1. Preface
2. Why Play a Channeler?
3. Gender
4. Stats
5. Equipment
6. The One Power
7. Weave List
8. Leveling Guide & Sample Setups
9. Clans
PREFACE
The intended audience for this guide includes new players, as well as experienced players who are familiar with the Wheel of Time MUD but new to playing channelers. Before reading this guide, I would encourage true newbies to first read up on strategies for generally playing the game, and to ask lots of questions in the WoTMUD Discord server or in-game chats about the basic mechanics of the game.
In writing this guide, I do not pretend to be the ultimate authority on playing channelers. I can personally name several who are more experienced, skilled, or successful than I am. However, I have successfully reached the shawl on two Aes Sedai characters, the overwhelming majority of my active play time on this game has been spent playing male or female channelers, and I have had excellent support and mentorship over the years. Please feel free to reply with additional thoughts, recommendations, or advice.
WHY PLAY A CHANNELER?
In the right hands, channelers are arguably one of the most powerful and dangerous classes in the game. Through access to the One Power and a diverse set of character skills, as well as unique targeting mechanics and potential for high sustained burst damage (or Healing) over time in ideal circumstances, channelers can have a powerful impact on the world around them. Some weaves like Call Lightning are so strong that the mere threat of using them can disrupt PK encounters or cause Shadowspawn to flee the immediate area when a channeler is around, even if that channeler is an unclanned wilder.
Traditionally, including the current meta at WoTMUD, channelers can best be described as glass cannons – with emphasis on both the “glass” and “cannon” aspects of that role. Channelers boast some of the highest damage output other than specialized skills such as Backstab, and they can apply this damage on any visible or hidden target while bypassing max engage limits, and even while engaged in combat with another mob or player. At the same time, channelers have a hard-coded maximum health pool of 280 HP; as such, they will usually die to a single backstab, and they can rapidly die in a matter of seconds if they are bashed in traditional dodge equipment, especially in a room with multiple enemy mobs or players.
I would argue that channelers have a high skill ceiling. Learning how and when to spam “channel ‘ice spikes’ dark” is not difficult, but optimizing your damage output on the class in PK requires you to constantly change targets, attend to weather conditions, watch for Trolloc rogues trying to backstab you, manage your autowimpy effectively, and react quickly and consistently without canceling your own timers. Combat against other channelers is particularly nuanced and requires practicing different skills and timing than when fighting Shadowspawn that primarily use abs equipment and skills such as Bash or Kick.
In addition to having access to a broad array of interesting and powerful weave effects, female channeler players have options to join several unique roleplay-oriented clans, and many of these characters routinely participate in roleplay sessions or events. The White Tower in particular has numerous quests and roleplay opportunities, including coded tests for the Three Arches to become an Accepted and the test for the shawl to become an Aes Sedai, that are extremely immersive and rewarding if you are interested in roleplay.
Overall, play a channeler if you:
- Want access to unique and impactful skills in both PvE and PvP settings
- Enjoy playing a traditional “glass cannon” character archetype
- Like participating in immersive roleplay-oriented activities
- Enjoy mastering a character class with a high skill ceiling
GENDER
Compared to other classes, due to the lore of the Wheel of Time setting, choosing your channeler gender has a dramatic impact on how you will play the game. Although this guide is intended for those playing a female channeler, many aspects of the channeler class are shared across genders. I will briefly touch on some of the key differences between male and female channelers.
Warrior practice sessions
One of the primary reasons to play a male channeler is for cheaper warrior practice sessions, at the rate of 3 practices per session (as opposed to 4 practices per session for female channelers). This opens the door for markedly improved versatility and diversity in skill practice setups. For example, a female channeler with prerolled stats (14 18 18 18 14) and 91% in Shield Parry and Staves would need 112 practice sessions, while a male channeler with the exact same stats would only need 84 practices. This allows male channelers to practice their warrior skills to a higher percentage, making it easier for them to fight and Bash nearly as well as their hunter or warrior counterparts and still have sufficient practices remaining to get other necessary skills like Ride, Survival, and Notice.
Taint
The taint on saidin is one of the primary maluses to male channeler characters. Prior to May 2022, high levels of taint made competitive play on male channelers largely impossible due to a high frequency of mis-spamming, commands (including weave aliases) being replaced with random emotes or failing, and problems with using communication systems in game. However, accrual of taint could be largely mitigated by never weaving below a certain threshold of SPs.
As of May 2022, the entire taint system was revamped (viewtopic.php?f=74&t=16423). Now, every single attempt to seize the Source and every weave used has a chance, albeit often a small one, at gradually accruing taint. However, this chance of accruing taint is no longer tied to your current SP pool. Now, the only surefire way to never accrue any taint is to never seize or use the One Power; however, there is no penalty for weaving while your SP pool is low. Even male channelers with maximum taint can still play competitively now, although the effects will make playing in a group extremely dangerous for them.
Weave Training
As discussed further below, female channelers who decide to join the White Tower or gain entry into the Kin have a bonus to their weave practice percentages based on their rank in their clan. In contrast, male channelers do not have access to this bonus, which limits their diversity of weave setups. The only exception includes Darkfriend male channelers who eventually become Dreadlords, who have the same weave rank practice bonus as White Tower and Kin. Unlike female channelers, however, male channelers can practice any weave in the game, with the exception of Dark Vision (which can only be practiced by Dreadlords). Female channelers also have to join a clan that has access to clanned weaves in order to practice them (e.g., Travel, Warding vs Damage, Fireball), while men do not.
Clanning & Character Progression
Currently, male channelers do not have a set of prerolled stats available to them, requiring you to manually stat for the character. Male channelers are also almost universally warranted, or at least banished, from every great nation in the Westlands upon discovery. A number of clans are hard-coded to not allow clan entry for a male channeler, and attempting to join their clan will result in being outed as a channeler. There are other clans that do not have this check (which you will need to find out for yourself), and it is possible for an unknown male channeler to join one of these clans; however, upon discovery, you will be immediately declanned and likely warranted. The one current exception is the Dragonsworn clan, but they currently do not welcome known male channelers who are visibly tainted, and you will likely be declanned after that occurs.
As a result of these restrictions, male channelers currently have very few options for permanent, meaningful character progression. They can pursue the known Darkfriend system and seek to become a Dreadlord; however, at the time of writing this guide, the Darkfriend system is currently on a moratorium, so this option is on a hiatus. You can join a clan and pretend to be a hunter, in hopes of pursuing master or Rank 8 bonuses, but this charade is hard to pull off, and you run the risk of losing everything the moment you are revealed. The only other options currently are to use the character to gain equipment (e.g., solo smobbing or grouping with other male channelers), or pursue more nefarious activities, like murdering innocent mobs or players.
STATS
Due to the existence of amazing prerolled stats, getting into the game has never been easier, and female channelers benefit from this option as well. However, for players who like to min/max or optimize their characters, manually statting is an option as well. Regardless of how you earn your stats, all channelers (with the exception of Kin; see below) have a maximum Dexterity score of 18 and a maximum of 280 HP, which can be reliably achieved with a Constitution score of 14 or higher, and sometimes even 13 with lucky HP rolls.
Prerolled Stats
All female channelers have the option for prerolled stats of Str:14 Int:18 Wil:18 Dex:18 Con:14 (stat sum 82), regardless of which homeland you pick. To select prerolled stats, use the command “tell guardian prerolledstats” once you reach level 3.
Having access to 14 18 18 18 14 stats is exceptionally good. For example, there are several Aes Sedai with still have prerolled stats and are perfectly happy with them. If you select prerolled stats, you are not stuck with these stats forever. You can earn new stats through age rerolls, earned at character age 200 and every 100 years after that and/or once you achieve 2,000 QP. Special rare items, including a copper or iron chit (https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Chit), can also grant rerolls. Finally, you can also manually restat your character at any age; this process includes having Immortals delete your character, at which point you manually recreate and stat the character, and then your QPs and rank are restored by Immortals (read here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14551).
Manually Statting
If you are not satisfied with prerolled stats for any reason, you have the option of manually statting your character. The primary reason to do this would be if you want an opportunity for higher Strength, Intelligence, and/or Willpower, as 18 is the maximum Dexterity score and Constitution 14 is usually sufficient to achieve 280 HP.
