Mazzarin • Paladin • Electromancer • Pyromancer
Ranger / Archer • Forest Giant • Mortar Dwarf • Pathfinder Dwarf • Strider Dwarf
Demolition Dwarf • Heron Guard • Berserker • Squire
Mazzarin’s Spells & Artifacts
Fittingly, MAZZARIN is the most powerful and important of the player units. While Mazzarin doesn’t level-up, his potency as a sorcerer increases as he accumulates a variety of different spells by finding scintillating prismatic crystal artifacts which are dropped by slain enemies. The following is a basic guide to what these spells do.
| Attraction | | Creates a gravity well around an enemy unit, turning it into a high powered magnet for damaging debris as well as disrupting any missile attacks. Few enemies can survive its effect for long if they’re in an area with a lot of debris on the ground.
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| Aura of Command | | A finite timed duration spell that has several effects. It allows any nearby friendly units to attack at an increased rate while slowing down the attacks (and ruining missile accuracy) of most nearby monsters. It also grants Mazzarin minor bonuses to movement speed, damage resistance and melee attack damage.
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| Aura of Defense | | One of the two inventory spells Mazzarin starts with, it has a finite timed duration. While active, it greatly increases Mazzarin’s resistance to damage and increases his melee attack damage, however, it also slows his movement rate and attack speed and reduces his vision range. This spell may be found again as a crystal, but it is very rare.
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| Aura of Speed | | Another of the two inventory spells Mazzarin starts with, it too has a finite timed duration. While active it greatly increases Mazzarin’s movement rate and slightly increases his attack speed, however, it decreases his resistance to damage and makes him vulnerable to confusion. This spell may be found again as a crystal, but it is very rare.
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| Blade Torrent | | Creates an intense spray of sharp blades, turning Mazzarin into a fire hose of razors. Unlike most of Mazzarin’s other spells, this attack is automatic when selected in inventory and does not require hitting the special key (t).
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| Blink | | Another finite timed duration spell, it allows Mazzarin to make mini-teleports instead of walking, giving him the ability to travel or escape very quickly.
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| Concussion | | Creates a series of explosions in a straight line that can also confuse any enemies it doesn’t outright kill. It will pass through non-targeted units, so it is best to target the rear most enemy in a long file of monsters.
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| Death Bolt | | Conjures a powerful long range lightning bolt.
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| Dispersal | | Creates a powerful explosion that will repeat and bounce to adjacent units. Unlike the classic Myth spell it is based upon, there is a chance of it triggering multiple simultaneous dispersal explosions the longer it is active. This is the only spell Mazzarin uses ammunition instead of crystals and he starts with between 1 to 4, depending on difficulty setting. More ammo can be found in the form of small gold globes.
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| Eldritch Lance | | Fires a magical spear that damages a single target, imparting more damage the further it travels. It is capable of devastating even powerful foes at extreme range. However, it will not “lead” targets, so one must CTRL-click on the ground at the anticipated location of any targets which are traveling in a perpendicular line to the Lance.
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| Enslave Dragon | | Charms a dragon into complete submission, putting it under the control of Mazzarin.
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| Flame Bloom | | A more powerful version of the Pyromancer’s Fire Swarm spell. It unleashes a spray of small fireballs in a fan that multiply as they travel outwards.
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| Flame Barrier | | A more powerful version of the Pyromancer’s Fire Wall spell in that it has a much longer duration.
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| Frost Ward | | This spell will temporarily encircle the caster’s choice of either a friendly or enemy unit with a ring of paralysis. It is unique in that the area of effect does not include the center, so It does not paralyze the target unit or any other unit directly adjacent to the target, but only creatures that come into contact with the outside of the ring.
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| Iron Golem | | Summons a mindless metal automaton that will pursue enemies until it is destroyed. It has a powerful hammer attack that can also damage nearby friendly units, so it is best to allow the golem to fight on its own. It can be healed or regenerated.
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| Lightning Storm | | Identical to the Electromancer spell of the same name, it creates a temporary cloud above the target that strikes down at both friends and foes alike — damaging enemies and restoring health to teammates.
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| Lightning Sword | | Creates a chain-lightning effect from Mazzarin’s melee attack. It will also restore a tiny bit of health to Mazzarin each time he strikes an enemy with it, making him nearly unstoppable while this artifact is active. However, the damaging lightning can also spread to any nearby friendly units. Unlike most of Mazzarin’s other spells, this attack is automatic and does not require hitting the special key (t).
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| Meteor | | Calls down a meteor from the heavens that does massive damage with a direct hit and moderate damage in a wide area around it. Precise timing and CTRL-clicking on the ground ahead of a unit are required to score a direct hit.
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| Nova | | Creates a powerful slowly expanding explosion centered on Mazzarin that can also confuse victims it doesn’t outright kill. Avoid using it too close to friendly units.
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| Rift | | Opens an unstable dimensional rift on the ground that will violently erupt with tremendous magical force when disturbed by any energy damage. It grows in power, so if left undisturbed long enough, it can unleash an unrivaled amount of damage in a very large area. Extreme caution is advised to stay well away from an active rift in case it should be accidently detonated at the wrong time.
