So I'm looking to make an epic blood mage build (I just beat the game with my mage,mix of Force Mage and elemental with Rock Armor thrown into the mix and a bit of healing) and was woundering if any one knew how to get some epic gear for it? I figured I'd use the Champion Armor, obviously, but wantt ips on rings/belts/amulets/staves/skills. I've never really played a blood mage before.I did for a while in Origins but DA2 has been really different then Origins. Keep in mind I have ZERO DLCs and due to an unfortunate internet provider can NOT buy ANY DLCs. I was a tad sad when I couldn't find any 'Ultimate Edition' that people were still selling of 2. I would normally put all into magic/health like I did in Origins, however they changed the equip system so you need 31 willpower to equip the Champion robes. I was thinking of using that glitch to boost my level up to 50 just before the end game, but decided against it due to serious enemy bonuses from it. Any tips?
P.S. sorry, I talk alot.
Blood Mage Build
Débuté par
Gilthas89
, mai 09 2012 01:06
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#2
Posté 09 mai 2012 - 01:10
Gilthas89
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I was thinking of tagging Blood Mage up with Spirit Healer for the revive/heal spell (I find those two to go hand in hand, so you can drain a party member's health to death and then revive them, or atleast I could in DA-O) but I'm open for suggestions.
#4
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 12:09
Gilthas89
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Thanks. I never really understood the Blood Mage, but I enjoy mastering all aspects of a game before moving onto another one.
#5
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 07:42
PsychicHammer
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Just a couple of quick questions:
1) Are you planning to play nightmare?
2) Are you post patch 1.02/1.03? Cuz that makes a world of difference.
Also, personally, I don't recommend going BM/Spirit Healer. Dropping out of BM just to cast a group heal or revive a companion may leave you with very little mana, especially if you're running other sustains (like Rock Armor), which will effectively render you unable to cast until BM cools down and you can turn it on again. And even if you're thinking of taking SH just to get Vitality, DON'T. It's like 6 skill points wasted. With big enough health pool you won't need the uber-health regen from SH. Those points are much better spent elsewhere (Firestorm, Walking Bomb, hint hint).
1) Are you planning to play nightmare?
2) Are you post patch 1.02/1.03? Cuz that makes a world of difference.
Also, personally, I don't recommend going BM/Spirit Healer. Dropping out of BM just to cast a group heal or revive a companion may leave you with very little mana, especially if you're running other sustains (like Rock Armor), which will effectively render you unable to cast until BM cools down and you can turn it on again. And even if you're thinking of taking SH just to get Vitality, DON'T. It's like 6 skill points wasted. With big enough health pool you won't need the uber-health regen from SH. Those points are much better spent elsewhere (Firestorm, Walking Bomb, hint hint).
#6
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 08:52
Gilthas89
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Scott_Press wrote...
Just a couple of quick questions:
1) Are you planning to play nightmare?
2) Are you post patch 1.02/1.03? Cuz that makes a world of difference.
Also, personally, I don't recommend going BM/Spirit Healer. Dropping out of BM just to cast a group heal or revive a companion may leave you with very little mana, especially if you're running other sustains (like Rock Armor), which will effectively render you unable to cast until BM cools down and you can turn it on again. And even if you're thinking of taking SH just to get Vitality, DON'T. It's like 6 skill points wasted. With big enough health pool you won't need the uber-health regen from SH. Those points are much better spent elsewhere (Firestorm, Walking Bomb, hint hint).
I dont know what patch I am, i got it for PS3 and it hasn't been moded in any way. mostly because (like I said earlier) I have no internet access for my PS3, so I also dont have any DLCs. No, not nightmare. maby normal/hard. and I didn't plan on using Healer on myself, I know from experience in DA:O that the Blood Mage can't be healed by normal methods, but I remember a spell (not sure if its still there but I doubt they took it out) called Blood Sacrifice or somthing where you leached your partie's health, and you got a bonus if a party member died. And so normally I would just revive that party member and cast Group Heal so I never really took a significant loss from my party. Suicidal Baby's link was good, but I have no DLCs (including Black Emporium) and half the items it recomends you get from the Black Emporium, ergo useless to me. so far I'm level 4 or so, got rock Armor, chain lightning, fireballn and Mind Blast that you start with. Since I figured I wouldn't want to put to much into Will Power right now I have robes/staff that increase mana and belt/ring that increase regen. Though once I get Blood Mage and decent health I wont have to rely on mana/stamina boosting items as much. I hear there is a great staff you get from killing some guy you fight after destroying all the evil tomes too that increases blood magic.
got any advice for me? preferably that doesn't require a DLC.