Although luck plays a central role in the amount of attempts it takes to stat any character, achieving stats better than prerolled stats is rare. For example, on a current attempt to manually stat a female channeler from Tarabon, out of approximately 19,000 stat attempts, I have only achieved 20 attempts with a stat sum of 82 or higher, and only 3 attempts that are equal or strictly superior to 14 18 18 18 14 in every stat. However, there are others who have statted maximum stats from a homeland in a few hours. While working on this guide, an acquaintance statted 16 18 19 18 13 from Tarabon in 5 attempts. Your mileage can, and will, vary.
The maximum possible stat sum from the statting process appears to vary by homeland. The maximum stats possible may actually be higher for some of these homelands, and attainable only through rerolls (not including bonus stat points from Rank 8 bonuses). The maximum stats for common homelands are as follows:
Illian: 15 19 19 18 15
Altara, Murandy, or Tarabon: 16 18 19 18 14
Arafel, Kandor, Malkieri Diaspora, Saldaea, or Shienar: 18 19 19 17 16
Illian is slightly more likely to give maximum mental stats and will have an easier time obtaining 14+ Constitution (e.g., 15 19 19 18 14). However, Altara, Murandy or Tarabon have the possibility of 16 x x 18 14 with high mental stats (e.g., 16 17 19 18 14), which can help you optimize your defense and non-channeler skill practices. The Borderlands nations are harder to achieve top-end stats from due to an apparent lower stat sum cap (likely at or around 83), but having a natural 18 Strength could allow you to make an atypical, absorption (abs) or combo focused character (e.g., 18 17 19 15 14). Although this type of character has fallen out of the meta since the 280 HP cap was introduced, there are some merits to this playstyle (see below).
As far as I can tell, all other homelands have lower maximum stats, or stat distributions that are unlikely to grant you competitive stats that are as good as prerolled stats.
Effects of Stats
Strength: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Strength
Higher Strength scores afford more options with weapon selection (due to Strength requirements to wield heavier weapons), higher Offensive Bonus (OB) and Parry Bonus (PB), and higher encumbrance, which indirectly influences MV regeneration as well as additional impact on OB, PB, and Dodge Bonus (DB). Strength also partially determines your percentages from hunter and warrior practices. The cutoff between 15 and 16 Strength is particularly salient for saving practices; for example, compared to a 14 Strength channeler with prerolled stats, someone with 16 x x 18 14 stats will typically save about 16 practice sessions.
Intelligence: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Intelligence
The most direct impact of Intelligence is on weave practices, as these are determined purely by Intelligence. For every 1 point in Intelligence, you can gain approximately 1-3 additional weaves at Superb training, depending on the weaves involved and your clan rank (for Kin and White Tower). Intelligence also partially determines your rogue skill practices, although if your Dexterity is 18, these are unlikely to be any different between prerolled stats and manual stats. Finally, Intelligence and Willpower together also determine how quickly you recover SPs over time.
Willpower: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Willpower
Higher Willpower determines both your SP pool maximum; with Willpower 19, the maximum SPs at level 30+ is 163, and every point of Willpower below 19 will reduce this total by 7 points. With Intelligence, Willpower also determines how quickly you regenerate SP per hour (tick). Willpower also determines how fast or slow you build and recover flee lag; however, the maximum tier for flee lag recovery is 12+ Willpower (i.e., someone with 12 Willpower will recover flee lag as quickly as someone with 19 Willpower). There is a longstanding assumption that there is a Willpower check to determine whether or not status ailments (e.g., Blind, Contagion) fail on a target; this appears to be true anecdotally, but I am not familiar with anyone who has tested this formally. Finally, Willpower partially contributes to determining percentages from hunter skill practices.
Dexterity: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Dexterity
The primary effect of Dexterity is a higher maximum DB, with each point of Dexterity giving an addition 4 DB. In the current meta with balance between DB and Bash-oriented setups, 4 points of DB can make a significant difference in whether or not you successfully avoid being bashed. Dexterity also contributes to percentages in practice sessions for warrior, hunter, and rogue skills. In addition, when using 1-handed weapons, Dexterity is also involved in calculations for PB. Because 18 Dexterity is included in prerolled stats and has such a potential impact on DB, if you do decide to manually stat, I would avoid settling for anything less than 17 Dexterity, with a strong preference for 18.
Constitution: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Constitution
Constitution is used to calculate your maximum HP pool, by influencing your HP rolls upon gaining new levels, as well as your HP regeneration rate. In combination with Strength, it also influences your encumbrance, which indirectly influences MV regeneration as well as OB, PB, and DB. Channelers have a hard HP cap at 280 HP, which can reliably be achieved at max level from 14 Constitution or higher but sometimes at 13. I strongly advise not to accept anything less than 13 Constitution.
EQUIPMENT
This section will cover some of the popular choices for armor and weapons that you can pick from, which will have a significant impact on how you play the game in PvE and PK settings.
Armor
Dodge: The prototypical female channeler uses a dodge equipment setup. Channeling is interrupted by taking any kind of damage, no matter the magnitude or source of that damage. As a result, most channelers use dodge equipment to maximize their chances of avoiding damage, and thus weaving successfully. Even when using average dodge gear that is easy to obtain, you will be able to avoid hits from most minions when smobbing and most XP mobs. However, reliance on dodge also gives channelers the “glass” part of their glass cannon role, and you will die very quickly to smobs that can easily hit you or enemy players who Bash you. This equipment set will only grant you 9% abs. If you choose this setup, it is strongly advised that you practice Dodge to 99% and carry as little equipment with you as possible (e.g., using pouches or purses instead of backpacks, carrying water in a mug instead of a water skin).
Combo: Combo equipment is characterized as having significantly higher abs (about 65-68%), but with a much lower ceiling for maximum DB compared to dodge equipment. As a result, you will be much easier to Bash, but you will still have high enough defense to avoid hits from various mobs and players unbashed and will not die nearly as quickly. Combo used to be extremely popular and was dominant in the meta across character classes years ago. However, especially after the HP cap was implemented and DB was lowered on combo equipment, many channelers shifted from combo to dodge setups. Besides the higher survivability of having 65-68% abs, another reason some people still enjoy combo setups is that you can typically get by with lower training percentages in the Dodge skill, freeing up more practices for utility skills (e.g., Track, Wisdom Lore, Pick).
Abs: Abs setups are very non-traditional in the current meta and have fallen out of favor. Before the HP cap was introduced, characters with 15-16 Constitution could sometimes have as high as 320 HP; paired with maximum abs and the Warding vs Damage weave, these characters were difficult to kill. Even with the current HP cap, when paired with Warding vs Damage, your effective HP is still fairly comparable to a hunter or warrior with 19 Constitution; however, because you will take melee damage every combat round, you will only be able to complete weaves that can be completed between combat rounds or when you have no one engaged in combat on you, unless you successfully Bash your opponent. Characters using this playstyle are almost exclusively statted from a Borderlands nation, or occasionally from the Two Rivers.
Weapons
Staves: Staves have long been considered one of the most popular weapon choices for channelers. Because an overwhelming majority of your damage output in both PvE and PK settings will come from weaving the One Power, channelers often select staves as their primary weapon because they have the highest PB and very low weight overall. 1-handed staves have the highest possible PB but require you to practice Shield Parry to maximize your PB. Alternatively, 2-handed staves still have solid PB but allow you to forego practicing Shield Parry in exchange for a more diverse skill setup (e.g., Track, higher level of Survival). Of note, the weapon that is generated using the Elemental Staff weave (see below) is a 1-handed weapon, so this weave is really only viable for channelers who use 1-handed staves and shields. In contrast, the rare craftable staff (an obsidian encrusted sungwood staff) is a 2-handed staff.
Fencing Blades: In the current meta, fencing blades are a viable alternative to 1-handed staves. Compared to staves, fencing blades typically have much higher OB, slightly lower PB, similar weight, and higher damage. If you practice the Attack skill, most fencing blades can also attack more than once per combat round, significantly increasing your melee damage output. For these reasons, fencing blades are a popular choice for characters who want to have better damage output in PvE settings or in PK settings when low on SP or in places where weaving is not possible (e.g., steddings) without overly sacrificing defensive stats.
