--- Introduction ---

The Book of Stone has long been known as a powerful book, and the less informed who do not understand how Stone works had often accused it of being overpowered. By now it is quite common knowledge that as powerful as Stone is, it has its weaknesses. There really isn�t much need to create a Guide for Stone since it had always been a popular book, but the recent rise of Conductor Rod had driven me to create this Guide to showcase one of the most effective Rod counters: Stone (duh).

I�m not the best Stone user out there, in fact I rarely use Stone myself; but recently I�ve been experimenting with it and noticed how little Conductor Rod based tactics can do to it. Even with so-called �Stone counters� like Shock Bomb and Cuckoo Clock, I still find the Book of Stone very effective against the generic Rod book most people now use. 

--- Level One Spells ---



[Pebble Shot]

Pebble Shot does double damage to Towers and can thus destroy any Tower with a single shot, and still damage the Arcanist inside in most cases. It is easily the best and most reliable Tower-killer out there. Some people also like to use it for tunneling, but I personally find it ineffective because it doesn�t dig reliably and the pebbles always eat their way downwards: though the fact they eat through lots of land is true, so it can be used to dig to a hidden opponent. Using it for normal, bread-and-butter damage is not the best idea, you won�t do enough damage to be worth it unless you really have no other options: plus you need to be quite close to make all the Pebbles hit.

Like many spells, Pebble Shot will hurt yourself at close range, and when you�re hurt by it it terminates. In general, you want to stay about 1.5 Arcanist Diameter away or more to prevent it backfiring.



[Quake]

This spell does 68 damage to every Tower on the map except for Clock Towers, which I guess isn�t affected by Quake because it has no foundations. It also randomly knocks Arcanists and minions around, including flying minions for some reason. I also noticed that whenever something is knocked to the left, it is always a small knock, and when it is knocked to the right it is always a big knock: this is always the case regardless of where the unit is. It isn�t a Tower killer, but it is useful to weaken Towers if you cannot get to them for the moment and also to knock units on the edge into the water. It affects yourself too, so be careful. 

[Mud Ball]

This is probably Stone�s signature spell and one of the more popular spells in Arcanists. It creates a small ball of Mud around where it detonates. An obvious use is to trap enemies, and possibly follow up with Thunder Shock since the Mud Ball is thin enough to allow most of the bolts to get through. It is, however, very easy to break out, and usually if someone gets Mud Balled they will immediately Tower, breaking them out and providing defense at the same time. All in all not the best trap spell, but a good one nonetheless.

Mud Ball is also an excellent precursor to Mega Boulder (assuming they do not break out immediately), which I will discuss later.



[Rock Slab]

Some people love it, some people hate it. I, personally, love it. This is IMO one of the most versatile spells in Arcanists, capable of being used for a wide variety of purposes, and it can be used every turn with no restrictions. Place this over yourself as a shield from air strikes, use it to trap enemies, create a platform for you to cross� you could sometimes just sit in the safe spot and annoy your opponent to no end with spammed Rock Slabs. Granted, it�s not a very good trap spell, but it** spammable and can buy you lots of time under the right circumstances.



[Summon Dwarf]

For me, the Dwarf is up there with the Sylph as the most useful minions. Its primary ability, mine, is one of the best tunneling abilities, and its second ability Kablam! Is a great area blast attack, though it does tend to kill the Dwarf. It�s a poor jumper, and note its long jump is almost completely horizontal. 
Mine is capable of tunneling for great distances, but sometimes it tunnels for less than its maximum length. This can happen if the Dwarf is forced to �drop� a bit after each mine, wasting time, and thus reducing tunnel length. I have yet been able to find any pattern in this, so just bear this in mind. Unlike the Dark Knight, the Dwarf will stop mining the moment it reaches its destination, so targeting is important.

A lesser known fact about Mine is that it does damage, and in fact it does as much damage as Kablam! Does (75). However, it will keep mining right through to its destination: it won�t stay in place to deal damage. In order for a Dwarf to stay in place and dish out pain, have it Mine into open air right above it: it will keep jumping, trying to reach that destination, but unable to reach it. Unfortunately, Mine also knocks enemies away (unless they�re in a Tower), and if the Dwarf is too close it might mine through your target and onto their heads and deal no further damage. Therefore, the best way to do this is to pin your opponent against something, have a Dwarf next to the victim (but not too close) and Mine upwards. Note that Mine cannot do double damage to Towers. You can also make a Dwarf mine into a victim, doing little damage but causing the Dwarf to be stuck inside and thus immobilising the target. Also note it does damage in 1s, so it still does full damage against damage resistance.

