Difference between revisions of "Mara"

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==Useful Info==
 
==Useful Info==
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'''Mara, Lord of Illusions''' is the [[unique]] lord of all [[rakshasa]]s. Far surpassing the meager illusions of his rakshasa subjects, Mara's powers are perfectly capable of inflicting all-too-real injuries; he is a tough opponent, even for adventurers who've conquered [[the Realm of Zot]]. He always generates with a [[brand]]ed [[demon whip]] or [[demon blade]], and his unique spells make him challenging regardless of your preparations:
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'''Mara, Lord of Illusions''', is the [[unique]] lord of all [[rakshasa]]s. Armed with a deadly array of illusory magic, he is an extremely dangerous opponent, capable of turning all your strengths against you. He always generates with a [[brand]]ed demon weapon, and his unique spellset make him challenging regardless of your preparations:
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*'''Fake Mara Summon''' - While lesser rakshasas can summon limitless, weak shadows, Mara can summon up to two robust and virtually identical clones of himself. Fake Maras generate with full health, but cannot cast [[Fake Mara Summon]] or [[Summon Illusion]]. They disappear on their own after enough time has passed, and they are vulnerable to [[Abjuration]].
 
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*'''Summon Illusion''' - Mara's most dangerous spell, Summon Illusion generates a hostile clone of anything but Mara (including, and usually, you) in his [[LOS]], so long as it does not have an existing clone. When Mara clones your character, it creates a monster similar to a [[player ghost]], except that its [[holiness]] will match yours, and it can use stairs. Like the fake Maras, these clones disappear on their own after enough time has passed, and they are vulnerable to Abjuration.
 
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{{crawlquote|'''When Mara clones a monster''': ''Mara seems to draw [the monster] out of itself!''<br>
 
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'''When Mara clones a monster from beyond your LOS''': ''[The monster] seems to step out of itself!''<br>
 
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'''When Mara clones you''': ''There is a horrible, sudden wrenching feeling in your soul!''}}
 
  
 
==Location==
 
==Location==
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*[[The Vaults]]:2-5
 
*[[The Vaults]]:2-5
 
*[[The Crypt]]
 
*[[The Crypt]]
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*The [[Hall of Blades]]
 
 
*[[The Tomb]]
 
*[[The Tomb]]
  
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{{clear}}
 
{{clear}}
 
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Special Ability: [[Blink]]
  