#7
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 09:25
SuicidalBaby
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If you have no internet access then you are 1.00 and have no patches at all.
The guide will work for your situation.
The guide will work for your situation.
#8
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 09:48
PsychicHammer
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"The evil tomes guy" is Xebenkeck (look it up in DA Wiki). Lemme tell ya, this is easily one of the most challenging battles in the game. I only play nightmare myself, but I'm pretty sure you need to have good hang of the game mechanics before you attempt that fight on hard as well. Xebenkeck drops Voracity, pretty much the best staff in act 2. Since on hard you can disregard elemental immunities (although enemies normally resistant to a certain element will take a little less damage from it, for example, Qunari will take less of a beating from Firestorm than Mercs, who have normal fire resistance), it would be cool if you cool obtain it early - a built in BM conversion property certainly helps and you don't have to switch staves all that much.
Without Black Emporium you're cut off even from respec potions, which are a major element of DA2 builds, especially because Black Emporium DLC was so easily obtainable back in 2011. Anyways, since you don't have Internet access from your console, I imagine your game is pre-patch 1.02/1.03. In that case, you should still look up Arelex's Elemental BM/FM guide. It's really informative (there's a link in Suicidal's sig). Just make a correction for mind blast.
As for the mind blast itself, it's not really a useful spell - on nightmare, since it stuns your party. But hard is friendly-fire free, so you might consider even upgrading it. When the enemy melees get too close to you, just mind blast them away. I have a mod (I'm on PC) that takes away friendly fire effect from the spell on nightmare and it's been helpful (Anders is SOOOO squishy and Vengance doesn't help).
But back to your BM. Read Suicidal's money making guide as well. Money is important. Buy all the items that will help you pre-buff willpower for better robes (like enchanted silverite chain belt in act 1, Urzara's Tooth in act 3, though that one's money-free, but not effort-free). You really don't get much better than Arelex's Elemental build. Firestorm is the best AoE spell in the game, hands down (save for Walking Bomb, but, again, read Arelex's guide - it's superb - and save WB for Anders). All in all, you will need fire/cold staves. When you get your hands on Voracity, only one other staff (without DLCs) beats it - Falon'Din's Torch in act 3, cuz it has 2 runeslots and a big boost to fire dmg. So, a piece of advice - make sure to get a lot of money. In act 2, kill Xeb as soon as you're able to (Voracity) and try to buy Cold-Blooded from Magnus merchant in the Wounded Coast. Those two staves both have the BM conversion property, which will help a lot. In act 3, do Merrill's quest ASAP to get Torch, then On The Loose main quest to get Varric's personal quest (NOTE: this one - Haunted - doesn't show up if you don't do Family Matter in act 2) and save the lyrium shard for yourself - you get the best rune in the game. Apply it to Torch (on Torch, PLR gives around 30% speed boost). There, you have two best in-game staves for an Elementalist mage. There are decent robes sold by Gallows mage merchant (not the potion guy, the other one) in act 3 that gives +15% fire dmg. Also, there's Ring of the Ferryman (+24% fire dmg, same place as Cold-Blooded, only in act 3). High dragon in act 3 drops a pair of gloves that gives +4% to both fire and cold dmg I think. Between all that gear and no elemental resistances, you'll just wipe the floor with any enemy in the game. Anders, Varric Merrill/Aveline (a choice between an additional Firestorm and a tank is up to you). Your ridiculously powerful Firestorm (with the gear I listed, you should get a bonus of some +50% fire dmg, which is huge) and Ander's WB will clear any fight with ease.
Personally, I don't have much experience with mages in DA2, even less with BMages and EVEN LESS with the game pre-patch 1.02/1.03. I really only got into the game post-patch (yeah, I know I suck, cuz I couldn't deal with the goddamn knockback issues, so I played Warrior from every angle, thus Warrior is my best class). My fav class is Warrior, hands down. A high-strength Templar turns even some elite bosses into canon-fodder. When you have close to 100 str, even Orsino's fat ass will suffer knockbacks. Revenants will suffer knockbacks. Hell, just today I got my best-ever Malvernis run with my DLC pumped Templar cuz the boss couldn't teleport around the whole damn arena - knockbacks kept him in one place until I wore him down enough to force transformation into a dragon, which is the easiest part of the battle - really, compared to my crit-mage and shadow-rogue runs, Templar was a cakewalk.
Anyways, that's my advice: Elemental mage with appropriate gear.