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| Seversect | | Conjures a cluster of buzz-saw like creatures from another dimension. Each seversect is ultra sharp and can cut through most units instantly. The seversects move around randomly and sometimes very quickly before expiring and are equally deadly to player units as to enemies. Use with caution. This spell can be cast at extremely far range, which is usually the safest idea. It can not be cast directly on many monsters, so CTRL-clicking it on the ground is typically required.
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| Shards | | Instantly conjures a violent spray of magical shrapnel that damages a single target.
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| Sphere of Annihilation | | Summons a bouncing sphere from another dimension that does massive damage to any unit it touches. It has a long duration and will bounce around the map for some time, killing almost anything unlucky enough to fall in its path. Though it typically doesn’t stop moving unless stuck in the ground, it’s also very heavy and tends to stay in low lying terrain — so it’s best to head for higher ground when a sphere is active.
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| Telekinesis | | A very useful spell for moving distant artifacts on the map closer to the unit that needs them. To use, CTRL-click on the ground very close to the artifact on the side you want the artifact to travel. Some items are heavier or lighter than others, so you may need to experiment. Telekinesis can also be useful for moving debris into an enemy, dealing them damage.
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| Vengeance | | Similar to Dispersal, however it alternates with explosive damage and damage that heals friendly units and hurts enemies. A risky — though often life-saving — spell to use when Mazzarin’s allies are completely overrun.
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| Void | | Creates an area full of strange mystical energy that will temporarily stop time for any units in its radius at the moment of casting.
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Paladin’s Spells & Artifacts
THE PALADIN is the backbone of the player units and although he rarely scores as many kills as many of the other units, he is easily the second most important unit because of his healing abilities. Like Mazzarin, the Paladin does not level-up; instead, he can find many different white glowing crystal artifacts allowing him to cast a variety of defensive and offensive spells which are explained below.
| Bless | | Intended for casting on a friendly unit. It will restore a portion of health, but more importantly, it permanently increases the maximum health of the recipient. The extent of the permanent increase depends on the unit it is cast on. Typically, weaker units like archers or dwarves will benefit from a higher percentage increase to maximum health, but it can also grant a meaningful benefit to powerful units like Mazzarin or the Forest Giant. The Paladin can not cast Bless on himself.
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| Heal Burst | | A spell that the Paladin is always equipped with, provided he has sufficient mana to cast it. This spell conjures a swirl of magical energy spheres around the Paladin that will heal any living units, or kill any undead ones. The Paladin can regain mana by attacking and using root-based heals which will restore a tiny bit of mana as well.
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| Healing | | Requires mandrake roots for ammo. Heals wounded friendly units to nearly full health and kills many undead units. Also very useful for un-stoning petrified allies or even unparalyzing allies in an emergency. The number of roots the Paladin starts out with depends on the difficulty setting being played.
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| Holy Armor | | A timed duration artifact that grants the Paladin significant resistance to damage, causes him to do slightly more melee damage, and allows him to regain mana faster while attacking. This artifact is found in the form of a plate mail breast plate rather than a crystal.
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| Holy Cloud | | Conjures a temporary swirling magical fog around the Paladin, rapidly restoring health to friendly units and damaging enemies in its area of effect.
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| Holy Vision | | When cast, this spell extends the vision range of player units to reveal all enemies on the map. The duration of the spell is seven minutes.
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| Interventus Multifarium | | An unique spell that grants the Paladin and all his allies one of four random boons, such as adding vet points or replenishing full mana.
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| Necrobane | | A sword artifact that, for a limited timed duration, causes the Paladin’s melee attacks to do heavy damage against undead monsters and gives the Paladin a very slight damage resistance bonus.
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| Regeneration | | Envelopes a target in a temporary energy field that will slowly restore health to a friendly unit or damage an enemy. Unlike a Healing, Regeneration can restore a friendly unit to maximum health. The Paladin starts out with this spell only on Normal or higher difficulties but it can also be found as a crystal.
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| Teleheal | | Allows the Paladin to heal units at extremely long range.
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Electromancer’s Spells & Artifacts
THE ELECTROMANCER, unlike Mazzarin or the Paladin, starts out with the ability to cast all her available combat spells and does not pick up artifacts for additional spells. She does, however, gain levels through scoring enough kills. The Electromancer has four spell combination set-ups through the use of inventory which are detailed below.
INVENTORY 0: None
Mana Replenish — This spell returns a minimum amount of mana to the Electromancer by hitting the special key (t) and clicking on herself. Since the Electromancer does not regenerate mana naturally, this spell can be vital in allowing her to keep fighting with at least low mana cost attack spells. Mana Replenish is not improved when the Electromancer levels-up, however, the more vet points the Electromancer has, the faster she can cast this spell. It is also worth noting that when the Electromancer has “none” selected in inventory to access Mana Replenish, she has no offensive abilities and enters a weakened state in that she moves slower, takes more damage and has reduced vision.
INVENTORY 1: Bolt/Storm
Lightning Bolt (default) — A powerful long range spell with a medium-high mana cost. It does considerable damage to a fairly large radius, especially to lightning-susceptible creatures. Its greatest drawback is high mana cost. Range, damage, area of effect and mana cost are all improved when the Electromancer levels.
