Greetings. Evidently Stonefist is now patched in the 1.09 beta which makes playing Rift Mage somewhat decent again. I'm putting together a build for nightmare difficulty and I wish for some advice on the type of elemental spells I should take.
Here's what I have in mind:
So what fire spell, ice spell and lightning spell should I have ?
Cheers.
This is what I'm using (I'm playing on hard)
tho I'd probably switch Winter's Grasp for Fade Step.
Also this is not what you should have, just what I like to use. 
If you dedicate yourself to one type of staves you can pretty much replace one of elemental spells with another spell..
From what I've heard Static Cage is nice lightning spell for Rift Mage. Also Pull of the Abyss with elemental mines seems to be good.
Personally? My fav is PotA + upgraded Fade Step. But that's just me 
If you dedicate yourself to one type of staves you can pretty much replace one of elemental spells with another spell..
From what I've heard Static Cage is nice lightning spell for Rift Mage. Also Pull of the Abyss with elemental mines seems to be good.
Personally? My fav is PotA + upgraded Fade Step. But that's just me
Does upgraded Fade Step do decent Ice Damage ?
300% weapon damage. For me it's enough... most of the time. And if you know how to spin in a circle you can hit one target multiple times.
Though using Fade Step means you might get closer to enemy than you would like.
You don't want shock to make weakened enemies fall asleep, so ANYTHING BUT chain lightning. Lightning bolt only causes paralysis, right? Same with static cage. But static cage is redundant with pull of the abyss, so bolt is better for a rift mage. Personally I wouldn't get a dedicated lightning spell, I would use a lightning staff and make energy barrage my lightning spell... Unless that actually causes shock (energy barrage can cause status ailments of the element it's using, like ice causing chilled). If energy barrage with a lightning staff doesn't cause shock then go with that, if it does then go with lightning bolt.
Personally (again), I would also throw out the focus skill. I don't like them much, if l and if I REALLY need one then a party member can be the focus user. And yes, fade step works fine as an ice spell. More damage than winters grasp, can hit more enemies than the upgraded winters grasp if you dash through a group, no mana cost... Only thing it doesn't do better WG is freeze (it merely chills).
And get fire mine. That is so good for rift mages that it may as well be mandatory.
My own setup would be (changed my mind slightly, get energy barrage no matter what)-
1.energy barrage (element of staff depending on what element you feel you're most lacking in and depending on if it causes shock with lightning)
2.lightning bolt
3.fire mine
4.fade step (ice upgrade)
5.barrier
6.pull of the abyss
7.stonefist
8.veilstrike (yes, all 3 RM skills, good for constant weakening and they all have good circumstantial uses)
You don't want shock to make weakened enemies fall asleep, so ANYTHING BUT chain lightning. Lightning bolt only causes paralysis, right? Same with static cage. But static cage is redundant with pull of the abyss, so bolt is better for a rift mage. Personally I wouldn't get a dedicated lightning spell, I would use a lightning staff and make energy barrage my lightning spell... Unless that actually causes shock (energy barrage can cause status ailments of the element it's using, like ice causing chilled). If energy barrage with a lightning staff doesn't cause shock then go with that, if it does then go with lightning bolt.
Personally (again), I would also throw out the focus skill. I don't like them much, if l and if I REALLY need one then a party member can be the focus user. And yes, fade step works fine as an ice spell. More damage than winters grasp, can hit more enemies than the upgraded winters grasp if you dash through a group, no mana cost... Only thing it doesn't do better WG is freeze (it merely chills).
And get fire mine. That is so good for rift mages that it may as well be mandatory.
The reason why I put Focus there is due to the Belt of Focus. The are no other decent belts. You have belts for increased focus gain, grenades, potions, tonics, guard and stagger. Out of all that, only the focus belt makes sense.
That is why I use them. If not, I would not give a damn about Focus.
