New ranger spells

[fph]

Thanks! Does the decoy disappear if I try to cast another spell? I've seen it mysteriously vanish a couple of times...

[Derakon]

Maybe Ethereal slippers should do that too. I can't figure out what they're good for otherwise.

An upcoming patch will dock priests' MP and failure rates if they wear boots that aren't weightless, don't give FA, and don't give a DEX bonus.

[bio_hazard]

Maybe Ethereal slippers should do that too. I can't figure out what they're good for otherwise.

[Sky]

Cover Tracks makes the player not leave any scent

TRACKS ? SCENT?
obviously Hide Scent then. (or Magic Deodorant)

[wobbly]

As far as I can tell it checks for LOS at the start from the player perspective. It looks if the player can see the monster rather then the other way round. Most of it's pretty confusing to read. For all I know it could be "look if the player has LOS, if so move towards decoy..."

[Nick]

In fact...if I dig an anti-summoning corridor, put a decoy at the end, then move a couple of steps away from it (so it can't be hit by splash damage), will monsters even attack me as they attempt to get to the decoy that's behind me? Will they use spells?

Interesting question, and I would have to check the exact monster movement code to find out. This is why this new stuff is out *way* before the release of the next official version

[Derakon]

Monsters will always go for the decoy, wherever it is. This makes it seem very powerful, but on the flip side any attack will destroy it, and the monsters will be back to going for the player.

Mental note: dig a big ol' twisting corridor, stash a decoy at the end, then sneak into a vault.

In fact...if I dig an anti-summoning corridor, put a decoy at the end, then move a couple of steps away from it (so it can't be hit by splash damage), will monsters even attack me as they attempt to get to the decoy that's behind me? Will they use spells?

[Nick]

Monsters will always go for the decoy, wherever it is. This makes it seem very powerful, but on the flip side any attack will destroy it, and the monsters will be back to going for the player.

[Derakon]

How do monsters prioritize between the player and the decoy? Does the decoy always take priority, or is there a chance for the player to be attacked instead of the decoy if both are visible? What if the decoy is on the opposite side of the level from the player?

[Nick]

Cover Tracks makes the player not leave any scent for monsters to track by. I'm not actually sure how effective it is, because monsters track by sound a lot - it will be more effective the stealthier the player is, and chiefly good for monsters that have good sense of smell and poor hearing.

Decoy lays a glyph (you can only have one per level) that fools monsters into thinking it's the player. Useful for getting away, or shooting the monster in the back while it's running at the decoy. It's destroyed as soon as it's attacked.

I'm interested to hear how useful either of these spells is.

[fph]

What do the two new ranger spells Cover Tracks an Decoy do, exactly? Any tips on when/how to best use them?