Difference between revisions of "Mercury Vapours"

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{{spell info}}
  
'''Poisonous Vapours''' is a level 2 Poison/Air spell which causes [[smite-targeted]] poison on any vulnerable enemy within [[line of sight]].
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'''Mercury Vapours''' is a level 2 Alchemy/Air spell which causes [[smite-targeted]] poison on any non-resistant enemy within [[line of sight]], and attempts to [[weak]]en monsters in a 3×3 area.
  
[[Venom Mage]]s start with this spell.
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[[Alchemist]]s start with this spell in their libraries.
  
 
==Useful Info==
 
==Useful Info==
Poisonous Vapours inflicts <code>pow/15</code> (min. 1) poison "stacks" on a single target.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.0|spl-damage.cc|3539}}</ref> Monsters can have up to 4 stacks of poison at a time. It does nothing against foes with [[poison resistance]].
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Inflicts [[poison]] on a central 'main' target, if they don't have poison resistance. It has an independent chance to inflict weakness on the central target and all creatures adjacent.
  
Higher stacks mean more damage per turn, according to the following table:
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The main target gains <code>pow/25</code> (min. 1) poison "[[Poison#Monster Formula|stacks]]".<ref>{{source ref|0.31-b1|spl-damage.cc|3566}}</ref> If the target does not currently have poison, 1 extra poison stack is inflicted. If the player is the central target, this spell inflicts 2d6 poison damage instead of any stacks. Creatures with [[poison resistance]] cannot be poisoned at all by this spell.
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In addition, each monster in a 3×3 area has a chance to gain the [[weak]] status, which reduces their melee damage by ×66%. The main target has a <code>(83% - <12 * [[HD]]> + <1.5 * power>) * 1.15</code> chance to be weakened.<ref>{{source ref|0.31-b1|spl-damage.cc|3529}}</ref> Creatures that aren't the main target are ×66% as likely to be weakened.<ref>{{source ref|0.31-b1|spl-damage.cc|3589}}</ref> Poison resistance or immunity does ''not'' prevent the weakness. Keep in mind that you are not immune to the effect.
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Higher poison stacks mean more damage per turn, according to the following table:
  
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
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|4 || 2.5 || 6.5 || Extremely poisoned
 
|4 || 2.5 || 6.5 || Extremely poisoned
 
|}
 
|}
 
Poison stacks will decay as turns pass.
 
  
 
==Strategy==
 
==Strategy==
Poisonous Vapours is a good spell to pick up, even if you aren't a Venom Mage. It is a level 2, smite-targeted spell, which never misses, ignores [[AC]], and deals good damage (for its level).  
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Mercury Vapours never misses, ignores AC, and is one of the few ways to inflict the [[weak]] status. It can be useful even if you aren't into [[Alchemy]]. The downside is that it relies on poison - damage is done over time, and cannot damage foes with poison resistance. These shouldn't be dealbreakers, however. You can [[kite]] susceptible enemies: apply a few stacks of poison, then retreat a few tiles, allowing the poison to do its job.
 
 
The downside of the spell is that it's poison - damage is done over time, and it does nothing against foes with poison resistance. But these shouldn't be dealbreakers. You can [[kite]] susceptible enemies: apply a few stacks of poison, then retreat a few tiles, allowing the poison to do its job.
 
 
 
===Ignite Poison===
 
With [[Ignite Poison]], Poisonous Vapours jumps from "good" to "excellent". Ignite Poison converts poison into immediate damage, with a bonus multiplier of 200% to 300%. This combination is cheap and extremely strong, ''much'' stronger than what a level 3 spell would suggest.
 
 
 
At ~30 power, casting Vapours x2 -> Ignite Poison deals 8d13 damage (avg. 56) - for reference, [[Iron Shot]] at 70 power deals 9d7 damage (avg. 36), and [[Plasma Beam]] deals 2d53 (avg. 54). While this combo is poor at turn economy (3 turns to cast), it's good to put things into perspective. Poisonous Vapours has better range, is more reliable (ignores EV and AC), and ''it's a level 3 spell''. Has the added benefit of [[Olgreb's Toxic Radiance]], which is great against crowds.  
 
  
Overall, it's a viable combo into [[Vaults]], [[Depths]], and even [[Zot]] (provided you have another way of killing resistant enemies). In Zot, many targets are vulnerable to poison, including [[moths of wrath]], non-green [[list of draconians|draconians]], [[quicksilver dragon]]s, and [[orb guardian]]s.
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At low skill levels, [[Sting]] deals more damage/MP, but this spell is perfectly accurate and inflicts weak. In the early game, you may want to cast Mercury Vapours once per monster (to inflict weak and the extra poison), then use Sting. Once you gain more [[spell power]], though, Mercury Vapours is more efficient, so feel free to forget Sting.
  
 
===Tips & Tricks===
 
===Tips & Tricks===
*Low-XL [[Venom Mage]]s may want to use [[Sting]] for the reduced MP cost. Otherwise, Poisonous Vapours is almost a direct upgrade; it's more accurate and has better range. Note that Sting deals ''some'' damage against poison resistant foes, so you'll want to keep it around for a bit.
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*[[Ignite Poison]] is quite strong with any source of poison, including this spell. It converts poison stacks into instant damage, with a great increase in damage. The Ignite Poison + Mercury Vapours combo offers decent damage, high reliability, and good MP efficiency for its level.
 