 
==Tips & Tricks==
 
==Tips & Tricks==
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*Bring [[fire]] resistance: Being shot with three Bolts of Fire (3d27) on the same turn is not fun.
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Mara is a notoriously dangerous unique. First and foremost, remember that '''you do not need to kill every monster you come across in ''Crawl'' in order to win the game'''. Mara may generate in a place that makes it difficult to progress without killing him, and some players may wish to take him out in order to get the demon weapon he wields, but in general, it is often a good idea to simply avoid fighting Mara entirely. If you decide to take him out, however, there are two primary threats to keep in mind:
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*His combination of fairly high [[MR]] and extremely dangerous spells makes resistible [[Hexes]] a bad idea in general.
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*An all-too-common piece of advice one often sees about Mara is to attempt to cripple your ghost. This is a bad idea, mainly because while you sit there, fiddling with your equipment (e.g. wielding a bread ration, or donning gear that lowers resistances), you ''aren't attacking Mara''. This is even worse for players attempting to weaken a melee ghost by wielding a non-weapon: you '''can't''' attack Mara until he clones you, which, given that he has six spells he can cast, may be a considerable amount of time. Treat Mara like you would any other extremely dangerous summoner ([[deep elf demonologist]]s and [[ancient lich]]es, for example): kill him as quickly as possible, and if he summons something you can't handle, teleport away.
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===Mara and his clones===
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*Do ''not'' go [[berserk]], either before Mara clones you or afterwards. Mara will blink away, leaving you slow and vulnerable when the berserk runs out. [[Haste]] and other temporary buffs are useful, however, but be aware that a clone of you made while you're buffed will also have those buffs.
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Mara is a capable threat on his own, armed with a powerful melee attack and capable of dealing heavy [[fire]] damage at range. Soon after any fight with him begins, he makes things significantly more dangerous by [[Mara Summon|summoning two identical clones]]. These clones have all of Mara's offensive capabilities, and will harass you until they time out, are [[Abjuration|abjured]], are defeated, or when Mara is defeated. Also, Mara may swap places with one of the clones upon summoning them, making it impossible to know which Mara is the real one.
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**Conjurers and other ranged damage specialists should simply haste themselves before the fight so they can take down Mara very quickly. If Mara clones you, flee, wait for the ghost to vanish, and try again later.
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*The real Mara may change his position with one of his clones when he summons copies of himself, so there is no longer any way to tell the real Mara from the fakes.
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In order to deal with these foes, [[fire]] resistance and good [[AC]]/[[EV]] are critical (at least rF++ is advised), and you should be able to deal solid damage without relying on fire, [[poison]], or [[negative energy]]. He also has high enough [[magic resistance]] to render all but the most powerful [[Hexes]] ineffective. Finally, be careful if he is wielding a [[demon trident]] - this weapon's [[reaching]] attacks will allow Mara and his clones to attack you far more often than normal in spite of their constant blinking.
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*As with any summoner, [[Abjuration]] is very useful. [[Aura of Abjuration]] is even better, although his most threatening summon, namely the player illusion, is always singular, meaning that single-target Abjuration may be sufficient. Even so, you should really just focus on taking out Mara, and avoid your ghost. The ghost will unsummon eventually, so flee from it once Mara is dead. If your ghost is too nasty, preventing you from killing Mara, flee them both and come back later. Next time you might get more damage in before he clones you, and while your clone will level up with you, Mara will not.
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*Mara often generates with a decent demon weapon of some sort, including [[demon trident]]s. These are particularly bad, as his clones will be able to hit you for heavy damage much more often after blinking if they have [[reaching]] weapons.
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There are a few methods for disposing of Mara very effectively. [[Stealth]]y [[stab]]-focused characters may be able to sneak up on Mara while he's sleeping. Simply step back out of his [[line of sight]], [[quaff]] a [[potion of agility]], read a [[scroll of blinking]] to immediately place yourself next to him, and stab him for lethal damage. Wasting two consumables in order to eradicate a major threat is well worth it. If he awakens, use of [[throwing net]]s can often set him up for a killing stab, but his blinking makes that difficult. Heavy melee fighters can [[haste]] themselves and then lay into him with an [[antimagic]]-[[brand]]ed weapon. Assuming they can get some early hits in, this may disable all of his most dangerous methods of fighting back.
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===Player clones===
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The other thing to be concerned with when facing Mara is his ability to create a clone of your character. This clone will essentially be a [[player ghost]] based on your character, and will know many of your spells, have all your melee and defensive capacities, and will benefit from any buffs you may currently have active. Fighting it in a straight one-on-one duel would be risky. Fighting it with multiple Maras around is generally suicidal. As such, the best approach to dealing with a player clone is generally not to deal with it at all.
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It is entirely possible to deal Mara lethal damage before he can summon a player clone. If you fail to do so, teleporting away and returning when you're better prepared is a perfectly acceptable idea; the clone will vanish after enough time has passed. Alternatively, you can simply cast [[Abjuration]] a few times to destroy the clone, though Mara may summon a new one soon after.
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Any buffs you give yourself will also be given to the clone if they are active when Mara clones you. This doesn't mean you shouldn't buff yourself - giving yourself [[Haste]] before the fight will make it much easier to take down Mara before things get out of hand. Just be aware of how these effects will boost the clone as well. In particular, you should avoid [[berserk]]ing at all. Mara's blinking means you'll hardly ever have him in range to attack, and when it wears off you'll be slow and exhausted. The clone, meanwhile, will have no difficulty catching up to you and dealing savage damage.
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One all-too-common piece of advice one often sees is to attempt to cripple your ghost before fighting it. The idea is that casters can wear [[artefact]] [[jewellery]] with -CAST, or that melee fighters can wield a [[bread ration]], so that when Mara clones them, the resulting creature will be nearly harmless. This is a bad idea, mainly because while you sit there waiting for Mara to clone you, he'll be blasting you with Bolts of Fire or attacking you in melee while you are incapable of responding. In general it is best to treat Mara like you would any other extremely dangerous summoner: kill him as quickly as possible, and if he summons something you can't handle, teleport away.
  
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==

Revision as of 19:37, 24 February 2015

Version 0.15: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Mara R Mara.png
HP 140
HD 18
XP 4614
Speed 10
AC 10
EV 14
Will 144
Attack1 30 (hit: plain)


Resistances rF++, rPois+,
rN+++, rTorm,
rRot
Vulnerabilities Holy, Holy wrath
Habitat Land
Intelligence High
Uses Weapons & armour
Starting equipment
Open doors
Holiness Demonic
Size Medium
Type rakshasa, rakshasa
Flags Evil
See invisible
Speaks
Unique
Silence immune
This tall and powerful demon is Mara, Lord of Illusions, mighty among dreamers. He is capable of creating intricately detailed illusions, so real that they are almost as deadly as the creatures they impersonate.

