51 réponses à ce sujet

[The Baconer]

Freeze an enemy warrior shatters and kills,  no need for static cage.

 

Static Cage provides a combo that grants me exponentially more DPS in an AOE than a freeze > shatter.

[Yuyana]

When talking rift mage, you need damage to regain mana. Static cage, even upgraded, does not do enough damage to justify the cost of using it.

Static cage + fire mine, I don't need more mana because the fight is over.

 

I use the static cage all the time (I tried to use pull of the abyss and I do not understand why people think it is better), catch all enemies and BOOM! Or you can cast it aroud some strong enemy and use energy barrage or/and leaping shot (yes, of course, it is your rogue doing the damage with the leaping shot, but the enemy is dead, and that is the important part). It does have good damage if you (and your companions) use some multi-hit abilities. Maybe it is not the best way to kill someone, but it is pretty fast and it makes cool bzzzt bzzzt noises. Sometimes I use it to kill the enemies immune to my staff damage/energy barrage.

 

I never learned to use this "combo" thing, everything is dying so fast .

[andy6915]

Static cage + fire mine, I don't need more mana because the fight is over.

I use the static cage all the time (I tried to use pull of the abyss and I do not understand why people think it is better), catch all enemies and BOOM! Or you can cast it aroud some strong enemy and use energy barrage or/and leaping shot (yes, of course, it is your rogue doing the damage with the leaping shot, but the enemy is dead, and that is the important part). It does have good damage if you (and your companions) use some multi-hit abilities. Maybe it is not the best way to kill someone, but it is pretty fast and it makes cool bzzzt bzzzt noises. Sometimes I use it to kill the enemies immune to my staff damage/energy barrage.

I never learned to use this "combo" thing, everything is dying so fast .

You get it too. Yes, static cage with anything that does multiple hits makes a lot of dead enemies FAST. A lightning staff with an upgraded chain lightning and static cage does unfair amounts of damage in a short time. Though I use an ice staff... I already have 2 lightning spells, I don't need a third spell that does lightning damage. My only ice spell is fade step, so ice damage is where I'm most lacking (fire is covered).

[The Baconer]

I feel like the core problem is that there's really no way to raise maximum stamina or mana anymore. I believe the closest things to it are cost-reduction masterworks.

[andy6915]

I feel like the core problem is that there's really no way to raise maximum stamina or mana anymore. I believe the closest things to it are cost-reduction masterworks.

 

Yeah. It took me a long while to figure out that raising willpower didn't seem to be helping with how much of my mana was being used up for spells, though I was somewhat relieved since it means I don't need to worry much about willpower as a mage since all it raises over magic is magic defense. I guess that was another thing I had to learn on my own just like learning storm and rift mage don't work well together.

[Dabrikishaw]

I feel like the core problem is that there's really no way to raise maximum stamina or mana anymore. I believe the closest things to it are cost-reduction masterworks.

There's the Superb Stamina Amulet(+50 stamina) for non-mages.

[The Baconer]

There's the Superb Stamina Amulet(+50 stamina) for non-mages.

 

Is it stamina only? That would make it simultaneously awesome and depressing at the same time.

 

... Oh yeah, from the dragon. First playthrough was a mage, so I guess that would be the primary reason I didn't remember it.

[MrTornado]

Pull of the Abyss tightly clusters enemies ensuring 100% accuracy with Fire Mine/Ice Mine and spreads the weakness debuff en masse which the Rift Mage specialization heavily relies upon.

If you're determined going Rift Storm, I suggest using Pull of the Abyss + Chain Lightning + Stonefist.

Chain Lightning will instantly put you at full mana with the Restorative Veil passive and Stonefist will put the enemies to sleep.

Sleeping enemies can then be detonated for either a NIghtmare combo or a Rupture combo.

[andy6915]

Pull of the Abyss ensures 100% accuracy with Fire Mine/Ice Mine and spreads the weakness debuff en masse which the Rift Mage specialization heavily relies upon.

If you're determined going Rift Storm, I suggest using Pull of the Abyss + Chain Lightning followed by Static Cage + Energy Barrage.