Also, I think that Focus abilities only makes sense for the Inquisitor because of their Mark. I see the Inquisitor's Mark as something akin to Dragonborn's Shouts. A different form of magic that requires a different resources. Which means I no reason for followers to use Focus or have Focus abilities.
The reason why I put Focus there is due to the Belt of Focus. The are no other decent belts. You have belts for increased focus gain, grenades, potions, tonics, guard and stagger. Out of all that, only the focus belt makes sense.
That is why I use them. If not, I would not give a damn about Focus.
Also, I think that Focus abilities only makes sense for the Inquisitor because of their Mark. I see the Inquisitor's Mark as something akin to Dragonborn's Shouts. A different form of magic that requires a different resources. Which means I no reason for followers to use Focus or have Focus abilities.
I did a lot of edits to the post you quoted, in case you missed. And there are better belts. Even simple stuff like a rare belt of magic or willpower will significantly up your damage.
I did a lot of edits to the post you quoted, in case you missed. And there are better belts. Even simple stuff like a rare belt of magic or willpower will significantly up your damage.
There are not belt of magic or belt of willpower. The only decent belts are Health Belt and Focus Belt. Check this out: http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
They have amulets of magic and amulets of willpower. However, my favorite amulets for Rift Mages are Cooldown Amulets. http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
I do not know what rings I should pick though: http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
There are not belt of magic or belt of willpower. The only decent belts are Health Belt and Focus Belt. Check this out: http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
They have amulets of magic and amulets of willpower. However, my favorite amulets for Rift Mages are Cooldown Amulets. http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
I do not know what rings I should pick though: http://dragonage.wik...s_(Inquisition)
Even then, those damage resistance or health boosting ones will still serve you better than a focus belt.
Rings, lots of good choices. As a mage with that passive to make your aggro low, you could get a lot out of a flanking damage ring. Or a skill enhancer, like the ring that increases fire mines damage from merely very high to ludicrously high. I would go with a skill enhancer, myself. Get one for one of your already-powerful skills like energy barrage or fire mine, and you're well off. Of course, these are luck based since you can't buy them and they're completely random drops.
Even then, those damage resistance or health boosting ones will still serve you better than a focus belt.
Rings, lots of good choices. As a mage with that passive to make your aggro low, you could get a lot out of a flanking damage ring. Or a skill enhancer, like the ring that increases fire mines damage from merely very high to ludicrously high. I would go with a skill enhancer, myself. Get one for one of your already-powerful skills like energy barrage or fire mine, and you're well off. Of course, these are luck based since you can't buy them and they're completely random drops.
I thought the ability rings are bugged ? Have Bioware fixed them ?
Rift Mage Accessory
I thought the ability rings are bugged ? Have Bioware fixed them ?
Rift Mage Accessory
- Master Cooldown Amulet
- Superb Belt of Health
- Superb Ring of Attack.
- Superb Ring of Life Drain.
They've been fixed for a long while now... Mostly. Static cage's ring is bugged still. IN YOUR FAVOR. It makes static cage last something around 16 seconds instead of 8.
If you dedicate yourself to one type of staves you can pretty much replace one of elemental spells with another spell..
(snip)
Personally? My fav is PotA + upgraded Fade Step. But that's just me
^This.
This is my Rift Mage:
Lightning staff (based on BE Wrath of Lovias schematic, maximizing crit chance/damage) + high level rune of your choice (spirit or corrupting)
Stonefist/upgraded
Veilstrike/upgraded + all the Rift Mage passives, particularly Restorative Veil and Twisting Veil
Fire Mine/upgraded + all of the Fire passives, particularly Chaotic Focus
(honestly, I could stop there, since in combat that's pretty much all I use, plus Barrier, but to be complete)
Fade Step/upgraded
Mark of the Rift (rarely used, but it does come in handy versus rifts with two Pride demons or a Fear demon)
Dispel/upgraded (rarely used, except for certain boss battles and for thinning out rift spawns)
Barrier/upgraded
(* see below *)
I use one slot to swap out either Energy Barrage or Winter's Grasp, both upgraded of course. I only use Winter's Grasp against Rage demons or bosses that are weak to cold, like fire dragons. Otherwise, I use Energy Barrage.
