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gentrone wrote on 2011-01-10 03:40
Magic Mastery R1 is a priority. Meditation helps, and Thunder gives some MP as well.
Use a full Will o the Wisp set if you are a full mage.
Composing and Music Knowledge help building up your INT at a low AP cost, read the books Aeria sells, etc.
Magic Bolts are good for INT as well (I believe around 30ish each). The Explorer of Rano is a good title.
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Offspring wrote on 2011-01-10 05:20
Since your a giant and most likley using a stiff cap stay away from lightning bolt. Giants are starved of Dex and that -10 Dex from having r9 Lightning bolt+ is gonna hurt. If you don't care about your Dex then go ahead with lightning. I only use firebolt with my CC wand and will probably only use it while ballooning.
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Espelancer wrote on 2011-01-10 05:22
Don't let my post count fool you, but I joined since I have the urge to help you about magic. *have to share my knowledge, inner mage is killing me*
Magic is really confusing at first with all the tactics, the skill set, the usefulness of the skill, etc. But, after you explore magic more you will soon get better and learn more about magic over time and learn new tactics for yourself.
Using magic is all about thinking, while you may think it's just spamming magic over and over again mindlessly, it's really not. May it be taking party members into consideration, where to run to insure a safe casting, what to do when the enemy doesn't die, etc. You always have to think and plan out, even if it seems like it's all on instinct. While you think your not thinking, you really are, you just don't know it.
Now about spells. Pre-13 wise, bolts don't really cut it, expect for firebolt (chaincasting reasons). Since, not only do they do low damage, it's also not that practical to spam icebolt and lightning bolt as a means to fight, since it's not efficient, mp wise and damage wise. Int magic is the way to go for now.
When it comes to Intermediate Magic, it all boils down to preferences. You may like Thunder more, for it mp cost for for it's charges and the ability to chain thunder in a 1 one 1 situation. You may like Ice Spear more, for it's ability to freeze the enemy (if they don't have pd), the tactics you may use with IS like: (IS + Blaze), or any other kind of tactics. As for Fireball, you may use it for dealing high damage on groups of monsters or for bosses when you feel like Fireball might be the best magic to use on them.
I know people would say, "use Thunder, it's the only magic you should ever use, with it's nice efficiency." While that is true, but if it doesn't fit into your fighting style, thunder may not be your best choice. Hell, I seen people choose Ice Spear over Thunder, even when their both at R1.
If you want more mp, get Magic Mastery asap, Meditation (when you get the chance), and Thunder. If you want to go above and beyond you may want to get Mana Shield, Mana Crystallization, and the Magic Shields.
Will o' Wisp enchants are always mage friendly, not to mention it's and an easy to get enchant and no need for bridging.
I know I'm missing a lot more, but I don't want to overwhelm you too much. I hope this little bit of knowledge helps you on magic.
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Akemii wrote on 2011-01-10 05:29
Ice bolt: Solid damage, does the same damage around every time and can be charged 5 times.
Firebolt: Powerful but you need to charge it fully so it's good, a Chain Casting wand is awesome with this skill
lightning bolt: most powerful bolt with a single charge, if you have high balance it will do some nice damage every shot.
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Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-10 05:42
Icebolt: Cheap mana, weakest overall damage in the game, lowest stun.
At rank 9, icebolt gets a casting speed buff. Since its cheap mana, costs little ap at start, and is ranged, lots of non-magic oriented players get icebolt. This lets you poke the enemy from a distance, or use tactics like Ice Counter and Ice Tennis (look these up, it might save your life, also interchangeable with lightningbolt and often called bolt counter or bolt tennis). Its multishot properties make chaincasting icebolt a choice spell for most mages (it works just like Arrow Revolver but without miss) and a very desirable trait when mixing spells together.
Firebolt: Highest damage potential, gauranteed knock back with each shot.
The best part of firebolt is that it knocks the enemy back no matter what (except for a very few number of enemies in the game, but don't worry about these). Since it has knock back, it can be used in LOTS of tactics and situations, the damage of the bolt being unimportant. Thankfully the damage is also pretty awesome, especially when you stack all 5. Beginner mages often stick to 5 charge firebolt to deal their highest damage possible, usually used to open an attack on a tough enemy up ahead. This makes a firebolt chaincasting mage deadly. With proper stats you can easily shoot off 1000~3000 damage firebolts with a single charge nonstop as long as your wand and mana can keep up.
Lightningbolt: Highest damage potential per single charge shot and slightly longer stun than icebolt.
Somewhat useless at early ranks due to unbalanced damage. At rank 1 its probably better than icebolt if you plan on using only a single shots worth since the damage is superior. Multiple charges are pointless unless you're mixing it with icebolt. My favorite bolt of the three, but I can't really say much other than how handy it is for good damage and stun.
Fireball: Nuke damage in a very wide area
Its really great to have a fireball master in your party, especially when tackling a difficult dungeon and the team decides to take it slow and careful. Because it takes 5 charges (5 seconds each, 25 mana each, 25 seconds total, 125 mana total) before you can launch it, its usually prepared BEFORE the enemy appears or while being protected. To get the maximum amount of targets for the explosion party members will often 5 charge icebolt and lure the enemy into crowding up before the fireball is launched.
