Cheating in Ultima IX

Ultima IX contains many interesting cheat functions. There are also weaknesses in the programming that can be misused to great effect.

Cheat Mode
''Note: This procedure involves editing a game file; create a backup copy of the file before proceeding. Enabling cheat mode may also make it impossible to finish the game as intended.''

Use a text editor to edit the default.kmp file in the game directory. Add the following lines below the "[Cheat Commands]" heading:


 * alt+shift+a = toggle_avatar_invulnerable
 * alt+shift+b = pass_one_hour
 * alt+shift+c = unpass_one_hour
 * alt+shift+d = sunrise_sunset
 * alt+shift+e = pass_one_minute
 * alt+shift+f = unpass_one_minute
 * alt+shift+g = toggle_sun
 * alt+shift+h = toggle_wind
 * alt+shift+i = toggle_storms
 * alt+shift+j = toggle_avatar_fast
 * alt+shift+k = toggle_avatar_fly

Then, press one of the following keys during game play to activate the corresponding cheat function:

Effects

 * God mode: [Alt]+[Shift]+A
 * Time advances one hour: [Alt]+[Shift]+B
 * Time retreats one hour: [Alt]+[Shift]+C
 * Toggle sunrise and sunset: [Alt]+[Shift]+D
 * Time advances one minute: [Alt]+[Shift]+E
 * Time retreats one minute: [Alt]+[Shift]+F
 * Toggle sun: [Alt]+[Shift]+G
 * Toggle wind: [Alt]+[Shift]+H
 * Toggle storms: [Alt]+[Shift]+I
 * Faster Avatar: [Alt]+[Shift]+J
 * Flight mode: [Alt]+[Shift]+K

Note: Enabling cheats can cause parts of the game to glitch, as when you fly over a trigger location earlier than normal.

Additional Codes
The following codes require v1.07 of the game, and may be bound to any desired key combination in the default.kmp file as described above.


 * recharge_mana
 * fill_spellbook
 * spells_0-2
 * spells_3-5
 * spells_6-8

Hidden Teleporters
This can be considered the Ultima IX cheat room.

Locate the fence with a closed gate behind the Avatar's house. Climb on the nearby training dummy and jump over the fence (Using the nearby rocks works as well with some patience). Find the lever hidden near a bush by the large tree. Pull the lever to make teleporters appear that will equip your character with armor and allow travel to various places in Britannia. Note: You can not return by teleporter once you leave.


 * 1	To Stonegate, as per Moongate
 * 2	To the Terfin Secret Entrance
 * 3	To Buccaneer's Den
 * 4	To Ambrosia
 * 5	To Dungeon Despise
 * 6	To Britain
 * 7	To Valoria
 * 8	To Cove
 * 9	To Trinsic
 * 10	To Skara Brae
 * 11	To New Magincia
 * 12	Equips Avatar with Artifact Armour
 * 13	Equips Avatar with Wyrmguard Armour
 * 14	Equips Avatar with Pirate Outfit
 * 15	Equips Avatar with Bone Armour
 * 16	Equips Avatar with Blackrock Armour

Note that teleporters unmarked either do nothing or transport the Avatar back a few paces to near the equipment generating Teleporters.

Teleporter 1 will start the Avatar as a mage unless he has spoken to the Gypsy to select his class, in which case that choice will be honored. It also resets the equipment carried to the proper starting set. The other teleporters to Britannia don't adjust the Avatar's stats, although they do transport the equipment carried, unlike the normal moongate.

In order to start the game with the cheat equipment and the right starting stats and equipment, the following procedure is suggested. It requires the use of the fly cheat.
 * Talk to the Gypsy and choose the path you wish to follow.
 * Get the equipment you want. Don't forget about picking up the training weapons or the first aid kit from the kitchen, which gives unlimited healing.
 * Stand on Teleporter 6, which will transport you to Britain.
 * Toggle the fly cheat and fly straight north over the castle and up the mountains until you reach a path patrolled by goblins.
 * Turn NE and fly until you reach a valley with the Stonegate tower in it. Land near the entrance to the tower and drop all the equipment you wish to keep.
 * Fly to the top of the tower and stand on the teleporter there to start the game regularly.
 * Go through the tutorial until you exit the tower, then pick up your equipment from where you left it.

Explanation: Getting everything this way is explained by how the game handles travelling to Britannia. The moongate transporting the Avatar to Britannia actually drops the player right on top of the teleporter on the Stonegate roof. It's the teleporter there that does the adjusting of stats and equipment (most likely because it can't be reached by normal gameplay). The moongate is only there for starting the intro movie. Thus flying to the roof and standing on the teleporter triggers the game correctly. During normal gameplay, this teleporter is never noticed.

Bind Spells Without Sacrificing Reagents or Scrolls
First, place the reagents and scroll for the spell you wish to bind onto the pentagram and proceed to light the candles as normal. When the dialogue box to enter the incantation pops up, place the scroll and the reagents back into your backpack and recite the incantation.