You could also swap out either Mark of the Rift or Dispel for Pull of the Abyss. Set up a Fire Mine in the middle of a mob and while it is priming, Pull of the Abyss right on top of it. Pull them all in to the mine to get direct damage, DoT burning damage and knock back. Thing of beauty.
At lower levels/less skill points, you could run with just Stonefist, Veilstrike, Immolate, Winter's Chill, Energy Barrage (takes the place of a Lightning skill with a Lightning staff) and Barrier. You still have 2 slots for whatever you want.
^This.
This is my Rift Mage:
Lightning staff (based on BE Wrath of Lovias schematic, maximizing crit chance/damage) + high level rune of your choice (spirit or corrupting)
Stonefist/upgraded
Veilstrike/upgraded + all the Rift Mage passives, particularly Restorative Veil and Twisting Veil
Fire Mine/upgraded + all of the Fire passives, particularly Chaotic Focus
(honestly, I could stop there, since in combat that's pretty much all I use, plus Barrier, but to be complete)
Fade Step/upgraded
Mark of the Rift (rarely used, but it does come in handy versus rifts with two Pride demons or a Fear demon)
Dispel/upgraded (rarely used, except for certain boss battles and for thinning out rift spawns)
Barrier/upgraded
(* see below *)
I use one slot to swap out either Energy Barrage or Winter's Grasp, both upgraded of course. I only use Winter's Grasp against Rage demons or bosses that are weak to cold, like fire dragons. Otherwise, I use Energy Barrage.
You could also swap out either Mark of the Rift or Dispel for Pull of the Abyss. Set up a Fire Mine in the middle of a mob and while it is priming, Pull of the Abyss right on top of it. Pull them all in to the mine to get direct damage, DoT burning damage and knock back. Thing of beauty.
Not having pull of the abyss is a bad move. The whole reason fire mine works so well with rift mage is that the PotA can pull entire groups right on top of the mine (as you mentioned yourself). That is basically the bread and butter of the specialization, like mark of death for assassins or walking fortress for champions. I don't have an issue with someone giving different ideas than my own, but I can't just ignore even the hint of not having pull of the abyss on a rift mage. The rest, whatever. That part, I must disagree with. There's no "could swap [blank] for PotA", there's just "give up anything except fire mind if you have to for PotA".
PotA and fire mine might as well be nonnegotiable. Swap out anything and everything else if you want, but those need to be on a rift mage.
I actually removed PotA from my 25th level Rift Mage because it was overkill. Same with Static Cage, removed it from Dorian's spec. With Dorian and me spec'd for Fire Mine and Sera spec'd for maximum crit, no mob lasted more than about 10 seconds, even the tougher Avaar mobs in the JoH DLC. Cass couldn't even close to fight anyone before they were all dead -- except for Brutes.
This was on Normal, though. If it's non-negotiable on Nightmare, I defer to your greater experience.
I actually removed PotA from my 25th level Rift Mage because it was overkill. Same with Static Cage, removed it from Dorian's spec. With Dorian and me spec'd for Fire Mine and Sera spec'd for maximum crit, no mob lasted more than about 10 seconds, even the tougher Avaar mobs in the JoH DLC. Cass couldn't even close to fight anyone before they were all dead -- except for Brutes.
This was on Normal, though. If it's non-negotiable on Nightmare, I defer to your greater experience.
Not just it, fire mine as well. The loss of your crowd control and damage from having only one or neither of those skills is a substantial loss.