Chain Lightning will instantly put you at full mana with the Restorative Veil passive allowing you to easily cast Static Cage and each hit from Energy Barrage will proc damage from Static Cage.

 

Well... That combo sucks. I have to wait at least a couple seconds of doing nothing before chain lightning can even be done after the pull, so that throws out the whole combo.

 

It doesn't matter, I went knight enchanter many hours ago. Knowing it doesn't work with storm and storm being my main element made the choice a lot easier.

[Dabrikishaw]

Is it stamina only? That would make it simultaneously awesome and depressing at the same time.

 

... Oh yeah, from the dragon. First playthrough was a mage, so I guess that would be the primary reason I didn't remember it.

Stamina only I'm afraid.

[Bhaal]

Well i did two nightmare rift mage runs. Sadly PoA is actualy not as good as some people lead me to believe: teleporting enemies, the weakness bug, being utterly useless against many enemy types...

 

Static Cage on the other hand works very well with rift mage(i was able to have 2 or 3 or even 4 active static cages together during every battle). Since starting a battle with static cage neither uses mana nor triggers cooldown. With a high crit chance, stone fist triggers flashpoint so second Static Cage is without cooldown as well. Also SF only consumes mana when it hits the target so you can cast another static cage before SF hits the target. So it's very much possible to casting 2 static cages and one Stone Fist by only using 65 mana and recovering it too with Stone Fist.

 

Having winter stillness, clean burn, gathering storm and mana surge helps a ton. Upgraded Immolate, Chain Lightning, Winter's Grasp work well with rift mage because all of them are mana free because of restorative veil.

 

These spells don't break winter stillness and already have very low cooldowns so casting them in row with stonefist is very easy and during the row weakness wears off so you can ignore the weakness bug too. There are so many combos happening during a row it's ridiculous, practicaly immolate always does %1300 weapon damage(ignoring shocked or weakened bonuses) and triggers fear.

 

I use Aegis of the Rift instead of fade step. Fade step is great but i don't like it with my Rift Mage since it breaks my non stop spell casting. Mines and Energy Barrage are no good for the same reason as they hurt cooldown reduction by breaking winter stillness.

 

Also having 3 active static cages makes you feel like a true storm mage. Only spell there which wouldn't fit with a storm mage is immolate but it's not a deal breaker i hope.

[MrTornado]

Does Winter's Stillness still give cooldown reduction? According to aznricepuff's detailed Combat Mechanic guide this was removed with patch 5.

[Bhaal]

I'm not sure since last time i played was a month ago but it was effecting Aegis of the Rift(i know because i tested)

[Cobra's_back]

Does Winter's Stillness still give cooldown reduction? According to aznricepuff's detailed Combat Mechanic guide this was removed with patch 5.

 

 

That sucks.

[Bhaal]

Well it seems winter stillness works. I tried it with barrier

[MrTornado]

You're right Bhaal. I ran some trials with Winter's Stillness and it does reduce cooldowns in addition to boosting mana regen.

The "Documentation for Combat Mechanics" by aznricepuff needs to be updated with this info.

[hugin7]

starting a battle with static cage neither uses mana nor triggers cooldown.

 

Is this still possible?  If so, how are you accomplishing it?  Are you starting every fight with Mana Surge and Flashpoint?

[Evelynne]

Storm is an amazing skill tree -- but if you don't know how to work it, you'll be in for some pain. I started this game not understanding Storm and I eventually grew to dislike it and it took 8 months for me to try it again.

 

Rift Mage has always been strong if done right, so combining the two takes some finesse that Inferno and Winter don't.

 

1st thing, Your main damage in Storm, is your auto attack.

Yes, you are reading that correctly. Auto Attack is the main means of damage with Storm. Static Cage procs off of it, you get Cooldown reduction from each hit from your auto attack, so a full combo gives you 3.5 Seconds off of every cooldown you have -- effectively removing 7 seconds off of all of your cooldowns. It is your bread and butter here. If you spend time idling waiting for things to cast, you're doing it wrong.

