Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling

Version 0.33: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling
Level	8
School1	Air
Source(s)	Codex of Conductivity Maxwell's Memoranda
Casting noise	8
Spell noise	25
Power Cap	200
Range	8
Flags	Destructive, No ghost

Gradually builds up electric charge in the caster, so long as they maintain focus (by waiting in place and not taking any other actions). When a threshold is reached, the charge couples with the nearest foe, vaporising them instantly. Higher spell power will allow the caster to accumulate charge more rapidly. The spell requires a visible target to begin accumulating charge, though a different foe may be targeted when the charge is released.

Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling (MCC) is a Level 8 Air Magic spell that always kills the closest enemy, regardless of its current health, resistances, or defenses, after a few turns.

Useful Info

MCC charges for a few turns, during which you must wait. Afterwards, it kills the closest enemy. It may also create harmless, transparent clouds around the target. No monster is immune to this spell. If two or more creatures are equally close, the target is chosen at random.

The charging period lasts 30 + (1d(200 - spellpower) - 1) / 50 aut (i.e., 3-7 normal speed turns). The spell will be interrupted if you do any action other than waiting, or if you become silenced. This spell can only be cast if an enemy is in LOS.

While charging, the status light Charge- cycles counterclockwise. However, the cycle starts and ends at random positions, so you can't tell when the spell will activate.

Strategy

Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling is an immensely powerful spell. It can instantly kill any enemy in 3-7 turns. For a matter of perspective, Lehudib's Crystal Spear may kill a tough enemy in 3 casts - that's 3 turns, but it costs 24 MP instead of 8, and crystal spears can miss. Great spell for Air Magic specialists, since it ignores enemy resistances.

The downside of this spell is that you can't aim it. Summoners can surround you with misleading targets, causing you to waste the charge. You can fight important summoners in corridors or kill holes to reduce the chance of a misfire.

It is also extremely loud. This can be a good thing for the purposes of stair dancing - cast MCC on an upstair, let the noise bring enemies towards you, cast MCC again, and repeat until it gets too hairy. It can also be good if luring enemies into a kill hole. However be careful if you are shafted/teleported to an unknown location, or otherwise unable to retreat.

Tips & Tricks

• You can use autofight to automatically charge this spell. (If MCC is currently charging, autofight will input a wait command for you.)
• The effect will fire straight through your own allies. You can hide behind summons, who will fight for you as you charge up this spell.
• You can continue charging this spell even if enemies are out of LOS, but an enemy needs to be in LOS when cast and on fire.

History

• Prior to 0.33, the spell did not require a visible target to begin accumulating charge, so it could be pre-cast before enemies entered LOS.
• Prior to 0.31, Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling didn't create harmless clouds on activation.
• Maxwell's Capacitive Coupling was added in 0.27, replacing Absolute Zero.