Lightning Storm (special) — This short range spell is probably the most powerful in the Electromancer’s arsenal. For a short time it conjures a white storm cloud high in the air that will repeatedly strike any unit below it with lightning. What makes it especially useful is that the damage will harm enemies and heal friendly units. Mana cost is very high for this spell, especially at first level and it also requires one ammo charge. Mana cost is drastically reduced when the Electromancer levels-up.
INVENTORY 2: Strike/Chain
Lighting Strike (default) - A basic short range spell with a low mana cost. It is the most cost-efficient spell at close quarters, particularly against lightning-susceptible creatures. Damage, range and mana cost are improved by leveling.
Chain Lightning (special) — A long range, high mana cost spell that is highly effective on large masses of weaker enemies. Because of the high mana cost and the fact that it instantly kills only weaker units, players tend to seldom Chain Lightning on tougher massed units, like Maul, despite Maul’s weakness to electricity. Using it thus, however, can effectively serve to soften a large group of tough Mauls, allowing other attacks to finish the job. Leveling improves range and mana cost.
INVENTORY 3: Missile/Web
Magic Missile (default) — A very long range, low mana cost spell often used as the Electromancer’s default spell since it allows continuous long-distance casting without drastically depleting mana. Its drawbacks are low damage and a slow velocity. The damage type is magical rather than electrical, so it is effective against enemies that are resistant to the Electromancer’s lightning spells. Range, damage and mana cost are improved by leveling.
Radiant Web (special) — A medium-range, medium mana cost spell with spectacular effects. It traps victims in a “web” of lighting, slowly damaging them for several seconds. Not only is the damage considerable but this spell has the added benefit of immobilizing victims for its duration. Range and mana cost are improved by leveling.
INVENTORY 4: Orb/Volt
Lightning Orb (default) — Casting this unique spell launches a high velocity bubble towards a target. Within the bubble are forty electrical charges that quickly fade out while the bubble remains intact. However, any charges still live within the bubble when it breaks explode with violent electrical energy. The lifespan of each individual charge is random, so the spell tends to do much more damage at short range since fewer internal charges will have had time to fade. On the other hand, due to the high velocity of this attack, it can still be useful at long range since it can reach a target much faster than Magic Missile and it costs much less mana than Lightning Bolt. Mana consumption is, indeed, fairly low considering the power of this spell and mana cost is even slightly reduced when the spell is cast at very long range. In fact, in terms of damage capability and usefulness, Lighting Orb probably gives the best value for mana. However, it has the drawback of also requiring one charge of ammo per casting, prohibiting its frequent use. Leveling reduces mana cost and increases range and also increases the average random lifespan of the internal electrical charges.
Volt (special) — This short-to-medium range spell generates an arc of lighting between the Electromancer and the target for several seconds. While this arc is intact it damages the victim as it slowly drains mana from the Electromancer. As soon as the victim is killed the arc is broken, so weaker units can be destroyed quickly with little mana usage. It is also useful against more powerful enemies since it can cause severe damage over its full duration, though the mana cost can be high. This spell actually causes explosive damage, not electrical, so it is especially useful against lightning-resistant enemies. Leveling reduces mana cost per second as well as increasing range and maximum duration.
FOUND ARTIFACTS FOR THE ELECTROMANCER:
Mana Recharger — These small blue pyramids can be picked up and contain one to nine charges, each of which will regain the Electromancer 10% of her mana. Using it requires selecting the Mana Recharger in inventory and casting in the same way as Mana Replenish described above. Also like Mana Replenish, the Electromancer will be weakened while this artifact is selected. Mana Rechargers also work for the Pyromancer and can even be shared by dropping it so the other mancer may use the remaining charges. To drop it, have it selected in inventory then hit Shift inventory key (shift-i).
Super Mana Recharger — This artifact looks and behaves the same way as regular Mana Chargers except they contain 10 to 19 charges, replenish 11% of mana, and can be cast more rapidly. They are also much rarer.
Ammunition Case - Ammunition cases appear as large gold and red staff heads. The case itself can not be picked up by the Electromancer, but must first be broken with magical or explosive damage to release a number of small glowing ammo fragments. The Electromancer requires ammo fragments to cast Storm Cloud and Lightning Orb. Note that the Pyromancer also shares the same ammo fragments for his Flame Path and Immolation spells.
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Pyromancer’s Spells & Artifacts
THE PYROMANCER is the Electromancer’s fire spell casting counterpart and most of his powers function in the same way. Refer to information on the Electromancer where relevant.
INVENTORY 0: None
Mana Replenish — This spell works is identical in use to the Electromancer’s spell of the same name detailed above.
INVENTORY 1: Stasis/Hellfire
Stasis (default) — This spell causes no damage but will freeze nearly any enemy in its tracks so long as the Pyromancer continues to concentrate on the spell. If the Pyromancer performs any other action, including flinching or getting paralyzed, the held target is released. Mana cost for this spell is on a per-second basis and varies depending on range and monster type. Lesser creatures can be held at short range for very little mana per second. At long range lesser creatures will be held for a medium amount of mana per second. More powerful creatures, typically giant-sized ones such as Dragons, can be held at up to medium range but the mana cost per second is expensive. Beholders, despite how large and powerful they are, are considered lesser creatures for the purposes of this spell. Leveling increases range and reduces mana cost.