MAKE SURE TO WATCH YOUR HEALTH POOL. You don't wanna kill yourself cuz you used up your last health points to cast a Firestorm or sth. That results in a major respect drop among your fellow bloodmages, even if they're scared ****less of you ;D
Without Black Emporium you're cut off even from respec potions, which are a major element of DA2 builds, especially because Black Emporium DLC was so easily obtainable back in 2011. Anyways, since you don't have Internet access from your console, I imagine your game is pre-patch 1.02/1.03. In that case, you should still look up Arelex's Elemental BM/FM guide. It's really informative (there's a link in Suicidal's sig). Just make a correction for mind blast.
As for the mind blast itself, it's not really a useful spell - on nightmare, since it stuns your party. But hard is friendly-fire free, so you might consider even upgrading it. When the enemy melees get too close to you, just mind blast them away. I have a mod (I'm on PC) that takes away friendly fire effect from the spell on nightmare and it's been helpful (Anders is SOOOO squishy and Vengance doesn't help).
But back to your BM. Read Suicidal's money making guide as well. Money is important. Buy all the items that will help you pre-buff willpower for better robes (like enchanted silverite chain belt in act 1, Urzara's Tooth in act 3, though that one's money-free, but not effort-free). You really don't get much better than Arelex's Elemental build. Firestorm is the best AoE spell in the game, hands down (save for Walking Bomb, but, again, read Arelex's guide - it's superb - and save WB for Anders). All in all, you will need fire/cold staves. When you get your hands on Voracity, only one other staff (without DLCs) beats it - Falon'Din's Torch in act 3, cuz it has 2 runeslots and a big boost to fire dmg. So, a piece of advice - make sure to get a lot of money. In act 2, kill Xeb as soon as you're able to (Voracity) and try to buy Cold-Blooded from Magnus merchant in the Wounded Coast. Those two staves both have the BM conversion property, which will help a lot. In act 3, do Merrill's quest ASAP to get Torch, then On The Loose main quest to get Varric's personal quest (NOTE: this one - Haunted - doesn't show up if you don't do Family Matter in act 2) and save the lyrium shard for yourself - you get the best rune in the game. Apply it to Torch (on Torch, PLR gives around 30% speed boost). There, you have two best in-game staves for an Elementalist mage. There are decent robes sold by Gallows mage merchant (not the potion guy, the other one) in act 3 that gives +15% fire dmg. Also, there's Ring of the Ferryman (+24% fire dmg, same place as Cold-Blooded, only in act 3). High dragon in act 3 drops a pair of gloves that gives +4% to both fire and cold dmg I think. Between all that gear and no elemental resistances, you'll just wipe the floor with any enemy in the game. Anders, Varric Merrill/Aveline (a choice between an additional Firestorm and a tank is up to you). Your ridiculously powerful Firestorm (with the gear I listed, you should get a bonus of some +50% fire dmg, which is huge) and Ander's WB will clear any fight with ease.
Personally, I don't have much experience with mages in DA2, even less with BMages and EVEN LESS with the game pre-patch 1.02/1.03. I really only got into the game post-patch (yeah, I know I suck, cuz I couldn't deal with the goddamn knockback issues, so I played Warrior from every angle, thus Warrior is my best class). My fav class is Warrior, hands down. A high-strength Templar turns even some elite bosses into canon-fodder. When you have close to 100 str, even Orsino's fat ass will suffer knockbacks. Revenants will suffer knockbacks. Hell, just today I got my best-ever Malvernis run with my DLC pumped Templar cuz the boss couldn't teleport around the whole damn arena - knockbacks kept him in one place until I wore him down enough to force transformation into a dragon, which is the easiest part of the battle - really, compared to my crit-mage and shadow-rogue runs, Templar was a cakewalk.
Anyways, that's my advice: Elemental mage with appropriate gear.
MAKE SURE TO WATCH YOUR HEALTH POOL. You don't wanna kill yourself cuz you used up your last health points to cast a Firestorm or sth. That results in a major respect drop among your fellow bloodmages, even if they're scared ****less of you ;D
#9
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 09:49
PsychicHammer
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Oh my... I really do talk a lot, don't I, goddamit...
#10
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 09:55
PsychicHammer
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I'm really dumb, I've just realised. No DLC means no Black Emporium means no Runes of Frotune. Guees you'll just have to sell off crap and junk. Sorry for that. Myself, I've gotten a very nice mod (PC, duh) that ups the value of junk. Anyways, without Runes of Fortune, my rouge bought some very expensive rings, amulets and daggers and still had like 400 gold in act 3 just prior to the last fight. The perks of playing PC...