Thunder: Excellent damage, multipurpose.
Unlike Fireball can be launched at any number of charges, but you'll want to charge it up all the way unless you're being attacked. Total mana cost for 5 charge is 124, but the mana cost for each charge actually starts large (45 for first charge), and decreases with each charge. The number of targets you strike increases with extra charges too. Thunder is the easiest to get out of all the advance spells. While its aoe and damage isn't as good as fireball, it gives you a little more freedom to cast mid-battle.
Ice Spear: Lower damage than fireball/thunder, great mob control
Actually, Ice Spear has potential to do more damage than the other two advance spells, but it needs to be played right. When Ice Spear explodes and finishes a enemy unit, it shoots out ice of its own and freezes more enemies nearby. This cycle is repeated until either the monster it struck is not killed or there are no more monsters nearby to freeze. If you turn on party finish rule to "anyone", you will get two freezing rounds per enemy (once when they die, and another time when they're properly finished). Also, you can set up low level alchemy walls, which will freeze and explode as well, to spread the effects more. If you do it right the same enemy can be hit multiple times. If you do it right you can wipe out multiple waves in a room with a single spell shot. Its AOE is based on the path the spear takes when you target your enemy so it can either be large or small.
Hope that helps. I'm no expert on blaze or hailstorm or any of that fancy stuff.
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Offspring wrote on 2011-01-10 05:52
Quote from Cucurbita;284641:
Icebolt: Cheap mana, weakest overall damage in the game, lowest stun.
At rank 9, icebolt gets a casting speed buff. Since its cheap mana, costs little ap at start, and is ranged, lots of non-magic oriented players get icebolt. This lets you poke the enemy from a distance, or use tactics like Ice Counter and Ice Tennis (look these up, it might save your life, also interchangeable with lightningbolt and often called bolt counter or bolt tennis). Its multishot properties make chaincasting icebolt a choice spell for most mages (it works just like Arrow Revolver but without miss) and a very desirable trait when mixing spells together.
Firebolt: Highest damage potential, gauranteed knock back with each shot.
The best part of firebolt is that it knocks the enemy back no matter what (except for a very few number of enemies in the game, but don't worry about these). Since it has knock back, it can be used in LOTS of tactics and situations, the damage of the bolt being unimportant. Thankfully the damage is also pretty awesome, especially when you stack all 5. Beginner mages often stick to 5 charge firebolt to deal their highest damage possible, usually used to open an attack on a tough enemy up ahead. This makes a firebolt chaincasting mage deadly. With proper stats you can easily shoot off 1000~3000 damage firebolts with a single charge nonstop as long as your wand and mana can keep up.
Lightningbolt: Highest damage potential per single charge shot and slightly longer stun than icebolt.
Somewhat useless at early ranks due to unbalanced damage. At rank 1 its probably better than icebolt if you plan on using only a single shots worth since the damage is superior. Multiple charges are pointless unless you're mixing it with icebolt. My favorite bolt of the three, but I can't really say much other than how handy it is for good damage and stun.
Fireball: Nuke damage in a very wide area
Its really great to have a fireball master in your party, especially when tackling a difficult dungeon and the team decides to take it slow and careful. Because it takes 5 charges (5 seconds each, 25 mana each, 25 seconds total, 125 mana total) before you can launch it, its usually prepared BEFORE the enemy appears or while being protected. To get the maximum amount of targets for the explosion party members will often 5 charge icebolt and lure the enemy into crowding up before the fireball is launched.
Thunder: Excellent damage, multipurpose.
Unlike Fireball can be launched at any number of charges, but you'll want to charge it up all the way unless you're being attacked. Total mana cost for 5 charge is 124, but the mana cost for each charge actually starts large (45 for first charge), and decreases with each charge. The number of targets you strike increases with extra charges too. Thunder is the easiest to get out of all the advance spells. While its aoe and damage isn't as good as fireball, it gives you a little more freedom to cast mid-battle.
Ice Spear: Lower damage than fireball/thunder, great mob control
Actually, Ice Spear has potential to do more damage than the other two advance spells, but it needs to be played right. When Ice Spear explodes and finishes a enemy unit, it shoots out ice of its own and freezes more enemies nearby. This cycle is repeated until either the monster it struck is not killed or there are no more monsters nearby to freeze. If you turn on party finish rule to "anyone", you will get two freezing rounds per enemy (once when they die, and another time when they're properly finished). Also, you can set up low level alchemy walls, which will freeze and explode as well, to spread the effects more. If you do it right the same enemy can be hit multiple times. If you do it right you can wipe out multiple waves in a room with a single spell shot. Its AOE is based on the path the spear takes when you target your enemy so it can either be large or small.
Hope that helps. I'm no expert on blaze or hailstorm or any of that fancy stuff.
