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Al`Kabor's Cap of Binding  
 

Lore Item No Trade
Slot: HEAD
Charges: 4
AC: 6
STR: +5 INT: +8 HP: +40 MANA: +20
SV FIRE: +10 SV COLD: +10
Effect: Bonds of Force (Any Slot/Can Equip, Casting Time: Instant) at Level 45
WT: 0.2 Size: SMALL
Class: WIZ
Race: ALL
Slot 1, Type 7 (General: Group)
Slot 2, Type 21 (Special Ornamentation)

Item Type:Armor
Appearance:Cloth
Tint:
 
Color (RGB):0, 0, 0
Stackable:No
Submitted By:Coren the Planeswalker
Lucy Entry By:curio
Item Updated By:SwiftyMUSE
Source:Live
IC Last Updated:2021-07-27 02:13:49
Page Updated:Sat Apr 15th, 2017

Expansion: Original Original


Rarity: Very Rare
Level to Attain: 46

[Comments ]

This item is the result of a quest.
Expansion List - Premium only.
Quest Name
Wizard Test of Focus


Zone(s) Found In:


Zone Name
Plane of Sky
Screenshot

Uploaded November 27th, 2008
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Effect
# Nov 10 2005 at 11:30 PM Rating: Decent
Avatar
*
70 posts
I just want to know 4 things...
1. Clicky from inventory ?
2. wiz only clicky, or all/all ?(from inventory)
3. Rechargeable ?
4. any cast time, or insta ?

/salute
Effect
# Jan 12 2024 at 3:23 PM Rating: Decent
1 post
I just want to know 4 things...
1. Clicky from inventory ? -- YES
2. wiz only clicky, or all/all ?(from inventory) -- WIZ ONLY
3. Rechargeable ? -- NO
4. any cast time, or insta ? -- INSTANT
Fun in Gfay
# Dec 18 2002 at 11:03 AM Rating: Decent
OK, so I cast manaskin on myself, chug a sow potion, load up Jyll's static pulse and run around Gfay to grab as many things as I possibly can. Usually about 30 orcs and numerous other wanderers like drakes, spiders, whatever. I wait until I have about 50 mobs on me, and then I run into the newbie zone with one hell of a massive train on my tail and find a newbie that looks like he/she could use some loot. I stop, the mob gathers, and I cast the Static Pulse. All 40 or 50 mobs drop likes stones. Great fun after a long night of waiting to kill one dragon in ToV, or stomping around PoF!!! I'll take Jyll's Pulse for close range any day, but Al'kabor's line of AE's can't be beat if you don't want them crawling up your butt! Especially if they are not just orcs and are let's say Moktors hehe!!

As for the cap. I wear the Carmine Turban from the Plane of Fear atm. It has 7 Int on it with some other stats, and is definitely a good cap to have. However, Al'kabor's Cap of Binding rocks! There's no doubt. I just wonder after you use the 4 charges of Bonds of Force whether or not one of the class batteries will recharge this puppy? hmmm food for thought. I'll have to go get the last piece I need (the woven skull cap) and find out.

That's my 2 copper pieces!

Stay safe all!

Hokahey Wakawacipi
56 Wizard Divine Synergy
Erollisi Marr
This Is A Nice Item
# Jul 14 2002 at 11:13 PM Rating: Excellent
My guild just finished PoA today, and I got the pieces for this cap. First of all, for those of you who say "crap," obviously you don't know your a** from a hole in the ground. Look at the stats: +8 INT, + 20 Mana is like +9 INT. Plus, the saves and hp bonuses make this a VERY nice item that any wizard who is not doing ToV should be proud to wear. There may be better head items for us, but at the level to get this piece (46+), you won't be able to BUY it.

With this cap you can skip buying/wearing the BD tiara if you want, and only have to use the other resist gear. This piece gives you the saves so you can increase your INT over the BD tiara, and helps increase your mana pool (which we lose as we put on more resist gear).

Plus, +40 HP and +10 sv Cold and Fire is nothing to turn your nose up at! Ask any Main Assist tank if they would like an item that gave them this with comparable warrior ac, and they will tell you, "Hell yes!."

Couple other things mentioned, or spoilers for this piece:

Bonds of Force is not our only snare spell. We get Atol's Spectral Shackles, which is another 5% movement reduction over bonds of force. Although I still use BoF most of the time to snare. More mana for Atol's but the movement reduction is noticeable on solo'ed mobs.

Buy your Veeshan key from the key master at zone-in for 1cp (that's right, copper), and go to the proper portal pad. When you go to the Quest giver, you say, "I want to be tested by Neasin Leoric" (previously mentioned under this NPC). Wizard Shralock (sp?) will give you a book and tell you to return it when you have finished reading it.

Give it back to him, and Neasin will spawn. You don't have to fight him (lol, in a room full of quest givers this was a concern at first!).

You will respond to Neasin by saying, "I want to test my powers."

He will ask you which power you want to test. For this item you say "focus."

He will tell you to bring the items (woven cap, iron disk, ethereal opal) to him and he will give you the cap.

