The Soloist: Leveling Defensive Magic

So you've left the Ranger camp at Silan, hit the mainland, and have traveled around a little bit. Saw some stuff, killed some things, and you're well on your way to leveling several of your abilities as an Atysian adventurer all by yourself.

...except for that pesky Defensive Magic ability.

You want those skill points for that new Bomb or Spray effect on your spells (and rightfully so), but the only thing left to level in the magic realm for you are spells that do no damage - and it's hard to find groups that are geared toward leveling your Fear and Heal spells because usually, what they're hunting is no match for your Heal 2 or Fear 1 abilities.

Does this sound like you? Well, you're in luck. I'm going to show you novice adventurers a relatively painless way of accomplishing this on your own.

(NOTE: You must be on the mainland for this to work, because Sap Charge is a requirement for the trick. Just one more incentive to come on down!)

STEP 1: Make or purchase (preferably make) a magic amplifier suitable for casting defensive affliction magic with a sizable sap load capacity. A high casting speed bonus is what you're looking for, though power won't hurt much either.

If you do it right, you're only going to be casting once or twice anyway.

STEP 2: Crystallize an offensive spell (acid's usually good, but acid doesn't work on everything - kipee, for example, are immune to its effects) by right-clicking on the desired spell on your action bar and selecting "Crystallize". Imbue this crystallized spell into your magic amplifiers by equipping the amps, opening your inventory, right-clicking on the crystallized spell there and selecting "Enchant Right Hand".

Sap Charging in progress

STEP 3: Charge your amps' sap load with the Sap Charge ability. (NOTE: This costs 1 dapper for each 1 sap loaded into the amplifiers - Sap Charge 1 costs 10 dappers per use, SP 2 costs 20, and so on. Make sure you have the spare change!)

STEP 4: Find a creature that's a higher level than your Defensive Magic ability, but not TOO much higher. For this demonstration, I chose level 35 Growling Cloppers around Fairhaven for a level 28 ability. Why not 20 levels higher, you ask? Takes more shots out of my amplifiers - the cloppers go down in three shots, while level 48 creatures tend to take 6-7. In the end, I've found it to be more efficient on a per-minute basis, but your experience may vary.

Fear link established!

STEP 5: Land just one defensive affliction spell on it. I recommend Fear spells.

STEP 6: Once you've successfully landed a single defensive affliction spell on it, blast away with the Use Item Enchantment ability until it's dead.

Combine with catalyzers for more fun!

All of the experience gained goes directly to your Defensive Affliction ability - keep it up, and those skill points will be yours.

Got a refinement? An alternative? A question? As always, feel free to post below! - D T'k