Spellbook of freeze sphere - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2025-08-25T18:20:25Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: /* SLASH'EM */ some potholes, etc.

2025-06-29T10:36:19Z

‎SLASH'EM: some potholes, etc.

Ion frigate: wording, since the sentence about switching weapons was removed

2025-05-27T08:21:46Z

wording, since the sentence about switching weapons was removed

Ion frigate: just copied from flame sphere, since the strategies are identical

2025-05-27T08:18:57Z

just copied from flame sphere, since the strategies are identical

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2023-10-29T17:15:25Z

pothole

Quantum Immortal: /* See also */

2015-03-22T14:46:04Z

‎See also

Quantum Immortal: /* Techniques */

2015-03-22T14:45:36Z

‎Techniques

Ion frigate: Something of a middle ground - it's certainly not cheating, but is an exploit; that AI behavior is obviously not intended

2012-10-18T10:07:57Z

Something of a middle ground - it's certainly not cheating, but is an exploit; that AI behavior is obviously not intended

Bcode: This isn't degenerate behaviour and most certainly not cheating - killing monsters indirectly is a common element of NetHack (and SLASH'EM) strategy. Also, capitalization

2012-10-18T04:21:29Z

This isn't degenerate behaviour and most certainly not cheating - killing monsters indirectly is a common element of NetHack (and SLASH'EM) strategy. Also, capitalization

