Haste

Spell effects
Haste increases the caster's movement speed by up to +100%. It lasts for 10 seconds and can be removed by the Nullify Magick. When active, the wizard leaves behind a "shadowy trail" during movement. The movement speed bonus starts at +100% and gradually slows down to +0% at the end of its 10 second duration by the following formula:


 * Movement speed bonus multiplier = 1 + (1 - (0.5t))

where t is the time left in seconds. The speed movement formula is non-linear, meaning that for the first 7 or so seconds, the bonus speed reduction is not noticeable. At the 7th second the speed bonus is +87.5%, dropping sharply to +75% at the 8th second, +50% at the 9th second before finally reaching +0% as it expires.

Movement speed bonuses appear to be multiplicative with the Knife of Counter-Striking.

Pros

 * Extremely useful spell in many situations, boss fights and in PvP.
 * Useful for running past enemies players do not wish to fight.
 * Movement speed stacks with Knife of Counter-Striking and the Rogue Robe.
 * Allows for fast travelling before achieving Teleport.
 * Only one cast allows for quite lots of fast running, while you must recast Teleport all the time to keep moving. Haste gives you more time for casting.
 * Good-looking wizard-shade effect.

Cons

 * It doesn't need as frequent recasts as Teleport, but it still takes 1 second to cast (after pressing spacebar) during which you are vulnerable to attacks.
 * Moving too fast down a ramp/stairs may cause the player to fly forwards and take falling damage instead.
 * Cannot be cast when wet.
 * When used in conjunction with the Knife of Counter-Striking, the player will take damage if he runs into a wall or some other hard object. Especially so if the Rogue Robe is used.
 * Teleport Magick allows for faster movement and it replaces Haste in many things when the wizard learns it.

Trivia

 * It is impossible not to obtain Haste in Adventure Mode as it is required to complete the tutorial, and is automatically obtained if the tutorial is skipped. Players have noted that clever use of mines can't be used to propel the player past the masher at high speed so Haste is strictly needed because they don't have shields in that part of the story.
 * In the description the phrase "When danger rears it's ugly head" is a reference to Sir Robin song in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.