Give Neasin the items, and you get your piece and XP (got about 1/4 blue, which ain't bad at lvl 51).

Again, this item is NICE. I was wearing a runed cowl before this, and that piece will now be passed on to another up and coming guild member that can use it.

Nestefus Nucallodem
Lvl 51 Wizard
HoE - Tarrew Marr
Al'Kabor
# Mar 25 2002 at 7:18 PM Rating: Good
Roflmao, most of you don't like Al'Kabor spells and you don't even know why. You just take in the "Al'Krappor Sux" with ur mother's milk and don't even ask why.

Tutorial on AoE:
There are two fundamental AoE lines for a wizard, both with their own fundamental strengths and weeknesses: Al'Kabor and Columns/Pillars.

Columns: Standard AoE that all AoE classes have. 4 allowable targets, low damage (250ish at level 46), and even lower mana cost. If you do a per-target analysis on mana efficiancy, then these spells get slightly better than n00b DD effeciencys. Take that out to 4 targets and you have some AWESOME dmg-to-mana ratios.

Al'Kabor: Unique to wizards. Up to FIVE allowable targets, something that no other class has in a targetable AoE spell, does fairly high damage, and has a high mana cost. These are the old Fords that could take a direct hit from a nuclear blast and keep on ticking, but they get about 3 miles to the gallon.

These spells have their own unique uses, and may "suck" if they are used improperly. The ONLY thing that even comes close to warranting the "al'Krappors sux" line is the spell efficiency, but why would you use columns if Al'Kabors had the same efficiency with one more target? Just a thought.. and sorry for being off the beaten path for this item, but I needed to reply to the al'kabors remarks below.
RE: Al'Kabor
# Jul 19 2005 at 3:31 PM Rating: Decent
Replying to Davisi's post:

You mention Al'Kabor affecting five targets like it's some sort of amazing advantage.

Let's take a look at the possible uses of AE spells:

1. Solo - Al'Kabor's five-target area effect means nothing since our snare affects up to four targets. Don't make things harder for yourself by keeping a fifth enemy on a separate snare timer.

2. Group - If your puller brings five enemies to the group, just let the enchanter to their job. If there is no enchanter, do what any wizard with common sense would do. Evacuate. You're not Hercules. If you AE blast the enemy targets with AE spell, you *will* get aggro and you *will* die. Period.

So, to wrap this post up, don't offer "tutorials" on AE unless you know what you're talking about. Quite frankly, anyone who sees the Al'Kabor spell line as anything other than garbage needs a re-education on what it means to be a wizard. Our primary purpose is DPS. To do our job well, we need to find ways to maximize our damage output while conserving mana usage any chance we get. Al'Kabor spells do neither. Simple as that.
RE: Al'Kabor
# Aug 05 2002 at 12:34 PM Rating: Decent
It sounds to me like you're playing devil's advocate--complimenting the Al'Kabor spells just because everyone says they suck. But the the fact of the matter is that they do suck. Al'Kabor's spells have exactly one advantage over columns: they hit five targets instead of four. Keep in mind though, that the Al'Kabor spells are so horribly inefficient that if you have five mobs, it may take less mana to column until 3-4 are dead and then single-target the stragglers.

Here's some numbers to back things up.
At 24, you get a column spell that does a max of 136 damage, and takes 130 mana.
At 29, you get an Al'Kabor spell that does a max of 118 damage, and takes 200 mana.
At 34 you get a column spell that does a max of 216 damage for 175 mana.
At 39 you get an Al'Kabor spell that does a max of 172 damage for 250 mana.
Your very last column spell is at level 57 and does 952 damage for 364 mana.
Your very last Al'Kabor spell is at level 59 and does 952 damage for 700 mana.

As a general rule, Al'Kabor spells do LESS damage for MORE mana. The column spells do more damage over all, they are significantly more efficient, and they are all vendor bought or drops, whereas the Al'Kabor spells (even the low level ones) are research only.

I've heard a rumor that a long time ago Al'Kabor spells had unlimited targets. Now that would be awesome (good bye quad kite, hello AE kite). But as the spells are now, there is literally no reason to ever use them.

If used improperly, these spells "suck"--very hard. If use properly, they still "suck."

