What is 8x8?8x8 (pronounced "eight by eight") is a way of gaining in certain skills in Ultima Online.
This article explains how you do it, step-by-step. This method can be used for any movement based skill (Magery, Evaluate Intelligence, Meditation, Hiding, Stealth and others) but has ABSOLUTELY no impact on gaining in difficulty/target based skills (Blacksmithing, Inscription, Poisoning, Item Identification and others).
The reason it is called 8x8 is because skill gains (like other resources) are organized in a grid that are 8 by 8 tiles wide.
8x8 is much easier than what some people make it out to be, but it is also very important to follow it very strictly or else it just does NOT work. |
When do I start to 8x8 (skill level wise)?8x8 mostly helps you gain when you skill is getting above 70-75. Before then I would just get on my boat and go "slow forward" and just work the skill. |
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How do I 8x8?
- If you are going to be working a resource based skill (like magery) you should bring enough resources to be able to train for a while (If training magery; at least 500 of each for the spell of your choice)
- Get a boat and place it in a good spot. A good spot is the waters north of Moonglow and east of Dagger Isle (also know as Ice). Another good spot is west of Avatar Isle (Fire) since you can sail around the world without stopping (except to dodge boats, of course).
- Now start moving your boat slowly in a direction. Some people prefer slow north, others say that east or west is best. I honestly don't think it matters much, except if you are going to keep sailing over a spot where you already gained (and changes of gaining again are zero to none).
- While your boat is moving, exercise your skill. Magery, evaluate intelligence, meditation: cast a spell (see the end of the guild for suggested spells), hiding: hide, and so on.
- As soon as you get a gain in the skill you are working: STOP THE BOAT. Tip: pretype "stop" and hit return as soon as you gain. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you stop as fast as you possibly can.
- Now you have hit a possible RUN and you are now ready to start using 8x8.
- Now we will determine if the RUN lies to the north or to the south..
- Type "one forward" 8 times in a row (Your boat is facing north, right?). You might want to put "one forward" and "one back" on two different macro keys so this task will be a little less tedious.
- Now cast or hide or whatever to try and gain your skill. I usually repeat this up to 5 times to make sure no gains are "hiding". Be sure to have 5 successful uses of the skill, since you will generally NOT gain when you are not successful.
- If you gain in this square, your RUN is to the north and you should repeat from step 8, until you don't get any more gains. Then start all over from step 3.
- If you do NOT gain to the north go "back one" 16 times (so you end up one square south of the one where you initially gained.
- Now cast or hide or whatever to try and gain your skill. I usually repeat this up to 5 times to make sure no gains are "hiding". Be sure to have 5 successful uses of the skill, since you will NOT gain when you are not successful. If you don't get any gains here it was just a "single-gain square" and you should start from step 3 again. If you DO gain here repeat by going "one back" 8 times and start over at this step.
That's 8x8 in a nutshell for you ;-) |
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Mini FAQQ: What spells do I use to gain in Magery?
A:| Skill | Spell | | 0-30 | Don't work, buy the skill | | 30-37.9 | Fire Ball | | 38.0-49.9 | Lightning | | 50.0-64.9 | Mind Blast | | 65.0-79.9 | Energy Bolt | | 80.0-99.9 | Flamestrike | | 100.0-120.0 | Earthquake |
Q: Why am I not gaining? I did it just like you explained.
A: 8x8 doesn't guarantee that you gain anything. It is not a scientific method, just proven by lots of people being successful at it. Maybe someone else used up the gains where you are sailing. Go to a different part of the world. Maybe you are just unlucky and you are experiencing a "bad-skill" day.
Q: Are you sure that 8x8 doesn't help when I work inscription (or another difficulty/use/target based skill)?
A: Yes, I am sure. Those skills are based on your current skill level and what you are trying to do.
If you are working inscription (or another difficulty based skill), try to do harder things (i.e. inscribe harder spells).
If you are working cooking (or another use based skill) just keep doing it (i.e. the more you cook the more you gain).
If you are working item identification (or another target based skill), try adding more training targets.
8x8 does work for some use based skills. Check below for a complete list. |
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What skills are movement-based, difficulty-based, or target-based?| Skill | Type | 8x8? | How? | | Alchemy | Difficulty | No | | | Anatomy | Movement | Yes | Lock healing low and heal someone. | | Animal Lore | Movement | Yes | Lock vet low and heal a fighting pet. Notice this is not real 8x8. You can gain up to 15.0 points from one square and when it's dry, just start looking for another one. | | Animal Taming | Difficulty | No | | | Archery | Difficulty | No | | | Arms Lore | Target | No | | | Begging | Target | No | | | Blacksmithy | Difficulty | No | | | Bowcraft/Fletching | Difficulty | No | | | Camping | Use | | | | Carpentry | Difficulty | No | | | Cartography | Difficulty | No | | | Chivalry | Movement | Yes | Cast the appropriate spells. | | Cooking | Use | No | | | Detecting Hidden | Target | No | | | Discordance | Difficulty | No | | | Evaluating Intelligence | Movement | Yes | Cast a low level, low regs use spell (Magic Arrow, Poison) on tiller man. | | Fencing | Difficulty | No | | | Fishing | Movement/Difficulty | Yes | Fish in deep sea waters (when over 60 skill). | | Forensic Evaluation | Target | No | | | Healing | Movement/Difficulty | Yes | Heal someone (under 85 skill) then resurrect a ghost. | | Herding | Target | No | | | Hiding | Movement | Yes | Hide | | Inscription | Difficulty | No | | | Item Identification | Target | No | | | Lockpicking | Target | No | | | Lumberjacking | Difficulty | Yes | Fight something or somebody (with high wrestling). | | Mace Fighting | Difficulty | No | | | Magery | Difficulty | Yes | Cast appropriate spells (See above). | | Meditation | Use (active or passive) | Yes | Cast spells and let mana regenerate. | | Mining | Use/Difficulty | No | | | Musicianship | Use | Yes | Play an instrument. | | Necromancy | Movement | Yes | Cast the appropriate spells. | | Parrying | Use | No | | | Peacemaking | Difficulty | Yes | Use skill on yourself (area peace). | | Poisoning | Difficulty/Target | No | | | Provocation | Difficulty | No | | | Remove Trap | Target | No | | | Resisting Spells | Difficulty | No | | | Snooping | Target | No | | | Spirit Speak | Use | Yes | Use the skill | | Stealing | Target | No | | | Stealth | Movement/Difficulty | Yes | Use stealth with higher and higher AR. | | Swordsmanship | Difficulty | No | | | Tactics | Difficulty | No | | | Tailoring | Difficulty | No | | | Taste Identification | Target | No | | | Tinkering | Difficulty | No | | | Tracking | Use | No | | | Veterinary | Movement | Yes | Heal a fighting pet. | | Wrestling | Difficulty | No | |
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