Abs Setups: Players who utilize abs setups can forego practicing of Shield Parry or Dodge, allowing them to pour extra practices into the Bash skill as well as their primary weapon. If the channeler is from the Borderlands with 18 Strength, these characters can naturally wield any weapon currently in the game, with OB and Bash percentages almost as high as any hunter or warrior character. Common choices for abs weapon classes in the current meta include axes (e.g., an enormous double-bladed battleaxe); clubs (e.g., a massive war maul); and long blades (e.g., a wickedly scythed longsword). Because clubs have a flat +9% chance to Bash, abs channelers often lean towards these weapons and then use offensive damage weaves on their opponent while they are bashed for maximum effect.
Others: People who are particularly creative or trying viable but non-traditional setups will sometimes use weapons outside of these categories. After these categories above, other less common but popular choices might include short blades, especially for female channelers who use abs equipment and the Sleep weave to incapacitate and kill mobs/smobs. (Abs equipment is typically chosen for this playstyle because practicing skills such as Backstab and Hide is too practice intensive to allow you to practice Dodge and Shield Parry to levels necessary for competitive play). Some channelers, especially those who use combo setups, use medium blades, which tend to be heavier (most are around 14 lbs.) but have higher base damage than fencing blades. 2-handed spears + Charge is also a viable, if infrequently chosen, playstyle that used to be more popular when combo was still dominant in the meta.
THE ONE POWER
Learning how to embrace the True Source and channel the One Power is the fundamental benefit of the channeler class. Due to the diverse array of weaves available in the game, simply being able to channel is a powerful bonus.
Learning Weaves
In addition to regular practice sessions, all channelers accrue “spell practice sessions” as they level, to a maximum of 267 at level 51. Like any other type of practice sessions, these spell practice sessions can only be spent when you are in the room of a mob practice trainer who can train you in the way of channeling.
Selaana is a wilder practice trainer located in “The Common Room” of the Wayfarer’s Rest Inn in the city of Whitebridge, west of Caemlyn. Because she does not wander, this is the easiest mob to use for practicing as an unclanned channeler. Another option is Kerrigan, a wandering female channeler who can usually be found anywhere between Emond’s Field and Taren Ferry in the Two Rivers. Other clans may have their own weave trainer mob (e.g., Sheriam Sedai for White Tower only).
To learn a weave, you first need to spend spell practice sessions to gain levels in the various elements of the One Power: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Each element can be raised up to a maximum of level 7. The cost to unlock a new level of any element is equal to 2 times the level you are trying to buy; for example, Fire 4 costs 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 = 20 spell practice sessions. Unlocking level 7 of any element costs 56 total practice sessions.
Every weave has various minimum element levels required to learn it (e.g., Spirit 2 for Armor; Earth 1, Fire 1, and Spirit 1 for Blind). Once you unlock all of the necessary elements for a given weave, you can then practice that weave at the cost of 1 spell practice point per practice session. If a weave has any element that requires level 4 or higher, female channelers must join a clan that has access to clanned weaves (e.g., White Tower, Wisdoms). The only exception is Earthquake, which can be used by wilders.
The number of spell practice sessions required to master a weave will depend on your Intelligence, levels of elements practiced (with a bonus if your element level exceeds the required level of the weave), and (for Kin and White Tower) a bonus based on your rank in the clan. Weaves also vary in terms of how practice intensive they are; for a channeler with 18 Intelligence, it might take anywhere from about 10 to 20 practice sessions to practice a weave to 99%.
Of note, the order of when you learn elements can subtly influence the practice percentage of weaves you learn per session, and there are edge cases in which it is more advantageous to practice certain weaves before your elements are at the maximum level planned for your weave setup. One brilliant player was able to create an algorithm to take advantage of this mechanic to create an optimized weave trainer (https://wotcode.eastus.cloudapp.azure.com/weaves), which can save upwards of 5-10 practices per setup depending on the channeler’s Intelligence, level, and (if relevant) clan rank. I highly recommend using this trainer, which also has convenient features for saving, loading, and sharing practice setups, which can help you to repractice your weave setup quickly after dying.
Channeling
To channel a weave, you must first “embrace” (for female channelers) or “seize” (for male channelers) the True Source. Once you have done so, you use the basic syntax “channel ‘weave name’ [target]” (e.g., “channel ‘light ball’”, “channel ‘armor’ Sarinda”). To release the Source, type “release.” While you are embracing the Source, you cannot regenerate any SPs, and you will lose a minimum of 1 SP per hour (tick) for as long as you embrace/seize the Source.
There are several additional commands related to channeling:
Weaves:
Syntax: weaves [hold/tie/release] [number]
When used without any arguments, the “weaves” command will list every weave that you currently have actively under your control, including a unique number assigned to it and the status of that weave, either tied or held.
Many weaves (e.g., Ice Spikes, Fireball, Cure Serious Wounds) have an instantaneous duration, meaning they create an immediate effect with no ongoing duration. Other weaves, including most support (e.g., Armor, Strength, Warding vs. Damage) and status ailment (e.g., Blind, Contagion) weaves, have an ongoing duration. When created, these weaves are all tied by default. The duration of a tied weave is on a clock and gradually decreases with every tick. Once its duration has expired, it will end at the beginning of the tick. There is no ongoing SP cost for tied weaves, and they will persist even if the channeler releases the Source or enters a stedding. However, tied weaves will end immediately if the channeler dies or rents.
For weaves with an ongoing duration, using the syntax “weaves hold [number]”, a channeler can hold the flows, taking more active control over the weave. Doing so has several benefits and costs. A held weave has an indefinite duration, and will continue for as long as the channeler continues to hold the weave and the Source. However, if the channeler lets go of the Source by any means, including entering a stedding or being Shielded, any held weave will also end immediately. For every weave that is held in this way, the channeler is taxed 10 SP per tick, plus 1 SP for continuing to hold the Source, which also pauses SP regeneration. Of note, it is reportedly possible to fall below 0 SP by holding weaves, which can cause the channeler to overchannel (see below). The syntax “weaves tie [number]” will tie any weave currently held.
The syntax “weaves release [number]” will immediately end any ongoing weave under your control, whether the weave is tied or held.
Release: The command “release” will let go of the True Source, allowing you to regenerate SPs again. When you release the Source, weaves with an ongoing duration under your control that are held will end. However, it is also possible that tied weaves will end as well. When you release the Source, if the target of your weave is approximately 3 zones or farther away from you, even tied weaves on that target will end prematurely.
Overchannel: Prior to February 2023, the overchannel command was extremely dangerous and never used because of the potential consequences. Some of the outcomes of overchanneling were relatively benign, such as being forced to release the Source. However, there was a chance that overchanneling could immediately still your channeler, meaning that the character’s connection to the True Source was severed, and they would permanently lose the ability to channel the One Power unless they completed an Immortal quest and accepted a -2 Willpower penalty (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5062).
Coding changes to the overchannel command were implemented in February 2023 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17457). Now, the potential benefit of overchanneling is to gain an immediate boost in SPs, approximately 60-90, which can extend beyond your SP pool maximum. The possibility of stilling has been removed. Instead, overchanneling runs the risk of rendering the channeler immobilized (-1 MVs). Alternatively, it can also incinerate the channeler, destroying all of their equipment in the process, and possibly even harm other people in the room. This makes overchanneling risky and dangerous, but potentially rewarding.
Weave Setups
When deciding what weaves to learn, it helps to think of your goal for the channeler and how your weave setup can assist you with those goals. Generally, your approach weave selection can fall into one of three major archetypes: offensive, defensive, or generalist.
Offensive: Channelers with an offensive weave setup should practice an array of weaves that assist you in PK. You will want to pick a variety of weaves that deal damage, preferably with at least one or two that deal optimal damage independent of temperature, or several weaves that collectively cover the full spectrum of temperature (e.g., Ice Spikes + Fireball). When possible, you will also want to practice at least one longer weave (e.g., Ice Spikes) and one faster weave (e.g. Flame Strike, Hailstorm). Wilders do not have access to faster weaves except Call Lightning and Earthquake, so they will often take one or both of these weaves. PK-oriented channelers will often practice damaging weaves to 99%, because there is nothing more annoying than being one weave away from scoring a kill and then losing control of saidar as the victim flees away.
Defensive: Channelers using this archetype typically focus on Healing and support weaves. Healing can have a profound impact on the course of a battle by restoring lost HP and sending soldiers back into the fray much faster than Shadowspawn can regenerate, or by curing problematic status ailments such as Fear and Poison as frequently caused by Fades.