Hellfire (special) — A long range, high mana cost spell that conjures a spectacular and devastating rain of explosive fire from which few enemies can survive a direct hit. The hellfire rain will cover a line between the Pyromancer and the target, so the farther the spell is targeted, the more area will be covered. Typically, the spell is best used on a line of enemies, targeting the rearmost creature. Range and mana cost are improved by leveling.
INVENTORY 2: Fountain/Swarm
Fire Fountain (default) — With this powerful medium-range spell the Pyromancer shoots a fireball in an arc that explodes on contact in a pillar of fire damage lasting several seconds. While Mana cost for the damage is extremely reasonable, the area of effect is fairly small and the arcing fireball has a slow velocity that often results in the spell missing its target. However, unlike most other attack spells the Pyromancer uses, this spell can be cast over the heads of friendly units giving it an added tactical advantage. Leveling increases range and decreases mana cost.
Fire Swarm (special) — A long range, medium-low mana cost spell that conjures more than a half dozen fireballs in a fan-shaped spread outward from the Pyromancer. While explosive damage from individual fireballs is low, this spell is still ideal for striking enemies spread out perpendicular to the Pyromancer. Leveling increases the number of fireballs, damage of individual fireballs, range of the spell and decreases mana cost.
INVENTORY 3: Fireball/Wall
Fireball (default) — A long-range and very low mana cost spell that, unsurprisingly, shoots explosive fireballs at enemies. While damage is low, this spell still often serves as the Pyromancer’s primary spell due to the range, very low mana cost and ability to cast it repeatedly and quickly once well vetted. First level fireballs are unguided and have a relatively slow velocity so they can often miss. At second and third levels, fireballs become guided and almost never miss. In addition, at second level, range is increased, but mana cost actually increases and damage slightly reduced. At third level, range increases again, while mana cost is reduced and damage increases to back that of first level fireballs.
Fire Wall (special) — An invaluable, medium-high mana cost, short range spell that summons a barrier of fire in front of and perpendicular to the Pyromancer. The duration and high damage of Fire Wall make it ideal for stopping enemies about to catch the Pyromancer. Enemies will mindlessly try to rush through it and get stunned within till they are burned to death. The drawbacks to this spell are its fairly high mana cost and short range, however mana cost is improved by leveling though damage is not.
INVENTORY 4: Path/Immolate
Flame Path (default) — A long-range, medium-low mana cost spell that carves a burning path of fire damage in a line away from the caster. This spell is guided and and passes through the target unit.The total amount of damage it delivers is fixed but dependent on the length of the path. A shorter path will do more concentrated damage, whereas a longer path can damage more enemies. In addition to multiple tactical uses, Flame Path has a very efficient damage to mana cost ratio. It would probably be the Pyromancer's best overall spell if it weren’t for the drawback of costing one ammo charge per casting. Leveling lowers the mana cost and increases the range — though it will still do even less damage at longer ranges.
Immolate (special) — A very powerful, medium-range, high mana cost, two-stage spell. First, the targeted creature will be surrounded by flames in a large area of effect, causing medium fire damage to anything nearby for several seconds — but not to the target. Soon the second stage starts and the target begins burning with very intense fire damage in a small area of effect. The damage to the target from the second stage of this spell tends to kill (if not severely wounding) any non-fire resistant creature. Mana cost is very reasonable considering the power of this spell, however it also requires one ammo charge per casting. Mana cost and especially range improve with leveling.
FOUND ARTIFACTS FOR THE PYROMANCER:
Mana Recharger — This is the same artifact the Electromancer uses and has the exact same effect. See above.
Super Mana Recharger — This is the same artifact the Electromancer uses and has the exact same effect. See above.
Ammunition Case — This is the same artifact the Electromancer uses except the Pyromancer requires ammo charges for his Flame Path and Immolate spells. See above.
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Ranger and Archer Abilities & Artifacts
THE RANGER and ARCHERS are similar long-range, light artillery units, with the Ranger being more of a “hero” Archer. Both can pick up a large variety of magical bows, but in the hands of the Ranger, the same bow artifact is more potent, typically dealing more damage. Even regular arrows from the Ranger do more damage than the Archers’. In addition, the Ranger will automatically shoot a “critical hit” high damage arrow every so often. The Ranger also moves quicker, has greater health, better vision range, can carry four bow artifacts in inventory compared to the Archer’s two, has a decent melee attack, and last but not least, can carry one root ammo to use for healing.
BOWS:
There are six basic types of bows and up to four categories of each of these six types. The six types are Strength, Slaying, Paralysis, Flame, Storms and Justice. The four categories, from least to most powerful, are Common, Mega, Ultra, and the extremely rare Celestial.
Strength — These bows fire automatically when equipped, meaning they do not require hitting the special key to use a charge. The arrows from these bows do extra damage, and the better the category (i.e. Mega, Ultra, etc.) the more damage Strength bows will inflict.
Slaying — These bows have far fewer charges than Strength bows, but also do far greater damage. These require hitting the special key (t) to use a charge, except for Celestial Slaying which will fire automatically when equipped.