*In Tiles, you can count poison stacks by the number of green poison drops on the monster. 1 drop is 1 stack (poisoned), 2 drops is 2-3 stacks (very poisoned), and 3 drops is 4 stacks (extremely poisoned).
 
*In Tiles, you can count poison stacks by the number of green poison drops on the monster. 1 drop is 1 stack (poisoned), 2 drops is 2-3 stacks (very poisoned), and 3 drops is 4 stacks (extremely poisoned).
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
{{CBA|0.31|this spell will be renamed '''Mercury Vapours''' and have a chance to [[weak]]en the target and adjacent creatures. Its range will be reduced to 6, and it will apply more poison stacks to monsters that aren't already poisoned.}}
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*Prior to [[0.31]], this spell was known as '''Poisonous Vapours'''. It was a level 2 [[Poison Magic]]/[[Air]] spell, had full [[LOS]] range, but did not have a chance to weaken foes. Also, it inflicted <code>power/15</code> stacks of poison, but with no bonus against non-poisoned foes.
*Prior to [[0.27]], Poisonous Vapours would create a short lived [[cloud]], and wouldn't work if there was a cloud already there (including from the spell itself). Also, [[Vehumet]] did not consider this spell "destructive".
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*Prior to [[0.27]], Poisonous Vapours would create a short lived [[cloud]] instead of inflicting poison directly. Thus it wouldn't work if there was a cloud already there (including from the spell itself). Also, [[Vehumet]] did not consider this spell "destructive".
 
*Poisonous Vapours was added in [[0.20]].
 
*Poisonous Vapours was added in [[0.20]].
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
<references />
 
<references />

Latest revision as of 04:09, 20 January 2024

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Poisonous vapours.png Mercury Vapours
Level 2
School1 Air
School2 Alchemy
Source(s) Book of Vapours
Young Poisoner's Handbook
Casting noise 2
Spell noise 0
Power Cap 50
Range 3
Flags Not self, Target
Briefly transmutes the air around a target into gaseous mercury, poisoning those who breathe it in. Further, the target and adjacent creatures (living or otherwise) may be weakened by mere exposure to the alchemical substance.

Mercury Vapours is a level 2 Alchemy/Air spell which causes smite-targeted poison on any non-resistant enemy within line of sight, and attempts to weaken monsters in a 3×3 area.

Alchemists start with this spell in their libraries.

Useful Info

Inflicts poison on a central 'main' target, if they don't have poison resistance. It has an independent chance to inflict weakness on the central target and all creatures adjacent.

The main target gains pow/25 (min. 1) poison "stacks".[1] If the target does not currently have poison, 1 extra poison stack is inflicted. If the player is the central target, this spell inflicts 2d6 poison damage instead of any stacks. Creatures with poison resistance cannot be poisoned at all by this spell.

In addition, each monster in a 3×3 area has a chance to gain the weak status, which reduces their melee damage by ×66%. The main target has a (83% - <12 * HD> + <1.5 * power>) * 1.15 chance to be weakened.[2] Creatures that aren't the main target are ×66% as likely to be weakened.[3] Poison resistance or immunity does not prevent the weakness. Keep in mind that you are not immune to the effect.

Higher poison stacks mean more damage per turn, according to the following table:

Average poison damage per 1.0 turn
# Stacks Damage Description
Normal rPois-
1 0.75 1.75 Poisoned
2 1 3 Very poisoned
3 1.25 4.25 Very poisoned
4 2.5 6.5 Extremely poisoned

Strategy

Mercury Vapours never misses, ignores AC, and is one of the few ways to inflict the weak status. It can be useful even if you aren't into Alchemy. The downside is that it relies on poison - damage is done over time, and cannot damage foes with poison resistance. These shouldn't be dealbreakers, however. You can kite susceptible enemies: apply a few stacks of poison, then retreat a few tiles, allowing the poison to do its job.

At low skill levels, Sting deals more damage/MP, but this spell is perfectly accurate and inflicts weak. In the early game, you may want to cast Mercury Vapours once per monster (to inflict weak and the extra poison), then use Sting. Once you gain more spell power, though, Mercury Vapours is more efficient, so feel free to forget Sting.

Tips & Tricks

  • Ignite Poison is quite strong with any source of poison, including this spell. It converts poison stacks into instant damage, with a great increase in damage. The Ignite Poison + Mercury Vapours combo offers decent damage, high reliability, and good MP efficiency for its level.
  • In Tiles, you can count poison stacks by the number of green poison drops on the monster. 1 drop is 1 stack (poisoned), 2 drops is 2-3 stacks (very poisoned), and 3 drops is 4 stacks (extremely poisoned).

History

  • Prior to 0.31, this spell was known as Poisonous Vapours. It was a level 2 Poison Magic/Air spell, had full LOS range, but did not have a chance to weaken foes. Also, it inflicted power/15 stacks of poison, but with no bonus against non-poisoned foes.
  • Prior to 0.27, Poisonous Vapours would create a short lived cloud instead of inflicting poison directly. Thus it wouldn't work if there was a cloud already there (including from the spell itself). Also, Vehumet did not consider this spell "destructive".
  • Poisonous Vapours was added in 0.20.

References