gain 1 or 2 Ability points every 5 levels it is annoying limited. I want to get Skilled, Historian, and Geographer for the capital but likely I'll have to pick up Geographer later. I also want Identify. Quite a pain. I would like to get Tricaster and Thoughtcaster from my Template Ability options but that will take a while if ever.

Skilled is key for now. I need to boost a lot of skills but I don't get a ton of skill points and I don't want to grind levels. Overleveling is slow compared to staying on the razor's edge and I only have 8 months of fun. After the reset I'll be playing the public release and while my NDA'd knowledge will be a big leg up I'll have to waste time on at least one Basic and like one Uncommon template just like everyone else before I get to the good stuff. Still 1 level before I head into the Tower of Wizardry won't hurt.

I take down a couple very strong solo monsters but Arcane Stupefaction abuse is very effective. One amazing thing about having Tier 1 and Tier 2 disables early is that most enemies lack good resistances. Even a 40% resistance is nothing against a Tier 2 Phase 2 disable with a large skillpoint investment when you are fighting one on one. In any case I crack level 10 with 2000 EXP to spare. Luckily for me levels take only 50% more exp after level 10. Faster levels woo!

+4000exp (53200/51200) (2000/76800) Lvl Up!!! Lvl 10!!!!

You have gained 25HP, 32MP, and 2 stat points!

You have gained 2 skill points + 1 selection point + 1 magic point(bonus) + 1 ability point!

340 Health | 617 Mana

Another 2 stats into INT. More mana and helps if I run into a situation where I actually have to deal with high WIS or resistances. I take Skilled. Boom, 7 skill points. I drop 3 into Stupefaction. Don't judge me. 12 total duration. 4 from skill points and 3 from Phase added on to 5 base. 13 is an unlucky number so I'll wait till the next Phase Boost to max it out. I drop 4 points into Arcane Missile to max it out. 100 base damage. Amazing. Obviously another 2 Selection points going into saving for a Phase boost. I could of course level Illusion and pick a spell but I can't think of what would be worth it at the moment.

Here we are. At the door of the tower who will reveal to us amazing secrets. Also we will learned to look down upon the developers and their creativity. Inside the tower door is the beginning of a long stairway. I trudge up to the top thinking I might find a dead Mage of some obscure Template. Nope. A large set of door separating me from most of the crown of the tower. I hear howls inside when I touch it. Oh shit. Not wolves!

I immediately cast Extend and Arcane Vigor and then Haste. 14.85 seconds of Haste. 60+60 mana. 497 remains. +45 for the casting time, so 543. Gotta love mana recovery. Maybe I should boost Wisdom and not Intelligence. The door slams open to reveal a lab that has been shaken down and ripped apart. And 3 werewolves. Wtf. Why...

I immediately cast Lockdown unboosted. I didn't end up using any skillpoints. I had 4.8 seconds with Longevity. -25 mana after recovery. 518. I missed one. Shit. Arcane Stupefaction. 90 mana down +15, so 75 = 443.

Lycanthrope LV 15 2000 EXP

Hp 1000 STR 50 DEX 10 CON 100 MOV 40/s

Skills: Slash: 70 damage | Smash: 85 damage | Rage: 20% PHY DMG MIT & 40% MAG DMG MIT

This wasn't that bad. No messing with my duration time. Lot of damage though. 4-5 hits and I was toast. Thank god I didn't deal any physical damage. I threw down Boost while sort of wishing I had spent my skillpoints on Miasma and not Arcane Missile. It would take roughly 18 Arcane Missiles to take them all down under Boost. That was roughly 1260 mana. Ouch. 840 mana for 2. I had 518. I would gain 20 mana per Lockdown as it turns out so I could sort of starve them out if I had to.

Arcane Missile was immune to magical damage mitigation which was lucky for me. A mage dealing normal damage even if they were using something like fire that was boosted would be in real trouble. Mitigation was multiplicative, not adative. Fire dealing +50% meaning 150% would be penalized with a 0.6x multiplier because of the 40% mitigation. 90% damage overall. None bonused damage, like Miasma for instance, would be dealing 60% damage. Yikes. With full duration boosting I got 1.2*1.2*1.375=1.98x or 2x duration on Arcane Stupefaction.

As we noted previously my base duration was a whopping 12 and these guys had no reduction. Still 60 for 3 spells meaning 20+60*1.5 was 110 mana a pop for the stun. Keeping up 3 stuns meant 330 mana every 24 seconds. I recovered 360. So this was a bit of an issue. If the Lycanthropes had renegeration or something my damage with 30 mana to spare would not be amazing and I'd burn 4 seconds a cycle casting.

