Empath Tutorials

Empaths are trained in magics like most other magic users, but they do have their quirks. This guide focuses mainly on Combat training, but the basics of Empath support are still here. My current character Ssarek's YAMLs can be found on github.

Enabling Combat

If you are fighting for the first time as an Empath, the game will actually stop you from doing so. You must type in the command brawl to enable it in the game.

Training Hindrances

Weapons and Damaging living Creatures

Empaths are not able to injure things unless they are Constructs (because they aren't "living") or the Undead (with the spell Absolution active).

DR-Scripts protects against accidentally attacking the wrong critters by way of an argument passed to combat-trainer. Do this as such:

hunting_info:
- :zone:
  - black_marble_gargoyles
  - black_marble_gargoyles
  args:
  - d0
  - weapons
  - construct
  :duration: 30

If you were fighting undead, you would replace the - construct above with - undead and make sure you have Absolution as one of your buff spells.

NOTE: Some rooms are mixed with undead, living, and constructs. The trainer doesn't know the difference between them and will attempt to kill all critters in the room. You need to be careful where you hunt!

Magic in Combat

Weapon skills will train much slower than your main skills, so I break my time up into two hunts:

• Main: Everything but Weapons
• Back: Weapons & Sorcery

In my main hunt I dance with the 4 creatures. Training stealth, defenses, and magics along the way. This is done with the - d4 argument passed to the script as seen below.

hunting_info:
- :zone:
  - storm_bulls
  - storm_bulls
  args:
  - d4
  - main
  :duration: 30

Since you will always be dancing, you'll need to tell the script to cast "offensive" spells during such times. We do this with the tag harmless as shown below:

offensive_spells:
- skill: Targeted Magic
  name: Paralysis
  harmless: true
  mana: 10
  cambrinth:
  - 10

Easy Empathy through Manipulation

As an Empath, you can Manipulate creatures to fight for you if you meet the requirements. They will turn on their friends! Not all mobs are manipulatable, almost or all living are, most undead and cursed are not. Bestiary listings on Elanthipedia usually contain whether the critter is manipulable.

DR-Scripts supports manipulation training with the setting below. In this example I will try to keep two creatures manipulated to kill.

manipulate_threshold: 2

Training Targeted Magic with Guardian Spirit

Empaths now have access to combat pets called Alfar Warriors. They run the spell Guardian Spirit which is a cyclic. You can run the spell as either an offensive spell or a buff spell. My personal preference is to run it as a buff. With this setup, the Spirit is always present during the hunts.

Note that I am using 6 mana. I have used 6 mana and only 6 mana through Wyverns. I haven't seen a reason to go above that, especially when you buff the Warrior with Vigor.

buff_spells:
  Guardian Spirit:
    mana: 6
    recast: 0
    cast: cast custom
    command: warrior to behavior aggressive
    expire: appears suddenly less real

Buffing your Warrior

You can buff your Warrior pet with Vigor. It's a buff_spells: and the requirements are a pet_type and a recast_every.

  Vigor:
    pet_type: warrior
    recast_every: 2100 # 35 minutes
    cast: cast warrior
    mana: 20
    cambrinth:
    - 20
    - 20

Another great trick for combat with a Warrior pet is to use support warrior: timer in your YAML. This can be done best in buff_nonspells:. This means your focusing debilitating what the Warrior is attacking. This will greatly increase killing so you can get loot and skins.

buff_nonspells:
  support warrior: 30

Icutu Zaharenela

# if you are permashocked, this setting will it apply it to all hunts, no longer needing construct
permashocked: true

attack_overrides:
  Empathy: touch

weapon_training:
  Empathy: ''

waggle_sets:
  iz: &iz
    Icutu Zaharenela:
      prep: prepare
      mana: 15
      recast: 1
      cyclic: true

Empath Self Healing

Healing is supported in combat via combat-trainer.lic with empath_healing. Vitality Healing, Fountain of Creation, and Heal are supported. You list the mana you want below the spell abbreviation. The first number is the prep amount, and the rest are cambrinth charges.

empath_healing:
  FOC:
  - 50
  - 50
  VH:
  - 20
  - 30

Non-combat Healing

Outside of combat, you will use the script ;healme.

Combat Healing

With Regenerate Active

You are able to run Regenerate as a buff_spell if you want. When running Regen during combat, the trainer will focus on healing Vitality.

Without Regenerate

Without Regen active, the trainer will use the spells VH, FOC, and Heal if they are listed in empath_healing.

Heal has two possible uses - one is as a standard healing spell that affects your current wounds only and disperses once you are healed. Additionally, with the metaspell Adaptive Curing (scroll only), the spell changes to a buff that will stay active until its timer expires or its power has depleted from healing you. With adaptive curing, list the spell in buff_spells rather than empath_healing. When Heal is a buff spell, you must add recast: 1 to the spell definition. Below is an example YAML for early circle buff_spells.

ags: &ags
    Aggressive Stance: 
      use_auto_mana: true
ic: &ic
    Iron Constitution: 
      use_auto_mana: true
heal: &heal
    Heal:
      mana: 15
      cambrinth:
      - 10
      #use_auto_mana: false
      recast: 1 # Must be set when used as a buff


buffs: &buffs
  << : *ags
  << : *heal
  << : *ic

buff_spells: &buff_spells
  << : *buffs

General Tips and Advice

Do not wait on weapons to progress. Your strength is magic, pets, etc. Don't let weapons hold you back.

Use priority_defense: Evasion to help you climb easier. This is our main defense and we can buff it, the others are tertiary and are unbuffable with our base spells. You'll be surprised how much Evasion plays a part, and if focused on it, you can hunt at level with just Evasion.

Some areas which train your primary and secondary skills will not train weapons. I've had to simply neglect them at times. Once you get high enough Athletics, you can be most places quickly, greatly reducing this stalemate.

Example Empath YAMLs

Rizzoli- HLC
Sample Profiles