iOnlySignIn wrote...
Love those explosions. But they are better done by a character on auto Tactics, unless you are willing to pause a lot. Stagger on bosses last extremely short - the AI times it much better than a human.
The only tactics that work are with Chain Lightning and Hemorrhage, and for Hemorrhage to work I need to be controlling another character. Walking bomb is so situational that you have to set that up manually unless you want to kill your group (or at least the tank). Now that I think about it though, I may try another run where I stack spirit resistance on Aveline and just use Walking Bomb on top of her. Seems like you only need three runes to be 99% resistant to anything.
Fist of the Maker doesn't work with tactics either because you'll always hit your tank with it. The one thing I really hate about Mages is the fact that Bioware thought all the "fancy" flourishes would make them seem "exciting", but all they do is completely interfere with CCC. The AI doesn't have this issue.
Nphect wrote...
On a more serious note, Mages are perfectly fine. They aren't intended to be good early-game (apparent from the fact that a lot of your utility and damage doesn't show up until later and your only useful moves are Winter's Grasp and Heal) but go into Act 3 expecting to cruise control on Nightmare without a Mage and you'll have fun getting stomped on like a ****ing rug.
Point being: Mages are end-game, Rogues are mid/late and Warriors are early/mid (I personally saw my Warrior's damage stop being godmode in Act 2 unless I abused CCC and focus-fired debuffed targets)
I really wouldn't say I can completely agree with this for a few reasons. Nightmare was crusie control for the most part on my first Mage playthrough up until the Rock Wraith, and then I literally hit a brick wall because the build I had been using to mop the floor with everything except Qunari (which is easily rectified by just brining Merill). I had also screwed myself over with gold and was short a few and had to go the Friend in Low Places route, which I didn't want to do so I started over.
On top of that, I was extremely short on potions when I arrived at the Wraith. Basically to quote Illidan, "I was not prepared". On my second playthrough, I ended up doing practically an identical build, but brought four respec potions along -- pretty much none of the characters had an optimal build for the boss since what they had was for trash wave after trash wave. After having beaten him a few times, it would be easy enough for me to alter my build so that I wouldn't have to respec with any of the characters, but they would be more "middleground" than anything until after ACT 1.
By the time I hit ACT 3 Hawke had already essentially plateaued and most of the abilities I were getting were spells that would have been more useful in the earlier levels, but since I had made it this far without them and had already been doing so well, I didn't feel like I was gaining much. The single largest boost I gained was getting the rank 1 heal at like level 18, and knowing what I know now, I would definitely get that MUCH earlier.
Now if you're running a single Mage in your group, then I can imagine things will look a lot differently to you, because you'll want to get the group buffs/heals first and the damage after. Warriors and Rogues don't cap out early though, not by a long shot. They just get better and better, and still have even more room to grow, but not enough skill points.
In the end it comes down to your particular playstyle. I would honestly much rather be playing a Two-Handed Warrior, because I enjoy that playstyle
a little more, but Nightmare makes it a micromanagement hell unless you go the Berserker route, and if you're doing that, it doesn't really even "begin" until after level 14. Warriors and Rogues do not have to pause anywhere near as much as a Mage and can be played more like an action game.
A Mage (in a group) on the other hand has to pause constantly to make sure spells are lined up correctly and that the group is coordinating everything at the same time. They are also more about manipulation and control, and I enjoy preventing things from moving, or flinging enemies that are attacking me aside. They aren't nearly as instantly gratifying as a Warrior, but they are definitely more of a "sure thing" in practically all areas of the game. Their damage is also terrible against single targets unless you're using stagger or disorient hits, but that doesn't mean anything if you can still come out on top. Mages are all about options. Warriors and Rogues are entirely one dimensional -- which isn't a sleight on them, it's just you can't expect a class that can "do everything" to be anywhere near as good in the area that the others are specialized in.
Modifié par Graunt, 21 mars 2011 - 08:45 .
Retour en haut