#11
Posté 10 mai 2012 - 11:33
Gilthas89
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Indeed, although my laptop doesn't handle games that well. And I dont have a desk top (used to play BattleField 2142 on my desk top, but then it got so hopelessly riddled with viruses from it for some reason it was cheaper to get the laptop then repair the computer) so i just play PS3, and yes, you talk alot but alteast you know what you're talking about >_> try sitting on a bus for 3 hours next to a guy who just yammers on and on about stuff I really dont care about. Thanks for all the advice, its pretty helpful. And I know the game mechanics pretty well, I've beat it as a mage (elementalist/force mage) and again as a vanguard warrior. Warrior was easier as i didn't take as much damage, though mages still would woop its butt =P I like close spaces, unlike most people who play as mages, because then I use my allies as a barrier (in Varric's quest where you kill Bartrand I had them block up the door and hammered the **** out of every one from the other side) and then cast Tempest, Fire Storm, Fire Ball, Chain Lightning, Fist of the Maker, and then Winters Grasp and Cone of Cold to kill anything left alive, which isn't often. I'm planning on doing this run through with Isabella (thought it'd be fun to have a runner (very fast attacker, i call 'em runners) instead of a tank, see how it goes) Verric (I find he's like the Alistair of DA2, the guy you keep around just because) and Anders, for some healing. Can't have my allies dying. I also gave him Fire Storm and am working on fiving him Tempest too. So the game shouldn't be that hard. And I've only killed myself once as a BM >_> but that was in Origins XD I kept hammering away with high level spells and then died and was like WHAT THE HELL?!?! and then remembered I was on blood magic.. *face palm*
#12
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 12:14
Gilthas89
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And the DLC really did kill the unlockables, didn't it? Once companies realized isntead of rewarding good players with great stuff, they realized they could charge people for it, then the whole idea of reward for good playing went out the window and profits sky rocketed. 
#13
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 07:34
PsychicHammer
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I agree with your opinion on DLC, especially since the "green stuff" (it's how I call DA2 DLC equipment) pretty much renders anything in-gme useless, save for stuff like Puzzle Ring, Etched Twins, elemental weapons and a few other items. I mean, DLc armor is ridiculously overpowered. Take RoUC - at least you gotta pay for them and they're only available in act 3 - but then there's Aldenon's Vestments - less +x% dmg bonus but covers more elements, so deal. Two runeslots, same armor rating, available at level 17 an free (after you've gotten the Item Pack 2) - that, for me, beats RoUC.
A tip regarding Anders - this guy is really a pain in the ass sort of companion. I mean, when everything is all right, he drinks pot when supposed too, sets up/exploits CCCs as needed and doesn't go lemming into his own AoEs, he's a force to be reckoned with. It's like mr-afk said: Anders'll be squishy no matter how much hp he has, so just ignore the pretense and give him full magic (I'd thrown in some willpower just to be safe) - high magic (usually higher than Merrill's) plus Vengance/Wrath plus friendship bonus easily makes him the second most powerful mage in the game, after Hawke. But Anders has issues (we all know what kind) and often he'll just end up doing Martyr when he's got 20% hp left, or without mana, cuz he's too stupid to drink a lyrium pot and. His tactics are important, but balancing his build even more so. Therefore, I'd avoid giving him both Tempest and Firestorm. Both cost a lot of mana but Firestorm is so powerful it does better job alone than two Tempest together.
Considering that my Anders usually (unless I'm playing mage and sustain Valiant Aura myself, which isn't often) keeps up Vengance, Rock Armor and Valiant Aura - that locks away 50% of his mana pool. So even if he has a mighty 300 mana, he can only use 150. I don't bother with the s*** like setting up tactics to activate sustains during the fight and turning them off afterwards, since I try to keep his tactics simple. I find around 15 slots used works OK and no serious delays occur. So, 150 mana. And he has some spells to cast - Heal, Haste (both of which are available quite often, thanks to Martyr, which means even more mana is needed), sometimes a Glyph, but most often a Firestorm, which takes 60 mana - that's more than one-third of what Anders has. Thus I find it better to stick to one tree (Elemental/Spirit, Walking Bomb is awesome) and work my way towards Elemental/Spirit Mastery. Not only does Anders get a hefty bonus to dmg, but also a bonus to mana regen, which is always good for him. I believe that he works best with Elemental/Spirit trees. Primal was good pre-patch 1.02/1.03 when he could Chain Lightning the hell out of staggers (miss the REAL Claymore). Now, not so much. Petrify buffs enemy dmg resist, which is contradictory to my goals, meaning killing things fast. I don't care much for Brittle Assassinate combo, since it's been crippled. When I do play Rogue, I find Vendetta much more useful. Between Shield Bash and Pommel Strike you can get those staggers on Elites and Vendetta+stagger+critical hit can one-shot Elites and seriously hurt bosses. I present that in a YT video I made.