Generalist: Channelers with a more diverse, generalist weave setup will usually practice a broad array of both offensive and defensive weaves, often practicing weaves to a lower percentage (e.g., 91-93%) in exchange for a higher number of weaves known. A generalist might practice a number of luxury weaves that are convenient or highly useful but are not required to play competitively in PvE or PK settings (e.g., Travel, Gate, Create Food/Water, Light Ball). A generalist might also pick up some obscure weaves that are less commonly seen in the meta to throw off an opponent (e.g., Hurricane, Create Phantom Object, Silence/Deafen).
When evaluating weaves, you can also categorize them loosely based on their primary purpose:
Damage: Exactly what the name implies – weaves that deal damage. With a few exceptions, weaves with a longer timer and higher SP cost will also be much more efficient in terms of damage dealt per SP spent. In contrast, faster weaves tend to be less efficient in terms of damage per SP spent.
Fast Travel: These are weaves that help you get from point A to point B rapidly. There are only a few of these, although Refresh is a very popular weave available to all female channelers that can serve as both a support weave and enable fast travel.
Healing & Support: Support weaves broadly include any weave that Heals injuries (e.g., Cure Serious Wounds) or a status ailment (e.g., Cure Poison), or provides an ongoing tangible benefit to others (e.g., Strength).
Status Ailment: These are weaves that impose a negative status ailment on a target, which can be used either offensively or defensively depending on the target. Many of the status ailments were updated in January-February 2023 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17386).
Utility: Weaves that provide some kind of interesting or useful effect and do not fit better into one of the other categories above can be considered a utility weave. For example, Ward Object, Sense Warding, and Remove Warding could all be classified as utility weaves.
WEAVE LIST
The following includes some basic notes and considerations for each weave in the game, with a focus on offering advice on which weaves are popular in the current meta and strategies for using the weave effectively. I have excluded Dark Vision from this list, as it cannot be practiced by a Lightside channeler.
Armor
Elements: 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: A staple of virtually all channeler builds, this long-duration weave grants +10 DB to the recipient, which can include the channeler herself. The effect is invisible once woven, so male channelers also typically re-weave it when alone and can benefit from it without anyone else knowing. Of note, the Immortals have announced that this weave will soon be changed to give a bonus to PB instead as part of a plan to rebalance dodge setups; however, it will still serve a useful function as a support weave.
Blind
Elements: 1 Earth, 1 Fire, 1 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: Blind is incredibly versatile and strongly recommended for most channelers. This status ailment lowers the target’s OB and PB by 50% and DB by 20%, crippling the opponent. It also prevents them from seeing or interacting with most objects, mobs, or players. Mobs that are blind will not be able to assist, allowing channelers to use this against XP mobs or when smobbing to great effect. The weave naturally lasts for 3 ticks, but can be cured by quaffing a bubbling draught (which also prevents further use of Blind for 3 ticks), or the Cure Blindness weave. Fades are immune to this effect.
Call Lightning
Elements: 3 Air, 1 Fire, 2 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: In order to complete this weave, the weather conditions in the current room must state that “the sky is lit by flashes of lightning.” It also can only be used outdoors. Once these conditions are met, Call Lightning is extremely deadly. With a timer of 10 pulses, it can be woven between rounds of combat with expert timing, the only single-target wilder weave that can do so. It also currently has the highest maximum damage and ratio of damage per SP spent of any weave in the game.
Change Weather
Elements: 2 Air, 3 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This versatile weave can be used to make the room hotter or colder, allowing the channeler to control the temperature within minimum and maximum temperature dependent on the current season and climate for the zone. It also can be used to make precipitation better or worse, either stopping or starting rain, snow, or lightning, which can have significant impact on other weaves’ effects.
Chill
Elements: 1 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: As of January 2023 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17386), Chill was changed so that it only lowers the OB of an opponent. However, it can be woven between combat rounds and can significantly lower the opponent’s chances of landing a Bash or melee hits in combat, making it a popular weave for many channelers. Chill ends immediately if the target takes damage from any Fire weave (i.e., Flame Strike or Fireball).
Contagion
Elements: 4 Earth, 3 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: As of January 2023 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17386), this weave was changed so that it only lowers the target’s defensive abilities, dropping PB by 50% and DB by 20%. This effect is still powerful and can cripple a character using a defensive setup, including rogues and other channelers.
Create Fog
Elements: 2 Air, 3 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: Create Fog creates a zone-wide effect that adds fog to the area. It has no actual effect until the maximum level when used 7 times within a tick, and 1 level of fog dissipates per tick. When a zone is fully covered in fog, it extremely limits a variety of skills and commands (e.g., look, kill, scalp). As a result, most players will find it incredibly annoying and will leave the zone, making it primarily useful as a defensive strategy to escape an area.
Create Food
Elements: 1 Earth
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This simple weave creates a piece of strange fruit, which can be eaten, carried, or given away like any other food object. I think of this as a “luxury” weave in that its effects are redundant with carrying food supplies, but it can be very helpful when traveling into areas where food might be scarce, like the Blight or the Aiel Waste. Healers also sometimes practice this so they can easily provide food to their patients, as Healing causes the target to become hungry.
Create Phantom Object
Elements: 3 Earth
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This unique and underutilized weave creates an object on the ground with any name you give it, which must be a single word with no spaces. The item cannot be picked up or removed. Of note, the item responds to whatever name you give it, which means this weave can be creatively utilized in a variety of ways. For example, if you create an object with a name that matches a door name in that room, simple aliases to “open (door name)” will interact with the phantom object, which will do nothing, instead forcing them to use the command “open (door name) (direction)” to open the real door. Creative uses can similarly serve a strategic purpose by disrupting other players’ commands.
Create Water
Elements: 1 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: Similar to Create Food, this utility weave will fill any container with pure water. The primary use of this weave is to fill a water skin when traveling, especially in hot areas like the Blight or Waste where water is scarce. However, it can also be used to refill fountains that have been tainted with poison or forkroot, making the water source pure again.
Cure Blindness
Elements: 1 Fire, 3 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This simple weave will immediately cure the Blind status ailment from the target. Note that unlike a bubbling draught, it will not provide any protection against future recurrences of Blind.
Cure Critical Wounds
Elements: 1 Earth, 5 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This is a more potent version of the Cure Wounds weaves. Of the three (Cure Light, Cure Serious, and Cure Critical Wounds), this weave is the most efficient in terms of amount Healed per SP spent. However, it requires 5 Water, which is only required for a few other weaves (e.g., Elemental Staff), making it a more practice intensive weave. It is also the lowest of the three weaves in terms of damage Healed per timer pulse.
Cure Fear
Elements: 4 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This weave will immediately cure the Fear status ailment from the target. Note that unlike a vial filled with a dark red liquid, it will not provide any protection against future recurrences of Fear.
Cure Light Wounds
Elements: 1 Earth, 1 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: Of the three Cure Wounds weaves (Cure Light, Cure Serious, and Cure Critical), Cure Light Wounds is the only weave available to unclanned channelers. It is also the easiest to learn, both in terms of minimal element requirements and the number of spell practice session necessary to train the weave. Of the three weaves, it is the most efficient in terms of damage Healed per timer pulse; however, it is the least efficient in terms of damage Healed per SP spent.
Cure Poison
Elements: 4 Earth, 3 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This weave will immediately cure the Poison status ailment from the target. Note that unlike a cup of thick syrup, it will not provide any protection against future recurrences of Poison.
Cure Serious Wounds
Elements: 1 Earth, 4 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: Cure Serious Wounds is a staple of most channeler builds for clanned characters. Of the three Cure Wounds weaves (Cure Light, Cure Serious, and Cure Critical Wounds), it is the middle of the road in terms of both damage Healed per SP spent and damage Healed per timer pulse. The element requirements overlap with many other weaves, making it a great overall Healing weave and generally the Healing weave of choice for most channelers who have access to it.
Deafen
Elements: 2 Earth, 1 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: This underutilized weave is incredibly fast (5 pulses) and deceptively disruptive. The target loses the ability to hear tells, chats, narrates, or spoken information using the “say” command. This can significantly disrupt group communication, especially if woven on multiple enemy targets in a group. Because status ailments can sometimes fail and the weave costs 10 SPs, however, it can also be quite costly to use in combat. Players can also still see emotes in their room, which is a workaround, although only if in the same room as a target.