Erica: fix plural of vortex

2012-04-26T05:07:03Z

fix plural of vortex

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ===Taking shops with spheres===
-Attacking a shopkeeper with a freezing sphere will anger them, but unlike other attacks from outside their shop, it will not trigger the "hot pursuit" behavior that causes them to leave their shop and chase you.  This can be exploited to safely kill them with numerous freezing spheres: stand diagonally next to an open shop door, using a digging tool to carve out a suitable niche if necessary, then summon freezing spheres using this spell. The shopkeeper will continually switch weapons and patrol the shop interior until they are eventually killed.  Be careful not to stray into their line of fire: they will still shoot their [[shotgun]]s at you, as well as any attack wands they possess.
+Attacking a shopkeeper with a freezing sphere will anger them, but unlike other attacks from outside their shop, it will not trigger the "hot pursuit" behavior that causes them to leave their shop and chase you.  This can be exploited to safely kill them with numerous freezing spheres: stand diagonally next to an open shop door, using a digging tool to carve out a suitable niche if necessary, then summon freezing spheres using this spell. The shopkeeper will continually switch weapons and patrol the shop interior until they are eventually killed.  Be careful not to stray into their line of fire: they will still shoot their [[Shotgun (SLASH'EM)|shotguns]] at you, as well as using any attack wands they possess.
 This will usually take around 10 or so spheres; early [[Flame Mage]]s, [[Ice Mage]]s, and [[Wizard/SLASH'EM|Wizards]] can easily use the [[power surge]] technique to summon that many in one go.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==SLASH'EM==
-In SLASH'EM, the spellbook of freeze sphere is part of the starting equipment of the [[ice mage]] class.  It is the staple attack spell for the ice mage in the early game, since the more powerful [[cone of cold]] begins out of reach.  The ice mage starts with [[matter]] skill at [[basic]] level. As this skill improves, the number of freezing spheres summoned will increase to two at [[skilled]] and three at [[expert]], all for the same casting cost.
+In SLASH'EM, the spellbook of freeze sphere is part of the starting equipment of the [[Ice Mage]] class.  It is the staple attack spell for the Ice Mage in the early game, since the more powerful {{+ of|cone of cold}} begins out of reach. The Ice Mage starts with Basic [[skill]] in [[matter spells]]. As this skill improves, the number of freezing spheres summoned will increase to two at [[Skilled]] and three at [[expert]], all for the same casting cost.
 ===General strategy===
-Since the freezing sphere does not attack a monster directionally in the way that [[force bolt]] or [[magic missile]] does, the ice mage must learn to manipulate the freezing sphere's position to defend against enemies. Using pet displacement is an important aspect; you will learn to dance through your spheres to get them into range of enemies. The ice mage should generally keep a freezing sphere floating around in the early game just in case.  In the likely event that your spheres sometimes get left behind, they may go feral and revert to peacefully bobbing around in empty rooms.  Tame freezing spheres do not appear able to turn hostile.
+Since the freezing sphere does not attack a monster directionally in the way that [[force bolt]] or [[magic missile]] does, the Ice Mage must learn to manipulate the freezing sphere's position to defend against enemies. Using pet displacement is an important aspect; you will learn to dance through your spheres to get them into range of enemies. The Ice Mage should generally keep a freezing sphere floating around in the early game just in case.  In the likely event that your spheres sometimes get left behind, they may go feral and revert to peacefully bobbing around in empty rooms.  Tame freezing spheres do not appear able to turn hostile.
-On the other hand, freezing spheres left to their own devices can cause a lot of problems.  Since they are summoned monsters rather than pets, responsibility for their kills accrues to the player.  This means not only that you will get the experience for the kills, but also the blame: [[shopkeeper]]s, [[guard]]s, [[peaceful]] monsters, and [[god]]s will direct their anger at you if your spheres blow up in the wrong direction.  The ice mage thus needs to keep an eye on where his or her spheres go and make a point of using them only in safe contexts.  It is usually unwise to attack mimics in shops with sphere attacks: they may miss their mark.  The ice mage should use closed doors to control where spheres can travel and try to "burn off" excess spheres after a major battle before exploring the dungeon too far. (The fungi that crop up on a batch of corpses in SLASH'EM may be useful for this purpose.)
+On the other hand, freezing spheres left to their own devices can cause a lot of problems.  Since they are summoned monsters rather than pets, responsibility for their kills accrues to the player.  This means not only that you will get the experience for the kills, but also the blame: [[shopkeeper]]s, [[guard]]s, [[peaceful]] monsters, and [[god]]s will direct their anger at you if your spheres blow up in the wrong direction.  The Ice Mage thus needs to keep an eye on where his or her spheres go and make a point of using them only in safe contexts.  It is usually unwise to attack mimics in shops with sphere attacks: they may miss their mark.  The Ice Mage should use closed doors to control where spheres can travel and try to "burn off" excess spheres after a major battle before exploring the dungeon too far. (The fungi that crop up on a batch of corpses in SLASH'EM may be useful for this purpose.)
-Finally, the ice mage must use caution while [[blind]], since freezing spheres will not show up through [[telepathy]] and killing one by accident has the same [[anger]] effects as killing a pet.
+Finally, the Ice Mage must use caution while [[blind]], since freezing spheres will not show up through [[telepathy]] and killing one by accident has the same [[anger]] effects as killing a pet.
 ===Techniques===
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 Find a magic whistle early to keep your spheres close.
-Keep in mind monsters' different vulnerabilities: freezing spheres will not affect the [[undead]], nor, of course, [[ice vortex|ice vortices]], etc.
+Keep in mind monsters' different vulnerabilities: freezing spheres will not affect the [[undead]], nor, of course, [[ice vortices]], etc.
 ===Taking shops with spheres===
 Attacking a shopkeeper with a freezing sphere will anger them, but unlike other attacks from outside their shop, it will not trigger the "hot pursuit" behavior that causes them to leave their shop and chase you.  This can be exploited to safely kill them with numerous freezing spheres: stand diagonally next to an open shop door, using a digging tool to carve out a suitable niche if necessary, then summon freezing spheres using this spell. The shopkeeper will continually switch weapons and patrol the shop interior until they are eventually killed.  Be careful not to stray into their line of fire: they will still shoot their [[shotgun]]s at you, as well as any attack wands they possess.
-This will usually take around 10 or so spheres; early [[Flame Mage]]s, [[Ice Mage]]s, and [[Wizard/SLASH'EM|Wizard]]s can easily use the [[power surge]] technique to summon that many in one go.
+This will usually take around 10 or so spheres; early [[Flame Mage]]s, [[Ice Mage]]s, and [[Wizard/SLASH'EM|Wizards]] can easily use the [[power surge]] technique to summon that many in one go.
 ==See also==