If you're interested, check it out (yeah, I know I'm blatantly advertising myself, but what the hell):
And, again, I got seriously side-tracked. But at least I've written what I wanted about the BM. Honestly, I don't know how people put up with my posts.
A tip regarding Anders - this guy is really a pain in the ass sort of companion. I mean, when everything is all right, he drinks pot when supposed too, sets up/exploits CCCs as needed and doesn't go lemming into his own AoEs, he's a force to be reckoned with. It's like mr-afk said: Anders'll be squishy no matter how much hp he has, so just ignore the pretense and give him full magic (I'd thrown in some willpower just to be safe) - high magic (usually higher than Merrill's) plus Vengance/Wrath plus friendship bonus easily makes him the second most powerful mage in the game, after Hawke. But Anders has issues (we all know what kind) and often he'll just end up doing Martyr when he's got 20% hp left, or without mana, cuz he's too stupid to drink a lyrium pot and. His tactics are important, but balancing his build even more so. Therefore, I'd avoid giving him both Tempest and Firestorm. Both cost a lot of mana but Firestorm is so powerful it does better job alone than two Tempest together.
Considering that my Anders usually (unless I'm playing mage and sustain Valiant Aura myself, which isn't often) keeps up Vengance, Rock Armor and Valiant Aura - that locks away 50% of his mana pool. So even if he has a mighty 300 mana, he can only use 150. I don't bother with the s*** like setting up tactics to activate sustains during the fight and turning them off afterwards, since I try to keep his tactics simple. I find around 15 slots used works OK and no serious delays occur. So, 150 mana. And he has some spells to cast - Heal, Haste (both of which are available quite often, thanks to Martyr, which means even more mana is needed), sometimes a Glyph, but most often a Firestorm, which takes 60 mana - that's more than one-third of what Anders has. Thus I find it better to stick to one tree (Elemental/Spirit, Walking Bomb is awesome) and work my way towards Elemental/Spirit Mastery. Not only does Anders get a hefty bonus to dmg, but also a bonus to mana regen, which is always good for him. I believe that he works best with Elemental/Spirit trees. Primal was good pre-patch 1.02/1.03 when he could Chain Lightning the hell out of staggers (miss the REAL Claymore). Now, not so much. Petrify buffs enemy dmg resist, which is contradictory to my goals, meaning killing things fast. I don't care much for Brittle Assassinate combo, since it's been crippled. When I do play Rogue, I find Vendetta much more useful. Between Shield Bash and Pommel Strike you can get those staggers on Elites and Vendetta+stagger+critical hit can one-shot Elites and seriously hurt bosses. I present that in a YT video I made.
If you're interested, check it out (yeah, I know I'm blatantly advertising myself, but what the hell):
And, again, I got seriously side-tracked. But at least I've written what I wanted about the BM. Honestly, I don't know how people put up with my posts.
#14
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 07:57
Gilthas89
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=P Becuase they're informative. I think my brain might have shorted out in that beginning part... and the middle part... and the.. endy part too. ( XD ) but I hadn't pinned Anders down to spirit. And I half apreciate that he's always close by. I'm not high up enough yet for parties to take damage, and he helps me out with those frusterating Assassins who try to stab me in the back. But thats about it. Most of the time he gets in the way. And right now I'm level 8 or somthing (about half done Act 1, I've been doing ALL the quests I can find) with 20 willpower (I intend to leave it there and use runes and gear to boost it) 25 or so magic and 15 hp. From now an I'm going to put most of my points into health. Like 2/3 points to health, 1/3 points to magic and then find rings, ammys, and runes that boost willpower. Around level 32 should be fine, thats the level you can wield the Champion armor so I should be able to wield most others. I've found some buffs (right now most of my gear has + willpower/regen, and elemental boosts. about half way done Act 1 and I already slammed a shade with 250 damage with Chain Lightning on Fenris' recruitment quest. Thats why I personally give mages a special apreciation. The ability to turn a horde of enemies to dust in a matter of seconds is an amazing power. Although I could do that too on my Vanguard. He was more of a push-backer/stun locker (dont you just love it when you're enemy never gets the chance to hit you?) and the Arishok fell in terror before him, but then Meredith was all 'I'm guna kill you' and he was all 'Oh no you wont!' and she was yelling 'LOOK AT MY SWORD!!' and I was thinking 'No, look at my sword!' and then I killed her. happy days 
#15
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 09:06
PsychicHammer
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Gilthas89 wrote...
Although I could do that too on my Vanguard. He was more of a push-backer/stun locker (dont you just love it when you're enemy never gets the chance to hit you?)