Paralysis — This type of bow only has three categories (Common, Mega and Celestial). Arrows shot from a Common Paralysis bow will temporarily paralyze a single target. Mega Paralysis is similar except the arrow will also paralyze units in the surrounding area. Both require pressing the special key (t) to use a charge. The Celestial Bow also affects single targets like the Common Bow, however it has many charges and fires automatically.
Flame — This bow will fire an arrow that does fire damage to its target and while it travels through the air, the arrow will also spray small incendiary cinders — sometimes igniting the ground in flames. Common and Mega Flame bows require hitting the special key (t) to fire, however the later do more damage and spray out more cinders. Ultra Flame bows shoot the same arrows as the Common version, but have more charges and fire automatically. Celestial Flame bows shoot the same arrows as the Mega version and also automatically fire when equipped.
Storms — Storm bow arrows do lightning damage and release delayed electrical shocks in the area they strike. Common and Mega Storm bows require using the special key (t) to use a charge. Mega Storm arrows do more damage and release more delayed electrical shocks. Ultra and Celestial have more charges and fire automatically. Ultra shoot the same arrows as Common and Celestial fires the same arrows as Mega.
Justice — The most prized type of bow, Bows of Justice do area damage that hurts enemies but heals friendly units. Common Justice requires using the special key (t) to use a charge, as do Mega and Ultra, but the better categories do more damage in a greater area of effect. Celestial Justice arrows are no different than Common ones, but the bow contains many more charges which will fire automatically. Justice arrows can also target a friendly unit directly in order to heal it.
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Forest Giant Abilities & Spells
THE FOREST GIANT is fast moving and capable of dealing heavy damage while able to absorb lots of punishment — the “tank” of the group and one of the most important units after Mazzarin and the Paladin. The Forest Giant can level-up several times, becoming faster, more resistant to damage and inflicting more damage with each level. The greatest weakness the Forest Giant has is very poor resistance to paralysis for the first couple levels. There are no crystal artifacts for the Forest Giant to find, but he does have one special ability that changes somewhat as he levels.
Uproot — When the Forest Giant’s mana is full, hit the special key (t) and he will “uproot” a random number of healing roots for the Paladin, Heron Guards or Ranger to use. As the Forest Giant levels, the probability of producing more roots increases. At a high enough level, this spell can also be used offensively at up to medium range. Hit the special key and target a unit and it will damage or kill it. While the damage is moderate, this ranged version of Uproot is particularly useful against enemies the Forest Giant doesn’t want to approach, such as Wraiths or Wights.
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Mortar Dwarf Abilities
THE MORTAR DWARF moves slowly, attacks slowly (until vetted) and though he can raise several levels, it requires the most kills per level to fully vet of all the units. However, the Mortar Dwarf’s long range and decent damage more than make up for any shortcomings. And though leveling-up drastically slows attack rate back down each time, many other important benefits are gained by leveling. Once vetted to a high level, the Mortar Dwarf becomes an extremely formidable unit. The Mortar Dwarf even has a light melee attack which it can use in desperation. The Mortar Dwarf may attempt to use his melee attack if a target is too close for him to use his primary mortar fire.
Splash Shell — This attack does more damage in a much larger radius than a regular mortar shell. To use it, hit the special key (t) and click on the ground partway to the targeted area. Clicking halfway to the target is usually a good rule of thumb. Splash Shells can be launched at extremely long range, however as the desired range increases, clicking further than halfway and closer to the target becomes necessary for accuracy. At maximum range you can click right on your target and the Splash Shell will land very close to where you clicked. Splash Shells require ammunition that is shared with Strider Dwarves for their Time Bombs. Duds can be picked up again to be reused and occasionally some enemies will drop additional ammo which appear as burning mortar shells. Once the Mortar Dwarf levels-up, he can start using mana for ammo-less Splash Shell attacks.
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Pathfinder Dwarf Abilities & Spells
THE PATHFINDER has the most accurate throw of all molotov cocktail tossing dwarves. He is also reasonably fast, sturdy and can level-up several times, making him a great short-range, heavy artillery unit.
Air-Strike — The Pathfinder uses ammunition to throw red flares that summon down a rain of satchels that explode on contact. Unlike other types of ammunition in the game, extra Air-Strike ammo can not be found on the map.
Invisibility — Starting at the second level, the Pathfinder receives mana to use for an Invisibility spell. He can only be cast on himself, and to activate it, taunt (u key) with the Pathfinder. Sometimes it is necessary to taunt several times to activate the spell. Invisibility is more effective if used before enemy units get too close. Attacking, taking damage or getting bumped by an enemy unit will cancel Invisibility.
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Strider Dwarf Abilities & Artifacts
STRIDER DWARVES have the weakest bottle throw of all Dwarves but can make up for it with their very fast movement speed. Striders can level-up once, and can find a special ability crystal.
Time Bomb — Strider Dwarves can use ammo to drop a powerful satchel that will explode several seconds later. Hit the special key (t) to drop the satchel (hopefully nowhere near friendly units) and move the Strider away from it as quickly as possible. Striders can replenish ammo by picking up burning Mortar Splash shell duds. Once leveled, this attack becomes more powerful and the Strider can use mana for one extra Time Bomb.