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 ===Taking shops with spheres===
-Attacking a shopkeeper with a freezing sphere will anger them, but unlike other attacks from outside their shop, it will not trigger the "hot pursuit" behavior that causes them to leave their shop and chase you.  This can be exploited to safely kill them with numerous freezing spheres: stand diagonally next to an open shop door, using a digging tool to carve out a suitable niche if necessary, then summon freezing spheres using this spell. The shopkeeper will continue to switch weapons and patrol the shop interior until they are eventually killed.  Be careful not to stray into their line of fire: they will still shoot their [[shotgun]]s at you, as well as any attack wands they possess.
+Attacking a shopkeeper with a freezing sphere will anger them, but unlike other attacks from outside their shop, it will not trigger the "hot pursuit" behavior that causes them to leave their shop and chase you.  This can be exploited to safely kill them with numerous freezing spheres: stand diagonally next to an open shop door, using a digging tool to carve out a suitable niche if necessary, then summon freezing spheres using this spell. The shopkeeper will continually switch weapons and patrol the shop interior until they are eventually killed.  Be careful not to stray into their line of fire: they will still shoot their [[shotgun]]s at you, as well as any attack wands they possess.
 This will usually take around 10 or so spheres; early [[Flame Mage]]s, [[Ice Mage]]s, and [[Wizard/SLASH'EM|Wizard]]s can easily use the [[power surge]] technique to summon that many in one go.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 Keep in mind monsters' different vulnerabilities: freezing spheres will not affect the [[undead]], nor, of course, [[ice vortex|ice vortices]], etc.
-Freezing spheres have the dramatic ability to take down shopkeepers without giving them the chance to leave their shop and attack. Simply stand diagonally next to an open shop door (not in front of it, as this allows the shopkeeper to kill you using ranged attacks) and keep summoning, using a combination of [[power surge]] and [[draw energy]] [[technique]]s as necessary. (You may need a [[pick-axe]] to carve out a suitable nook for yourself.) The shopkeeper will continue to switch weapons and patrol his or her shop interior, not sure if you are inside or outside. Eventually, you will stop hearing the explosions of your spheres (or you will level up). The shop is yours!  This is something of an exploit, as the willingness of shopkeepers to sit in their shops and be repeatedly hit by spheres is likely unintentional.
+===Taking shops with spheres===
 ==See also==

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Since the freezing sphere does not attack a monster directionally in the way that [[force bolt]] or [[magic missile]] does, the ice mage must learn to manipulate the freezing sphere's position to defend against enemies. Using pet displacement is an important aspect; you will learn to dance through your spheres to get them into range of enemies. The ice mage should generally keep a freezing sphere floating around in the early game just in case.  In the likely event that your spheres sometimes get left behind, they may go feral and revert to peacefully bobbing around in empty rooms.  Tame freezing spheres do not appear able to turn hostile.
-On the other hand, freezing spheres left to their own devices can cause a lot of problems.  Since they are summoned monsters rather than pets, responsibility for their kills accrues to the player.  This means not only that you will get the experience for the kills, but also the blame: [[shopkeeper]]s, [[guard]]s, [[peaceful]] monsters, and [[gods]] will direct their anger at you if your spheres blow up in the wrong direction.  The ice mage thus needs to keep an eye on where his or her spheres go and make a point of using them only in safe contexts.  It is usually unwise to attack mimics in shops with sphere attacks: they may miss their mark.  The ice mage should use closed doors to control where spheres can travel and try to "burn off" excess spheres after a major battle before exploring the dungeon too far. (The fungi that crop up on a batch of corpses in SLASH'EM may be useful for this purpose.)
+On the other hand, freezing spheres left to their own devices can cause a lot of problems.  Since they are summoned monsters rather than pets, responsibility for their kills accrues to the player.  This means not only that you will get the experience for the kills, but also the blame: [[shopkeeper]]s, [[guard]]s, [[peaceful]] monsters, and [[god]]s will direct their anger at you if your spheres blow up in the wrong direction.  The ice mage thus needs to keep an eye on where his or her spheres go and make a point of using them only in safe contexts.  It is usually unwise to attack mimics in shops with sphere attacks: they may miss their mark.  The ice mage should use closed doors to control where spheres can travel and try to "burn off" excess spheres after a major battle before exploring the dungeon too far. (The fungi that crop up on a batch of corpses in SLASH'EM may be useful for this purpose.)
 Finally, the ice mage must use caution while [[blind]], since freezing spheres will not show up through [[telepathy]] and killing one by accident has the same [[anger]] effects as killing a pet.

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==See also==
-*[[Editing Spellbook of flame sphere]]
+*[[Spellbook of flame sphere]]
 *[[Spellcasting (SLASH'EM)#SLASH'EM spellbooks|List of SLASH'EM spellbooks]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 Find a magic whistle early to keep your spheres close.
-Keep in mind monsters' different vulnerabilities: freezing spheres will not affect the [[undead]], nor, of course, [[ice vortex]]es, etc.
+Keep in mind monsters' different vulnerabilities: freezing spheres will not affect the [[undead]], nor, of course, [[ice vortex|ice vortices]], etc.
 Freezing spheres have the dramatic ability to take down shopkeepers without giving them the chance to leave their shop and attack.  Simply stand diagonally next to an open shop door (not in front of it, unless you want to get shot) and keep summoning, using a combination of [[power surge]] and [[draw energy]] [[technique]]s as necessary. (You may need a [[pick-axe]] to carve out a suitable nook for yourself.) The shopkeeper will continue to switch weapons and patrol his or her shop interior, not sure if you are inside or outside.  Eventually, you will stop hearing the explosions of your spheres (or you will level up).  The shop is yours!  Note that this would almost certainly be considered [[cheating|degenerate]] behavior, not to say outright cheating.