How Speed affects your character
When you're trying out the different starting builds for the first time, you might have noticed that the higher Speed of the Agility build doesn't immediately pay off so much. The more points you put into Speed, though, the greater the effect on your character will be. To understand the mechanics behind this, you need to understand how creatures take turns in the game. It's actually pretty simple: There is a counter running in the background that counts time units. A creature's Movement Cost (MC) determines how many time units it has to wait before getting its next turn. Raising Speed lowers your MC. To be precise, MC is 40 - Speed. So at Speed 8, your MC is 32. Looks like you have to spend a whole lot of points before seeing a notable increase in the turns you get, and thus a notable benefit overall. Well, that's true for one part, but note that you can't run away from enemies that have a lower MC than you. One point in Speed can make the difference between certain death and a narrow escape! Also note that with each point of Speed you effectively raise your damage output by an increasing amount (do the math yourself). Finally, higher Speed simply gives you more tactical options.
How fast can I get?
Speed builds will easily get their Speed to 20 or higher at some point. Their base MC is 20 or lower, which means that they are nearly twice as fast as builds that totally neglect Speed. With such a high Speed value, they are also nearly doubling their damage output, not speaking about the tactical options they have during battles. And not even speaking about how the special Haste complements a Speed build (have a look at our Specials features to learn more about specials). Okay, now you know everything what you should know about Speed, MC, and how creatures take turns. Oh yes, one last thing you should know: you can't go below MC 4.
Put on these boots if you want a nice Speed boost from time to time. Level 2 Haste means +5 Speed for a short time (+2, +5, and +8 at Level 3). Note that there are only two non-weapon items in the game that cast buffs. So you might never put those off again once you found them!
Where is my Sky Boots?
Realm 2. The Skeleton King might have some in his treasures. Jintresses are a good bet, too. Clear up the Desert Temple, Oasis, and Sacred Pyramid and the second Challenge a few times. And don't forget to put on your magic find gear!
