Anti-magic

Antimagic is way of life, espoused by the Ziguranth, and adopted by many citizens of the lands of Maj'Eyal. Practitioners of Antimagic take a vow never to use "unnatural" magic of any kind. In exchange for this vow, they gain access to special Antimagic talents.

Choosing whether to become a Zigur follower is an important choice most non-arcane classes must choose.

Note: Undead are unnatural creatures, and may not choose to pursue Antimagic.

How It Works

Quest: The Curse of Magic

In addition to the vow, a small test is required of potential Antimagicians, before the secrets will be revealed. The test takes the form of a trial by combat -- the character is placed into the town's arena, and must face several randomly chosen magical opponents, ending with a (non-random) orc corruptor. Characters may not engage in this trial until reaching level 10. Realistically, the orc corruptor is considerably stronger than a level 10 character, so waiting even longer is advised.

Consequences

Being a Zigur follower has several advantages:

• You unlock the Wild-gift/Antimagic talent tree and gain one level in Resolve.
• You may ask Protector Myssil in Zigur for help with the Storming the city quest, and thereby unlock the Fungus talents.
• You gain special bonuses when wearing certain artifacts.

It also has some disadvantages:

• You may not use runes.
• You may not wield/wear any arcane-powered items.
• You may not use any talents that are classified as spells (the description says "is: Spell").
• You may not complete the An apprentice task quest chain. If started, the Apprentice will run away forever when you next speak to him. The quest will still be marked 'Active' and cannot be completed.

To get the most of the Antimagic talent tree, you should have a high Willpower and be prepared to spend a fair number of generic points. Talents that allow faster Equilibrium regeneration will also be helpful in keeping Antimagic Shield up.

Characters who have passed the arena challenge may learn (or improve their knowledge of) the Fungus talents by defeating Urkis on Tempest Peak, and then returning to Protector Myssil in Zigur.

Strategy

The choice of becoming anti-magic can be a tough decision for some. It is important to consider:

• Do you have enough generic points and a category point to spend?

The primary strength of Antimagic is mostly in the secondary tree, Fungus, and having the ~10-15 generics, to spend between both trees will hamstring classes that otherwise have very strong use for their generic points. You must also spend a category point to unlock this tree, which may be a large hindrance, depending on your class.

• Are your willpower and cunning high enough to make it worth it? Can you make good use of the skills provided?

The talents in Antimagic and Fungus require you to sustain or use Equilibrium to function, and if you cannot afford to max will on the class you're playing, you simply won't have the resources to use the talents. Further, many of the talents also scale with mindpower, which cunning also gives. Without a high mindpower, may of the talents will be lackluster. Further, Ancestral Life is at its strongest when used with a strong heal talent (such as Nature's Touch or Nature's Equilibrium that would usually take a turn, as Fungal Growth will cause it to apply a regen, thus causing it to not take a turn.

• Can you do without arcane-powered items?

While arcane-powered items may not seem specifically useful, realize that you'll be unable to use a significant fraction of the loot you'll find. Gear that might otherwise be fantastic may have a single arcane ego that will not allow you to use it.