Oh, I do. That's exactly what my Templar does.
About your attrubite allocation. I don't think putting majority of them into constitution will work so well. I think you shouldn't go higher than 225-250 health. Mind you that in your version of the game Rune of Valiance (act 3) will give you +7 to all attributes, which means 35 health. You get a bonus of 25 health from BM spec. So, buff your health to 175 and leave it at that. Really, the rest of your points is better spent on magic and maybe some dex (again, Arelex's guide).
Also, make sure to grab Unshakable from FM spec - no spellcasting interrupts is a great help pre-patch 1.02/1.03.
I've already listed useful gear in my earlier post, so I'll just add one thing - it would be good for you to grab one (not any more, you don't need it) ring with the BM conversion property. The way I see it, I'd go Ring of the Ferryman for my Elemental BM and Ring of Ruin I think it is (act 3? can't be sure here). That, along with Bloodmagic upgrade and a staff should do you just fine. I see you're not using a tank. Well, as for personal quests that force you to take Aveline/Fenris along, keep their health pools high with enough con, so you have a nice supply to leach off with Sacrifice.
So you're halfway through act 1. Mind listing your spells? I am by no means a DA2 expert (Arelex, mr_afk and others are) by I may be able to give a hint or two. You see, there are some skills that are just better left out entirely/for your companions.
Modifié par Scott_Press, 11 mai 2012 - 09:07 .
#16
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 01:20
Gilthas89
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I have an upgraded FireStorm for larger area of affect, upgraded fireBall (needed 3 into elemtnal to upgrade firestorm, and thought it would be worth while) and I'm also just into Act 2 now, some level 16 I think. I got Blood Magic with that passive ability that lets me leech health off the dead, like Death Syphon but with BM. I have Tempest, Chain Lightning, Walking bomb (or somthing or other) uhh, I also upgraded my Mind Blast, Rock Armor, I think I also upgraded Chain Lightning. right now I have a 1mp+ per health on a ring, my hood and my staff. some 25 willpower that I needed since I'm not finding any willpower boosts, mainly just mana/stamina (curses) and I've been upgrading my ally's health for when I get Sacrifice. How am I doing so far? Oh, I also have that Fist of the Maker spell which I use to drop people before they get to me. I have some 30 magic, I think close to 30 con and 25-26 willpower.
#17
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 01:22
Gilthas89
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I also have a run that I think was more based for BMs because it gives me +10 con, I also have an amulet that gives me extra con aswell, and a belt that has a willpower bonus.
#18
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 01:29
Gilthas89
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and with my chest piece/gloves combined I have about 550 flame defence, not including runes. guna go check out runes in a bit afterI kill Xeberneck
#19
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 02:43
PsychicHammer
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If I were you, I'd start putting all my attribute points in magic ONLY. You have enough willpower for the rest of the game and con as well. Don't waste points, since you won't be able to respec. Select spells as you like, but really, your magic is criminally low for a 16 level char.
#20
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 02:44
Gilthas89
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Xebenkeck wouldn't be nearly as tough without its horde of minons. In other words: I died. I grabbed Fenris and that other soldier woman and pumped them with health, going to try to use them as bateries. I never use them in the main story anyway, so i thought what the hell I'll give it a shot.
#21
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 03:07
Gilthas89
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Can you go back and get him in Act 3? Cause it would be much more comforting to come back with a tougher unit. And I found that staff sold by the Wounded Coast merchant, cant remember its name but god is it expencive.
#22
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 03:11
PsychicHammer
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Gilthas89 wrote...
Xebenkeck wouldn't be nearly as tough without its horde of minons.
Well, duh. That's the whole point - Xebbie herself is just an annoying mob with a simple stun ability and an enormous health bar. Her buddies are the real problem. I dunno if you're aware of this, but the second vawe only spawns when ANY three of the initial enemies are dead. In other words, equip Aveline with spirit and fire resistance runes on her armor (she gets a runeslot in act 2 from Raiders on the Cliffs quest) and any shield with runeslots. If she can keep aggro (Taunt is pretty much a must) then she can tank the abominations. Ignore them and get rid of Rage Demons first and then start wearing down Xeb's health. Once they're dead, you'll have a couple of seconds before the next wave spawns. During that interval focus-fire to take down the two abominations quickly and prepare yourself for the tough part. Revenant is your first priotity, no discussion. Its pull isn't working exactly right, but it can still near one-shot folks with low health (Anders...). Rage Demons next. Unless you can unleash high dps VERY fast (as in, the enemies will die before they can do any real dmg) tank is pretty much necessary. Gravitic Ring won't work in such close quarters.
