Sandblast
 Sandblast
| |
|---|---|
| Level | 1 |
| School1 | Earth |
| Source(s) | Book of Geomancy |
| Casting noise | 1 |
| Spell noise | 2 |
| Power Cap | 50 |
| Range | 4 |
| Flags | Dir or target, Needs tracer, Not self |
| Blasts a target with high-velocity rock shards. Gathering the rock from ambient grit is slow, making this spell take half again as long to cast as most. Its damage is strongly reduced by armour. |
| Spell Details | |
|---|---|
| Damage Formula | 2d(4+Power/3) |
| Max Damage | 2d(20.67) |
| Max Power | 50 |
| Range | 4 |
| Targeting | Beam |
| To-hit | 13+Power/10 |
| Special | AC applied thrice Takes 1.5 turn to cast |
Sandblast is a level 1 Earth Magic spell which fires shrapnel with a range of 4, though it takes 1.5 turns to fire. Sandblast maxes out at 2d20 damage, which is impressive for a level 1 spell. However, damage reduction from enemy AC is applied thrice instead of once, and the slow firing means that enemies will often get more attacks in. Miscasting this spell will still take a normal turn.
Earth Elementalists begin with this spell memorized.
Monster Version
While no monsters cast Sandblast normally, player ghosts with Sandblast may appear. Ghosts will cast Sandblast in 1 turn rather than 2.
Strategy
Sandblast is noticeably more MP-efficent than Stone Arrow, dealing the same and even more damage against low-AC foes. At lower levels, spending 66% less MP is worth the 50% slower speed. But as you gain maximum MP, Stone Arrow's damage/turn becomes more noticeable than Sandblast's damage/MP, and the former is not heavily reduced by AC.
History
- Prior to 0.30, monsters would cast Sandblast in 2 turns.
- Prior to 0.29, Sandblast was a range-3 spell that took only 1 turn to fire, but consumed a stone per use.
- Prior to 0.20, Sandblast could be used without stones, with reduced damage. To use the stronger version, the stone had to be wielded. Ogres and trolls could also use large rocks, for even bigger damage.
- Prior to 0.9, AC was only applied twice instead of thrice, making the spell a little more viable against armoured targets.
- Prior to 0.8, Sandblast had a range of 1, but using stones changed it to range 2. Using large rocks did not increase damage.