“This night the Lord of Illusion passed among you, Mara, mighty among dreamers, mighty for ill. He did come upon another who may work with the stuff of dreams in a different way. He did meet with Dharma, who may expel a dreamer from his dream. They did struggle, and the Lord Mara is no more. Why did they struggle, deathgod against illusionist? You say their ways are incomprehensible, being the ways of gods. This is not the answer.”
-Roger Zelazny, “Lord of Light”. 1967.

“He who lives looking for pleasures only,
his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food,
idle, and weak, Mara will certainly overthrow him,
as the wind throws down a weak tree.”
-The Buddha, _Dhammapada_, 1:7.
trans. F. Max Muller

Useful Info

Mara, Lord of Illusions, is the unique lord of all rakshasas. Armed with a deadly array of illusory magic, he is an extremely dangerous opponent, capable of turning all your strengths against you. He always generates with a branded demon weapon, and his unique spellset make him challenging regardless of your preparations:

Location

Spells

Spell set
Slot1 none
Slot2 Bolt of Fire (3d27)
Slot3 Mara Summon
Slot4 Summon Illusion
Slot5 Pain (d17)
Slot6 Teleport Self

Special Ability: Blink

Tips & Tricks

Mara is a notoriously dangerous unique. First and foremost, remember that you do not need to kill every monster you come across in Crawl in order to win the game. Mara may generate in a place that makes it difficult to progress without killing him, and some players may wish to take him out in order to get the demon weapon he wields, but in general, it is often a good idea to simply avoid fighting Mara entirely. If you decide to take him out, however, there are two primary threats to keep in mind:

Mara and his clones

Mara is a capable threat on his own, armed with a powerful melee attack and capable of dealing heavy fire damage at range. Soon after any fight with him begins, he makes things significantly more dangerous by summoning two identical clones. These clones have all of Mara's offensive capabilities, and will harass you until they time out, are abjured, are defeated, or when Mara is defeated. Also, Mara may swap places with one of the clones upon summoning them, making it impossible to know which Mara is the real one.

In order to deal with these foes, fire resistance and good AC/EV are critical (at least rF++ is advised), and you should be able to deal solid damage without relying on fire, poison, or negative energy. He also has high enough magic resistance to render all but the most powerful Hexes ineffective. Finally, be careful if he is wielding a demon trident - this weapon's reaching attacks will allow Mara and his clones to attack you far more often than normal in spite of their constant blinking.

There are a few methods for disposing of Mara very effectively. Stealthy stab-focused characters may be able to sneak up on Mara while he's sleeping. Simply step back out of his line of sight, quaff a potion of agility, read a scroll of blinking to immediately place yourself next to him, and stab him for lethal damage. Wasting two consumables in order to eradicate a major threat is well worth it. If he awakens, use of throwing nets can often set him up for a killing stab, but his blinking makes that difficult. Heavy melee fighters can haste themselves and then lay into him with an antimagic-branded weapon. Assuming they can get some early hits in, this may disable all of his most dangerous methods of fighting back.

Player clones

The other thing to be concerned with when facing Mara is his ability to create a clone of your character. This clone will essentially be a player ghost based on your character, and will know many of your spells, have all your melee and defensive capacities, and will benefit from any buffs you may currently have active. Fighting it in a straight one-on-one duel would be risky. Fighting it with multiple Maras around is generally suicidal. As such, the best approach to dealing with a player clone is generally not to deal with it at all.

It is entirely possible to deal Mara lethal damage before he can summon a player clone. If you fail to do so, teleporting away and returning when you're better prepared is a perfectly acceptable idea; the clone will vanish after enough time has passed. Alternatively, you can simply cast Abjuration a few times to destroy the clone, though Mara may summon a new one soon after.

Any buffs you give yourself will also be given to the clone if they are active when Mara clones you. This doesn't mean you shouldn't buff yourself - giving yourself Haste before the fight will make it much easier to take down Mara before things get out of hand. Just be aware of how these effects will boost the clone as well. In particular, you should avoid berserking at all. Mara's blinking means you'll hardly ever have him in range to attack, and when it wears off you'll be slow and exhausted. The clone, meanwhile, will have no difficulty catching up to you and dealing savage damage.

One all-too-common piece of advice one often sees is to attempt to cripple your ghost before fighting it. The idea is that casters can wear artefact jewellery with -CAST, or that melee fighters can wield a bread ration, so that when Mara clones them, the resulting creature will be nearly harmless. This is a bad idea, mainly because while you sit there waiting for Mara to clone you, he'll be blasting you with Bolts of Fire or attacking you in melee while you are incapable of responding. In general it is best to treat Mara like you would any other extremely dangerous summoner: kill him as quickly as possible, and if he summons something you can't handle, teleport away.

Trivia

In Buddhism, Mara is the demon that tempted Buddha to give up his enlightenment.

History

Mara was added in 0.6.

Prior to 0.14 he could cast Mislead.

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