The second ability, Kablam!, is much more straight forward. It creates an explosion close to the Dwarf which does 75 damage, double to Towers. While the blast radius is quite large the damage quickly diminishes with distance. Once you cast Kablam!, the Dwarf will attempt to run away in the opposite direction of the blast, but usually it cannot get away in time and will be killed. If you want the Dwarf not to die, make sure that in the direction it will run there is a cliff where it can fall off and out of range. 

--- Level Two Spells ---



[Scatter Rock]

I like to think of this spell as the Cuckoo Clock of Stone, except weaker and with double damage against Towers. It does 40 damage on impact and releases seven pebbles, each doing 5 damage if they hit: usually it can do 50+ damage when used as a ball spell. Essentially, this is Stone�s bread-and-butter damage spell, but don�t take it for granted: remember it has four charges only, use it wisely.



[Disruption]

Unreliable is how I�d describe this spell. Sometimes it can do heavy damage and trap your enemy in a thick slab of Mud, but if you�re not so lucky it will do minimal damage and fail to trap your target at all, or even worse trap yourself. Despite this, it is a good spell, and if used right it shouldn�t rebound even though it�s still likely to fail. Some people claim that shooting this spell at full power is most effective, others claim shooting it at low power allows it to be more reliable. I find it to be prone to failure either way, but personally using it slowly seems to make it work better. 

[Mega Boulder]

This is Stone�s killer spell, in a way the Conductor Rod of Stone though with less power. It can easily do extremely heavy damage, even through a Tower it can do a lot of damage to the Arcanist inside; and its blast radius per bounce is quite big, larger than the actual land destroyed. The best way to use this is on an opponent trapped by a Mud Ball/Disruption, or just any opponent under some land (or even minion), but it can work okay even if the target is completely open. Some people use it for head-stuffing, which reduces its damage and also does heavy damage to yourself; but is a useful tactic for finishing off a weakened enemy.

Always throw Mega Boulder over your opponent: it takes time for the Boulder to expand and become functional, and once it expands unless it falls for a height it will only do 25 damage instead of 50. Basically that means if it doesn�t bounce high enough (or for the initial smash, wasn�t thrown high enough) on the previous bounce, it won�t do its full damage; and the following bounces are also likely to do half damage. This is why its effectiveness is greatly reduced when used to head-stuff, and also why it is not recommended to simply drop this spell from Flight.

Using Mega Boulder does in fact require an amount of skill to use, which no Guide can teach. If you want to be able to Mega Boulder effectively, I suggest you go into the sandbox with it and practice.



[Fortress]

There�s nothing special about this Tower except it has 25 more health than regular Towers, giving it 100 health. This makes it unable to be destroyed in one turn by common Tower-killers like Shock Bomb, but it doesn�t really make it much tougher. Being one use doesn�t help at all. I suggest you leave out this Tower as a last resort when you really need one and no other is available. 

[Summon Rock Golem]

This minion has the worst, and I mean the worst, jumping ability of all minions. It�s worse than the Dark Knight and the Paladin, and almost as bad as Mos Le�Harmless Monkeys. However, it is also easily the toughest minion, and can ignore the first ten points of damage dealt to it per attack; effectively giving it two Pet Rocks without an actual Pet Rock. I find it very useful for blocking off chokepoints, tunnel entrances and just for general defense. Apart from its general melee attack (Wallop), the Rock Golem can also cast Scatter Rock, Mud Ball and Mega Boulder, so it can somewhat act as your double; or you can use it to suicide a Mega Boulder on someone. Note that it is an Arcane Minion, it cannot be healed or drained, so don�t worry about putting it on you for defense. Don�t hesitate to use it to trap enemies and wallop them either, its defense should keep it alive and it�s non-drainability should keep your opponent from negating it�s attacks. 