Earthquake
Elements: 4 Earth
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This area of effect weave is very dangerous and a source of controversy in group combat situations. It is incredibly fast and will injure every person in the room except the channeler and the channeler’s ridden mount, including allies, allies’ horses, enemies, and all mobs in the room. It also creates a zone-wide message, so others will know that you are using it. Dreadlords have been known to wield an angreal and weave this repeatedly in a room with a door to wipe out an entire Lightside group, a ruthless strategy that is more effective for Shadowspawn because Trollocs do not rely on horses for movement. Because the weave does not require a target, it can also be woven before an enemy enters the room, allowing you to injure a chasing target without them even realizing that you were weaving. However, you must pay 20% of the total SP cost up front regardless of whether the weave is completed or successful, so you cannot spam weave this while waiting for someone to enter the room.
Elemental Staff
Elements: 4 Air, 3 Fire, 5 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: Changes to this weave have made it significantly more viable and very attractive to supplement offensive damage for channelers with certain setups. Completing the weave will create a staff of iridescent blue, a 1-handed staff with 100 OB, 35 PB, and a whopping 8d6 damage. It only weighs 0.5 lbs., so it will not significantly lower your DB by making it, and is considered honed for purposes of striking spirit-type creatures and Darkhounds. This makes the weapon remarkably effective in melee combat. (For comparison, a 2-handed heron-marked greatsword currently has 97 OB, 20 PB, and 9d5 damage.) There are a few noteworthy disadvantages to the weave. First, the weave will be released if you release the Source or enter a stedding. Second, it also has very poor PB compared to 2-handed staves, so it is strongly recommended to use only if you normally use 1-handed staves + shields. Otherwise, it can be surprisingly effective with that setup as a complement to the paltry damage of other 1-handed staves.
Fear
Elements: 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: Due to changes in status ailments (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17386), Fear now makes it difficult to start skill timers, including Bash, Charge, Kick, and Backstab. Fear also causes the opponent to occasionally miss a round of combat. Furthermore, on a small chance, this status will interfere with your ability to flee, instead making you frozen in place by fear.
Fireball
Elements: 7 Fire
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This is one of the most popular, classic damage weaves used by clanned channelers. The temperature in the Blight is so high, never below 90-95 degrees even at night time, that Water weaves (e.g., Ice Spikes) are very ineffective. A channeler who has both Ice Spikes and Fireball practiced will always have an optimal damage weave available regardless of the weather conditions. Fireball sets the standard for damage output in Blight PK; there are some Air weaves (e.g., Hammer of Air, Sonic Boom) that are effective in warm climates, as is Flame Strike, but these are all less efficient in terms of damage per SP spent. Only Call Lightning is more effective, but it has stringent weather condition requirements, and Shadowspawn can flee the area to avoid that weave.
Flame Strike
Elements: 4 Fire
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This is another classic damage weave that is very commonly practiced by channelers with access to clanned weaves, mostly because its damage is independent of temperature and weather conditions, even rain or snow. Because only a handful of weaves require more than 1 Fire (i.e., Elemental Staff, Incinerate, Slice Weaves, Sword of Flame, and Fireball), channelers who want to practice Flame Strike should consider whether they will get sufficient use from Flame Strike and other Fire weaves to justify the practice investment. Otherwise, there are several other fast weaves that can potentially be a viable alternative (e.g., Hammer of Air, Hailstorm), although each has its own limitations.
Freeze
Elements: 3 Air, 5 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: This weave places the target in a solid block of ice, completely incapacitating them and preventing them from using any commands, although they will still be able to see when mobs or players enter and exit their room. Melee attacks and combat skills (e.g., Bash, Backstab) cannot harm the target, but weaves such as Ice Spikes, Fireball, and Call Lightning will shatter the ice and deal regular damage. Freeze is not frequently practiced due to the higher Spirit requirement and lower than normal base landing rate compared to other status ailment weaves, but when successfully landed, a channeler can isolate an opponent from their group, allowing you to then set up blocks around the immediate area and prevent them from escaping. Freeze can also be used on mounts, which can cripple someone’s movement.
Gate
Elements: 7 Earth, 4 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Fast Travel
Notes: When woven using the channel syntax without any arguments, this weave memorizes the room you are standing in and generates a “gate code” unique to that room and the channeler. You can then create a gateway by channeling using that gate code, as long as you are within range (usually up to 3-4 zones away, depending on your percent training in the weave). These gate codes will work perfectly until your next death that results in lost experience (i.e., PK or mob rip); drowning, death trap (DT) rooms, and even buying a reset from a master blacksmith will not reset the code. Like with Travel, attempting to weave this while you have the “noquit” status will frequently result in failure; you will be able to form the flows, but there is a high chance that you will receive the message “you are too flushed from the heat of battle” and will not be able to complete the weave. Because gateways can be used by any character, including Shadowspawn (in contrast with book lore), there are a number of potential advantages to this weave over Travel, especially for moving groups into or out of PK, smobbing, and taking your horses and even wagons with you. Of note, this weave can be learned by members of the White Tower but it is restricted to Aes Sedai only (Rank 5+).
Hailstorm
Elements: 1 Air, 4 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: Hailstorm is an underutilized weave that is essentially identical to Flame Strike in any zone that is approximately 75 degrees or cooler, with the same SP cost and timer length. Because it overlaps with element requirements for many other classic weaves, foregoing Flame Strike and other Fire weaves can save the channeler at least 18 spell practice sessions in element costs. Channelers with a generalist focus who have no intention of routinely traveling into very hot zones or using other Fire weaves (e.g., Slice Weaves, Elemental Staff, Fireball) can thus use Hailstorm as a viable alternative to Flame Strike, especially if they have another damage weave practiced that is independent of temperature (e.g., Hammer of Air).
Hammer of Air
Elements: 4 Air
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: Hammer of Air has the same timer as Hailstorm and Flame Strike, but slightly higher SP cost and slightly lower damage, making it inefficient for damage over time. However, as noted above, its damage is independent of temperature or weather conditions. On a low percent chance, it also can bash enemy mobs or even interrupt an enemy player’s timers (including flee), although it can no longer bash other players.
Heal
Elements: 1 Earth, 6 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: The current version of this weave currently restores more HP to the target in one use than all other Healing weaves currently in the game. Unfortunately, with an extremely high SP cost, very long timer, and prohibitively high element costs – 6 Water is not needed for any other weave currently in the game – Heal is very inefficient and simply worse than any one of the Cure Wounds weaves. Until or unless this weave changes, I do not recommend practicing it.
Hurricane
Elements: 6 Air
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This area of effect weave will create a violent storm that instantly lifts up everyone in the room except for the channeler, but including her ridden mount and allies, and throws them into randomly distributed rooms within the zone. This only works in outdoor rooms, but it can send people onto water rooms, which often kills them. Due to changes in Hurricane in November 2022 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17118), this weave will not lift up mobs or players whose level is higher than the channeler’s, or any mobs following a mob that is not thrown. Thrown characters do not take any damage and do not receive the “noquit” status.
Ice Spikes
Elements: 3 Air, 3 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This is a classic damage weave almost universally learned by female channelers because it can be learned by unclanned characters and can be used both indoors and outdoors. If you save all of your spell practice sessions, you can unlock Ice Spikes as early as level 8, although you will need to be about level 11 before you can weave it reliably in combat. This opens up many new avenues of leveling, as you can weave Ice Spikes on your target while unengaged, flee off once it lands, and then repeat until your target dies. The weave’s damage is optimal in 55 degrees or lower, and it is vastly weaker in hot temperature climates like the Blight or the Aiel Waste.
Incinerate
Elements: 7 Earth, 7 Fire, 7 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: When woven successfully, the target’s health is dropped to 1 HP and they have until the next tick before they burst into flames and die. If this happens while they are still alive, the character’s equipment will turn to ash and cannot be recovered. If the player dies to any other means, however, their equipment will remain in their corpse as usual. Of note, there is a chance of this weave either failing to have an effect or possibly even backfiring, causing the channeler to self-immolate.
Light Ball
Elements: 1 Air, 1 Fire
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This simple weave creates a personal light source with a sustained duration and can be tied or held. Although this weave is largely considered a “luxury” weave that is made redundant by simply carrying a lantern or two, it is immune to the effects of a Fade’s Darken ability, and also very useful for defeating the Shadow Knight smob. If you use this weave, make sure to always manually release it before entering the city of Tear; if any guard mobs see you, they will immediately auto-warrant you.
