Making a mage?

Laseirna · Post by **Laseirna** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:26 pm

I'm sure there are places to get this information but I'm kinda clueless when it comes to creating templates so I thought I'd ask for some advice from the excellent mages in the clan

I am going to delete a lvl 17 very gimped archer that was my first toon. I'd like to make a mage in her place. Where would I start with her?

Any advice or good links on mages would be apprecated!

Nakamuro Zataki · Post by **Nakamuro Zataki** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:32 pm

100 self and focus, then you usually spend the rest on strength and endurance.

With the new spec/untrain quests it is probably easiest to create an all trained mage; creature, life, war, item, mana c and then specialize later on as you go.

War spec is most useful for solo hunting, then life. Life is most useful in group hunting. Creature is nice to have spec early on since it will help you buff your other skills high, and yield can help you handle higher level monsters earlier. Item is good enough trained, you dont have to struggle against magic defense when casting it. Mana conversion high helps keep you hunting.

Most important is to learn how to mana manage, you want the different rejuvenation spells, also revitalize and stamina to mana will be your friend, just make sure you have lots of stamina to work with.

Good luck!

Lagmatic · Post by **Lagmatic** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:14 pm

I recommend you just play around with your mage. Give him a suit of GSA and disposable shop gloves/helmet/solls and a bunch of cash, and play like you're a noob. You will learn tons about how a mage really works. I have seen a lot of melees and archers reroll mages, get them powerlevelled up, and then they get slaughtered because they're trying to play like an archer or melee.

If you're gonna powerlevel a bit, then you just go BM. Remember that there's a 2 week timer on changing your skills and stats!

Strength is important. Armor and Comps weigh a lot. I have always appreciated a 70/40 str/end split. Very few people who started that way wished it was different.

The easiest way to get into the VOD fellows later on, and the truly uber xp when you're a low level guy, is to act as a healer for other people. However, nobody wants somebody who has to run back to the mansion and wait in line at a buff bot. You might want to go OG, as they get their level 7 self-buffs before other templates, then you can get an Creature Magic sellback gem (and NOT use it) and then save up the points to spec war, then get that gem and use em both when you hit your 70s.

Ignore the level 50 mages who claim they can tank vod. They are idiots, and when you ask them to display that ability they spend two buff cycles trying to take down one virindi.

Lucky Strike · Post by **Lucky Strike** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:21 pm

Nakamuro Zataki wrote:100 self and focus, then you usually spend the rest on strength and endurance.

Looks like me and Zataki aren't going to agree on anything today.

100 Self and focus split the rest on Quickness and Coordination and Specialize MeleeD. You'll never have Uber MeleeD but it helps quite a bit.

If you are willing to go to a buff bot, don't train creature until later ... way later. I'd probably skip life at the beginning depending on how many skill credits you have. Life is great to have later but it uses too much Mana at the beginning. But I'd probably train it at 20 or so.

Think about Specializing ManaC. At higher levels you can probably untrain it but it'll save you a lot of time on your back at lower levels.

Korosu · Post by **Korosu** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 1:22 am

Melee D on a mage is a waste of credits. Go 100 Focus/Self, 70 Endurance, rest on strength. Spec War/Life, let the 2 credits left over ride into the game with you or spec loyalty, up to you. Get mana c asap, then Item, then critter. Let me know if you need a hand lvling or need a patron. Havnt takin new vassel in a year, i will start taking them again.

Troec.

Stargren · Post by **Stargren** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 4:59 am

If this is your first time playing a mage, I suggest you specialize Life and Mana Conversion. You can customize this as you go up in levels, but the mana C will be essential in teaching you mana management early on. Once you get it to a respectable level, at around 60, then drop it to trained and specialize War.