 

2nd thing, Mana is a big concern.

This should be pretty obvious given the existence of Conductive Current. Things in this tree are expensive, everything is 50 mana and above, so half or more of your mana bar gets eaten just using one of these spells. Your points spent outside of this tree, need to be on getting mana back as fast as possible. Energizing Step is possibly the best way to do that early on, especially if you're going for Static Cage. 

 

3rd thing, Don't double dip.

Chip. I had to finish that joke. But seriously, don't get too many abilities that do the same thing. Pull of the Abyss and Static Cage do the same thing to some effect -- they keep mobs from leaving a certain area. Lightning Bolt and Stonefist. They both Stun, Shatter, and have ability to do more damage with upgrades. Lightning Bolt costs 65 Mana and has a longer cooldown -- no need for it. Pull of the Abyss, we use for entirely different thing, than centralizing mobs, and I'll explain that later.

 

4th thing, Encore! is the best staff in the game for Storm. No ifs ands or butts.

Why? Because of Mark of the Riff. Each extra tick from this -- while small, procs Static Cage. So for every damage number made, you essentially get 4 hits, and 4 procs from Static Cage. Those small numbers stack up quickly.

 

Now more specifically for Rift Mages. Veilstrike despite doing zero damage -- is your best applicator for Weakness until you get Static Cage rolling. Once Static Cage is going, and you're getting so much mana you can't spend it fast enough, is when you drop Pull of the Abyss, which applies Weakness continually over its duration, which with Shock, means you're constantly also applying Asleep, which means the mobs will be vulnerable to Nightmares -- the most powerful Combo in the game... and also the hardest to pull off.

 

Personally, I don't use Stonefist that much, I only use it to knock Guardians over or to bust Guard bars, because Energy Barrage is much more important to Static Cage bursts, and for some reason they seem to count as auto-attacks. 

 

If things are going right, you should be able to maintain Weakness through rotating between Veilstrike and Pull of the Abyss, and keep a really low cooldown on Static Cage. Though the opener is the roughest part of the fight.

 

I like to start with Veilstrike on the largest part of the group I can hit with it, so I can get weakness up, and I like to follow it with Static Cage as soon as I can, if I need to, I'll fade step through the mob and dump Static Cage on them when I come to a stop. A few auto-attacks, an Energy Barrage, or a Chain Lightning will top you off enough to dump Pull of the Abyss. At that point, you should be able to just rotate through abilities and auto-attacks as you need to.

 

Also its important to remember. Quite a few Masterworks spells (Spells from items) make use of the spell upgrade you have that item. So making use of the Veilstrike masterwork may also be an answer to your problem. (Pull of the Abyss masterwork is another story as it doesn't actually cast Pull of the Abyss, it casts another version of the spell that's weaker).

[hugin7]

Storm is an amazing skill tree -- but if you don't know how to work it, you'll be in for some pain. I started this game not understanding Storm and I eventually grew to dislike it and it took 8 months for me to try it again.

 

Rift Mage has always been strong if done right, so combining the two takes some finesse that Inferno and Winter don't.

 

1st thing, Your main damage in Storm, is your auto attack.

Yes, you are reading that correctly. Auto Attack is the main means of damage with Storm. Static Cage procs off of it, you get Cooldown reduction from each hit from your auto attack, so a full combo gives you 3.5 Seconds off of every cooldown you have -- effectively removing 7 seconds off of all of your cooldowns. It is your bread and butter here. If you spend time idling waiting for things to cast, you're doing it wrong.

 

2nd thing, Mana is a big concern.

This should be pretty obvious given the existence of Conductive Current. Things in this tree are expensive, everything is 50 mana and above, so half or more of your mana bar gets eaten just using one of these spells. Your points spent outside of this tree, need to be on getting mana back as fast as possible. Energizing Step is possibly the best way to do that early on, especially if you're going for Static Cage. 

 

3rd thing, Don't double dip.

