15 réponses à ce sujet

[Ser Kory]

Would it be worth the effort to make a mage that focused on killing mages? It could do decent DPS as well, but would have many abilities that hinder other's spells and mana.

[Elhanan]

Mana Clash makes it very possible, plus it also works vs demons.

[Bahlgan]

I would not ever count on making on that specified in the upper spirit tree, at least not early on. I made the mistake on my first mage playthrough to place those kinds of gambits in the origins chapter and Ostagar, only to find out hardly ANY of the characters (I figured out only enemy mages without my process of elimination) were affected, rendering my spells practically useless. I would wait at least until Lothering or a tad later before actually spending any points into the upper spirit tree. Once you start running into more mages, however, these skills and bleeders actually are indeed some of the most alleviating spells when dealing with general hostile magic.

Modifié par Bahlgan, 26 janvier 2011 - 07:17 .

[ussnorway]

Mage = 'Forcefield'

[mousestalker]

Mana Clash, Spell Might, Crushing Prison, Forcefield, the entire hex lines, cold lines and the first three electricals should have you slaying everything.

[Zombie Chow]

I agree with the above posts. Neutralising Mages is a major concern in the late game, where they become more common and more powerful. They become the priority target you want to take down 1st, before they hit you with an AoE spell or Crushing Prison.



The question, I think, is the investment required. There's a few options:



Mana Clash - the best option IMHO, but some may see it as too costly as you need to invest in Mana Drain --> Mana Cleanse --> Spell Might. However, keep in mind Spell Might is also good for creating the spell combo Storm of the Century. Currently, I plan to give this to Morrigan to so she could be both a Mage hunter and a horde stopper, but I don't plan on getting it on my PC, so he could focus on other things. A tip - cast Spell Might right before dropping a Mana Clash, then turn off Spell Might...maximum impact with minimum mana.



Crushing Prison - a great spell in general against Elites, including most Mages. This is more versatile, thus should be in every spellcaster's arsenal. It's great early on as it'll effectively wipe out Mages as they tend to be less armoured with fewer HP, but by the Deep Roads, I prefer having Mana Clash to rely on.



Holy Smite (for Templars) - if you are planning on having Alistair as a party member, you can get this and perhaps avoid Mana Clash.



IMHO, with those options in mind, I find Mana Clash to be the most worthwhile investment.

[iTofu]

As others pointed out, Mana Clash is the principle spell for killing mages. It is area of effect and it also works on demons, which means it's a one shot mass execution spell for a majority of your enemies when you go to save the mage tower.

Modifié par iTofu, 26 janvier 2011 - 06:32 .

[Ser Kory]

I also want to make this build from an RP standpoint as well, I should have made that clear, a mage completely loyal to the chantry and the templars, one who hates apostates and maleficarum.

Modifié par Ser Kory, 26 janvier 2011 - 10:23 .

[Eber]

You're out of luck then.





In all seriousness I think the mana clash line is pretty kosher. Irving has training in it...

[Eber]

By its nature an esoteric school, as most others know virtually nothing about the Fade, studies of spirit magic are often misunderstood by the general populace, or even confused for blood magic-an unfortunate fate for a most useful branch of study.



--From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

[Zombie Chow]

Ser Kory wrote...

I also want to make this build from an RP standpoint as well, I should have made that clear, a mage completely loyal to the chantry and the templars, one who hates apostates and maleficarum.

Now I see, this is actually a really fun idea.  There's a number of RP-cues from the Mage Origins itself that lend to the concept (like the Mage praying and you reporting Jowan to 1st Enchanter Irving).

For this exercise, I put myself in the shoes of not just in the character's, but also Templar Commander Gregoir's.  The idea is that I can see him and 1st Enchanter Irving agreeing to train a young Mage to be a Witch Hunter.