Or you can always go with the trusty easy-time strategy and leave the room - Grav Ring the hallway and AoE the s*** out of them.
Modifié par Scott_Press, 11 mai 2012 - 03:12 .
#23
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 03:14
PsychicHammer
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No, you can't have another go in act 3. It's a side quest, like any other - either you complete it in the current act or its lost.
The staff is Cold-Blooded. Yeah, 112 gold is a lot, but you won't find a better cold staff in the game.
The staff is Cold-Blooded. Yeah, 112 gold is a lot, but you won't find a better cold staff in the game.
#24
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 03:29
mr_afk
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Bloodmages are really powerful pre-patch and a whole load of fun.
The main attraction of bloodmages is the haemorrhage CCC which is absolutely godly pre-patch. With the un-nerfed cleave (and un-bugged sunder), your warriors can setup staggers everywhere. Fenris is probably ideal for this role, although Aveline will provide a lot more survivability and open up some potential for some extra CCC fireworks.
But the fundamental idea is to simply use Pull of the Abyss to cluster enemies (and grav ring if you're not playing on nightmare and don't have friendly-fire), get your warrior(s) to run in there and hack things up, setting up staggers everywhere via cleave (upgraded to claymore) as well as maybe using shield bash/pommel strike to ensure elites are staggered, then setting off haemorrhage CCCs, crushing prison CCCs, and chain lightning CCCs with your mages.
If you're using a rogue (preferably Varric for his insane dps) and aveline, you can make things die even faster by getting some disorient CCCs happening. Set the rogue to disorient the enemies clustered by pull of the abyss with with fatiguing fog/confusion (unfortunately pinning shot is bugged pre-patch), your mages set to walking bomb any disorientated elites, then finally Aveline to run in and explode them all with assault/scatter CCCs. While Aveline is doing her thing, you can also get your mages to pick off enemies with spirit bolt and stone fist CCCs. Anything still alive after the round of walking bombs/assault CCCs will most likely be staggered by Aveline's cleave, opening up a round of stagger CCCs (haemorrhage, chain lightning, crushing prison).
The amount of dps that this setup does is fairly ridiculous, so you shouldn't need too much more crowd-control outside hawke's forcemage abilities (since everything dies so fast). However, for some extra crowd control and CCC fun, it's always good to have your mages set to winter's grasp and petrify elites, crowd controlling them and setting up brittle CCCs for Varric to exploit with archer's lance. The brittle-archer's lance combo is one of the best ways to remove dangerous enemies from the very start of the battle.
Although it might seem like overkill, you can also get your mages set to drop firestorms on the clustered enemies and have Anders set to keep up perma-haste (although the haste bug will mean that it wears off on hawke/anders faster due to magic resistance) via matyr/swift justice, so that your warrior and rogue can dish out twice as much autoattack dps (and reliably setup staggers).
Since you're not playing on nightmare (so no friendly-fire issues), friendly-fire isn't a problem and you don't need to use warding runes to make Aveline/Fenris immune to spirit damage (walking bombs) or fire damage (firestorms, fireballs). However, in certain fights (esp against dragons/rage demons, or abominations/arcane horrors/desire demons) getting your party immune to fire and spirit will be very useful as well.
Since you can't respec, there isn't too much point telling you to put less points into willpower and more into magic - but 25-26 is still reasonable if you aren't intending to pump it anymore. The stat requirements are higher pre-patch, but if you pre-buff (especially using the +7 attributes in act 3), you can meet the requirements for everything with ~18 or so if I remember right. Ideally you should pump constitution such that you're not killing yourself by casting and everything else into magic (remembering to pick up as many of the improved blood magic items as possible, since they're un-nerfed and greatly improve your casting ability). In the end-game, after you reach the cap of 100 magic (ensuring you don't waste anything by going over it) start increasing dexterity.
I don't think you'll be able to do a very effective crit-mage without any dlc, although if you can afford it, some of the crit gear (puzzle ring of the black fox, four fingered eddie's lucky talisman, etched ring of the twins) will greatly boost your dps. Without runes of fortune, you probably won't be able to afford it all (easily anyway), and there are other useful items such as the ring of the ferryman which might be more optimal in your case.
The champions armour is actually useless for bloodmages since most of its bonuses are relating to mana/regen. The generic gear is actually probably your best bet, especially if you intend on focusing on fire damage - I think it was possible to get over +200% fire damage by end-game, but that was probably using the robes of unblemished cleanliness which you don't have access to.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do - it sounds like you've got things mostly figured out anyway.
