[Chris Byler]

Originally posted by Zen:
Well. It's 3 Water and 1 Fire for Acid Rain. 2 Water and 1 Fire for Acid Bolt

Atlantis using King of the Deep 3 Water, 2 Random (if he gets one in Fire) 290 can cast rain

Caelum using High Seraph 2 Water , 1 random. Can cast bolt if they get a fire, rain if they add an item.

Tien Chi Base Celestial Master, 1 Fire, 2 Water 1 Random. Possibility to get random in water and cast the rain, or use items, with Spring and Autumn, get 2 Random, better chance to get the third Water.

Not too many nations can do it. I don't think it's quite as common as you'd think.

There's a water boosting misc that only requires 1 water to forge (although it's Cons 6). Water is one of the easiest paths to break into.

You're also forgetting that water is the primary path, so you can get +1 power in it from gems. Furthermore Celestial Masters can lead communions and cast Power of the Spheres (CMs love PotS, they have so many low level paths).

King of the Deep can't get one random in fire - unless they changed him recently, his randoms are linked. He always gets the same thing for both randoms. This makes it less likely that any given KotD will get acid access, and doesn't really benefit the ones that do (at least from the limited perspective of looking just at acid spells), because having more of the secondary path doesn't have any benefit AFAIK.

Machaka has fire mages with randoms. So does Desert Tombs C'tis. Miasma C'tis has a water mage with a random (2-water, IIRC). Arch Theurgs have water and random and can lead communions. Jotun Skrattis have 2 water and random and can lead sabbaths. Arco Mystics have 3 random elemental and can lead communions. Witch Hunters have fire and random and can lead communions. Starspawns have water and random and can lead communions (or do only the mages have water? At least one kind does, anyway). Jade Sorceresses have water and random.

Since you only really need Fire 1 Water 1 (bracelet gets you to Water 2, gem gets you to Water 3), communion is helpful but optional (lets you do it before Cons 6), I think it's safe to say that most nations have potential Acid access, even without counting Jade Sorceresses or site-based mages (there are several with potential Acid access, although I don't know of any with fixed Fire and Water on the same mage). It's easiest for T'ien Ch'i, though - the CM, S&A CM and M5E all have acid access without depending on randoms, IIRC (and Master of the Way has it if he gets fire random). Arco does pretty well with Mystics, too.

This is, of course, not counting gods and empowerment. If acid is that powerful, it makes sense to build an acid-capable god and may even be worth empowering other mages.

So, anyone combat tested the acid spells? Are they really good? Being non-elemental is nice, but they aren't armor-negating, so of limited use against SC (that almost always have high-PROT forged armors and/or Invulnerability spell/item). Can they destroy forged armors? Does that include helms, shields, boots, bracers?

Might be good against Ulm and other heavily armored targets though - Thunder Ward won't protect against it. Does Jotuns' protection come from armor, or is it a high skin protection, or some combination?