110 réponses à ce sujet

[Balek-Vriege]

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

Yeah I found that to be a problem before I started investing strength.  It was one of the things that made me jump for heavy amor, since even 10 fortitude from strength pretty much stops bow interrupts.  Can't wait to get Force Mage spec, but I took Blood Mage first.

[DeaconK]

Started a brand new mage a few minutes ago, and as a level 5 with no pre-order or paid DLC items, he is an ungodly awesome beast.

Disclaimers:
-HARD MODE (Nightmare will be fun once I get to it, though)
-using Parthalan staff w/flame rune given from free content book
-used Maker's Sigh pot from Black Emporium to at least get rid of the useless Mind Blast ability
-Rock Armor, Arcane Shield, Heroic Aura, Fireball, Pyromancer
-70% Staff Melee damage, 20% Fireball damage, 10% Staff Ranged damage
-running in basic cloth and standing toe-to-toe with even-level hordes
-building pure CON > STR to wear Blood Dragon Armor; 19CON / 15STR so far
-obviously damage isn't set to "rock 'n roll!" just yet, as being able to survive melee is a priority

Parthalan is damn good in Act 1 especially considering it has no MAG requirement, and meshes well with the abundant +Fire Damage gear and Pyromancer to make your melee attacks -actually- worth (more than just) a damn. I assume Blood Dragon will suffice w/ 19 CON/STR long enough for me to pump MAG up to respectable numbers, and after that I'll play it by ear.

Update: after the year-lapse, I went straight to Aveline and picked her up, then went immediately to Sundermount to grab Merrill. There, this character traded hits with a Revenant and was doing great.

Modifié par DeaconK, 10 mars 2011 - 11:58 .

[Ace Attorney]

DeaconK wrote...

Started a brand new mage a few minutes ago, and as a level 5 with no pre-order or paid DLC items, he is an ungodly awesome beast.

Disclaimers:
-HARD MODE (Nightmare will be fun once I get to it, though)
-using Parthalan staff w/flame rune given from free content book
-used Maker's Sigh pot from Black Emporium to at least get rid of the useless Mind Blast ability
-Rock Armor, Arcane Shield, Heroic Aura, Fireball, Pyromancer
-70% Staff Melee damage, 20% Fireball damage, 10% Staff Ranged damage
-running in basic cloth and standing toe-to-toe with even-level hordes
-building pure CON > STR to wear Blood Dragon Armor; 19CON / 15STR so far
-obviously damage isn't set to "rock 'n roll!" just yet, as being able to survive melee is a priority

Parthalan is damn good in Act 1 especially considering it has no MAG requirement, and meshes well with the abundant +Fire Damage gear and Pyromancer to make your melee attacks -actually- worth (more than just) a damn. I assume Blood Dragon will suffice w/ 19 CON/STR long enough for me to pump MAG up to respectable numbers, and after that I'll play it by ear.

Update: after the year-lapse, I went straight to Aveline and picked her up, then went immediately to Sundermount to grab Merrill. There, this character traded hits with a Revenant and was doing great.

Nice, good to see someone trying a build practically like the one I posted. Sadly, UPS messed up my SE delivery. I won't be able to play DA2 for a few days and no SE content for me .

[Riastradh]

I am thinking of trying this build without Blood Mage. Mostly since, like the first game (and ruining immersion for me), Hawke talks down Blood Mages. But I suck at good builds until I am much more familiar with a game. Anybody got any suggestions? Instructions? Direct orders?

[atheelogos]

I will try this build out seeing as I had problems keeping my mage standing toward the later half of the game.

[Risien]

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

What is Fortitude?

[HippeusOmega]

Risien wrote...

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

What is Fortitude?

Makes it so you have less chance of being knocked down or interuppted.

[DeaconK]

Risien wrote...

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

What is Fortitude?

"Unshakable" actually. Specifically, it's an end-of-line Force Mage passive ability that requires level 8 and Fist of the Maker and will give you a constant +100 to Fortitude, which is the variable (naturally adjusted by Strength for all classes) that determines how resistant you are to effects that normally disable you, the biggest of which being Physical Force (knockback), because even the little flinches your mage takes from regular attacks are considered Physical Force. This ability makes it to where you're actually able to stand toe-to-toe with even the tougher enemies and not constantly be shoved back, unable to act.