Chip. I had to finish that joke. But seriously, don't get too many abilities that do the same thing. Pull of the Abyss and Static Cage do the same thing to some effect -- they keep mobs from leaving a certain area. Lightning Bolt and Stonefist. They both Stun, Shatter, and have ability to do more damage with upgrades. Lightning Bolt costs 65 Mana and has a longer cooldown -- no need for it. Pull of the Abyss, we use for entirely different thing, than centralizing mobs, and I'll explain that later.

 

4th thing, Encore! is the best staff in the game for Storm. No ifs ands or butts.

Why? Because of Mark of the Riff. Each extra tick from this -- while small, procs Static Cage. So for every damage number made, you essentially get 4 hits, and 4 procs from Static Cage. Those small numbers stack up quickly.

 

Now more specifically for Rift Mages. Veilstrike despite doing zero damage -- is your best applicator for Weakness until you get Static Cage rolling. Once Static Cage is going, and you're getting so much mana you can't spend it fast enough, is when you drop Pull of the Abyss, which applies Weakness continually over its duration, which with Shock, means you're constantly also applying Asleep, which means the mobs will be vulnerable to Nightmares -- the most powerful Combo in the game... and also the hardest to pull off.

 

Personally, I don't use Stonefist that much, I only use it to knock Guardians over or to bust Guard bars, because Energy Barrage is much more important to Static Cage bursts, and for some reason they seem to count as auto-attacks. 

 

If things are going right, you should be able to maintain Weakness through rotating between Veilstrike and Pull of the Abyss, and keep a really low cooldown on Static Cage. Though the opener is the roughest part of the fight.

 

I like to start with Veilstrike on the largest part of the group I can hit with it, so I can get weakness up, and I like to follow it with Static Cage as soon as I can, if I need to, I'll fade step through the mob and dump Static Cage on them when I come to a stop. A few auto-attacks, an Energy Barrage, or a Chain Lightning will top you off enough to dump Pull of the Abyss. At that point, you should be able to just rotate through abilities and auto-attacks as you need to.

 

Also its important to remember. Quite a few Masterworks spells (Spells from items) make use of the spell upgrade you have that item. So making use of the Veilstrike masterwork may also be an answer to your problem. (Pull of the Abyss masterwork is another story as it doesn't actually cast Pull of the Abyss, it casts another version of the spell that's weaker).

 

If I understand correctly, Pull of the Abyss reapplies Weakness repeatedly when stacked with Static Cage, allowing the Rift Mage to constantly regenerate mana during the entire duration of the cage/PotA.  This would potentially allow the following with Ring of Doubt:

1.  Static Cage roughly every 10 sec due to reliable Flashpoint procs via Ring of Doubt for CC/party damage boost.
2.  PotA every 10 sec or less with CDR from Winter Stillness + Immolate/Consuming Fire spam as a filler spell with Clean Burn on weakened targets from PotA.
3.  Staff attacks and Gathering Storm would be obsolete due to efficient CDR and mana regeneration.

I've noticed that many knowledgeable posters on this forum frown upon the Rift Mage + Storm combo due to the Shocked + Weakness issue and its impact on mana regeneration, but if PotA indeed reapplies weakness continuously, this is a non-issue.
 

[Aeratus]

I've noticed that many knowledgeable posters on this forum frown upon the Rift Mage + Storm combo due to the Shocked + Weakness issue and its impact on mana regeneration, but if PotA indeed reapplies weakness continuously, this is a non-issue.

 

I think you're right about PotA. However, using PotA and static cage looks like a build that is specialized toward crowd control and less on damage output. 

 

RM can also be played much more damage-oriented. For a damage oriented build, the upgraded stone fist is all that is needed to apply the weakened debuff, and from then on, you can just keep spamming whatever skills you like without running out of mana (especially when using the Sigil of the Great Bear). I actually use the other upgrade of PotA (the one that does damage). It is sufficient for crowd control IMO, and does decent damage at the same time. 

[hugin7]

I think you're right about PotA. However, using PotA and static cage looks like a build that is specialized toward crowd control and less on damage output. 