Locate Life
Elements: 2 Earth, 2 Air, 4 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: Of the two Locate weaves, Locate Life is particularly useful for determining whether a specific target (mob or player) is within range and the direction to them. Note that the only way to locate a player is to target them by their specific name. For example, “channel ‘locate life’ fade” will find all Fade mobs within range, but it will not locate Fade players. Both Locate weaves are also blocked if a player is carrying a no-Locate item (e.g., a silver medallion) or if they are in a room that cannot be Located at the time your weave finishes (e.g., most city squares).
Locate Object
Elements: 4 Earth, 2 Air, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: Of the two Locates weaves, Locate Object is more useful at locating the relative number and type of a particular target (mob or player) within range and the direction to them. The weave will not tell you whether the target is either a mob or a player, but creative uses of the weave can help to clarify this. For example, Locating the item “claneq” will reveal any target who is wearing clan equipment and also which specific item they are carrying, usually by a player only. Locating “movepotion” will find all refresh vials (i.e., a thin vial of yellow liquid), which are usually only held by players, but this may not show an accurate number of players. My personal favorite is to locate “ring”, because items appear to be grouped based on room and you will usually be able to determine exact numbers as well as make a reasonable guess about what type of equipment they are using (e.g., sensing a Trolloc with 2x “a gold ring” is likely a rogue wearing dodge equipment).
Poison
Elements: 4 Earth, 3 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: This weave inflicts the Poison status ailment on a target, which prevents normal regeneration of both HP and MV over time. Every half-tick and tick, the victim has a room-wide message that “(name) coughs and shivers.” If a channeler is poisoned and has this message while they are weaving, it will actually interrupt their timer even though they are not damaged.
Refresh
Elements: 2 Earth, 2 Water, 3 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Fast Travel / Healing & Support
Notes: This weave is incredibly versatile and available to wilders, making it a staple of almost all channeler setups. The weave will grant a sudden burst of MVs to everyone following the channeler. In this way, the weave could be considered to have a purpose of Healing/support. However, it also can be used to restore movement to your horse, which can allow a channeler to rapidly travel across the world in a matter of minutes.
Remove Contagion
Elements: 2 Earth, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This weave will immediately cure the Contagion status ailment from the target. Note that unlike virtually every other status ailment, there is no herbal potion that restores the Contagion status ailment. Although Contagion is infrequently encountered by Lightside characters, Dreadlords might practice this weave, and it is more commonly caused when someone attempts to loot an inky black cloak from a Fade’s corpse.
Remove Warding
Elements: 1 Earth, 1 Air, 3 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave has a very narrow scope; namely, it reverses and negates any Warding that has been placed upon an item using the Ward Object weave (see below), allowing you to pick up that item again.
Sense Warding
Elements: 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave is extremely narrow in scope, to the degree that I am not sure it actually functions anymore. In theory, you weave this upon yourself and it should allow you to determine when you are interacting with a Ward. However, the only possible objects that might interact with this would be items affected by the Ward Object weave. Historically, there was a Ward Weapon weave for honing/hardening weapons, and it is possible this weave was used to examine a weapon to determine what level of Ward it had placed upon it. Now, this weave appears to be obsolete.
Shield
Elements: 5 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: Currently, this weave can only be practiced by Dreadlords or Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah. When successful, it completely cuts the target channeler off from the True Source, making it impossible for them to hold the Source or channel the One Power. Its success rate is lower when used on a target who is already touching the Source at the time the weave is completed.
Silence
Elements: 2 Earth, 1 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: With a timer of only 2 pulses, Silence is the fastest known weave in existence. Similar to Deafen, this weave is highly underutilized but also can be very disruptive in group combat. The target of this weave is unable to communicate by speaking or using tells, narrates, or chats. The target can still emote as a workaround, but this requires group members to be in the same room. The weave does have a lower base landing rate than other status ailment weaves, which can become expensive quickly.
Sleep
Elements: 3 Air, 5 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: This weave is difficult to land, but if successful, it can completely incapacitate a target by forcing them into a deep sleep from which they cannot awaken. The weave timer is long at 25 pulses; it cannot be woven while the channeler is engaged in combat; and you can complete the timer on a target engaged in combat, but it will fail and instead give them the message “Sleep while fighting? Are you insane?” Taking any damage will wake up the target. However, it makes the target extremely vulnerable to other deadly attacks such as Backstab, Charge, and Incinerate. Although this weave is not widely practiced in the current meta, it is more often used by channelers who use abs armor + short blades with a Sleep + Backstab setup for hunting unaware targets or solo smobbing, especially male channelers who might prefer not to join a smob group.
Slice Weaves
Elements: 1 Earth, 1 Air, 4 Fire, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave is very fast, slightly faster than all damaging weaves (including Earthquake). When the weave completes, if the opponent is actively running a weave timer and has at least 1 pulse left on their timer, this interrupts their weave and gives them 2 pulses of lag to their next command. In theory, this can allow you to throw off a target channeler’s rhythm with weaving and then attempt to interrupt them with a new weave of your own. In practice, because Slice Weaves currently costs 7 SPs to cast and the target has no loss of SPs of their own upon interruption, using this weave will cause a channeler to expend their SPs faster than their opponent in a 1v1 duel with no loss of HP. If the channeler instead practices expert weave timing and learns how to disrupt their opponent using a fast weave such as Flame Strike or Earthquake, you can not only interrupt their flows but actually damage them as well. The primary niche situation in which Slice Weaves is very useful is the case of being trapped in a room with a Dreadlord who is spam-weaving Earthquake using an angreal and threatening to wipe your entire Lightside group while in a door, and Slice Weaves can disrupt their timing and allow you to break out of the damage cycle.
Slow
Elements: 3 Air, 5 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Status Ailment
Notes: As of February 2023 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17386), this weave imposes a status ailment that blocks artificial MV recovery (such as from Refresh, a thin yellow vial, or Fades’ Compel ability) and also significantly but temporarily raises MV costs for moving between rooms. This makes Slow useful at trapping opponents when they are trying to escape from combat, or just before the group is about to move.
Sonic Boom
Elements: 3 Air, 1 Fire, 2 Water
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This area of effect damage weave is unique in that it will not harm allies if the channeler is grouped and leading the group herself. Its damage is modest, but it will hit every mob or player in the room except for the channeler, the channeler’s ridden mount (if any), and allies grouped and led by that channeler. It also has a small chance to Deafen opponents hit by the weave. Sonic Boom’s damage is also independent of the current temperature in the zone. Like Earthquake, this weave can be started with no valid targets in the room, so one defensive strategy when fighting other channelers is to flee from your opponent and begin to weave, and allow it to land before they realize you had started weaving. However, 20% of the total SP cost of the weave is spent up front even if the weave is not completed, so you cannot spam this command repeatedly without cost.
Strength
Elements: 3 Earth, 3 Water, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Healing & Support
Notes: This weave provides a temporary boost to the Strength stat of the target for its duration dependent on the level of the channeler: +1 if the channeler is level 10-19, +2 if level 20-29, and +3 for level 30+. This bonus does not affect the target’s skill practices, as those are calculated based only on your natural stats, but it otherwise temporarily affects all other mechanics that are based on your Strength score. The weave has a sustained duration similar to Light Ball and Armor and unfortunately cannot be woven on oneself, but channelers will often swap use of this on each other, especially before entering PK or when hunting for XP.
Sword of Flame
Elements: 3 Earth, 4 Air, 5 Fire
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave is only available to male channelers, not women. Otherwise, it is nearly identical to Elemental Staff in terms of weapon stats, function, and strengths and weaknesses. Completing the weave will create a blade of blazing flame, a 1-handed medium blade with 100 OB, 35 PB, and 8d6 damage. It only weighs 0.5 lbs., so it will not significantly lower your DB by making it, and is considered honed for purposes of striking spirit-type creatures and Darkhounds. As with Elemental Staff, the weave will end if you release the Source or enter a stedding. Also, anyone who sees you wielding the weapon will immediately know that you are a male channeler, so it is best used by someone who is already warranted as a known male channeler.