The main attraction of bloodmages is the haemorrhage CCC which is absolutely godly pre-patch. With the un-nerfed cleave (and un-bugged sunder), your warriors can setup staggers everywhere. Fenris is probably ideal for this role, although Aveline will provide a lot more survivability and open up some potential for some extra CCC fireworks.
But the fundamental idea is to simply use Pull of the Abyss to cluster enemies (and grav ring if you're not playing on nightmare and don't have friendly-fire), get your warrior(s) to run in there and hack things up, setting up staggers everywhere via cleave (upgraded to claymore) as well as maybe using shield bash/pommel strike to ensure elites are staggered, then setting off haemorrhage CCCs, crushing prison CCCs, and chain lightning CCCs with your mages.
If you're using a rogue (preferably Varric for his insane dps) and aveline, you can make things die even faster by getting some disorient CCCs happening. Set the rogue to disorient the enemies clustered by pull of the abyss with with fatiguing fog/confusion (unfortunately pinning shot is bugged pre-patch), your mages set to walking bomb any disorientated elites, then finally Aveline to run in and explode them all with assault/scatter CCCs. While Aveline is doing her thing, you can also get your mages to pick off enemies with spirit bolt and stone fist CCCs. Anything still alive after the round of walking bombs/assault CCCs will most likely be staggered by Aveline's cleave, opening up a round of stagger CCCs (haemorrhage, chain lightning, crushing prison).
The amount of dps that this setup does is fairly ridiculous, so you shouldn't need too much more crowd-control outside hawke's forcemage abilities (since everything dies so fast). However, for some extra crowd control and CCC fun, it's always good to have your mages set to winter's grasp and petrify elites, crowd controlling them and setting up brittle CCCs for Varric to exploit with archer's lance. The brittle-archer's lance combo is one of the best ways to remove dangerous enemies from the very start of the battle.
Although it might seem like overkill, you can also get your mages set to drop firestorms on the clustered enemies and have Anders set to keep up perma-haste (although the haste bug will mean that it wears off on hawke/anders faster due to magic resistance) via matyr/swift justice, so that your warrior and rogue can dish out twice as much autoattack dps (and reliably setup staggers).
Since you're not playing on nightmare (so no friendly-fire issues), friendly-fire isn't a problem and you don't need to use warding runes to make Aveline/Fenris immune to spirit damage (walking bombs) or fire damage (firestorms, fireballs). However, in certain fights (esp against dragons/rage demons, or abominations/arcane horrors/desire demons) getting your party immune to fire and spirit will be very useful as well.
Since you can't respec, there isn't too much point telling you to put less points into willpower and more into magic - but 25-26 is still reasonable if you aren't intending to pump it anymore. The stat requirements are higher pre-patch, but if you pre-buff (especially using the +7 attributes in act 3), you can meet the requirements for everything with ~18 or so if I remember right. Ideally you should pump constitution such that you're not killing yourself by casting and everything else into magic (remembering to pick up as many of the improved blood magic items as possible, since they're un-nerfed and greatly improve your casting ability). In the end-game, after you reach the cap of 100 magic (ensuring you don't waste anything by going over it) start increasing dexterity.
I don't think you'll be able to do a very effective crit-mage without any dlc, although if you can afford it, some of the crit gear (puzzle ring of the black fox, four fingered eddie's lucky talisman, etched ring of the twins) will greatly boost your dps. Without runes of fortune, you probably won't be able to afford it all (easily anyway), and there are other useful items such as the ring of the ferryman which might be more optimal in your case.
The champions armour is actually useless for bloodmages since most of its bonuses are relating to mana/regen. The generic gear is actually probably your best bet, especially if you intend on focusing on fire damage - I think it was possible to get over +200% fire damage by end-game, but that was probably using the robes of unblemished cleanliness which you don't have access to.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do - it sounds like you've got things mostly figured out anyway.
#25
Posté 11 mai 2012 - 03:39
mr_afk
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If you have the patience, you don't need to bother with cold-blooded - just stick with the generic staves found in stores. If you reload the autosave to an area, it will reset the merchant's inventory allowing you to go shopping for your desired staff element (preferably of gold/orange rarity). Same deal with robes. At higher levels you can actually find generic gear that has more damage than cold-blooded; although it'll take more patience than I have to find one with useful bloodmagic/extra cold damage.
I can't remember the thread which had the info for staff type locations, but here's a list for gear (rings/amulets/robes etc). I think you can find cold staves (which will be useful against rage demons) at bonny lems.
I can't remember the thread which had the info for staff type locations, but here's a list for gear (rings/amulets/robes etc). I think you can find cold staves (which will be useful against rage demons) at bonny lems.