Phred · Post by **Phred** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 9:15 am

First time mage or second time around.. I have to agree with naka on this...

yes I know how everyone swears by life and mana C spec.. but it is a waste when you can start off 4 school mana c trained.

and yes lucky stricke, melee D can be nice on a mage, but its nto nessecary and its pretty easy to survive withought it... the points into endurance and strength are a musth though as even with only prismatics and armor a mage gets burdedn easily, and the endurance makes thigns like reganing your mana work all the better.

YenMei · Post by **YenMei** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 10:28 pm

I have a baby mage - she's about level 20 at the moment - Mana C doesn't seem to do much until you get it up to about 200 (or is it just me?), so maybe if I was remaking her, I would spec it just so I could get it going earlier. Spot the lazy melee that can't manage mana.

She doesn't have melee defense, but heal self 1 is number 1 on all the spell bars for quick fixes & emergencies

DL · Post by DL » Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:43 pm

I have a lv 55 mage....I need to move a few things around and turn her into a BM eventually....but in all honesty....if you are a true warrior at heart....you will get bored with being a mage....I like the uberness of my little mage but she bores me to tears.

I am a warrior at heart and prefer to take my time slaughtering my prey.

Lucky Strike · Post by **Lucky Strike** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:01 am

Phred wrote:First time mage or second time around.. I have to agree with naka on this...

yes I know how everyone swears by life and mana C spec.. but it is a waste when you can start off 4 school mana c trained.

and yes lucky stricke, melee D can be nice on a mage, but its nto nessecary and its pretty easy to survive withought it... the points into endurance and strength are a musth though as even with only prismatics and armor a mage gets burdedn easily, and the endurance makes thigns like reganing your mana work all the better.

I agree with your point. We all have different ways of playing and knowing how you play this is certainly best for you. On the other hand, if you are willing to use a buff bot for the first 20+ levels then creature and life are possibly a waste of credits at the beginning. You certainly need them if you are ever going to buff yourself -- no doubt about that. My way of playing would be to spec meleeD from the outset (so the drudges don't kill you in the starter dungeon) and let the buff bot handle creature/life. Train those later.

YenMei wrote:Mana C doesn't seem to do much until you get it up to about 200 (or is it just me?), so maybe if I was remaking her, I would spec it just so I could get it going earlier. Spot the lazy melee that can't manage mana.

ManaC doesn't allow you to "create" mana until its about 200 ... but specialing it at lower levels will save you a great deal of time on your back. My opinion would be to spec it at the beginning and probably lower it later. Lucky Strike (level 180+) still has it specialized and its probably a waste of credits, but I can fight virtually non-stop (with a quick revit and stam to mana) and I can infuse mana on anyone faster then they can ever burn it. Again, its largely dependant on how you want to play.

Its virtually impossible to "manage" mana without laying down every now and then until (roughly) level 40 or so. After that its not a question of lazy, but knowing how to play a mage.

If I were creating another mage, I would read all these comments, figure out how and where I wanted to play and then use the template that best suits you.

Phred · Post by **Phred** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 3:25 am

actually life is a must for a mage, otherwise it takes weeks on end of lyign down to regain mana... and creature is one usefull tool in combat for a mage.... in fact its my secret weapon agaisnt palt golems.. which for soem reason have trouble landign spells on me after I hit their life with a single debuff....

and level 40+ for beign able to toss aroudn mana liek its a nerf ball? you need lessons there my friend.. for its actually rather easy to acomplish at around level 10-15 depending....doesnt becoem the most efficient thign in the world untill abotu mid 20's but by level 40 or so any mage worth their salt has no mana problems...

if you dont belive how easy it can be ask Dark Tiereal... Flanker hadn't taught him what mages practically take for granted and as a result he was struggeling.. when I saw what his problem was I took him out to the lugian house outside of qual and taught him how to jsut keep on castign spells...

You really figure out how its done after about 5-10 mins of non stop casting with a whopping total of 0 kills

and if anyone has any doubts to my claims... just ask me in game and if I have time I'll prove it...

heck... if you have time and resources on another world I could roll up a mage and prove it there in a couple hours as well