And I'm not sure if that last part is serious or supposed to be patronizing 
. Although, I do in fact play on nightmare. Mostly. Where I put the difficulty depends on where I'm at in the game. Levels 1 through 8 are hard enough on normal. Levels 8 through11, hard difficulty. 12 and on (especially since I get my specialization around level 12) is nightmare. I try to keep the difficulty level as balanced as possible, and DAI goes from challenging to easy... So my difficulty levels go in the opposite direction, normal to nightmare.
edit:
You know... That was for my first playthrough. I forgot that on my second playthrough and the ones since then, I actually start on hard and bump it to nightmare once I reach "In your Heart Shall Burn" (usually level 11 or 12). Getting my specialization unlocked as soon as possible becomes my main task once I reach Skyhold. So I skip the "levels 1 through 8 are on normal" part, it's now more like "levels 1 through 12 are on hard". I switch to nightmare at that specific quest because it makes it more stressful, and the whole point of that part is to make you feel like you're pretty much on a suicide mission. Switching from hard to nightmare helps with that feeling, and I stay on that difficulty for the rest of the playthrough.
The reason why I put Focus there is due to the Belt of Focus. The are no other decent belts. You have belts for increased focus gain, grenades, potions, tonics, guard and stagger. Out of all that, only the focus belt makes sense.
That is why I use them. If not, I would not give a damn about Focus.
Also, I think that Focus abilities only makes sense for the Inquisitor because of their Mark. I see the Inquisitor's Mark as something akin to Dragonborn's Shouts. A different form of magic that requires a different resources. Which means I no reason for followers to use Focus or have Focus abilities.
I think what you meant was there are no good offensive belts other than a belt of focus. There are a lot of good defensive belts out there. In fact, most are defensive. You could try a belt of potions and carry another lyrium potion around.
You don't want shock to make weakened enemies fall asleep, so ANYTHING BUT chain lightning. Lightning bolt only causes paralysis, right? Same with static cage. But static cage is redundant with pull of the abyss, so bolt is better for a rift mage. Personally I wouldn't get a dedicated lightning spell, I would use a lightning staff and make energy barrage my lightning spell... Unless that actually causes shock (energy barrage can cause status ailments of the element it's using, like ice causing chilled). If energy barrage with a lightning staff doesn't cause shock then go with that, if it does then go with lightning bolt.
Personally (again), I would also throw out the focus skill. I don't like them much, if l and if I REALLY need one then a party member can be the focus user. And yes, fade step works fine as an ice spell. More damage than winters grasp, can hit more enemies than the upgraded winters grasp if you dash through a group, no mana cost... Only thing it doesn't do better WG is freeze (it merely chills).
And get fire mine. That is so good for rift mages that it may as well be mandatory.
My own setup would be (changed my mind slightly, get energy barrage no matter what)-
1.energy barrage (element of staff depending on what element you feel you're most lacking in and depending on if it causes shock with lightning)
2.lightning bolt
3.fire mine
4.fade step (ice upgrade)
5.barrier
6.pull of the abyss
7.stonefist
8.veilstrike (yes, all 3 RM skills, good for constant weakening and they all have good circumstantial uses)
I agree that PotA is a must-have for a Rift Mage. I also love energy barrage for all mages. It is a great source of single-target damage, and that helps offset the heavy AoE of the mage. However, energy barrage with a lightning staff did cause "shocked" which causes sleep. Same problem with static cage.
...
I really love fade step but never felt it had a spot for a Rift Mage. For KE it helps them get in close. For pre-skyhold mage it's a great escape button. For rift mage, who is master of control, I never really used it. I would use stonefist, PotA, or veilstrike to keep enemies away from me.
What was a lot of fun, was that at higher levels, I was able to use Blizzard non-stop without any mana punishment on my Rift Mage. My vote for elemental spells of the Rift Mage are:
Fire: Firemine
Ice: Blizzard
Lightning: Energy Barrage w/ Lightning Staff
The nice thing about energy barrage is you can swap out staves depending on your target. Fighting a lightning resistant dragon? Just swap out that lightning staff for fire.
I agree that PotA is a must-have for a Rift Mage. I also love energy barrage for all mages. It is a great source of single-target damage, and that helps offset the heavy AoE of the mage. However, energy barrage with a lightning staff did cause "shocked" which causes sleep. Same problem with static cage.