I like your break down. I learned a few things myself. My only problem is the wall of text in orange burns my eyes.@_@
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Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-10 05:52
Quote from Offspring;284663:
I like your break down. I learned a few things myself. My only problem is the wall of text in orange burns my eyes.@_@
Your quote of my orange wall of text solved the problem by turning it black.
I'm no "full mage" or anything but I definitely got some serious usage out of the basic 3 bolts and find them very valuable for just about any situation. Got them all to rank 1, and got thunder to rank 5. One of my good friends had rank 1 fireball and rank 5 ice spear too, and we used to mix bolt spells all the time. So I definitely know a few good tricks.
Never underestimate the power of the basic skills, right? I sound really old saying this, but let me show you kiddos that complete mastery of the classics can still keep up with all your fancy new skills that float about nowadays.
I also made sure I got maximum usage out of my pets and their bolt spells. You'd be amazed at how incredibly helpful a pet becomes if you control it right. Almost all of my skill quickslots were pet skills and half my keyboard were pet commands that I macro'd. I used the number keys below the quickslots as my personal skill slot.
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Offspring wrote on 2011-01-10 05:57
Quote from Cucurbita;284664:
Your quote of my orange wall of text solved the problem by turning it black.
I'm no "full mage" or anything but I definitely got some serious usage out of the basic 3 bolts and find them very valuable for just about any situation. Got them all to rank 1, and got thunder to rank 5. One of my good friends had rank 1 fireball and rank 5 ice spear too, and we used to mix bolt spells all the time. So I definitely know a few good tricks.
Never underestimate the power of the basic skills, right? I sound really old saying this, but let me show you kiddies that complete mastery of the classics can still keep up with all your fancy new skills that float about nowadays.
My fanciest new skill is Charge! :lol:
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Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-10 06:00
You can use your pet to do bolt tennis, and if you macro properly you can keep it going infinitely.
A sure way to kill any enemy that has heavy stander.
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Raj wrote on 2011-01-10 07:13
Quote from Offspring;284605:
Since your a giant and most likley using a stiff cap stay away from lightning bolt. Giants are starved of Dex and that -10 Dex from having r9 Lightning bolt+ is gonna hurt. If you don't care about your Dex then go ahead with lightning. I only use firebolt with my CC wand and will probably only use it while ballooning.
I'm not a giant on this character. I'm an elf. /Fail
@Kitae
The old and knowledgeable Kitae has won thread.
/TheEnd
I feel smart after reading the orange and staring at the pumpkins.
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Cucurbita wrote on 2011-01-10 07:45
Elf mage?
Reroll a giant mage and make everyone jealous. Face it. Everyone loves a giant mage. A well dressed one.
Anyways, if you're an elf go ahead and make the best of icebolt and ice spear. They use less mana for some reason, which means less money spent on mana potions.
Some awesome elf tips:
You can fully charge against a 4 marble dungeon room no problem using hide and spawning all the monsters, running out of the room, and charging your advance spell. Its always a blast. Good skill training and good farming.
You can outrun most dungeon rooms with icebolt chaincast as long as they dont have mana reflector. Though its usually better to just ride your mounts I suppose.
You can brag about your outrageous MP saving bonus and irritate non-elf mages while dropping "spare mp potions" and then picking it back up when they come close by then laughing at them.
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Raj wrote on 2011-01-10 11:01
That's mean... o.o
BUT OKAY. :D
And no, Giant Mages = hard. HradHardHard.
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Sapphireoath wrote on 2011-01-10 11:11
May I point you in this direction?:
http://triggersguide.webs.com/
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NewbieNub wrote on 2011-01-10 12:16
Quote from Cucurbita;284787:
Elf mage?
Reroll a giant mage and make everyone jealous. Face it. Everyone loves a giant mage. A well dressed one.
Anyways, if you're an elf go ahead and make the best of icebolt and ice spear. They use less mana for some reason, which means less money spent on mana potions.
Some awesome elf tips:
You can fully charge against a 4 marble dungeon room no problem using hide and spawning all the monsters, running out of the room, and charging your advance spell. Its always a blast. Good skill training and good farming.
You can outrun most dungeon rooms with icebolt chaincast as long as they dont have mana reflector. Though its usually better to just ride your mounts I suppose.
You can brag about your outrageous MP saving bonus and irritate non-elf mages while dropping "spare mp potions" and then picking it back up when they come close by then laughing at them.
Ultimate annoyance.
Besides, nothing screws someone up as much as -40% charge rate Phoenix Firewand in PvP.
Literally, they stay flying forever if your ping allows it.
Cast time of 1.2, KB is 1.5 to recover. Do your math.
Thunder is great if you're a low INT / high MP mage.
Ice Spear is awesome if you have a huge pool of INT.
As for Fireball?
Nothing beats fireball in room clearing, well... I haven't seen a spell more efficent in room clearing than fireball yet, so...
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Looka wrote on 2011-01-10 12:32
Quote from NewbieNub;284880:
As for Fireball?
Nothing beats fireball in room clearing, well... I haven't seen a spell more efficent in room clearing than fireball yet, so...
Fireball is only good for boss rooms and such, thunder is the efficient one. Idk about IS, but I do know it pwns at ghost of parthalon.