--- Level Three Spells ---



[Meteor]

Despite saying it does up to 175 damage, Meteor doesn�t do much damage at all if you simply use it on an exposed opponent. Contrary to most Air Strikes, Meteor is best used if your opponent is hidden under land: the more, the better (but not too much in that the Meteor won�t quite reach). Even a Mud Ball or a Rock Slab can greatly increase Meteor�s effectiveness as opposed to open land. About halfway down the map is probably the ideal depth. When used on a hidden opponent, Meteor is quite capable of doing heavy damage, even through Towers. Like most Stone spells, it does double damage to Towers and nearly always kills them in one hit no matter where they are, even if they�re on the surface.

When Meteor hits something, it begins spewing Pebbles; and when it�s dug about halfway through solid land it disintegrates into even more Pebbles, cutting a wide chasm all the way down to the water line.

This is Stone�s only Air Strike spell and can only be cast once, so use it wisely. It is vulnerable to deflection shields; don�t use it against a Fire Shielded/Wind Shielded/Spirit Shielded opponent.



[Fissure]

Along with Mud Ball the signature Stone spell. It consists of two parts, the weaker initial and the extremely powerful final; but the initial blast can still easily kill if your target is close to the water line. In general, people would be wary of you if you have this and won�t put themselves underground without Arcane Gate or a means of escape, so Fissure is generally more of a deterrence against hiding low than an attack spell: but if you do manage to trap your opponent reasonably close to the water line and disrupt their Gate/Recall Devices/Pixies, it is usually a one-hit kill even through Towers. Usually, Fissure reaches a bit more than halfway up the map depending on how thick the land is.

Do not waste this spell. If you cannot find an opportunity to use it, keep it. It acts as deterrence against enemies. 

--- The Stone Familiar ---



[Pet Rock]

Reduces all damage by 5 per attack for you and all your minions. This ability can be completely overwhelming or quite insignificant depending on the spells your opponents are using: multi-shot attacks amplify this ability, while single shot attacks like Fire Ball almost completely ignores it. However, since most powerful abilities are multi-shot, you�d be hard pressed to find an opponent where this familiar isn�t useful.

Recently, I find that Pet Rock�s effectiveness has been amplified by the hype of Conductor Rod. While Conductor Rod is usually a one-hit kill, against a Pet Rock user it does about 100 damage in total: still high, but no longer a significant killer. Note also that Storm Shield does damage in five parts of 5 damage, so a full Storm Shield blast deals only 5 damage overall. The most common primary dangers are Shock Bomb and Cuckoo Clock , the former dealing 75 damage as opposed to 80, still capable of killing Towers; and the latter also capable of doing 75 down from 100.

Because of the way Drain Bolt works, the Pet Rock also allows you to gain 5 health per self-Drain. This is because Drain Bolt always heals for 30 no matter how much damage it does to a target, so when you Drain yourself it does 5 less damage (25) but still heals you for 30. Also, damage reduction affects Sphere of Healing, so you can only be healed for 20 per heal; which is bad.

If you want to use this, always charge it to full. No sense leaving it at a lower Familiar level unless you know that your opponent only has attacks that deals so many damage per hit: in which case you might leave the Familiar at a lower level, but for general purposes just charge it to full. 

--- Basic Strategy ---



Stone can be how you play it, and there�s no set way you must play stone: you could trade spells with your opponents in open combat, using your superior defense to outlast your opponent; or keep them trapped and use your powerful spells on them like Mega Boulder, Meteor and Fissure, which all somewhat depends on you trapping your target first.

In general, however, you would always want to charge your Familiar to full on the first chance you get, and you would want to bring Drain Bolt. Drain Bolt�s effectiveness is enhanced by the Pet Rock while Sphere of Healing is diminished, so you absolutely must have Drain Bolt: both for healing and for a melee attack, which Stone lacks. Personally, I would keep my opponents trapped and/or protect myself with Towers and shields while I heal back the health used to summon the Familiar, and then use Stone�s devastating limited use spells to kill my opponents quickly.

