Might and Magic VI (2) Hints from rjmcpher@uci.edu with thanks from many other contributors Downloaded from the Net by Carolyn Brown Continued from Issue 57 ___ [hints about additional training requirements] Lots of weird requirements (depending on what you call weird). If you mean weird by requiring one of the "titles" then there are only 7, although ironically there is no skill related to Great Druid or ArchDruid that I'm aware of. The weird seven are: 1. Sword master requires 8 skill points in sword and Cavalier title 2. Spear master requires 8 skill points in spear and Cavalier title 3. Bow master requires 8 skill points in bow and Battle Mage title 4. Chain master requires 10 skill points in chain and Crusader title 5. Plate master only requires Hero title 6. Air master only requires ArchMage title 7. Spirit master only requires High Priest title Of course, all title requirements work for honorary titles as well (eg. High Priest or Honorary High Priest). There are some other strange requirements... Axe master requires completion of the "Snergle" quest. Light master requires a "Saintly" reputation. Dark master requires a "Notorious" reputation (one armageddon spell and you're notorious). and quite a few of the other Masters require a minimum in a stat (eg. Merchant Master requires 30+ Personality) as well as the normal skill point requirements. These are easier since the game doesn't differentiate between temporary and permanent stat levels. By the time you want to be a master in something, you should be able to get enough magic items (or potions) to magic yourself up to the minimum stat requirement for any skill. For those of you who don't know, the following is the minimum skill points required to be a master by grouping (please note exception above): 7 skill points to master a miscellaneous skill (merchant, identify, etc...) 8 skill points to master a weapon 10 skill points to master an armor type 12 skill points to master a magic Anyone can be an "honorary" something. Archmage, Great Druid, Hero, etc... Michael P. Smith ____ Ron's secrets/hints/bugs Here is my advice (rjmcpher@uci.edu): 1. get ++ THE COMPLETE MM6 HINT FILE ++ and print it out. (see http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/~rmcphers/mm6maps.html and other sites) 2. think about using one of the trainer/cheater character editors and set all your skills to +4 to begin otherwise the game is very slow to start 3. Archers and Druids are good, elemental magic wins the game. 4. Don't put any points in your luck stat because there is a well in the first city that can boost luck up to +15 with repeated use (once/week/+2 at a time). 5. Search for horseshoes and herbs all the time. Horseshoes raise your skill points. Everything respawns, the rate of respawn varies, New Sorpigal respawns in 6 months. Potions and horseshoes are vital. Castle Kriegspire is full of horseshoes and full of minotaurs. 6. Watch the calendar all the time and plan your training carefully. Time passes and you miss the opportunity to get shrine pilgrimages from the Seer in Castle Ironfist. Get to the seer as soon as possible and start getting pilgrimage assignments every month. Training takes a week and so if you go to the trainer and go up more than one level in a single visit you save yourself weeks of game time. 7. Get a banker to join your party and a merchant right away because money makes the world go around. Plan on getting high perception (to buy things at cost) and high merchant skill (to sell things at max). Think about money right away or you'll be broke later in the game. 8. Don't try to satisfy each quest as you get it, plan on having a book full of unsatisfied quests. That way you can coordinate training, questing, travel, etc... and increase your experience faster and reduce return trips. 9. Make the "essence of" 4th generation potions right away and get +10 added to all your stats permanently. 10. Go everywhere, get everything (except bones), kill everything (except peasants). Killing peasants and getting bones and selling bones lowers your reputation. 11. The game is pseudo-linear. You can go into a dungeon and explore and kill any time you want but if you have not been sent to find a person, then they may not be there yet. You can usually find quest items ahead of schedule, but not all the quest people. So the master thief is not in the sewer until you get the promotion quest, but the little girl is in the spider dungeon/abandoned temple whether you've talked to her father in New Sorpigal or not. 12. Save often. The Save/Reload spell is the best magic spell in the game. 13. There is a bug or two to exploit. One in particular is in the Fire Lord quest dungeon (see below). You can get unlimited experience here. This is also a chance to get your reputation to "Saintly" since you also get reputation bonuses. But reputation is a different story. In short, just don't plan on mastering in Dark Magic because your reputation will be ruined. Elemental magic and the spells SPARKS, FIREBALL, ACID BURST, POISON SPRAY, are the most successful spells all game long and at higher levels you can cast FLY and drop METEOR SHOWERS on everything and just enjoy the carnage. [winning routine] Once you have LLOYD's BEACON and TOWN PORTAL you can employ the following strategy: First, visit a +levels fountain (Castle Stone +10 or Kriegspire +30) and set a beacon, then drink from the fountain, then town portal to Blackshire and cast POWER CURE, HOUR OF POWER, DAY OF THE GODS, FLY, WATER WALK, and DAY OF PROTECTION, then drink from the Blackshire fountain and get all your magic mana restored, then save. If you need magic resistance also, run down to the other fountain and drink and cast STONE TO FLESH then run back and drink to restore mana again. Now go defeat dragons. Especially the dragons in the SouthEastern most corner of Dragonsand that are surrounding the wonderful little shrine that gives a permanent +20 to all statistics! [unlimited experience bug] The Fire Lord quest in dungeon in Bootleg Bay (SE near obelisk) is solved by carrying amber and finding more amber in the dungeon and repeatedly dropping into the center platform and then dropping down into each of the 8 or so directions and clearing the route. Teleport back and when you've killed the anubis-looking monster and cleared all the paths you will have solved the quest. Now when you return to the face at the dungeon's entrance (the Fire Lord) and click on "quest" you will be awarded experience and reputation bonuses. IF YOU STAY IN THAT CONVERSATION AND KEEP CLICKING ON "QUEST" YOU WILL GET MORE BONUS ADDED. You can then train to any level you like (if you have the money). I recommend level 15 or 20 to begin this dungeon. Read the addendum file(s) to learn about the unlimited gold bug so that you can afford to train to level 200 after you get unlimited experience. - o -