Again, Strength naturally modifies this, and is effective enough for Act 1 if you have a mid-range goal set, but Unshakable is an undeniably powerful boon to those mages braving melee. Good catch.

[Ace Attorney]

 I added a note on Stats for using Warrior Armor on the OP. Here is my idea for a Primal Build in a Talent builder http://biowarefans.c...avVP0shGrPwQ1Cl

Modifié par T3hAnubis, 11 mars 2011 - 03:37 .

[dkh5mac]

I've got a mage build I'm playing with on Hard at the moment that combines AoE damage from the Elemental tree with the three sustainable buffs you picked out (Rock Armor, Heroic Aura, and Arcane Shield). Having the buffs up makes your mage way more durable, and with blood magic, I can expend the remaining 50% of my mana pool and then keep casting from health for another round of AoE damage. It's lots of fun.

There's a few things I'm doing differently from your build Anubis. Obviously I went with Elemental rather than primal, but I think the main differences are:

1. Ignoring some of the blood mage abilities. I'm putting in enough points to get One Foot In, since that gives you great health regeneration you can use to power another burst of blood magic fueled AoE damage, but I'm ignoring Hemorrhage, Blood Slave, and Blood Lust. You can get the same effect of blood lust from items, and the offensive blood mage skills aren't particularly powerful or necessary when you can drop a fully upgraded Firestorm on your enemies.

2. I'm also ignoring most of the Force Mage abilities. Fortitude seems nice, but in practice, it seems that the combination of decent mage robes, rock armor, and a good health pool makes it so that the damage normal enemies do to you isn't high enough to knock you back anymore.

Overall, I'm definitely enjoying this particular build,. It's not as durable as Aveline, but it can stand toe to toe with most enemies and take quite a few hits, while dealing good area of effect damage and buffing the party.

[Amainville]

I honestly am torn between making a mage character and not making one. I would love to make a "trailer" Hawke of some sort, but at the same time, I have increased feelings of "this might not end well."

[RVNX]

I'm planning on making a Battlemage build, but going Force Mage + Spirit Healer instead of Blood Mage. For RP purposes, I don't really want to play as a Blood Mage. My Mage's "dark powers" will come from the Entropy and Spirit trees............

just curious, besides the Staff of Parthalan, are there any other cool bladed staff models?

also, since the Staff of Parthalan is a fire staff, I'm assuming it shoot flames as part of its basic attack. Can you "override" that by adding a rune of a different element, like to make it shoot lightning instead?

thanks.

[Graunt]

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

I'm not really noticing it doing much of anything at all on Nightmare.  Hawke gets interrupted left and right.

[Ace Attorney]

Graunt wrote...

Rylor Tormtor wrote...

Blood magic is fun and all, but I really think force mage is a must as your first spec if you want to be in the think of things. Fortitude is a game-changer. No longer being slapped around like a two dollar **** makes a whole lot better.

I'm not really noticing it doing much of anything at all on Nightmare.  Hawke gets interrupted left and right.

Perhaps Fortitude from Strength plus Unshakeable would help.

[jkj2116]

Here is my big question for a blood mage/battle mage running sustaineds. What is more worth it, Force Mage or Spirit Healer primarily for the passives Unshakable or Vitality? The massive bonus to fortitude from the Force Mage spec helps in the midst of mele, but it continues the trend of defense over offense. If we try to spec 1/1/1 mag/str/con for the armor we are going to be dealling less damage and hitting less than a mage that goes 2/1 mag/wil. Getting the bonus 10 con from the spirit healer tree would let us put those extra 10 attributes into magic narrowing the damage dealing potential gap. (assuming we stop adding to con/str once we have enough for the top tier armor.

What are your thoughts?

[Riastradh]

I am at level 12 with the OP's build, primal oriented, and I don't seem to be doing much damage at all. My staff ( the axe-looking one) does little noticeable damage, I can't stand up to rogues, and I am always lying around on the ground. Is this a common experience, or do i suck?