Travel
Elements: 7 Earth, 2 Spirit
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Fast Travel
Notes: This weave is the cousin to Gate, with similar purpose for crossing multiple zones at once, but with several key differences. In order to Travel, you will need to use the Locate Life or Locate Object weave to generate an “earth code”, a unique code associated with a specific room. Unlike with Gate, these earth codes can be freely shared with other channelers and will work for them as well. The codes do not reset or expire upon the channeler’s death, but they instead will reset on the 1st day of the next in-game calendar month (Taisham, Jumara, Saban, etc.). Unlike Gate, this weave also will only take the channeler herself and cannot be used to transport any other mobs or players, including horses. Like with Gate, attempting to weave this while you have the “noquit” status will frequently result in failure; you will be able to form the flows, but there is a high chance that you will receive the message “you are too flushed from the heat of battle” and will not be able to complete the weave. Members of the White Tower can learn this weave as soon as they become a novice.
Ward Object
Elements: 3 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This interesting weave places a hidden Ward on any item that makes it so that it cannot be picked up, carried, or used. It must be used on an item in your inventory. Once you drop the item, it cannot be picked up from the ground, and it will remain Warded until the Remove Warding weave is used on the item, or until the next reboot, in which case it will be deleted and lost if still on the ground. If a backpack or other container is Warded, no one (including the channeler) will be able to remove items from the container without first removing the Ward. A noteworthy weakness of this weave is that mobs are still capable of picking up items.
Warding vs Damage
Elements: 4 Earth, 4 Air, 4 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave is expensive to weave at 25 SPs, but it lowers all incoming damage a channeler takes by approximately 33%, including damage from offensive weaves from other channelers. This means that with ongoing upkeep, a channeler with 280 HP can have the effective HP of approximately 375, bringing her on par with non-channelers with high Constitution scores. This weave is almost universally practiced by clanned channelers who use a non-traditional abs equipment playstyle, because it stacks with absorption from armor to majorly reduce incoming melee damage. Another common strategy is to weave this before entering an area where it is impossible to channel, such as the Blighted Stedding or rooms with no-channel coding.
Warding vs Evil
Elements: 1 Spirit
Clanned Only: No
Weave Function: Utility
Notes: This weave removes the ** from around the target’s name and removes color that is seen by crossrace players’ game client output. It can be woven on oneself as well as other targets. This creates an illusion that the character is actually a Darkside player. However, when looking in the room, the character has a visible shimmering blue aura that spoils the effect. The weave gives a percent chance that Shadowspawn mobs will not aggressively attack the character, but because it is calculated separately for each mob, moving through past a patrol is unlikely to work without at least one engaging you in combat. Shadowspawn will also still be able to target you using the “kill light” command. Many experienced players will also recognize a Lightside player’s name and will not fall for the trick. Because of these limitations, the weave is not frequently practiced, but it could trick an unexpecting opponent on occasion.
Whirlpool
Elements: 5 Water
Clanned Only: Yes
Weave Function: Damage
Notes: This weave is highly impractical to use, costly to weave, and usable only in water rooms. It requires 5 Water, which is only required for Cure Critical Wounds and Elemental Staff, so you will likely be spending an extra 10 spell practice sessions just to be able to learn this weave. Furthermore, if you do manage to kill someone on water, their corpse immediately sinks and you will be unable to loot or scalp them. Trollocs also cannot easily enter water rooms, usually only by fleeing while carrying a canoe or raft, so you are rarely going to even need to use this weave. For these reasons, unless the requirements for channeling this weave are changed, I do not recommend using it.
LEVELING GUIDE & SAMPLE SETUPS
Channelers benefit greatly from being as high of level as possible, given that many of their weaves include a level check, and because many of the channeler’s spell practices are earned at higher levels. For many years, leveling was a tedious process that involved hours and hours of fighting ancient trees or issuing and killing evergreen pines. With the advent of specialized quests to earn scalps that can be turned in for automatic levels or parts of a level, many players have turned towards using these to level up.
The following suggestions are for what targets to hit to gain levels quickly and suggestions on what to practice as you level. I personally recommend that a channeler pick whichever weapon she plans to use long-term and to train in that weapon as she levels, so the following assumes an example of a female channeler using Staves, but you can substitute the weapon for any alternative you like.
Levels 1-7: Saplings
For these early levels, stout young saplings the best experience and an easy target because they are easy to hit and do not hit back. After you achieve level 8, killing a sapling in your room will trigger mobol with the message “a sapling's trunk snaps off under the onslaught”, killing the remaining sapling in the room.
These first few levels are your chance to get the basic practice sessions to hit harder mobs who will actually hit back, and basic utility skills. Assuming an example female channeler with prerolled stats, by level 8 you can have Ride 57% (Level 4), Survival 17% (Level 1), Staves 58%, and Dodge 57%. This allows you some basic functionality for movement, butchering for meat, and some cost-effective practices to raise OB and PB (both from 2-handed Staves early on) as well as DB.
For weaves, you have two good options. First, you can take a more generalist approach and work on getting several basic weaves that will help you gain more XP, including Armor, Blind, and Cure Light Wounds. The latter cannot be used on yourself, but if you hunt with a friend, especially someone with abs equipment and/or someone who is also lower level, it can help you get back into the fray more quickly; you will recover SP faster than your opponent will recover HP. The second option is to not practice any weaves at all, and focus exclusively on preparing to learn Ice Spikes, which will drastically expand your option of opponents you can safely kill to keep leveling.
Levels 8-30: Crier Quests
In December 2022 (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=17247), town criers were adjusted to provide 2 quests that will award 1 level each, and you can complete these experience quests up to a maximum of level 30. This is strongly recommended as a primary way to level; newer players will greatly benefit from (and probably enjoy!) exploring the world, while experienced players who know these mob loads will be able to rapidly get up to a higher level so they can join in PK, smobbing, or other group activities more quickly. For a list of the crier quests, read here: https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/Crier_Quests.
For non-channeler skills, up until level 20 you will want to focus on further increasing your primary skills for your weapon and Dodge. Using a 2-handed weapon puts you at an advantage during this phase because you will need quite a few levels before you can afford high levels of your weapon, Shield Parry, and Dodge as a channeler to establish a good defensive setup. With a 2-handed staff, raising your Staves skill will improve your OB and PB simultaneously, improving both your offensive and defensive capabilities. Because your name will stop appearing as *a newbie human* and begin appearing as *(name)* at level 20, you will also be more likely to draw the attention of Shadowspawn and could become a target of raiding Trollocs or Fades. So, you will want to start practicing Notice when you can afford it, as this is your primary skill to see if someone is hiding in your room and about to Backstab you.
By the time you hit level 30, you can also probably afford most of the wilder weaves that are good and really worth practicing. There are some weaves that are flavorful but with limited in-game application (e.g., Create Fog, Ward Object), and some that are useful but made redundant with good preparation and carrying basic supplies (e.g., Create Food/Water, Light Ball). The most useful weaves people tend to gravitate towards include Armor, Blind, Call Lightning, Change Weather, Chill, Cure Blindness, Cure Light Wounds, Earthquake, Fear, Ice Spikes, Refresh, Remove Contagion, Sonic Boom, and Strength. Feel free to experiment with these and use the ones that you find the most enjoyable and useful.
Levels 31-51: Personnel trainer scalps or regular XP
After level 30, you can no longer earn experience from crier quests, even ones you have not completed. However, you can still utilize a personnel trainer for XP scalps (https://wotmud.fandom.com/wiki/A_personnel_trainer) all the way up to level 51. Technically, you can start these as early as level 15, but because each scalp only earns you 1/10 of a level, it is far more efficient to use the crier quests until level 30. There are several trainers you can use, and the scalps you can turn in vary based on your level and differ between trainers; see the wiki link above for more details, or find a personnel trainer in game and say “jobs.”
If you prefer to XP the “old fashioned” way, ancient trees, predators, and giant horned lizards are great targets to earn XP. Alternatively, clanned characters (or characters who have earned QPs by completing herald smob chains or other quests that grant QPs) can spend 1 QP at a brawny lumberjack by saying “gather wood” to generate 10 evergreen pine trees, which are similar to ancient trees but worth more XP.