Plasma Globes — Picking up a red crystal will give a Strider 100 Plasma Globe charges. When active, this spell replaces a Strider Dwarf’s regular attack with several (very bouncy) Plasma Globes. When a Globe explodes, it inflicts heavy damage, but only in a very small radius. Plasma Globes are great for vetting up quickly but the unpredictable nature of the bounces can also make them risky to use. The red crystal which gives Striders this spell can also be used by Demolition Dwarves for their Hammer & Anvil spell.
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Demolition Dwarf Abilities & Artifacts
DEMOLITIONISTS are the slowest moving of the different classes of Dwarves, but also have the most health by far. Their bottle throws are more accurate than the Striders’, but their toss has a greater arc than the Pathfinder's, resulting in a slower attack. Also setting them apart is a very high resistance to explosive damage. Demolitionists can only level-up once, at which point they become nearly immune to explosive damage, and gain a variety of other minor benefits. Demolition Dwarves can pick-up rare red crystals for the Hammer & Anvil spell and finally, Demolitionists carry a knife to use for emergency melee attacks.
Satchel Toss — Unlike traditional Dwarves which drop satchels at their feet, Demolitionists throw explosive satchels at a moderately close target when you hit the special key (t). Aiming at the ground will allow the Demolitionist to throw one satchel, while clicking on an enemy allows for two quick throws per attack. Satchel attacks or traps may be difficult to time or set up, but the area of effect and damage of satchels is greater than the Demolitionist’s bottle attacks, making them worthwhile. Kills resulting from satchel damage earn the Demolitionist vet points and they can regain ammunition by picking up satchels dropped when Ghost Dwarves are killed.
Hammer & Anvil — The same red crystal which Strider Dwarves can use for their Plasma Globes attacks will grant Demolitionist Dwarves a powerful — but difficult and dangerous to use — two phase attack. Basically, Hammer & Anvil turns a Demolitionist into a one man “carpet bombing” team. First, hit the special key (t) and click on the ground near the limit of the Demolitionist’s toss range. He will then throw a magical burning hammer in a high arc. This Hammer strikes with immense explosive and fire damage in a very wide area of effect, so to avoid self-inflicting damage, the second phase of the attack is to hit the special key and target the ground again, but slightly behind it closer to the Demolitionist while the magical hammer is still mid-air. This second phase does no damage. Instead, it creates a magical force that if aimed and timed correctly will propel the hammer much farther. Done correctly, it can be used to wipe out large clumps of enemies. Hammer & Anvil comes with 100 charges for 50 two-phase attacks. In case you lose track of which attack phase is next, remember that an even number of remaining charges throw the hammer and an odd number propels it.
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Heron Guard Spells & Artifacts
HERON GUARDS are the most important healers mext to the Paladin, making them vital melee units. Heron Guards are the only unit immune to paralysis, which is a powerful advantage against many of the enemies they need to face. They can level-up once, though approximately one in six will fail to level-up no matter how many vet points they have.
Healing — Healing is basically the only special ability Heron Guards have, but it never ceases to be useful. Like the Paladin spell, it restores health on a unit to a certain percentage, un-stones a unit, cancels paralysis or kills many types of undead units. Heron Guards will first use up their mana to cast Healing and then use roots as ammo for a slightly shorter range Heal. Roots can be plentiful on the map so Heron Guards can usually keep their ammo supply somewhat steady. They regain mana slowly over time and once leveled, the mana cost of Healing is greatly reduced and the range (of the mana-driven Heal only) is greatly increased.
Unlimited Healing — When a Heron Guard finds a purple crystal it gains the ability to use healing without expending either mana or ammo for a timed duration.
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Berserker Abilities & Artifacts
BERSERKERS are not only tough melee units, they are fast and can pick-up most ammo or artifacts, retrieving these items for slower units. Simply click on the item with a Berserker to pick it up, and drop it with the special key (t). Items that have “timers”, such as Mazzarin’s Aura Crystals or the Paladin’s Holy Armor, can not be picked up by a Berserker. Once leveled, Berserkers lose the ability to carry items but compensate by gaining the ability to charge at enemies as well as becoming much tougher fighters. Like Heron Guards, approximately one in six Berserkers will fail to level-up regardless of how many vet points they have.
Massive Blow — This mana-driven ability allows Berserkers to use the special key (t) to attack with a sword swing that inflicts very heavy damage. Once leveled, Berserkers can use Massive Blow to inflict incredible damage. This ability cannot be used when carrying an item. Berserkers regain mana by attacking. Once mana is full, and if Massive Blow is not used, the Berserker will attack faster, but will miss far more often.
Unlimited Massive Blows — When a Berserker finds a blue crystal, it will automatically use Massive Blow for each attack, at no mana cost, until the timer on the artifact runs out.
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Squire Abilities & Spells
SQUIRES only appear on the secret level. They are fairly tough melee units but will not level-up like Berserkers or Heron Guards and do not find any special artifacts. Squires do not get auto-distributed and must be handed out manually. Squires have only one special power:
Cure Wounds — This spell uses mana to restore some health to friendly units (or lightly damages enemy ones). Unlike regular healing, it will not un-stone units or cancel paralysis.