Edited, Mon Aug 5 13:21:25 2002
RE: Al'Kabor
# Oct 25 2002 at 10:58 AM Rating: Decent
You are absolutely correct...Al'Kabor spells DO suck. Miles to the gallon? /em wonders. I wonder what you're trying to prove by relating an AOE to a Car... Anyways. The only thing i've noticed about Al'Kabor spells is that they are less likely to be resisted. Never had a use to test out how many targets since I usually only have 4 in a quad. I have the spells for one reason...they're there and I like to have them all. And you also neglected to mention another fundamental AOE spell...the Rain spell line which is a 3-4 shot multiple blast AE. Personally I haven't found much use but I guess some people use them in groups as a lower aggro catcher then the other lines of AE's? It also may be a POSSIBILITY that the Al'Kabor spells cause less hate...not sure, but its a possibility. I'm sure that VI wouldn't put a line of spells that is completely useless in the game..it has to have SOME purpose, eh? (and no, not as a good piece of humor =)
RE: Al'Kabor
# Dec 20 2002 at 9:03 AM Rating: Decent
I will agree that when used at the wrong time for the wrong mob that different AoE's really suck. I use different AoE's when soloing and when grouping. My personal favorite are rain type AoE's for grouping when there is more than one tank and they have aggro on multiple mobs. The rain ones are just awesome in this situation because as long as the mob does not move from his spot the aoe will hit multiple times. Point Blank AoE's are best used for farming and AoE bombing groups because they hit an unlimited number of mobs and have realativly high dmg output. Column AoE's are great for solo kiting due to the dmg to mana ratio. Also, has anyone else noticed that the reason why some Al'Kabors aoe's have lower dmg and higher mana cost is that they have extra effects on them like knockback or stun. Personally I haven't used that many of Al'Kabors because I am rarely in a situation where I would use it over another type of AoE.
RE: Al'Kabor
# May 27 2003 at 6:00 PM Rating: Decent
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6,424 posts
Using the Al'Crapor line of spells means death... pure and simple... either yours, or the hapless people at the zoneline, when you run oom, snare ends, and you high-tail it to the zoneline... or die trying.

This line of spells has been nerfed into oblivion, and the only reason I have them in my spell book, is because I gotta-get-them-all...

They cast slower then a pillar, recast slower then a pillar, do less damage then a pillar, take more mana then a pillar. Thunderbold is more mana efficient, and that's an 3 sec ae stun spell, similar to a pillar.

The only way these spells will be used, if there's a reason to... which means their mana level has to be cut almost in half, so that they are more expensive to use on 4 targets, but cheaper when they hit 5 mobs.
Effect
# Nov 29 2001 at 12:38 AM Rating: Default
Bonds of Force
Decrease Movement by 55% (L29)


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Classes: Wiz (L29)

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Skill: Alteration
Allowable Targets: Target Based AoE

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Range to Target: 200 feet
Area Effect Range: 20 feet

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Resistance Check: Magic + 25

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Mana Required: 75
Spell Duration: 20 ticks (2.0 minutes)
Duration Formula: 1
Casting Time: 2.50 seconds
Spell Recovery: 2.25 seconds

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Spell cast on you: Bonds of force bind your feet to the ground.
Spell cast on someone: Soandso is bound by strands of force.
Spell fades: Your feet come free.
stats
# Nov 03 2001 at 8:13 PM Rating: Default
nice hp/resists... kinda like having a permanent major shielding and elemental shield... (wow... it IS possible to stack em 8oP)
Umm..
# Jul 08 2001 at 2:54 PM Rating: Excellent
*
95 posts
You newbies do realize this cap is a great item, right? Sure the right click is crap, but its 8 Int, 20 Mana 10 Save vs Cold and Fire.. On the head.. Some people need to look at the item before they post..
RE: Umm..
# Jun 02 2002 at 1:23 AM Rating: Default
The effect is not crap. This spell is NECESSARY for wizards to quad kite. It is their only snare spell. This hat would be nice, you wouldnt have to spend mana on the spell anymore.
RE: Umm..
# Dec 20 2002 at 8:40 AM Rating: Decent
We do get Atol's Spectral Shackles too at lvl 51, it is also an AoE snare. I just wish we could get a single target snare also.
Effect???
# Apr 24 2001 at 9:47 PM Rating: Default
what does the effect do?
RE: Effect???
# May 01 2001 at 4:38 AM Rating: Default
Bonds of Force is the level 29 wizard AoE snare. Exactly what it has to do with Al'Kabor is a mystery...most of his crappy spells are weak damage AoE's.

Xavens Silverune
35th Wizard
Bristlebane
RE: Effect???
# Jul 14 2002 at 11:57 PM Rating: Default
I am responding a year after you posted this. However, I have to wonder why you were posting on this piece at lvl 35? You couldn't even get to PoA to get this piece at the time, and didn't have any idea of a wizard's role at 50+, which is really what it takes to go and survive here.

Hopefully, you've matured since this post, and realize what a NICE item this is, or moved on to some other class as your main. Good luck to you, but you really had no business making any comments on a piece you had no ability to obtain at the time of your post.
RE: Effect???
# Aug 11 2004 at 1:08 AM Rating: Default
He was commenting on the spell Bonds of Force, which he had been using for six levels by the time he was level 35, and the Al'Kabor spell line, which he had two of at the time he posted, the level 20 one and the level 29 one. He wasn't talking about the cap itself, but the spell it casts and the spell line that bears the same name as the cap.
Al'krappor
# Apr 04 2001 at 10:41 AM Rating: Default
Anything with Al'krappor in the name is allways a pos lol
RE: Al'krappor
# Dec 18 2001 at 6:32 AM Rating: Decent
lol, this isn't that bad of an item....it's easily one of the top 10 wizard hats in the game
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