The most impactful part of a Mage's build is his selection of spells.  I picked out 20 I thought would be good for RP, then weighed their combined combat effectiveness from my experience as a pure caster mage.  All are RP-reason-based, but I'm ranking in terms of in-game combat utility IMHO (best spells 1st):

Telekinetic Line: Mind Blast --> Force Field --> Telekinetic Weapons --> Crushing Prison

My personal favourite Line for any Mage as every spell has huge value, plus it makes sense for a Maleficarum Hunter.  It's like your character immobilises a Witch from afar with Force Field or Crushing Prison, allowing the Templars to capture him.

The Ice Line: Winter's Grasp, Frost Weapons, Cone of Cold

Primal Spells are the "fun" ones, great DPS, very exciting to look at.  But I can see the Templars not liking the large AoE spells...because they can get hit accidentally.  So notice I didn't mention Fireball, Inferno, Tempest, etc.

But I don't think I need them as, IMHO, the single-best spell is Cone of Cold.  You can position yourself to hit enemies while just avoiding your tanks, it does good damage, and most importantly freezes them in place.

That freezing in place must be very popular amongst the Templars.  They want a Mage to freeze a Maleficarum, then they can grab him, take him away to the Tower.

Mana Clash Line: Mana Drain --> Mana Cleanse --> Spell Might --> Mana Clash

RP-centric for your character, the main goal being Mana Clash itself.

The Mage Line: Arcane Bolt --> Arcane Shield --> Staff Focus --> Arcane Mastery

This is not a popular line, but it's still effective IMHO (Staff Focus actually helps a lot in the Archdemon fight, but I usually give it to Wynne-only).  However, this is chosen for the RP-cue.

I think this line can be considered very "academic".  This is like the guy in college that was more fascinated by "economic theory" rather than finding a job after graduation.

And that's what I envision this character to be like.  He's a Circle Magi, through and through.  In that setting, they must focus a lot on "arcane theory" or proper use of the staff, etc.  It's not that he's a nerd, but this is the world he believes in, Mages studying how to control magic properly to prevent endangering others or themselves.

The Earth Line: Rock Armour

Just a little bit of protection, since the Templars expect to take this character out with them and can't babysit him.

Anti-Magic Line: Spell Shield --> Dispel Magic --> Anti-Magic Ward --> Anti-Magic Burst

These are kind of meh spells chosen largely to support your Maleficarum Hunting RP, but they might be fun to experiment with.

Final Suggestion...possibly controversial...Arcane Warrior: Combat Magic

There's a suit of Templar Armour and Helm in the Broken Circle quest.  I personally think it would be awesome to equip your mage with this for added protection, but mainly for RP!  That's the best visual representation of what he is, a Mage that hunts other Mages, but being an Armoured Caster (with a steel staff).

The problem is that you may consider Arcane Warrior is a form of heresy, since it's used by ancient Elven mages before the rise of Andraste the Prophet.  I acknowledge and appreciate that, but I also noticed one of the main mages in Haven is actually an Arcane Warrior.  Alternatively, it's like a lore that was lost/forbidden by the Templars (for fear of empowering Mages further), but they decided to share these techniques with your character as he's their designated Witch Hunter.

Very cool concept, Kory.  Just some humble ideas for your consideration.

[ussnorway]

Zombie Chow wrote...

The problem is that you may consider Arcane Warrior is a form of heresy, since it's used by ancient Elven mages before the rise of Andraste the Prophet.  I acknowledge and appreciate that, but I also noticed one of the main mages in Haven is actually an Arcane Warrior.  Alternatively, it's like a lore that was lost/forbidden by the Templars (for fear of empowering Mages further), but they decided to share these techniques with your character as he's their designated Witch Hunter.

I would RP it... have him do the quest in the ancient ruins and discover Arcane warrior for himself.

[Ser Kory]

Uhm, chow, you have to be a Templar to wear the templar armor, sadly

[Zombie Chow]

You're right, my bad. In which case, I suggest either having no specialization or just Spirit Healer for Group Heal. For a RP cue, I'd do this right after the Sacred Ashes quest (the healing powers of Andraste granted the Mage this power).

[Elhanan]

Another weapon with Dweomer runes works well in stopping incoming spells, if that could be useful to the build.

[Ser Kory]

I was actually thinking after I leave the fade, perhaps a friendly spirit saw my power and was drawn to me?