From Final Fantasy Wiki

Ancient Magic is the term that describes a series of spells in Final Fantasy XI. These are generally considered to be the 6 Elemental Magic Spells available to Black Mages only between the levels of 50 and 60. All of them take about 18 seconds to cast and do relatively similar amounts of damage. Tier 1 Ancient Magic is generally regarded as useless by the player base due to its hideous mp-to-damage ratio as well as its obscenely long casting time, but if used with proper timing and skill it can be very deadly. Ancient Magic is also usable by black mage enemies (usually beastmen, most undead, and wild elementals, but certain notorious beasts are well-known for using it), and is usually difficult to interrupt in such cases.

The second tier of Ancient Magic is attainable through the merit system (and even more monsters to use it as well), and though it has a shorter casting time than the first tier it is considered very deadly.

List of Ancient Magic

Additional Effects

In addition to the high damage, Ancient Magic weaken the enemy it is cast on to the weakness of that spell. Such as, casting Flare (Fire element) will weaken your enemy to water. Unfortunately this effect is all but useless as the Black Mage will either pull hate or be very close to doing so, in addition to having just spent a very large amount of their MP, and thus will be unable to take advantage of this effect.

See Elemental Wheel.

Ancient Magic II

A second level of Ancient Magic is available to Black Mages after they reach level 75. Each one of these costs 3 merit points in order to attain, and 4 then 5 points to upgrade to their maximum potential (notable however is that only 6 levels may be purchased within the group 2 category, sharply limiting the Black Mage's maximum potential- at most one can either buy all 6 spells at level 1, max only 2 spells to level 3, or buy 3 spells at level 2. Other combos may exist but few if any pursue them). The increase in damage is considerable, and the fact that all of the Ancient Magic II spells actually cost less MP than their Ancient Magic I counterparts and can be cast in 10 seconds rather than closer to 20 makes these spells much more attractive than their tier 1 versions, especially if fully upgraded.

From the RuneScape Wiki, the wiki for all things RuneScape

"Ancients" redirects here. For the prayers unlocked after The Temple at Senntisten, see Ancient Curses.

A player casting an Ancient Magicks teleport spell.

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

Switching spellbooks

The location of the Pyramid.

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

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

Reaching the pyramid

The altar that switches a player's spellbook between Ancient Magicks and the basic spellbook.

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

Ancient staff

After the player completes the Desert Treasure quest, he/she can buy an Ancient staff for 80,000 coins from Eblis, who is found around the circle of mirrors seen in the quest. The staff can only be bought once. However, it is tradeable between players. The ancient staff may also be bought on the Grand Exchange for 67,100 coins or it can be obtained as a drop from Mummies found in the pyramid or the Chaos Tunnels. While originally one of the few staves that could auto-cast ancient magic spells, the update on 2 September, 2009 changed this so that any player can autocast directly from the spellbook, rendering the original purpose of the ancient staff useless. Now, however, the ancient staff provides 10% bonus damage to any spell cast while it is equipped.

Combat

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

• The Smoke spells are the only group of spells that can inflict poison damage to other players and NPCs.
• Smoke Burst and Barrage are the only means of combat that can poison multiple targets at the same time.
• The shadow spells can be used to lower the target's Attack level at which can be useful if the caster has low defence. Shadow Burst and Barrage are the only spells that can weaken multiple targets at the same time.
• The blood spells can be a replacement for food because of their healing abilities. Blood Burst and Barrage are very useful because they can drain health from multiple targets at the same time, thus having a maximum recovery of 48 and 93 hitpoints in every cast.

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

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

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

Ancient Magicks is not allowed in Barbarian Assault.

