Ancient Magicks



Ancient Magicks is a branch of Magic that is unlocked upon completion of the quest Desert Treasure. This magic requires higher skill levels to use (all spells except the home teleport require at least 50 Magic), but include the most powerful combat spells in the game.

Switching spellbooks


To change to Ancient Magicks, the player must go to Jaldraocht Pyramid in the desert south of Al Kharid, west of Pollnivneach and north of Menaphos. After entering the pyramid at the rear, the player can pray at the altar there to change between Ancient Magicks and the standard spellbook. Praying at this altar drains the player's prayer points to zero, but players can still change your spellbook even with your prayer being 0.

It is easier for some players to change back to normal via Astral Altar, by changing to Lunar Spells, and then back to Standard Spellbook, as it prevents players from having to go to the desert and having their prayer drained.

Reaching the pyramid


The quickest way to reach the pyramid is to use a Pharaoh's Sceptre (obtainable through the Pyramid Plunder minigame), and use the "Jaldraocht" Teleport. This places the teleporting player directly on top of the pyramid. The player can then simply walk through the doors, run down the stairs and enter via the tunnel at the back. Another way to reach this pyramid is to use a Camulet to teleport inside Enahkra's temple, climbing out of the temple, and running east.. Another method is by using Ali Morisanne's magic carpet fleet for transport to the Bedabin Camp or Pollnivneach, and running from there to the pyramid. A Slayer Ring can teleport the player to Pollnivneach. Also, if your player-owned house is located in Pollnivneach, you may use the teleport to house spell for quick access.

Ancient staff
After the player completes the Desert Treasure quest, he/she can buy an Ancient staff for 80,000 coins from Eblis, who is found around the circle of mirrors seen in the quest. The staff can only be bought once. However, it is tradeable between players. The ancient staff may also be bought on the Grand Exchange for coins or it can be obtained as a drop from Mummies found in the pyramid or the Chaos Tunnels. While originally one of the few staves that could auto-cast ancient magic spells, the update on 2 September 2009 changed this so that any player can autocast directly from the spellbook, rendering the original purpose of the ancient staff useless. Now, however, the ancient staff provides 10% bonus damage to any spell cast while it is equipped.

Combat
Whilst the teleport spells used in Ancient Magicks aren't as useful as regular magic teleport spells, the combat spells are quite powerful.


 * The Smoke spells are the only group of spells that can inflict poison damage to other players and NPCs. The poison damage depends on the class of smoke spell you cast.
 * The Shadow spells can be used to lower the target's Attack level with 10%. Which can be useful if the caster has low defence.
 * The Blood spells can be a replacement for food because of their healing abilities. Every successful cast will heal you with 25% of the damage you caused with that spell.
 * The Ice spells have the ability to freeze the target for a few seconds. The freeze time depends on the class of ice spell you cast.
 * The Miasmic spells halves the attack speed of Melee and Ranged for a limited time of seconds. The limited time depends on the class of miasmic spell you cast.
 * Also, the Burst spells and Barrage spells can hit multiple targets at the same time. Each Burst and Barrage spell can hit other opponents who are standing 8 squares around the target you select, making the burst spells even more used than the blitz spells.

These group of spells are commonly used by mage tanks in multi-combat PvP Activities such as the Tzhaar Fight Pit. They are also commonly used in magic only duels in the Duel Arena and other Activities such as Castle Wars and Fist of Guthix. The ice spells notably have the same effect as the Bind-type spells, as well as causing damage. .

Thus, ancient ice spells are extremely dangerous.These spells are the most commonly used in the ancient spellbook because of their spell effects, damage, and price. The ice spells are commonly used in PvP Activities such as Bounty Hunter, Castle Wars, and Clan Wars because of their ability to freeze multiple opponents and cause damage at the same time. The miasmic spells are special spells that can only be cast if the caster is wielding Zuriel's staff. They are the highest hitting group of spells which have the ability to lower opponent's ranged and melee weapon speed which is very useful in long-term fights.

However, these spells are not commonly seen because few people have Zuriel's staff. Ancient Magick spells are commonly used in the Fist of Guthix minigame because of their ability to freeze, and the fact that free runes are given to the players before the game starts. The highest hitting group of spells are the miasmic spells, followed by ice, blood, shadow, and smoke.

Ancient Magicks is not allowed in Barbarian Assault.

Spell effects
The Ancient Magicks combat spells are divided into five categories; Smoke, Shadow, Blood, Ice, and Miasmic. Each categories has its own special effect along with the damage the spell would normally do. These effects are:


 * Smoke: Poisons the target for 2 or 4 damage (depending on spell).
 * Shadow: Temporarily reduces target's Attack level.
 * Blood: Heals the caster up to 25% of the damage dealt.
 * Ice: Freezes target on the spot for 5–20 seconds (depending on spell).
 * Miasmic: Slows down opponent's ranged or melee attacking speed by 50% for 12–48 seconds (depending on spell).

Combat spells
Note: All max hits are doubled in the While Guthix Sleeps quest's final battle. The max hits are out of date due to new magic boosting potions and magic damage boosting staves/wands.

Trivia

 * Mind runes, Astral runes, Cosmic runes, Nature runes and Body runes are not used in the Ancient magicks spellbook.
 * The Ancient Magicks spellbook did not use earth runes before the Miasmic spells were added.
 * On the day of release, these spells had a glitch where every spell, along with the original effects, would freeze opponents.
 * If a player casts home teleport on a free world, they would be transported to Lumbridge instead of Edgeville.
 * Each Ancient Spell has a unique sound.
 * Only combat and teleport spells exists in the Ancient Magicks.
 * Although you need a Magic level of 50 to use ancient spells, it is not possible to have them at 50 Magic, as completion of Desert Treasure levels you up to 51 at the end.
 * The timing of Ancient Magicks teleports was improved on 9 November 2009.