Note that since most Stone spells are limited in use, you must be careful in how you use them. Make sure every one of your spell counts, and don�t let your opponent run away to hide and heal after an assault: press the attack on them and make sure the spells you used did*�t go to waste with a few Sphere of Healings. Fortunately, Stone is quite good at catching hiders: Fissure is a powerful deterrent, Meteor can get to most hiders, and if all else fails you have Pebble Shot and the Dwarf to dig to enemies.

Basically, use your spells wisely, and once you start an attack don�t stop, press the attack and kill your enemy before they can recover. 

--- Recommended Spells ---

Here are some ideas on what other four spells to use when you�re playing with Full Stone.



[Arcane Flash* 7/10

A good spell under any circumstances. Throw your opponents into the water with this whenever you can, don�t worry if they teleport to a hidey-hole: Stone spells are more than capable of taking care of hiders.



[Arcane Gate] 10/10

You simply must have Arcane Gate. No explanation required.



[Flame Shield] 6.5/10

A useful all-rounder. However, many Stone spells have multiple parts which fly everywhere, and just one stray pebble can disable a Fire Shield. It�s a good defense against say, Shock Bombs, but not very reliable.



[Thunder Shock] 5/10

Some people like this because it digs through Mud Balls and stuff to hit trapped opponents. I, personally, find it not particularly useful, since generally people break out of Mud Balls with Towers, and when you Mud Ball someone you should aim to Mega Boulder them, not Thunder Shock them. It can, under the right circumstances, knock someone into the water, so that is a slight plus; and it can fill in for bread-and-butter attack after you use up your Scatter Rocks. However, its damage is relatively low: basically a Pebble Shot, albeit with overwhelmingly superior range.



[Wind Shield] 6/10

A more powerful version of the Fire Shield, but with only one use and a significantly shorter duration. It�s a good spell to use when you�re in trouble, but being one-use really hurts its usefulness.



[Summon Storm Spirit] 6/10

It can use Spirit Shield, a recharging Wind Shield; so it�s not too bad a minion. The main reason to use this, however, is to be able to use Flight.



[Flight] 6/10

Flight is good for any build, and many people insist on using it no matter what spellbook lineup they�re using. Personally, I find Flight having few synergies with Stone, so I won�t use it; but Stone does lack long range attacks and Flight could give you the mobility you need. 

*Ice Shield] 6/10

Provides minimal defense, but it can be better for Stone because Stone is quite immune to multi-shot attacks and usually only multi-shots can penetrate Ice Shields easily. Can also be used to trap opponents and Drain Bolt them. Primary reason to have this spell is to gain access to Ice Castle.



*Ice Castle] 7.5/10

Stone�s only Tower is one use, and with Stone you�d want to take advantage of your damage reduction ability as much as you can; thus a recharging Tower is pretty much a must. Ice Castle is a good one in that it** compact, recharges, and also freeze water if it falls in. It does unfortunately require Ice Shield however, which isn�t that useful.



[Summon Sylph] 7/10

Sylphs have a long ranged Arrow attack, and any long ranged attack can complement Stone�s lack thereof. You could also use Sylphs for some quick health to Drain if you need it, and freeze water for you to walk on. Quite a useful minion overall.



[Den of Darkness] 6/10

A very strong level 1 Tower with self-repair, further augmented by Pet Rock�s ability. Plus, it has an Aura of Decay. Unfortunately, being one-use greatly reduces its worth in my eyes, even though Stone can do very well with it. A Shock Bomb still destroys it in one hit, Pet Rock or no, however.



[Drain Bolt] 9/10

Almost as important as Arcane Gate to Stone, because Pet Rock augments Drain Bolt�s power, and also provides Stone with a much needed melee spell. You absolutely must use this for healing and attack and absolutely must not use Sphere of Healing, since Sphere of Healing�s power is reduced by the Pet Rock. Again, I must stress this is a must-have.



[Protection Shield] 8.5/10

A good defense spell further augmented by Pet Rock. There�s nothing to hate about good old Protection Shield.



*Sky Ray] 6.5/10

Again, long ranged spells are welcome to Stone, Sky Ray being no exception. It does decent damage, is very accurate and cannot be deflected. Double damage to Undead is a plus too. 

[Summon Pegasus] 7/10

A relatively high HP, flying minion which can cast a defense spell if you have it. The Pegasus is great for blocking chokepoints and defending you from attacks, even better due to Pet Rock�s ability affecting minions too. Plus, it can carry you through the air giving you mobility, which Stone really needs without long ranged spells. If you must, it can be a steady source of health from draining too.



