Equipment Properties
The difference between a common piece of equipment and a prized high quality piece is almost always in the magical item properties contained within. In order to properly outfit your character, you must learn the effect of every property.
Magical Property Effects
Resistances - Damage resistance is always welcome, with different resistances having different importance depending on what you're fighting. Your maximum resistance is 70% in each type. Extra resistance is considered most valuable on armor, somewhat valuable on jewelry, and not quite as valuable on weapons.
Hit/Defence Chance Increase - Hit chance and defense chance modify your ability to fight with weapons, and are highly valued properties on any piece of equipment.
Stat Bonuses - Strength, dexterity, and intelligence bonuses are very helpful, with the value of each stat bonus varying depending on the type of character you are.
Derived Stat Bonuses - Hit point, stamina, and mana bonuses are not quite as valued as regular stat bonuses, as they have a slightly reduced benefit. However they are critical for those players who are trying to maximize a particular derived stat.
Damage Increase - Increased damage on weapons is valuable to players dedicated to weapon damage.
Swing Speed Increase - This property increases the swing rate for weapons by a percentage, and is thus more valuable for faster weapons than it is for slower weapons. Even for slower weapons, this property is highly valued.
Spell Damage Increase - SDI is highly valued by those players who do the majority of their damage using magery.
Faster Casting - Probably the most important property for spellcasters, faster casting (FC) increases the time spent casting spells. Any serious mage wears jewelry with 4 FC, as do players who use a lot of chivalry.
Faster Cast Recovery - Almost as important as faster casting for spellcasters, faster cast recovery (FCR) reduces the "cool down" delay between casting one spell and the next. Almost all serious mages wear 8 FCR.
Spell Channeling - This property allows you to cast magery spells while continuing to equip your weapon and/or shield. Note that when a piece of equipment has this property, it is normally accompanied with faster casting -1: a casting penalty. In rarer occasions the equipment will not have the casting penalty (no faster casting -1) because it has both the spell channeling and faster casting properties, resulting in what is called "SC no pen(alty)". In addition, you can meditate while holding SC equipment. Most mages consider this to be a required property.
Lower Mana Cost - LMC is a very useful property, particularly for those who cast spells, but also when using weapon abilities. Dedicated mages usually try to wear 40% LMC.
Lower Reagent Cost - LRC allows you to save reagents, as well as tithing. When wearing LRC, for each spell cast there is a chance that you will not consume reagents or tithing. It is possible to wear 100% LRC, allowing you to cast spells without carrying any reagents. While this is useful when training skills, LRC doesn't actually help you do anything more effectively, and most players disregard LRC when evaluating equipment.
Regeneration - Increases your natural regeneration rate of hit points, stamina, or mana. Hit point and stamina regeneration are generally considered minor properties, as you can raise hit points by healing, and stamina by drinking a refreshment potion or casting divine fury. In comparison, mana regeneration is valued by many players.
Hit Spell - Hit spell (magic arrow, harm, fireball, or lightning) is one of the most valued properties, as it is basically bonus damage that cannot be parried. In addition to the damage, hit magic arrow and fireball also do delayed damage, providing an extra spell disrupt on the target that is especially useful against mages.
Hit Spell Area - Hit area (physical, fire, cold, poison, or energy) is generally regarded as a negative property. While at first it may seem nice to do damage to all creatures in range, it's not so nice when everything gets hit and starts attacking you. For red (murderer) players in town, holding a weapon with hit spell can mean instant death as you accidentally damage an innocent blue and get killed by the town guards. Some players do find hit area to be useful, particularly in champion spawns.
Hit Leech - Weapons with a hit leech property (hit point, stamina, or mana) convert the damage done by the weapon and give you hit points, stamina, or mana. They do not reduce the target's hit points, stamina, or mana. While all hit leech properties are useful, hit mana leech is particularly valuable because it's much easier to recover hit points and stamina than mana.
Hit Lower Attack/Defense - Hit lower will reduce the target's attack or defense capability for a short period of time.
Slayer - Wielding a weapon that has a slayer property (such as snake slayer) performs bonus damage on the monster of the specified type.
Luck - Wearing luck equipment increases your chance of finding powerful equipment as monster loot, as well as increasing your chance of receiving artifacts.
Reflect Physical Damage - Physical damage done to you will be reflected to the source, though you will still take damage. Some players find it helpful to have some reflect physical damage in PVP situations.
Mage Armor - Armor with this property allows you to meditate (both actively and passively) without removing your armor. Note that some types of equipment (leather armor, and all clothing) already allows you to meditate, so those items will never have this property. In general, players choose to use leather armor as there is little drawback compared to other "non-medable" armor, and a piece of armor with the mage armor property is seen as having a wasted property.
Mage Weapon - When a weapon with the mage weapon property is used to fight, your magery skill is used to determine your combat ability. The intensity of the mage weapon property is a negative modifier, so wielding that weapon reduces your magery skill and also your combat ability. As a result, the mage weapon property is considered a liability. The only positive of this property is when training the magery skill, as it allows you to train magery with an artificially reduced skill.
Enhance Potions - The effects of potions are increased by the percentage worn.
