Mephitic Cloud
 Mephitic Cloud
| |
|---|---|
| Level | 3 |
| School1 | Air |
| School2 | Alchemy |
| School3 | Conjuration |
| Source(s) | Book of the Senses Trismegistus Codex |
| Casting noise | 3 |
| Spell noise | 15 |
| Power Cap | 100 |
| Range | 4 |
| Flags | Area, Cloud, Dir or target, Needs tracer |
| Conjures a fragile flask that explodes into short-lived clouds of noxious fumes. These clouds may cause confusion in any creature not resistant to poison. Tougher, more experienced creatures are less likely to be affected. |
Mephitic Cloud is a Level 3 Conjurations/Alchemy/Air Magic spell that creates up to a 3x3 cloud of noxious fumes, which will linger for several turns.
Alchemists and Hedge Wizards start with this spell.
Useful Info
Creates a bank of noxious fumes, affecting random tiles within a 3x3 radius from its release point. Higher spell power increases the amount of tiles affected. The clouds stay for a duration of 1d(power / 50) turns.
Anything standing in noxious fumes has a (21 - hit dice) / 21 chance per turn to become confused. Monsters with 21 or more hit dice have a flat 2% chance to be affected. Creatures that are resistant or immune to poison are immune to noxious fumes, anything with clarity is also immune.
Mephitic Cloud is very loud, making as much noise as Fireball. Since it can be targeted at an empty square, this increases the effective range by one.
Strategy
Confusion is a powerful effect: it prevents enemy abilities/spellcasting, gives a ~60% chance for melee attacks to target a wrong tile, and allows stabbing. The clouds last for multiple turns, making this spell strong in both MP and turn economy, and because it's a level 3 spell, it doesn't take that much investment to cast. Overall, despite Mephitic Cloud checking two properties (rPois and HD), it is a strong spell.
Many of the most dangerous enemies in the early game, such as orc priests, centaurs, and all sorts of early uniques, are vulnerable. Even up to the Vaults and Depths, many enemies are vulnerable to poison, such as all the ironbound monsters. The clouds get multiple confuse attempts, each attempt happens passively, and the spell affects a small area, meaning it can be useful on stronger enemies than the raw confuse% would suggest.
Aiming
If you are adjacent to a target, you can aim diagonally behind the target in order to not hit yourself (i.e. aim at the *):
......... ......... ...###... ....###.. ...#*#... ....#*#.. ...##Y... ....Y##.. ....@.... ....@.... ......... .........
By targeting diagonally behind the yak, you can catch it in the cloud radius without catching yourself.
If you have poison resistance, clarity, or are worshipping Qazlal, you are immune to clouds, so don't be afraid to blast yourself. Even if you aren't immune, risking self-confusion can be worth it. You can drink a potion of curing to end it; most enemies can't.
Tips & Tricks
- Clouds cannot be placed on tiles that already have a cloud. So if you're immune to noxious fumes, you can cast Mephitic Cloud to prevent Petrifying Cloud or Chaos Breath clouds from affecting you.
- If you come across Ignite Poison, you can use Mephitic Cloud to create clouds of flame. You can confuse your enemies, then ignite them to inflict extra damage.
- Irradiate also combos well with this spell, as Irradiate shares two schools and lowers enemy HD, making them more likely to be confused. rPois is recommended to use this spell in melee range.
History
- Prior to 0.28, noxious fumes would deal minor (0-2) poison-based damage while in them.
- Prior to 0.27, unbreathing creatures were immune to noxious fumes.
- Prior to 0.10, Mephitic Cloud guaranteed a 3x3 cloud.