[Forest Seed] 7/10

Stone loves trap spells, and an extra one won�t hurt. You can also use Forest Seeds for draining, or better yet trap an opponent inside and drain both them and the tree. Better than Stone trap spells because it cannot be broken out of by Towering, and is usually only able to be escaped from by teleporting or by killing the tree first. A good all-rounder.



[Summon Pixies] 6/10

Summon these and Drain them for a very easy 90 health. Unfortunately they aren�t good for much else and are prone to be killed the moment they�re summoned. However, an instant 90 health heal or even more is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. They can also act as good traps if they survive.



[Vine Whip] 6/10

Similar to Arcane Flash with more damage and power, but less versatility. Can also be used for tunneling, but not really reliable for that. Use this to get Vine Bridge or as a replacement for Arcane Flash if you prefer Whip. Don�t use both at the same time, that�s pointless.



[Vine Bridge] 6.5/10

Provides you with some measure of mobility and also doubles as a trapping spell which doesn�t end your turn. Can use it as a barrier for Mega Boulder to bounce on with reasonably good results. However, it is only four use, so it won�t help you travel the map forever.



[Entangle] 7.5/10

Prevents flying, jumping and gating. There is everything to love about Arcanists� only debuffing spell. It�s an efficient trap, even if it does dispel with damage. Keep your enemies in place, unable to Gate, while you Fissure them to oblivion. 

[Summon Man-Trap] 5/10

It has ample health to drain, but not much else. You want to use it for Sanctuary.



[Sanctuary] 7.5/10

Not the best Tower in terms of defense (it*s a bit too large and takes damage too easily), but enchantment dispelling is invaluable under certain circumstances. Always a good laugh to dispel five Protection Shields with a single Sanctuary.



[Summon Water Trolls] 7/10

They�re a great, easy source of 60 health per Drain, and they can endure multiple Drains if you use them right. Unlike Pixies, they aren�t as likely to die in a single turn by an enemy attack, especially with the Pet Rock�s damage resistance. They�re also good for trapping, and do a bit of bonus damage to boot.



[Deluge] 7/10

Long range spells are good for Stone, remember? And Deluge is one of the best, at 90 damage. It also does little damage to you if it accidentally hits you.



[Mechanical Arrow] 5/10

A rather weak long range spell, though I�ve seen it do quite good damage. You want to use this to be able to use Cog Fall.



[Cog Fall] 6.5/10

Mediocre damage, but it also trap the target and put a giant Cog on top of them. You could follow this up with Meteor and it can be devastating with all the land the Cog creates. Might be able to follow up a Mega Boulder too, but the Cog*s a bit too thick for that.



[Clock Tower] 8.5/10

It moves, it has decent health, it's compact, and it�s level 1. As a bonus, it isn�t affected by Quake, so you could use Quake safely while you are in this tower. A better choice than the Ice Castle in general.



[Cuckoo Clock] 7.5/10

A powerful, powerful attack, I like to think of it as the big brother to Scatter Rock. With Stone�s damage resistance, Head-Clocking is more effective than ever, doing 100 damage to your target and much less to yourself. A powerful, sometimes considered to be broken, spell. Personally, I think Stone�s attack spells are enough, but if you think you need more firepower go right ahead. 

--- Recommended Maps ---

The Book of Stone can work well on any Map, really; it�s not a particularly terrain dependent map, though some maps do augment some of its spells.



[Grassy Hills] 8/10

Flat with few hidey holes, giving you a clean battleground. If your opponent tries to hide at the sides, kill them with a Fissure. A decent map for Stone overall, and no Armageddon to spoil the fun is a plus.



[Giant�s Mountains] 7/10

Again, not many places to hide, so it�s decent for Stone; but Volcanoes do hurt and aren�t impressed by Pet Rocks, so watch out for those. Sometimes you might get an unscalable peak, but they�re usually flimsy enough to be broken through quickly.