Elemental Damage Conversion - This property on weapons is not precisely a property, but rather a modification of the weapon. Weapons normally do 100% physical damage, but weapons with this property can do up to 100% elemental damage.
Chaos Damage - Chaos Damage is not a particular type of damage, but rather means that your weapon will inflict a random one of the five damage types with each hit.
Skill Bonuses - Jewelry with skill bonuses do not raise skills beyond the skill cap, and thus have very little value. Possible exceptions are jewels with bonuses in skills that you choose not to train, such as animal taming.
Self Repair - A bit of a misnomer, this property reduces the amount of damage that your equipment takes, effectively giving it longer life. You will not see the durability simply increase in time.
Durability Bonus - Gives your equipment higher maximum durability. A minor property.
Hit Dispel - Instantly dispels a summoned creature.
Best Weapon Skill - When a weapon with this property is equipped, your highest weapon skill is used regardless of the weapon type. Note that wrestling is not considered a weapon skill.
Night Sight - Using equipment with the night sight property makes the world look like daytime regardless of how bright it actually is. This is not a very valuable property.
Lower Requirements - Reduces the strength requirements for using this piece of equipment. This property has almost no value.
Balanced - Appearing only on bows, this property allows the wielder to drink potions without having to unwield their weapon.
Velocity - Appearing only on bows, this property is the chance of doing bonus physical damage based on distance. The further the distance to the target, the higher the damage.
Battle Lust - No effect at this time.
Hit Curse - Curses the target like the curse spell. 30 second cooldown.
Hit Fatigue - Inflicts additional fatigue loss on the target proportional to the amount of damage done.
Hit Mana Drain - Reduces the target's mana proportional to the amount of damage done.
Splintering Weapon - A shard of your weapon may splinter, causing the victim to bleed and forcing them to walk. Stacks with bleed attack.
Reactive Paralyze - The attacker has a chance of being paralyzed when you parry their melee attack.
Casting Focus - A chance of resisting spell disruption.
Resonance - If the resonance type of your equipment matches damage type of an attack that you are hit with, you have a chance of resisting spell disruption.
Soul Charge - Damage you receive has a chance of increasing your mana.
Blood Drinker - Damage done by your weapon's bleed attack heals you.
Damage Eater - Damage you receive of a given type (physical, fire, etc.) can be eaten and turned back into health.
Brittle - Any item with this property cannot be enhanced with powder of fortification.
Magical Properties
This chart lists the magical properties, the potential intensity of each property, and which equipment types can have the property on typical loot and crafted equipment. Note that the intensity ranges and types listed here are for runic crafted and looted items only; artifacts may have property intensities that do not follow this table.
| Property | Range | Weapon | Shield | Armor | Jewelry |
|---|
| Balanced | yes/no |
bows only | | | |
| Best Weapon Skill | yes/no |
X | | | |
| Cold Resist | 1-15 |
X | | X | X |
| Damage Increase | 1-25 |
| | | X |
| Damage Increase | 1-50 |
X | | | |
| Defence Chance Increase | 1-15 |
X | X | | X |
| Durability Bonus | 10-100 |
X | X | X | |
| Energy Resist | 1-15 |
X | | X | X |
| Elemental Damage | 10-100 |
X | | | |
| Enhance Potions | 5-25 |
| | | X |
| Faster Cast Recovery | 1-3 |
| | | X |
| Faster Casting | 1 |
X | X | | X |
| Fire Resist | 1-15 |
X | | X | X |
| Hit Spell Area | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Chance Increase | 1-15 |
X | X | | X |
| Hit Dispel | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Spell | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Life Leech | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Lower Attack | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Lower Defense | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Mana Leech | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Point Regeneration | 1-2 |
| | X | |
| Slayer | yes/no |
X | | | |
| Hit Stamina Leech | 2-50 |
X | | | |
| Hit Point Increase | 1-5 |
| | X | |
| Intelligence Bonus | 1-8 |
| | | X |
| Lower Mana Cost | 1-8 |
| | X | X |
| Lower Reagent Cost | 1-20 |
| | X | X |
| Lower Requirements | 10-100 |
| X | X | X |
| Luck | 1-100 |
X | | X | X |
| Mage Armor | yes/no |
| | X | |
| Mage Weapon | 19-28 |
X | | | |
| Mana Increase | 1-8 |
| | X | |
| Mana Regeneration | 1-2 |
| | X | |
| Night Sight | |
| | X | X |
| Physical Resist | 1-15 |
X | | X | X |
| Reflect Physical Damage | 1-15 |
| X | X | |
| Self Repair | 1-5 |
| X | X | |
| Skill Bonus | 1-15 |
| | | X |
| Spell Channeling | yes/no |
X | X | | |
| Spell Damage Increase | 1-12 |
| | | X |
| Stamina Increase | 1-8 |
| | X | |
| Stamina Regeneration | 1-3 |
| | X | |
| Strength Bonus | 1-8 |
| | | X |
| Swing Speed Increase | 5-30 |
X | | | |
| Velocity | 2-50 |
bows/thrown | | | |
|