In any case I was down to 3.8 seconds of Lockdown. I cast 3 Arcane Missiles for 210-45=165. 443-165=278 remaining mana. Lockdown, -25. Boost. -165. 3 Arcane Missiles. And then there were 2. I had 88 mana. I had one more charge of Vigor and Extend. Unboosted Lockdown. -25. 63 mana. Wait it out. 4.8*5=24. I had 223 mana and Lockdown at 4.8 seconds. I cast 2 unboosted Arcane Stupefactions. 14.4 and 13.4 seconds. +30-60-60+223=133 mana.

I cast Haste. 15 seconds of Haste for 60 mana. +15. 88 mana remaining. Forgot a Haste so actually 48. In any case 2 seconds later, Arcane Missile. 13 seconds of Haste, 11.4 and 12.4 of Stun. I need to cast a Haste and 2 Stuns every 14 seconds. No more Boost charges. Caste Boost. Caste Extend. Caste Haste when Haste ends since it only take 1s.

Essentially my spells are synced duration wise. 60 mana + 60 mana + 60 mana every 14 seconds. I slowly grind down the Lycanthropes gaining 30 mana a cycle. I take a couple hits to save mana. Gets me an extra Arcane Missile saving me a cycle. Worth it. Basically 7 cycles laters and its over.

2000*1.5 level diff modifier*3 enemies=9000. Not actually a ton of EXP here putting me at 11000 of 76800. Almost exactly a 7th of the way there. In any case I dig around their bodies and grab some nice loot, mostly gold wise since I don't have a Crafting Template. I find some papers and documents and items and some runes with Perception. Arcana and Linguist reveals what is written on the runes and documents. Lycanthropes? Vampire masters? Oh great, some dev is an Underwold geek.

I trigger a quest objective and a quest update. Vampires abducted the resident of the tower for some research and a sacrifice. I get a ping for completing part of the chain and score 25800 exp. 40000 to go. I score a Selection point and an Ability point as well. I will now be able to select an extra spell from Miasma Phase 2 a level early. Woohoo! I pick up Historian. Identify is a ways away from being truly useful and my Template Abilities can only be recovered by special free points from a new Template.

I'll need 2 Templates or a new Unique Template to get both. I'll go ahead and spoil the fact that I do not get a new Unique Template before I get my abilities. In fact I get a Legendary and then an Extraordinary Template before my next Unique one, both results of quest chains that break off of this one. One pretty soon after I get to the capital and a second one later on.

I locate a rare mana ring which I loot. Woohoo, 100 more mana. That is going to be a big deal. It's not worth it to slog back to the guild to sell and buy and I don't think I'll get any quest help. I head off to the location on the papers. I can see a castle high in the mountains. What a clusterfuck. As a mage focusing on Control I hate fighting sentients and possible ranged casters. Shit.

I grind through a bunch more fights, nothing quite as bad as the wolfmen, on my way into the mountains and crack the next level. Nice. One nice thing about the exp rate slowing down is the amount available doesn't stop increasing as fast, especially with quests involved and being a Unique+ Template helps me keep scooping up bonus exp for punching above my weight. Gotta love level based bonuses when level is not super definitive as far as power level.

+4000exp (78800/76800) (2000/115200) Lvl Up!!! Lvl 11!!!!

You have gained 25HP, 34MP, and 2 stat points!

You have gained 2 skill points + 1 selection point + 1 magic point(bonus)!

365 Health | 751 Mana

I plow my stats into INT as planned. On top of the mana ring I'm doing great. I could have bought something similar in town so the ring isn't really OP or anything. 2 more Selection points. This puts me at a total of 9 points meaning I'll get to Phase Boost Miasma in one more level. All this shit in swamps and towers and now a vampire castle? Blech? Gross. First fumes and smogs, then dirty diseased wolves, soon the nastiness that comes from Vampires. Dark and Blood magic and possibly other naster stuff.

I mean yeah I have a Tier 1 Free Talent devoted to disease, rot, darkness, poison, acid/venom, etc, but still. Why can't I slaughter corrupt knights or something? In any case my journey up into the high passes and to the Vampire keep will have to wait for tomorrow. Some of my old friends are holding a throwback cardgame tournament. Magic: The Gathering obviously. Also some less serious games. There was a card game about magic school based on an old children's novel. No it is not mature and adult in later books. Stans are the worst. If anything it was less complex thematically than something like Narnia. See you after the fun dies down.