Witches and items to increase magic

[Ynwe]

So.. I have 2 witches. They ofcourse only could come into existence after I built the totem for em. So they should get a higher magic level from the start. They started with magic 1. And have since only VERY slowly increased. Why is this? Shouldn't magic be one of their major stats as WITCHES?

And which crafting item is the best one to increase magic stats via items such as artifacts? Enchanted bones?

[sikker]

I don't think they get higher stats just because you have a totem, it just guarantees the option. Magic is generally pretty low on humans, having only 1 is not unlikely, even for a witch. Elves and demons are much better at magic.

As for items, I never craft artifacts or jewels but I think ancient wood gives magic. Enchanted bone and moonstone give magic on weapons and enchanted bone also gives magic on armor.

[Ynwe]

mmh so demon would be better? how do I attract one again?

[jwinter]

Skills are assigned randomly, they certain are prioritized by classes but that does not make it 100% sure you get it. My medic is 2nd best gatherer of all villagers...

[XenoReaver]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

mmh so demon would be better? how do I attract one again?

Build structures out of Enchanted Bone or Dragon Bone. Dragon Bone is better to use though.

[Baroni]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

Shouldn't magic be one of their major stats as WITCHES?

BTW, In slavic mithology the meaning of "witch" is little different than in Hollywood movies - slavic Witch is somebody between:

- magician/sorcerness/wizard (who strictly uses magic)
- druid/herbalist/healer (who uses power of nature and herbs)

They know elements of sorcery of course and they can cast spells, but strictly thay are not magician (Ingame, you can also notice they are beetwen above mentioned two groups)

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

mmh so demon would be better? how do I attract one again?

You construct buildings with Enchanted Bones or Dragon Bones as a component. I am still not persuaded that Demons is a way to go - especially not solely to attract Magic-capable units.

You can significantly increase Magic with crafted items. I know you don't like crafting, but it is one of the most important aspects of the game - especially if you want to play at higher difficulties.

This website is a bit out-of-date, but it lists a lot crafting outcomes. A common crafted item solely to acquire Magic is Spectral Kite (a shield made of Enchanted Bone), which has numerous possible combinations - depending on the ingredients - but always yields at least +2 Magic:

http://muhagames.com/thea/shields/

[SnugSnug]

Although levelling up is random characters have a higher chance of increasing an existing skill than picking up a new one. I think i read somewhere skill increase > new class skill > any skill. Therefore by virtue of usually starting with a magic skill they do become better. They are also more likely to pick up further magic skill gains for successful event completion especially hex challanges etc.

Witches also tend to have a high herbalism stat, which makes them decent support in sickness challanges.

The totem gives a +magic boost to all characters who are currently in the village, but ONLY while they remain in the village, similar to the blacksmith, animal manager etc. This is different to the skill point boost that certain building add as a permanent bonus to 'come of age' children.

In addition to using Enchanted bones, Ancient Wood, Moonstone(?) in crafting recipies one can also use any gems for a rondom boost which maybe magic on any armour/weapon/shield or used to add strength to an otherwise set magic recipe eg spectral shield.

In some recipies the 1st element sets the properties and the sencond determines its strength in others both elements add their own properties. Silver + Ancient wood (or Enchanted bone or Darkwood)+ catalyst makes a decent hex/social challange silver band.

[Ynwe]

btw do you need herbs for sickness challenges? or what do you use em for besides food?

[SnugSnug]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

btw do you need herbs for sickness challenges? or what do you use em for besides food?

Some events need a number of herbs available to enable dialogue options. Nearly all to do with sickness challanges.

[Ynwe]

so I should always bring like 20 herbs with me? cause I usually leave em in my village

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

so I should always bring like 20 herbs with me? cause I usually leave em in my village

Not really. You will get other dialogue options.

[Ynwe]

so what do oyu do with herbs then?

[Lampros]

Originally posted by Ynwe:

so what do oyu do with herbs then?

Use them as cooking ingredients.

[SnugSnug]

You'll soon mass produce herbs if you have A. Herbalist hut, B. Gathering point within settlement boundaries.

It's fairly easy to get a +3 and above herbalist hut assuming one goes that route for village buildings. So i tend to equip 20 herb on expedition and the rest goes into cooking, i still usually stockpile it into the 1000's by the end of the game.

Once you play the game a few times you get to know what ingredients may be needed for event resolutions, and some of them are easy enough to carry around on the off chance.

[Ynwe]

wait so snugsnug you are saying you actually should use the herb hut? I kinda skipped that building sincve I didn't see the advantage of it

Besides the goblin event I didn't know of any case where you would need herbs