By Hakeem of Harvestgain. Proud member of the Source since 1999

This article is intended to give you some points when researching spells over Level 1. It’s really quite simple once you get the hang of it, and it should never take you more than 12 tries to learn ‘the next Level’ spell. First, the order of components in all spells by Level.

Level 1 – Lead Scarab, Herb, Gemstone, Potion, Talisman

Level 2 – Iron Scarab, Taper, Herb, Gemstone, Potion, Talisman

Level 3 – Copper Scarab, Taper, Herb, Random Taper, Gemstone, Potion, Talisman

Level 4 – Silver Scarab, Taper, Herb, Taper, Gemstone, Potion, Talisman

Level 5 – Gold Scarab, Taper, Herb, Taper, Gemstone, Potion, Random Taper, Talisman

Level 6 – Pyreal Scarab, Taper, Herb, Taper, Gemstone, Potion, Taper, Talisman

Level 2 spells:

So once you know the Level one spell, you see that you need to change two things to learn the Level 2 version of the same spell.

First, change the scarab from Lead to Iron.

Second, insert a taper, after the scarab. There are 12 different tapers, so by trial and error you can pretty easily find out what the taper is, and learn the Level 2 spell. If you don’t feel like using trial and error, there is a pattern, that may or may not be more trouble than it’s worth to figure out. The formula for the pattern is found at the end of this article.

Level 3 spells:

Level 3 spells are a little trickier, since there are now 2 tapers in the formula. This doesn’t mean that it will take you 144 tries though. (I’ve tried it, and it’s a pain, believe me) The first taper is fixed, meaning it’s the same for all mages. The second taper is random for each character, and from what I understand, it’s based on your Zone name. (?)

The first taper is VERY easy if you know the "rainbow order" of tapers. Here it is...

Yellow > Green > Turquoise > Blue > Indigo > Violet > Brown > White > Grey > Red > Pink > Orange >

Example: Let’s say you know that the formula for Flame Bolt II is:

Iron Scarab, Turquoise Taper, Hawthorn, Onyx, Turpeth, Birch. (This isn’t the formula, it may be close, but I don’t have it in front of me...)

Then the formula for the Level 3 spell will be:

COPPER Scarab, Blue Taper, Hawthorn, RANDOM Taper, Onyx, Turpeth, Birch.

So all you must do is determine the random taper, by creating the rest of the formula, then plugging in tapers in the second taper spot until you successfully cast it.

Level 4 spells:

These are very easy assuming you know the Level 3 spell, and you have the rainbow order...

To learn a Level 4 spell, rotate BOTH of the tapers to the next color in the rainbow order, and change the scarab to Silver. Viola! Level 4 spell. No trial and error necessary.

Level 5 spells:

A little trickier, but not too hard. Rotate the first and second taper from the Level 4 spell, and insert the third and final taper in the spot after the potion. This will be a random taper so it may take you as many as 12 tries to get it. Also, make sure that you rotate the Scarab to Gold.

Level 6 spells:

These are just like the Level 4 spells, in that if your Level of magic is high enough, you should be able to learn this with no testing. Rotate all three tapers to the next color. And change the scarab to Pyreal.

Tips:

• ALWAYS select a target for your spell.
• If you don’t succeed the after 12 tries, go through them one more time. If you still don’t succeed, your Level of magic might not be high enough right now. You can wait until it’s higher, or you can try using an Orb or Wand that may increase your magic Level. Finally, you can use Creature Enchantment, to cast a mastery spell on yourself, which might be enough to learn it.
• Make sure you have adequate mana to cast the spell. If you only have 2 mana available, the spell will fizzle no matter if you have the components right or not.
• Make sure that the scarab is right.
• Don’t test spells on Hoary Mattekars or Olthoi. If you don’t know the spell that you need when you fight those, then it’s probably best you leave it be for now.

Pattern for the Taper in Level 2 spells.

Most of this information is based on research done by Xu Shu of Leafcull, so a special thanks to him.

To determine the taper for a Level 2 spell, you need to know the Level 1 spell obviously. Once you know this, use the following list, and add the values for the components together. So add the value for scarab, herb, gemstone, potion, and talisman. You then subtract the number 12 from the total as much as possible. The number you have left is your taper. See the examples after this chart to explain this a bit easier.

Acid Stream I – Lead, Hawthorn, Onyx, Brimstone, Birch. 6 + 8 + 3 + 12 + 6 = 35. So, 35 – 12 = 23. Is 23 <= 12? No, so we do it again. 23 – 12 = 11. 11 = Orange. So, level 2 taper for Acid Stream II is Orange.

Shock Wave I – Lead, Hawthorn, Onyx, Vitriol, Birch. 6 + 8 + 3 + 1 + 6 = 24. So 24 – 12 = 12. You could subtract 12 from 12 and get 0, so that’s no good. So once you get to a number less than 12, you stop subtracting 12 from it. So using the chart, the taper for Shock Wave II is Pink.