Iskenderun's Battlesphere

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

Iskenderun's Battlesphere
Level	4
School1	Conjuration
School2	Forgecraft
Source(s)	Book of Power Book of the Spheres
Casting noise	4
Spell noise	0
Power Cap	100
Flags	Utility

Conjures a small globe of destructive energy. Each time its creator casts a offensive spell, the battlesphere will also fire an unerring volley of energy at the most injured nearby foe it can reach. The battlesphere's creator can freely fire through its position without harming it.

Iskenderun's Battlesphere is a level 4 Conjurations/Forgecraft spell which conjures a friendly battlesphere to support your magical attacks.

Useful Info

Each time you cast a destructive spell, the battlesphere will shoot a perfectly accurate, irresistible beam. It is aimed at the most injured foe that it can reach, considering its line of fire and potential movement. The battlesphere cannot fire through you, but you can fire through the battlesphere.

Damage formula: 2d(6 + Power/11)
Number of charges: 6-10
Max. spellpower: 100

Battlespheres have a limited amount of charges. It will dissipate when it runs out of charges, you enter a different floor, if destroyed by enemy attacks, or if it times out.

You may only create one battlesphere at a time. Casting it while one already exists will recall it to your location and increase both its duration and number of charges (max 20). Battlespheres are not considered summons, and are not blocked by Okawaru or Ru's Sacrifice Love.

"Destructive spells" are spells that Vehumet supports. For a full list of eligible spells, see destructive spell. The only destructive spells that battlespheres won't support are Iskenderun's Battlesphere (obviously) and Spellspark Servitor. You can also view the list of eligible spells by looking at this spell's description.

The unrand sphere of Battle will create a battlesphere every time monsters are in sight.

Strategy

Iskenderun's Battlesphere deals reasonable damage which never misses and cannot be resisted. It works best with low-level (low MP) spells like Kinetic Grapnel, Magic Dart, or Stone Arrow, which let you "cast" Battlesphere beams at 1-3 MP. Destructive mages can appreciate a quiet (much quieter than the likes of Fireball or Plasma Beam)), relatively MP-efficient spell that cannot be resisted, while Forgecraft users can benefit from a flexible ranged spell.

It is best to summon a battlesphere before enemies are in sight. E.g. if you see a sleeping monster, back away, create a battlesphere, then go in. When fighting a monster, you may want to (not always) turn a corner, create a battlesphere, and wait. This way, you are more turn efficient. Technically, it is optimal to constantly keep the battlesphere up during exploration.

You can fire through the battlesphere, however, monsters can't. With good pathing and a bit of luck, you can put the sphere between yourself and a nasty hexer / banisher / malmutator. Keep in mind that the battlesphere has the maintain range flag, so it will try to move away from monsters.

Monster Version

Battlespheres created by monsters function identically to your own. The following enemies cast Iskenderun's Battlesphere:

• Q Tengu conjurer

History

• Prior to 0.33, this spell was a level 5 pure Conjurations spell, and its duration and charges depended on spellpower. Also, the behavior was different: it hit random targets instead of the most injured one, and wasn't as good at detecting if it could hit an enemy when accounting for its own movement.
• Prior to 0.30, battlespheres would only trigger with Conjurations spells.
• Prior to 0.26, Iskenderun's Battlesphere was a Conjurations / Charms spell. It was aimed at the target you fired, rather than a random target. It didn't work with non-targetable Conjurations (like Static Discharge). However, it would trigger with certain non-Conjurations spells.
• Prior to 0.20, this spell could be found in the book of Conjurations instead of the book of Power.
• In 0.18, The battlesphere supports mephitic cloud, and probably more spells also.
• Prior to 0.14, this was a level 4 spell.
• Iskenderun's Battlesphere was added in 0.12.