Spirit of Wolf

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Spirit of Wolf, more commonly known by its acronym SoW, is a spell in the EverQuest massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The casting of this spell is limited to members of the Beastlord, Druid, Ranger and Shaman character classes. Shaman are able to cast SoW at level 9, Druids at level 10, Beastlords at level 24 and Rangers at Level 35. Players of every class can have this spell cast upon them at any level.

The purpose of this spell is primarily to accelerate the rate of movement at which a character can walk or run (Increases Movement by 34% (Level 9) to 55% (Level 50)). This is especially important when trying to escape high level mobs that a player is having trouble killing, and also aids in speeding up run time from zone to zone.

In the early days of Everquest, players could not outrun most mobs. To get attacked by a high level mob, or to get swarmed with adds, was instant death, rendering SoW to be absolutely vital. The standard price for a cast of SoW was 1 platinum coin, although depending on the zone the price could reach 10 platinum. With the onset of the Planes of Power expansion, many spell casters consider SoW to be a free service.

It is common to see druids and Shamans offering to cast SoW to other players for a small donation of platinum (the in-game EverQuest currency) in a central location such as the Plane of Knowledge. For several years this was the most sought after buff in the game.

Other buffs (beneficial spells) that increase movement rate include "Spirit of Eagle" (Increases Movement by 57% (Level 54) to 60% (Level 60) plus Levitation, See Invisible, and Infravision) and various Bard songs.

SoW is also commonly referenced by players of other MMORPGs to mean any spell that makes one travel faster than normal.