Am I going the right direction as a mage?

• Zey wrote on 2015-05-14 18:12
  I've decided to return for a bit, and I'm ditching my elf as I can't be bothered dealing with archery any longer.
  
  I bought a hero card (1k one), I chose human as race, and Merlin talent.
  
  List of skills for reference.
  
  Things are pretty well, I'm enjoying it, but I'm struggling to find a path. Magic is very costly and I'm scared of spending all my AP on skills that won't make a big difference. (I'm looking at you magic mastery)
  
  I've researched a bit, and saw most people prefer to use bolt spells instead of intermediate spell to keep up with pace.
  
  So I chose an optimal bolt build:
  
  Magic Weapon Mastery 1
  Critical Hit 1
  Bolt Mastery 1
  Firebolt 1
  Icebolt 1
  Lightningbolt 1
  Lightning Mastery 5
  Thunder 1
  Composing 1
  Musical Knowledge 1
  
  I added thunder for rafting (After missing so many crash shots, I kinda want it) and I heard it becomes really fast in the next mage update.
  
  I didn't rank them up yet, it's just planning. I have enough AP for them, that's for sure.
  
  Is my newbie mage heading the right direction?
  
  P.S.: I'm still running around with my newbie wand and some random heavy armor, is there some basic mage gear that would make a big difference? I've tried a trinity staff I found on an alt, I can't really make great use of it at the moment.
• Lukshad wrote on 2015-05-14 18:23
  I don't remember how much ap you start off with using one of those cards, or the ranks of your skills, but keep in mind that 5 Int = 1 magic attack, and magic attack is your best friend.
  
  I'd say that for running shadow missions, doing martial arts and other various things in groups, that you should try and buy a savage fire wand and maybe a hermit's staff. The savage wand will allow you to chain cast firebolts, and that's a good way for a mage to contribute to dps in a room fool of angry mobs.
  The hermit staff has a lot of +magic attack potential, and would be a nice boost to your intermediate spells. Thunder's probably my favorite. Ranking critical hit is definitely a must.
  
  Capping your bolts is definitely a good idea too, spell fusion is always fun.