 

RM can also be played much more damage-oriented. For a damage oriented build, the upgraded stone fist is all that is needed to apply the weakened debuff, and from then on, you can just keep spamming whatever skills you like without running out of mana (especially when using the Sigil of the Great Bear). I actually use the other upgrade of PotA (the one that does damage). It is sufficient for crowd control IMO, and does decent damage at the same time. 

 

I get the impression from Evelynne's post above that PotA + Static Cage results in a constant cycle of Weakness (intial PotA) -> Shocked (cage procs) -> Sleep (after Weakness is reapplied by PotA on Shocked) -> Nightmare (after Immolate) -> Weakness (reapplied by PotA to restart the cycle).

As the above cycle repeats itself multiple times over the duration of Static Cage/PotA, massive damage is inflicted by Nightmare combos and the Rift Mage is flooded with mana due to damage done to Weakened enemies.  Thanks to these incessant detonations, I suspect that this approach should greatly exceed the damage output of using PotA with the damage upgrade.  Also, the entire party can be designed to abuse Static Cage, maximizing overall party damage.

I haven't yet had an opportunity to test these interactions, but Evelynne's feedback suggests that they should work as described above.  I'd love to hear from others who had a chance to test this out.
 

[Cobra's_back]

And you're apparently an ass.

Rift and Storm I believe puts people to sleep and you lose the weakening, and restorative veil feature. Whenever I use Solas or play as Rift, I use Ice and fire. Stay away from storm because you lose weakening and restorative benefits. Solas never needs lyruim potions if you have weaken enemies and restorative veil.

[Cobra's_back]

If I understand correctly, Pull of the Abyss reapplies Weakness repeatedly when stacked with Static Cage, allowing the Rift Mage to constantly regenerate mana during the entire duration of the cage/PotA.  This would potentially allow the following with Ring of Doubt:

1.  Static Cage roughly every 10 sec due to reliable Flashpoint procs via Ring of Doubt for CC/party damage boost.
2.  PotA every 10 sec or less with CDR from Winter Stillness + Immolate/Consuming Fire spam as a filler spell with Clean Burn on weakened targets from PotA.
3.  Staff attacks and Gathering Storm would be obsolete due to efficient CDR and mana regeneration.

I've noticed that many knowledgeable posters on this forum frown upon the Rift Mage + Storm combo due to the Shocked + Weakness issue and its impact on mana regeneration, but if PotA indeed reapplies weakness continuously, this is a non-issue.
 

When i first played the game with storm on my mage and Solas in the party, my electric storm took out his weakening. Enemies were asleep and he loss his regeneration. That is why I play with him ice and fire. 

 

If you want weakening, then you can't take storm. Restoration veil only works with weaken enemies.

[hugin7]

When i first played the game with storm on my mage and Solas in the party, my electric storm took out his weakening. Enemies were asleep and he loss his regeneration. That is why I play with him ice and fire. 

 

If you want weakening, then you can't take storm. Restoration veil only works with weaken enemies.

 

If  Pull of the Abyss continuously reapplies the Weakened effect, as is suggested by Evelynne above, then mana regeneration should not be hampered.

 

Until we have enough ability points to obtain PotA + Static Cage + key passives, mana regeneration capabilities of Storm + Rift are indeed limited.

[Cobra's_back]

If  Pull of the Abyss continuously reapplies the Weakened effect, as is suggested by Evelynne above, then mana regeneration should not be hampered.

 

Until we have enough ability points to obtain PotA + Static Cage + key passives, mana regeneration capabilities of Storm + Rift are indeed limited.

I just played it. Shock takes out weakening. If you take out weakening Restorative veil and Smothering veil are not working. It depends on how you want to build the character.

 

Per a thread in July

 

"No the weakness issue it still their

 

They seem to have fixed weakness disappearing if you use a lot of skill that apply weakness in succession, but the bug that happens if you turn shock + weakness into sleep on a enemy immune to sleep will still cause them to be immune to both shock and weakness that is applied to them afterwards."

 

That means you made the enemy immune to weakness and weakness can't be reapplied for the duration. The good news stonefist bug fix was fixed and can do combos. 

 

http://forum.bioware...age-weaken-bug/