[Elven Isles] 7/10

This map often has lots of hiding places, which isn�t too much of a problem for Stone but does restrict your use of Mega Boulder in many instances. Fissure, however, should deter most hiding, and anyone hiding in a place Fissure cannot reach can be dealt with Mega Boulder. Unfortunately, you only have two charges of these long ranged spells and the trees can be quite impassible. The Armageddon, Comet, is however quite dangerous even through your defenses, so watch out. If this map renders flat, it could make your Fissures all the more effective; though your Meteors would be much weakened.



[Goblin Caves] 6.5/10

Even though it is the Stone map, I don�t find Goblin Caves too good for Stone. It has lots of hiding places and is very solid, not many chances to use Mega Boulder if your opponent hides. Natural Fissure is just as lethal to you as anyone else, so be careful; and it destroys a lot of land. The Pet Rock may defend you from damage, but not from drowning. 

[Murky Swamps] 7/10

Has some hiding places but is in general flimsy enough to break through with your spells. A decent map for Stone, the Armageddon isn�t quite so lethal, though it does tend to destroy the land and leave open water everywhere: like said before, you aren�t immune to drowning, so careful of that.



[Graveyard] 8/10

It�s a flat, clean, hiding spot-less battleground with a weak Armageddon, so is decent for Stone; but Fissure is not that likely to see much work done here.



*Sky Castles] 6.5/10

With clouds everywhere, Mega Boulder cannot work well; though Meteor could be quite good as it smashes through the clouds to reach your target. Fissure is not particularly likely to work here either, however. The Armageddon is weak and may as well not be there most of the time, and there�s not many places to hide that can�t be easily rooted out of.



[Mos Le�Harmless] 7/10

On one hand, it has few hiding spots, and if they hide near the bottom they�re subjected to the fury of Fissure. On the other hand, Monkeys with Thorn Balls really do hurt, though it does mean more minions to drain from.



[Arcane Crystals] 7/10

Being a low lying map, Fissure and Mega Boulder do well. Quite a good map for Stone to use, though eventually the Armageddon may destroy too much land for comfort. 

--- Enemies of Stone ---

Stone doesn�t really have any weaknesses, it�s merely that some spells are less affected by Pet Rock�s damage reduction and thus could mean you wasted your 100 health on the Familiar.



[Concentrated Spells] 6.5/10

Any spell that does damage in a single blow, or most of its damage in a single blow, can make you waste the 100 health you put into your Pet Rock. Here is a list of the significant concentrated spells and their damage� if it doesn�t do enough damage, isn�t reliable and/or has too few uses/takes too long to recharge to be significant, I won�t mention it here.

Fire Ball (45)
Fire Arrow (45)
Lava Bomb (45)
Flame Wall (45)
Scatter Rock (42)
Mega Boulder (225)
Dwarf�s Kablam! (70)
Shock Bomb (75)
Shining Bolt (40)
Paladin�s Sunder (70)
Thorn Ball (45)
Rain of Clams (225)
Cuckoo Clock (75)

These aren�t really counters to Stone, they simply ignore your Pet Rock�s ability more so than other spells (or rather Pet Rock has less of an effect on these). As long as you play defensively until you 100 health loss is taken back, you shouldn�t have problems.



[Full Flame Users] 8/10

These guys have very, very strong attacks that do damage in single blasts, and can easily waste a Full Stone user who tries to take them head on. They�re basically a special breed of Arcanists with lots of emphasis on powerful concentrated attacks, exactly what Stone is afraid of. Watch out for these and play carefully, they usually have poor melee capabilities so you could use that to your advantage. 

[Full Underdark Users] 7/10

While Liches do little damage, they have a phenomenal rate of healing and they specialise in melee attacks, while your Drain Bolt won't be able to take any health from them if they pinned you. They also have the Soul Jar, which can easily negate a Mega Boulder or Fissure attempt. The fact that they can recover from damage so quickly means you must kill them even quicker, else you risk wasting away your precious spells. Your best bet is to be very aggressive and possibly trap their jar. Or, bring a Light spell and obliterate their Jar and them. 

==The end==
I thank you for reading my Guide to the Book of Stone for the wonderful game made by Jagex LTD, Arcanists. This guide was made by City of Wonder, known as Cursed Pride on www.funorb.com. This guide may only be used on www.funorb.com and www.supercheats.com.