Invisible to Monsters
Press B to open your backpack and attack monsters. They will ignore you as long as the backpack remains open. Note: Drag the backpack to the edge of the screen for a better view. Note that this exploit does not work with the latest patches

Cheap Way to Win in the Arena
To enhance your training in unarmed combat, you must beat an opponent in the Arena in Buccaneer's Den. The problem is that you must do it unarmed. To get around this, you can place a weapon in the arena before you fight, then use it in your battle. Despite using a weapon, you do win and gain training in weaponless combat.

Infinite Magic Bags
If a guard catches you in Wrong, you will be thrown in prison and your weapon and belongings will be placed in a chest. If your backpack is full, you will find an extra magic bag in your backpack that contains the excess items. Do this repeatedly to gain extra magic bags. This cheat also works with the fighting ring in Buccaneer's Den, if your backpack is completely filled, as well as your equipment belt.

Ocean Travel Without a Boat
In Ultima IX, bread has an amazing property: it can float while supporting the weight of the Avatar! With this method, you can easily go anywhere in Britannia! When you arrive in Britain, make sure to grab (DO NOT EAT) all the bread you can lay your hands on. In Lord British's Castle, cast ignite on the candle and grab all the bread that appears. Grab all the bread in the kitchen (behind the hidden door in the banquet room). Also, you can make bread in the Baker's house.

Now that you have enough bread, run to the shores. Try to place the bread in the water. It should work if the water is shallow enough. Otherwise, use gust to push it out. If you do it right, the bread should be floating. Now, try to climb on the bread or jump onto it like in this picture.



Now, once you are standing on the floating piece of bread, place a second piece just in front of the Avatar. Do not put it too close, or the bread will just go into the Avatar's backpack. Place it like in this picture:



You can continue to place pieces of bread in front of the other until you run out of bread (or your cursor turns yellow). Pretty soon, you could have a bridge that looks like this.



If you combine this trick with the Magic Bag Trick, you can easily carry enough bread to lay down permanent bread bridges across Britannia.

NOTE: You can purchase unlimited amounts (I think) of bread in Buccaneer's Den and other places.

An explanation for this strange effct, see Weaknesses in the Ultima IX Physics.

Climbing Steep Slopes
Exploit: If you want to climb a slope that is too steep for you (the volcano surrounding Valoria, for instance), you can drop a flat item (like a pie) on the surface, jump onto it, place another item further up, jump onto it, etc. Thanks to the broken gravity engine, it does work.

The X-Cheat
It is possible to misuse the X-key, which examines objects. For example, you can use it to loot the locked chest at the shore of Skara Brae that contains the Blackrock Helmet. Normally, you can only get it with the Ranger key. However, holding X and slowly moving the cursor over the seam between the two parts of the chest you can find the helmet through the small gap and pull it out.

The same essentially goes for all the chests in the game. Of mention is the chest on the first level of the Abyss. Instead of battling the dragon to get the key, just loot it that way (essential when the key hovers in mid-air anyway).

Reaching Yew Early
There are several ways of reaching the northern half of the main continent before the game should allow. It is possible to swim around the west coast of the continent by taking advantage of small patches of shallow water which may be difficult to find. There is also a section of cliff west of Paws (just near the staff-armed bandit who kidnapped the little boy's mother and the subsequent cave with treasures) that is possible by careful jumping to surmount, giving the Avatar access to the northern section of the main continent.

Skipping the Final Dungeon
It is possible to skip the final dungeon on Terfin and right away go to the throne room of the Guardian to initiate the final battle. To do so, go to the big front gate and use the spell Teleport, to teleport through the gap between the two halves of the gate to enter the yard of the fortress. From there, just go into the throne room and prepare for the final battle. Since there is nothing plot relevant in the final dungeon, it doesn't create a plotstopper.

Walking Through the Walls and Obstacles
If you cast Wizard Eye, which can be found inside a house in Moonglow or purchased later, press ESC to cancel the spell. If you press it fast you will not even waste mana. Now, do not move. You can jump in any direction through any obstacles, but you must be careful not to fall under the floor. After the jump, or if you move, the effect ends.

Fog and its Properties
The spell Fog is hilariously broken in the game.

When creating the spell, the programmers obviously had little idea how to actually implement the spell's effect into the engine. The final effect is hilarious, as the spell simply turns off the AI of the enemies, meaning that while the spell is in effect, you can simply walk up to them and slaughter them without getting hurt at all. This of course makes all fights laughably easy to win.

Looting the Guild Shop
It is very easy to loot the guild shop, despite the fact that the items should have been behind display case glass.

The Blackrock Chest right away sticks out of it and can simply be taken without hassle, which allows access the the best chest armour quite early in the game. The other display cases amazingly enough vanish if you draw the Gringolet inside the shop, since its effect seems to come into conflict with the case-objects, causing them to vanish as long as the weapon is drawn, allowing you to pick up the spoils.

Mana-Boost
Normally, it's impossible to completely fill the mana gauge in the game. Even when getting all possible boosts and avoiding unvirtuous behavior, more than around 170 points is impossible. However, there is a trick in Minoc. After putting the found bracelet and necklace into the crypt to make the ghost vanish, buy more of these from Irene and put them into the crypt to get more karma, and thus, mana. However, this exploit only works as long as you haven't repaired the shrine. It drains your money, but there is an easy supply of that in Ultima IX.