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The origins of the Mazz series really lies in a TFL plugin called “Flight II”. It was one of four early co-ops released by Project Magma in late 2000, the most popular fo the four being “Shadow II”. I was never much of a co-op fan, but I decided to play around with a few existing Bungie TFL solo maps to make them more exciting for team co-op play. And so, in “Flight II”, based upon TFL's “Flight from Covenant”, extra monsters were added as were several super powerful (for regular Myth) bow artifacts that later made their way to Mazzarin’s Demise I. I had virtually no scripting skills at the time, so things were kept simple in these “hacked” solos, yet the design turned out to be fun and popular. Unlike the other three co-ops released at the same time, “Flight II” was the first to have the “feel” of the Mazz series.
Work on Mazzarin’s Demise I actually began in 2001 as part of the “Plains” plugin, which in turn was part of the Myth II maps ported to the TFL project that Losk and I were working on. But it was delayed a long time, in part because Losk and I were content playing the other Myth II maps we had already ported, but mostly because I still wasn’t much of a co-op fan and lacked the motivation.
Late in 2001 a player named Grasshopper joined the Underdogs order and we became great friends, both online and later in real life. His enthusiasm for maps like Shadow II and Flight II actually made them fun to play again, and so I finally had the motivation to release a new co-op. The scripting in Mazzarin’s Demise I was childishly simple, but somehow it captured a certain magic. Even I enjoyed playing it over and over again. In the Spring of 2002, “Plains”, containing Mazzarin’s Demise I, was released and Project Magma held a contest to see who would be the first team to beat it. Even considering the dearth of new co-op maps available for TFL, the success of Mazzarin’s Demise I was startling.
The Mazz I contest winners were: Apollo, Atombomb, Hadiez, McChazo, Rabiez, and Wrath.
In August of 2002 I hosted a several day long LAN party at my home in upstate New York. I never planned on re-doing Mazzarin’s Demise, but I wanted to have something new to play for the LAN party, and decided what the heck, I'll make a spruced up version of Mazzarin’s Demise just for that weekend. While working on it, I realized it might actually be good enough for a public release. Beta testing Mazz II at the LAN party turned out to be insanely fun. Deadman, a Project Magma mapmaker who attended the LAN party, helped fix some technical problems with the map and it was released in early September 2002, once again obtaining overwhelming popularity, at least for the small TFL community on Marius Net. Mazz II was also the first of the series to include the now infamous Michael Andrews song, “Manipulated Living”.
Legendary on Mazzarin’s Demise II was made even more difficult than in the first map, and a new contest was held. The Mazz II contest winners were: Head, McChazo, Hadiez, Boy, Ducky, Rabiez and Kalamadea.
By early October 2002, I met a player named Iron Duke on Marius Net and he asked if he could port Mazzarin’s Demise II to Myth II. I agreed, but at that time, didn’t really care at all about Myth II. As it turned out, Iron Duke had far bigger ambitions for Myth II than merely porting Mazz, and before long, he joined Project Magma (or more like we joined him) and the project of updating Myth II to version 1.4 was born.
With features like vTFL, I was incredibly excited to be involved with Myth II 1.4. Since Iron Duke had his hands full with the programming, I decided to take over the port of Mazz II, renaming it “Mazzarin’s Demise III”, as well as porting the TFL Mappack and helping to test vTFL. Luckily, I was unemployed at the time and had tons of time to work on these projects. Mazzarin’s Demise III was ready by the time Myth II went public.
Since I had a bit more map making experience, not to mention the ever present help of far more knowledgeable experts on how Myth worked like Iron Duke, Deadman and Losk, Mazz III was the first of the series to become a complex map. It required a lot of beta testing, which it never got, other than a few odd games and what I put into it solo. Everyone else at Project Magma was just too busy with the more important task of getting Myth II 1.4 ready, and truth be told, there was an expectation that Mazzarin’s Demise wouldn’t catch on with the Myth II crowd. That expectation proved to be totally wrong.
Another expectation which proved false was that Myth II players wouldn’t be able to easily win Mazzarin’s Demise III on Legendary. The first of the Mazz contests for Myth II players was set, and was won very quickly. Few of the winners knew exactly what they were doing on the map, but they managed to beat the map the hard way, apparently on sheer basic Myth skills alone. The Mazz III contest winners were: Nemesis, Tainted Bliss, Gatsu, toecutter, JJM543, Dante, Apollo, Gekko, SiN, Ducky, Cyclops and Hyperion.
Once things started to settle down after 1.4’s tumultuous release, I came to regret the rushed fashion in which Mazz III was made. Around that same time, I became friends with GHOST, one of the Myth community's most accomplished scripting experts. He agreed to re-script Mazzarin's Demise III more efficiently and added more random elements. Through GHOST, I met Khellek, who created the infamous Wraith unit for us, and ozone and Teepens, who provided new colormaps. There was also no shortage of willing beta-testers this time around. On the surface, Mazzarin's Demise IV wasn't that different from Mazz III, but it was better designed, more polished and had arguably better gameplay. It did turn out to have one major flaw though.