Channelers benefit from being maximum level to ensure that any status ailment weaves they use have maximum potential to land, and to earn as many HP and spell practice sessions as possible. The skills you decide to practice will vary based on your stats; for example, if you have 16+ Strength and high other physical stats, you can probably afford as many as 16 practice sessions over a channeler with 15 Strength. Your options will also largely vary based on your equipment setup and playstyle (e.g., 1-handed weapon + shield vs. 2-handed weapon). Generally, good targets for skills include getting your weapon to 91-99% (depending on your preference); Dodge 99%; Search around 57% (or higher if you prefer); Notice around 88-93% (depending on preference); Survival 85% (Level 6), Ride 57% (Level 4); Track (50% is surprisingly useful, or 85% if you want to be able to see specific player or mob names); or Wisdom Lore 57% (Level 4) or higher.
Your weave setup at this level will mostly depend on whether or not you have access to full clanned weaves. If you only have access to wilder weaves, you will find that you probably have more than enough practices to get every wilder weave in the game; alternatively, you can pick your favorite weaves and get them all to 99% so you do not fail them (especially combat weaves like Ice Spikes). If you have access to clanned weaves, there are many iterations of weaves to select and it depends greatly on your preferred playstyle, goals for the character, and personal preference. See earlier in this guide for further discussion on considerations about what weaves to select for your setup.
Sample Setup
Here is a sample setup of a level 51 female character with access to clanned weaves, using prerolled stats but assuming Rank 0 (so no rank bonus is included). Clanned characters with access to rank bonus will be able to add even more to this setup. It focuses on a generalist playstyle with a blend of both offensive, defensive, and utility weaves.
Warrior Skills:
Staves 85
Shield Parry 85
Rogue Skills:
Dodge 99
Hunter Skills:
Search 57
Ride 57 (Level 4)
Notice 91
Survival 85 (Level 6)
Channeler Skills:
These were made using Craig (Faith)’s optimized weave trainer, which saved 4 practices compared to practicing all elements first and then training weaves: https://wotcode.eastus.cloudapp.azure.c ... dwC8MgutwA
Armor 74
Blind 93
Chill 92
Cure Critical Wounds 93
Cure Poison 94
Elemental Staff 92
Flame Strike 95
Ice Spikes 95
Locate Object 93
Refresh 93
Strength 73
Travel 93
Warding vs Damage 92
If at a higher rank in a clan that allows a weave practice bonus such as the White Tower, with this build, I would probably move towards learning Locate Life, Sonic Boom, or Cure Fear next.
CLANS
Below is a list of all of the clans that a female channeler can join. As a reminder, per the rules of WoTMUD (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=300), “It is not allowed to have multiple characters in the same clan. In case of the White Tower and the Ajahs, you can theoretically have an Aes Sedai in each of the Ajahs, as well as a Novice OR Accepted.”
Damane
Clanned Weaves: All except Incinerate, Sleep, and Travel; Rank 5+ only
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: No
Description: This clan is unique compared to the other clans below in that characters apply as human side channelers and once they join the clan, they are transferred over to the Seanchan side, with all of the advantages and disadvantages of that process, including likely gaining warrants from multiple Lightside clans and additional barriers if you try to participate in northern PK. Seanchan side in general is currently less consistently active, but Damane players frequently enjoy smobbing, PKing, and RPing.
Joining: Speak with an active Damane player in game, or send a mail to the Damane forum mail group stating that you have heard of a marath’damane who needs to be leashed. Applicants are expected to focus first on RP but also need to demonstrate either ability to PK or receptiveness to feedback about combat.
Dragonsworn
Clanned Weaves: None, except access to Flame Strike after earning 700 QP
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: No
Description: This clan previously followed a (mob) male channeler, Bardomir Lazar, who alleged to be the Dragon Reborn but died during a global event. Historically, this clan openly accepted male channelers and did not declan them upon discovery, which resulted in blanket warrants from the White Tower and several other clans. Since changes to the taint system were implemented and multiple male channelers in the clan went inactive or were gentled, the clan has been less active but still welcomes new applicants to assist in search for the Dragon Reborn.
Joining: Contact an active Dragonsworn player in game, especially a master (Rank 7+), or send a mail to the Dragonsworn forum mail group requesting to be considered for admission into the clan. A member of the clan will contact you to discuss your request.
Kandori Merchants Guild
Clanned Weaves: No
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: No
Description: The Kandori Merchants Guild (KMG) is one of the newest and most unique clans in the game. In addition to auto-entry based on an automated quest (see below), clan members have penalties to QPs earned from player PK scalps but can instead earn QPs by listing items for sale in the Lugard Market Hall and having that item sell. Many KMG members enjoy smobbing, either solo (especially by using Backstab) or in groups, and learning how to advance in this clan will likely teach you a great deal about how to obtain equipment quickly and effectively.
Joining: Travel to Chachin, the small village in the Kandori Keep in the Borderlands between Maradon and Fal Dara. Find Paetram the Master Merchant and ask to join the guild. He will send you on a quest to obtain several items around the world.
Kin
Clanned Weaves: Yes
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: Yes
Description: As one of the few secret clans in the game, the active member list and clanning process for the Kin is not public. Per Wheel of Time lore, the Kinswomen include female channelers initially trained at the White Tower but were unable to complete their training, and instead were welcomed in the Kinswomen community based out of Ebou Dar. Per Immortal posts about clan bonuses (viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16289), Kin have improved HP regen and a higher max rentable item limit, and they can have up to Dexterity 19.
Joining: Find out for yourself. For those interested in joining, review information about membership in the Kin from the Wheel of Time series (e.g. A Crown of Swords) as a hint.
Legion of Unity
Clanned Weaves: No
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: No
Description: This organization is not canon in the Wheel of Time universe and instead is unique to WoTMUD. It was founded by players who RPed that they were a remnant of the forces that unified to throw back the Aiel who came over the Dragonwall and remained as a united group to prepare to one day fight in the Last Battle. The clan is not a justice organization, so they do not have the authority to warrant other characters. The clan is not consistently active currently. Of note, although the clan allows female channelers into their clan, they require channelers to keep their weaving a secret except in front of clan members with some possible exceptions, which significantly constrains your options for advancing in the clan; for example, you would have a more difficult time in northern combat against Shadowspawn in a group because of this channeling rule.
Joining: Contact any Legion member that you can find, or send a mail to the Legion of Unity forum mail group and request to join. Send a brief in-character letter summarizing your reasons for being interested, and note in your letter that you are a channeler and inquire further about their rules regarding channelers.
White Tower
Clanned Weaves: Yes
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: Yes
Description: The White Tower is one of the largest, most active, and arguably most newbie friendly clans in the game for new female channeler players. Until you reach Rank 3 (Journey Accepted), you will be restricted to the island of Tar Valon, which offers a certain level of protection against being PK targeted. You also gain access to clanned weaves and the clan equipment chest immediately, which can help you improve your equipment and re-equip if you were to die. The process of learning how to advance in the clan is designed to help you gain knowledge about the world and how to weave the One Power effectively, and the clan is filled with immersive quests, coded tests for the Three Arches to gain Acceptance, and the test for the shawl to become an Aes Sedai, making it a very rich learning experience. Although I am biased, I would strongly recommend the White Tower as a first clan for anyone new to playing a channeler, especially if they are also new to the game.
Joining: Travel to Tar Valon, due north of Caemlyn, and wait to meet with an Aes Sedai player. Any Aes Sedai can meet with you and enlist you in the book of novices. You must be a minimum of level 20 to join the clan. If you cannot find an Aes Sedai, you can also look for novices or Accepted and ask them to pass along a message that you are looking to join the White Tower.
Wisdoms
Clanned Weaves: Yes, with some RP restrictions
Weave Practice Rank Bonus: No
Description: Wisdoms are known throughout the Westlands by different names depending on their region of origin (e.g., Wise Woman, Reader, Healer). Regardless of their title, Wisdoms are healers who specialize in mixing and application of herbal lore and providing healing and support to citizens of the Light. Many, but not all, are able to channel, although there have been Wisdoms from every character class. However, by tradition, the clan only accepts female characters. The Wisdoms are an RP-focused clan, although PK is not prohibited. Wisdoms have access to training in clanned weaves and are welcome to channel publicly; however, they are usually discouraged from using clanned weaves in front of members of the White Tower.
Joining: Send an in-character application to the Wisdoms forum mail group stating why you want to be a Wisdom. Because the clan is focused on RP, it should include details about who your character is and their history. Then, seek out active Wisdoms for RP sessions to gain their favor and secure an apprenticeship.