[Larry L]

Just wanted to say good job to everyone so far. I'll be watching this thread with great interest as it evolves because I really HATE not having my Arcane Warrior. And I refuse to make a mage until I find a passable replacment. So keep up the good work.

[Morroian]

jkj2116 wrote...

Here is my big question for a blood mage/battle mage running sustaineds. What is more worth it, Force Mage or Spirit Healer primarily for the passives Unshakable or Vitality?

Cost of unshakeable is 3 points in Force whereas its 6 in spirit healer for Vitality.

[Ace Attorney]

Morroian wrote...

jkj2116 wrote...

Here is my big question for a blood mage/battle mage running sustaineds. What is more worth it, Force Mage or Spirit Healer primarily for the passives Unshakable or Vitality?

Cost of unshakeable is 3 points in Force whereas its 6 in spirit healer for Vitality.

Nope, just 2 in Force:wizard:

[jkj2116]

So then what is the more valuable difference 4 talent points or 10 attribute points?

[Amainville]

jkj2116 wrote...

So then what is the more valuable difference 4 talent points or 10 attribute points?

I'm not sure about exact points, but it's 3 levels + 1 attribute point, or 4 levels. Essentially the same thing, but it seems you'd get +100 Fortitude for the 4 levels, and only a small amount for the attribute points.

As for this build in general, I'm loving it. It's aheck of a lot of fun. I'm not running this on Nightmare or even Hard right now, but it's hilarious to see Mage Hawke, Merrill, Anders and Varric tear up every enemy they've met thus far like punching through a paper bag without barely taking any damage. Definitely glad I tried this thus far.

[Ace Attorney]

RVNX wrote...

I'm planning on making a Battlemage build, but going Force Mage + Spirit Healer instead of Blood Mage. For RP purposes, I don't really want to play as a Blood Mage. My Mage's "dark powers" will come from the Entropy and Spirit trees............

just curious, besides the Staff of Parthalan, are there any other cool bladed staff models?

also, since the Staff of Parthalan is a fire staff, I'm assuming it shoot flames as part of its basic attack. Can you "override" that by adding a rune of a different element, like to make it shoot lightning instead?

thanks.

I started my first play through. The Signature Edition Staff is different but bladed on one end with a badass skull in the other. It is an ice staff and boosts ice. Only a few hours in, there may be more.

I am playing a Mage on normal, I may try the build later on with a Maker's Sigh (I am more interested in a classical mage on my first play through) but Normal is not a true test / validation anyway.

Modifié par T3hAnubis, 12 mars 2011 - 12:55 .

[SuicidalBaby]

jkj2116 wrote...

So then what is the more valuable difference 4 talent points or 10 attribute points?

force is required if you plan on doing elemental damage anyway.

sleep upgrade
hex upgrade
horror upgrade
crushing prison upgrade
barrier upgrade
heal upgrade
force mage - 100 fort & grav
stone armor
stonefist & petrify upgrade
winters & cone upgradefull healthbar lockdown any rogue. winters hits arishok for over 1100. crushing ticks at 220+. fist has peeked @ 800 on combo.nothing lives very long. will finish in spirit for bomb + 25%.

my nightmare spec. anders is running group sustains with crushing & petrify backup.

Modifié par SuicidialBaby, 12 mars 2011 - 03:23 .

[AcidRelic]

On the topic of blood magic, when you get to the "Champion" set of armor, no requirements (I think) and there is a GREAT blood mage staff, strong and NO REQUIREMENTS, you can max out between Magic and Con because your sustained spells take % of mana and not a fixed stat and you can end up with THOUSANDS of Mana to HP depending on how low you will let your heath get before turning blood magic off. I tested the build on Merril and had over 1,200 at 50% health.

[Amainville]

AcidRelic wrote...

On the topic of blood magic, when you get to the "Champion" set of armor, no requirements (I think) and there is a GREAT blood mage staff, strong and NO REQUIREMENTS, you can max out between Magic and Con because your sustained spells take % of mana and not a fixed stat and you can end up with THOUSANDS of Mana to HP depending on how low you will let your heath get before turning blood magic off. I tested the build on Merril and had over 1,200 at 50% health.

The Champion's Set does have requirements. 31 Mag and 31 Will, according to the "Champion's Set" thread (for mages, of course.)