GHOST had scripted the enemy Ghols to "harass" player units instead of just attacking bluntly like all other enemies. Myth II 1.4, as well as earlier Bungie versions, contained a bug in the "harass" AI code that occasionally made PC or Mac players go Out of Sync when playing co-ops together. This bug was rare enough in regular co-ops, but in a long game like Mazzarin’s Demise combined with so many waves of harassing ghols, enough games went OOS to be a problem. A rumor began that the OOS was more common to the mesh using ozone’s colormap, and as a result, most players began using Teepen’s colormap mesh exclusively. However, other than the colormaps, both meshes are identical and went OOS with equal frequency. Myth II 1.5 finally fixed the harass scripting bug and Mazz IV is now safe to play.
Not wanting to repeat another quick contest win, Legendary on Mazzarin’s Demise IV was considerably harder than in earlier versions. Nevertheless, the contest was again quickly won, remarkably this time, by a small team of seven players, two of which lagged out before the end. The final five winners were: Ducky, Nemesis, Ruin, Dante and CoV.
With Mazz IV complete, in February of 2004, I joined the Magma team working on “Laws of Evil”, a very ambitious sequel to Khellek's “Throne of the Lich King” plugin. Khellek had made some wonderful Dungeons & Dragons style units and we planned that I would use them for another Mazz-style map after Laws of Evil was completed and released. But for various reasons, Laws of Evil kept getting delayed again and again to the point where it was feared it would become vaporware (at the time of this writing, work on Laws of Evil has resumed once again). So after several months of inactivity on Laws of Evil, I began working on Mazzarin’s Demise V in December of 2004. By this time, Myth II 1.5 was approaching the tail end of its development cycle.
Not only did I have at my disposal newly learned scripting skills, Khellek’s Laws of Evil units and Silicon Dream’s special effects and tags, Myth II 1.5 increased many of the limits in the Myth engine, allowing for the kind of huge co-op map I always wished Mazzarin’s Demise could be. Slowly but surely, I began redoing most of the plugin from scratch. In January of 2005, Khellek returned to continue Laws of Evil and planned he would have it done by May, after which it was planned I could release Mazzarin’s Demise V with his units. A few months later, he vanished again and Laws of Evil was stalled yet again.
Work on Mazzarin’s Demise V was steamrolling ahead however. That spring I met Jagman, a relatively unknown mapmaker who also turned out to be one of the game’s foremost Fear experts. Jagman started out debugging tag problems, but before long was adding new special effects of his own, and by the end, had contributed so much as to earn a co-credit on the plugin. Jagman and I have worked together ever since, on plugins like Ultimate Team Battles Expansion, Wars of Reckoning, and of course, Mazzarin’s Demise VI.
Although Mazzarin’s Demise V was a “secret” project, a large and dedicated private beta-testing began gathering near nightly as early as January of 2005. By August nearly 200 beta test games were played on over 70 betas. To keep the plugin a secret, all the test games were conducted either on Marius Net or via TCP IP.
Mazz V had everything going for it except Khellek’s blessing to release it prior to Laws of Evil. With so many Myth players moving onto other things over the years, to be rarely or never heard from again, it was uncertain if Khellek would ever return at all. Finally, in late August, Khellek did return, bearing grim news. His computer had been stolen early that Summer, along with much of the work on Laws of Evil. Undaunted and patient as always, Khellek began recreating what was lost. Fortunately for Mazz fans, Khellek gave his blessing to use the Laws of Evil units and Mazzarin’s Demise V was released on September 3rd, 2005.
Despite so many practice games, the beta testing team had only managed to defeat Timid through Heroic in the betas. Even though I had been surprised in the past, I wondered if Legendary would ever be won. Once again underestimating the skill and determination of Myth players, the contest for Mazzarin’s Demise V was to beat Heroic, not Legendary as in previous contests. Not only was Heroic beat within a couple weeks, many Legendary games have also been won.
The Mazz V contest winners, more than half of which were also beta testers, were: myself, scrapnjack, Golem0r!, Mr. Tree, woof, Da Cid, Powerup, Savanarola, Gleep, Ara, Clank, Tramist, Tarous Zars and Giliath.
I swore, once again, that I wouldn’t make another Mazz map. Mazz V was as good as it could possible get, I thought. But by January of 2006, progress was being made on Myth II 1.5.2 (later renamed Myth II 1.6). Game limitations were safely raised again and new mapmaking features were added. Mazzarin Demise VI was conceived as once again a map could be made that surpassed anything before possible. Iron Duke lent his artistic skills to make a new colormap and a high resolution Watcher unit, Grasshopper agreed to make new music, and Jagman and I brainstormed one new gameplay element after another. Eight months, 50 betas and nearly 150 test games later, Mazzarin’s Demise VI was completed.
At first Mazzarin’s Demise VI may not seem so drastically different from its predecessors, but after several games it becomes apparent how much more complex, rich and greatly expanded it has become. The focus wasn’t on adding new unit model, terrain or story, but rather to perfect and build upon the foundation of previous Mazz maps while giving players more interesting and useful options. The goal was to make Mazzarin’s Demise VI a game in its own right, one that will hopefully offer endless replay value. Time will tell if it meets this goal.
Will the Mazz VI contest ever be won? Will there be a Mazzarin’s Demise VII in the future? No and no, and who knows, maybe this time I’ll be right.
— ChrisP September 9th, 2006
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