Earth Elementalist

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Earth Elementalists know the Sandblast spell. More earthen spells are in their set of starting spells.

Earth Elementalists are mages with a preference for Earth Magic.

Preferred Species

Deep Elf, Spriggan, Gargoyle, Demigod, Ghoul and Octopode are the recommended species if you pick an Earth Elementalist Background.

Starting Equipment

Some species may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.

• +0 robe
• Potion of magic

Available Spells:

• Sandblast
• Passwall
• Stone Arrow
• Petrify

Earth elementalists start with the Sandblast spell already memorised.

Starting Skills and Stats

These are adjusted by your species' aptitudes.

• Dodging: 2
• Stealth: 2
• Spellcasting: 2
• Transmutations: 1
• Earth Magic: 3

Choosing Earth Elementalist adds 7 to your starting Intelligence and 5 to your starting Dexterity.

Strategy

An Earth Elementalist's bread and butter consists of two fairly standard damage spells. They have standard beam targeting, aren't countered by a specific resistance, and are perfectly serviceable in the damage department. But what differentiates EE from a more boombastic school, like Fire Elementalist, is a small but useful variety of utility spells. This trend continues with Earth Magic as a whole; Iron Shot deals good (if slightly inaccurate) damage to any enemy, while utility spells include Borgnjor's Vile Clutch and Statue Form.

Spell Details

Sandblast is your level 1 spell. It deals more damage than most level 1 spells, in exchange for its slow (1.5) speed and low range. It shines against enemies with low AC, such as ogres or even hydras. Enemies will get 3 attacks for 2 sandblasts, but it is the strongest level 1 spell for raw damage.

At level 3, you gain Stone Arrow, a very competent damage spell. It's nothing special, though can't be resisted. Ironically, the level 3 spell has to compete a lot with Sandblast. The latter is much more MP efficient, dealing similar damage per cast for 1 MP (against foes with low AC). Regardless, Stone Arrow is very consistent, avoiding the risks of any slow action.

Petrify offers an entirely different kind of spell for EE, being very similar to Hexes. After a few turns, your opponent will be unable to act. It enables a playstyle of stabbing - and it can work for a while in the stead of more conventionally offensive spells.

It's often easy to forget that Passwall exists, but it can be a lifesaver in quite a few situations. It takes a few turns to act, but you'll pass through walls, to the other side. It remains useful in various niches for most of the game, including the orb run.

Tips & Tricks

• You can create passwall-able corridors with a wand of digging, for future use.

History

• In 0.29, most backgrounds were buffed; all Mage backgrounds gained a potion of magic. They also lost 30 stones (which were required for Sandblast).
• Prior to 0.27, Earth Elementalists started with the Book of Geomancy, and had Lee's Rapid Deconstruction.
• Prior to 0.19, Earth Elementalists started with 20 stones instead of 30. The increase was to compensate for the fact that sandblast now requires a stone for every cast.
• Prior to 0.14, Earth Elementalists only started with 1 level of Spellcasting.