Spell effects

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

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

Combat spells

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

Icon	Spell	Magic Level	Runes Required	Experience	Max Hit	Spell Effects
	Smoke Rush	50	2211	30+	13	Poisons target starting at 2 damage.
	Shadow Rush	52	1221	31+	14	Temporary lowers target's Attack level.
	Blood Rush	56	122	33+	15	Heals caster 1/4 of damage inflicted.
	Ice Rush	58	222	34+	16	Prevents victim from moving for 5 seconds.
	Miasmic Rush	61	121	36+	19	Slows opponent's melee or ranged attacks by 50% for 12 seconds. This spell can only be cast while wielding Zuriel's staff.
	Smoke Burst	62	2422	36+	19	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Poisons opponent(s) starting at 2 damage.
	Shadow Burst	64	2241	37+	20	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Temporarily lowers opponent(s) Attack level.
	Blood Burst	68	224	39+	21	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Heals caster 1/4 of the damage inflicted.
	Ice Burst	70	244	40+	22	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Prevents victim(s) from moving for 10 seconds.
	Miasmic Burst	73	242	42+	24 (26 because you must use a staff giving 10% to magic damage)	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Slows opponent(s)' melee or ranged attacks by 50% for 24 seconds. This spell can only be cast while wielding Zuriel's staff.
	Smoke Blitz	74	2222	42+	23	Poisons target starting at 4 damage.
	Shadow Blitz	76	2222	43+	24	Temporarily lowers opponents Attack level.
	Blood Blitz	80	42	45+	26	Heals caster 1/4 of damage inflicted.
	Ice Blitz	82	223	46+	29	Prevents victim from moving for 15 seconds.
	Miasmic Blitz	85	321	48+	28 (30 because you must use a staff giving 10% to magic damage)	Slows opponent's melee or ranged attacks by 50% for 36 seconds. This spell can only be cast while wielding Zuriel's staff.
	Smoke Barrage	86	2444	48+	27	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Poisons opponent(s) starting at 4 damage.
	Shadow Barrage	88	3244	48+	28	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Temporarily lowers opponent(s) Attack level.
	Blood Barrage	92	144	51+	29	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Heals caster 1/4 of the damage inflicted.
	Ice Barrage	94	246	52+	33	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Prevents victim(s) from moving for 20 seconds.
	Miasmic Barrage	97	444	54+	32 (35 because you must use a staff giving 10% to magic damage)	Multi-target spell. Hits opponents within a 3x3 space of target. Slows opponent(s)' melee or ranged attacks by 50% for 48 seconds. This spell can only be cast while wielding Zuriel's staff.

Teleportation spells

Icon	Spell	Magic Level	Runes Required	Experience	Notes
	Edgeville Home Teleport	0	None	None	Teleports next to the bank of Edgeville free of charge. It takes around 10 seconds to cast and is interruptible by combat. Additionally, it may only be cast every 30 minutes.
	Paddewwa Teleport	54	211	64	Teleports to the entrance of Edgeville Dungeon.
	Senntisten Teleport	60	12	70	Teleports to the Digsite and Senntisten Temple.
	Kharyrll Teleport	66	12	76	Teleports to Canifis. The only teleport that can be used in a POH portal that is not from basic spell book.
	Lassar Teleport	72	24	82	Teleports to the top of Ice Mountain.
	Dareeyak Teleport	78	232	88	Teleports to the ruins in the Wilderness.
	Carrallangar Teleport	84	22	82	Teleports to the Graveyard of Shadows in the wilderness.
	Annakarl Teleport	90	22	100	Teleports to the demonic ruins in the Wilderness.
	Ghorrock Teleport	96	28	106	Teleports to Ice Plateau in the Wilderness.

Trivia

• Mind runes, Astral runes, Cosmic runes, Nature runes and Body runes are not used in the Ancient magicks spellbook.
• The Ancient Magicks spellbook did not use earth runes before the Miasmic spells were added.
• On the day of release, these spells had a glitch where every spell, along with the original effects, would freeze opponents.
• If a player casts home teleport on a free world, they would be transported to Lumbridge instead of Edgeville.
• Each Ancient Spell has a unique sound. [1]
• Only combat and teleport spells exists in the Ancient Magicks.
• Although you need level 50 Magic to use ancient spells, it is not possible to have them at 50 Magic, as Desert Treasure quest levels you up straight to the end of level 51.
• The timing of Ancient Magicks teleports was improved on 9 November 2009.

References

• RuneScape Game Guide
  • Magic - The Ancient Magicks