Clouds of Xeen, Might and Magic IV, an adventure game packed with fantasy elements, offers over 7,000 squares on Xeen. Players reach the Clouds of Xeen while exploring diverse terrains and solving puzzles. Its open-world gameplay, vast array of monsters, and unique magic items set it apart in the genre.
Go alone and prosper.
Grim Reaper
New Stuff and updates
This is a information and guide content for Clouds of Xeen only. You will develop enough strength to complete Cloud-side content and then you can venture to the Dark-side with our next guide.
Game Mode
Adventure vs Warrior impacts difficulty of the game. Adventure mode is easier to dispatch foes and harder to die in general. The final score is impacted by mode selected and people may make fun of you at parties. Warrior is the more traditional difficulty, but still is not as difficult as starting out in Might and Magic 2. Warrior mode does not introduce any hardcore or permadeath mechanics.
Party Size
In Clouds of Xeen your party size is 6 and you have no help from any Hirelings. There are 10 classes to choose from and so you will not get to play with every class in a single playthrough.
Spell Changes
Buff spells like Power Shield, Bless, and Holy Bonus now effect the whole party with a single spell cast. Further, there are new spells that apply a host of buffs at once. Day of Sorcery applies Clairvoyance, Levitate, Power Shield, and Wizard Eye. Day of Protection applies Bless, Heroism, Holy Bonus, Protections from all 4 Elements. Druids cannot cast the “Day of” spells.
Gear Changes
Characters are now only allowed to wear 2 Rings instead of 10. Also, “material” effects no longer apply on Accessory items. This means that an Ebony Belt no longer grants +4 damage and +4 chance to hit while an Ebony Helm will grant the bonus, as Helms appear on the Armor page of your inventory.
Starter Party vs Custom Party
I’ll admit I liked the starting party in Isles of Terra. I replaced the Paladin with 2nd Knight and kept everyone else as is. That said, I do not like the starting party in Clouds of Xeen. The starting Paladin has only 13 PER. The Cleric has too high SPD for my liking. The Sorcerer has too high PER and ACY. The Druid spell book is severely lacking end game spells and so I see no place for a Ranger in a 6 person party. In my own playthrough, I rolled all new characters and moved the starting equipment over to the custom characters.
Design your Party
Taking the time to build a strong starting party will save you a lot of time in the long run. Custom characters will start with no gear but you can transfer gear from prebuilt characters you are not using. You can reduce statistics to very low but first, check out Status Conditions info.
Statistic Details
Might (MGT) effects damage done in combat as well as ability to Bash through walls and doors.
Endurance (END) effects starting hit points and HP earned per level.
Speed (SPD) effects Armor Class and turn order in combat.
Accuracy (ACY) effects ability to hit targets in combat.
Intelligence (INT) effects the amount of Spell Points for Sorcerers, Archer, Druids, and Rangers.
Personality (PER) effects the amount of Spell Points for Clerics, Paladins, Druids, and Rangers.
Luck (LCK) helps with many things and having some is helpful for all classes.
Statistic Bonuses
0-2 -5
3-4 -4
5-6 -3
7-8 -2
9-10 -1
11-12 +0
13-14 +1
15-16 +2
17-18 +3
19-20 +4
21-24 +5
25-29 +6
30-34 +7
35-39 +8
40-49 +9
50-74 +10
75-99 +11
100-124 +12
125-149 +13
150-174 +14
175-199 +15
200-224 +16
225-249 +17
250+ +20
Classes
Most classes have a set of minimum statistics required to be allowed into the class. Class defines the amount of hit points a character will have and their access to weapons, armor, and spells as well as how many attack swings they get per turn. Some classes also start with a secondary skill.
Class Requirements and Rewards
In the table below, HP is base hit points for a new character as well as the amount of HP earned each level. The HP base is modified by END bonus, Race, and the Body Building skill. SW value represents the amount of level it takes for this Class to earn another swing per combat turn.
Class HP SW Starting Skills
Barbarian 12 4 None
Knight 10 5 Arms Master
Ranger 9 6 Path Finder
Paladin 8 6 Crusader
Robber 8 6 Thievery
Archer 7 6 None
Ninja 7 5 Reduced Thievery
Druid 6 7 Direction Sense
Cleric 5 7 None
Sorcerer 4 8 Cartography
In the table below, we see the Statistic Requirements to take on a Class
Class Stat Requirements
Barbarian END 15
Knight MGT 15
Ranger INT/PER/END/SPD 12
Paladin MGT/PER/END 13
Robber LCK 13
Archer INT/ACY 13
Ninja SPD/ACY 13
Druid INT/PER 15
Cleric PER 13
Sorcerer INT 13
Pure fighter classes are Knights and Barbarians, each able to dish out damage and receive it too. Barbarians have more Hit Points and Knights have access to better armor. Both can use Shields and both have access to all Missile weapons.
Non-spell casting hybrid fighters are Robbers and Ninjas. Ninjas are the better damage dealers and have access to a few more weapons. Both have access to all Missile weapons. Robbers can wear better Armor and Shields while Ninjas cannot use shields. Robbers are superior in Thievery skill.
Pure spell casting classes are Cleric, Sorcerer, and Druid. Clerics cast from the Cleric spell book and can use superior armor, including shields, compared to the rest of the pure spell casting classes. Sorcerers cast from the Sorcerer spell book and have the most weapon and armor/shield restrictions of any class. Druids have their own spell book but it has no unique spells. The Druid spell book is a mix of Low and Mid level spells from the Cleric and Sorcerer spell books. Druids do not get any high level spells such as Implosion or Holy Word. All 3 pure spell casting classes are restricted from all Missile Weapons.
Hybrid spell casters are Paladins, Archers, and Rangers. These classes have half as many spell points as their pure brethren and purchasing spells in guilds costs twice as much. The Paladin has access to the most weapons and armor and casts from the Cleric spell book. The Archer are as able fighters are Paladins however they have more armor/shield restrictions and casts from the Sorcerer spell book. The Rangers are as able fighters are the Paladin or Archer and Rangers can wear Shields but Rangers cast from the Druid spell book, which is a hybrid and lesser spell book.
All characters from all classes can wear any boots, gauntlets, helmets, cloaks, belts, rings, or amulets. Items that cast a spell can be use by any class.
Races
Race modifies the amount of hit points and spell points a character will have. Race also impacts resistances. Some races also start with a secondary skill. Consider the following table:
Race Modifiers
The following table shows Hit Points and Magic Points earned per level as well as any starting Skills.
Race HP MP Thievery Skill
Human +0 +0 +0 Swimming
Half-Orc +2 -2 -10 None
Dwarf +1 -1 +5 Secret Doors
Gnome -1 +1 +10 Danger Sense
Elf -2 +2 +10 None
The following table shows bonuses to Resistance for each race.
Race Fire Cold Elec Pois Ener Magi
Human +7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7
Half-Orc +10 +10 +10 +10 +0 +0
Dwarf +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +20
Gnome +5 +5 +5 +20 +5 +0
Elf +0 +0 +0 +0 +5 +5
Attribution
How to obtain a copy of this game:
eBay link – PC version (1992)
GOG link – Digital PC version (includes games 1-6)