I really love fade step but never felt it had a spot for a Rift Mage. For KE it helps them get in close. For pre-skyhold mage it's a great escape button. For rift mage, who is master of control, I never really used it. I would use stonefist, PotA, or veilstrike to keep enemies away from me.
What was a lot of fun, was that at higher levels, I was able to use Blizzard non-stop without any mana punishment on my Rift Mage. My vote for elemental spells of the Rift Mage are:
Fire: Firemine
Ice: Blizzard
Lightning: Energy Barrage w/ Lightning Staff
The nice thing about energy barrage is you can swap out staves depending on your target. Fighting a lightning resistant dragon? Just swap out that lightning staff for fire.
Oh damn. Guess the OP better not use a lightning staff then. And static cage doesn't cause shock, it causes paralysis. And I just did a quick search and found no mention of static cage causing shock, so more evidence. The real problem with static cage is it's so much better than pull of the abyss with the ring upgrade that it makes it useless, yet it doesn't have a weaken effect. Better to just pick one or the other.
Well, I suppose if you want to be a sleep-based rift mage. But... Eh. That's game breaking and even a little boring, and roughly half the demons in the game are immune to it (so it won't be a good build for rifts).
Ah, we're back to this old disagreement. I still don't think blizzard is worth it since it cuts your insane mana regen in half. Far better to keep the regen as high as possible as use flashpoint to make you frequently have no cooldown to cycle through your entire skill list like rapid fire with basically no breaks needed to let mana refill or cooldown to refill. Of course, that requires the Staff of Lovias schematic from the emporium, to get your critical chance high (and then it will need 20 great bear hides).
By the way, why suggest a lightning staff? You just said it causes shock, and you know what that does for a rift mage. Don't tell me you've changed your mind and think a sleep build is awesome now?
And fade step is too amazing to drop, personally speaking. 300% weapon damage for no mana cost, large attack range if you're "accurate" with it, practically mandatory in dragon fights if you happen to be standing right in blast range and you happen to have a barrier up. Actually, it's very useful against any large enemy that can't be staggered by your rift powers.
The OP wanted a lightning-based power. Since Lightning Bolt damage is poor, and static-cage is superfluous (arguable) given PotA, it stands that energy barrage with a lightning staff fills the OP's request. This does not mean I support shock-based Rift Mage builds.
As for blizzard, nothing (frost step included) in the winter tree is good for damage. NOTHING! 200%, 300%,...blah blah blah. Stave base damage is low, so to really get damage you need abilities with 1000% or higher. The nice thing about blizzard is that the mana drain was not noticeable, it's dot comparable to dots from fire, it CC's, and best of all it keeps frost armor on my mage. Dragon in your face, just pop up blizzard and stand in it. It's offensive, crowd-control, and defensive all at once as an AoE spell.
But this is all based on the OP wanting to fill a niche spell. Personally I found little reason to not just spam stonefist, firemine, and immolate.
The OP wanted a lightning-based power. Since Lightning Bolt damage is poor, and static-cage is superfluous (arguable) given PotA, it stands that energy barrage with a lightning staff fills the OP's request. This does not mean I support shock-based Rift Mage builds.
As for blizzard, nothing (frost step included) in the winter tree is good for damage. NOTHING! 200%, 300%,...blah blah blah. Stave base damage is low, so to really get damage you need abilities with 1000% or higher. The nice thing about blizzard is that the mana drain was not noticeable, it's dot comparable to dots from fire, it CC's, and best of all it keeps frost armor on my mage. Dragon in your face, just pop up blizzard and stand in it. It's offensive, crowd-control, and defensive all at once as an AoE spell.
But this is all based on the OP wanting to fill a niche spell. Personally I found little reason to not just spam stonefist, firemine, and immolate.
Lightning bolt's damage isn't terrible, and it's better than having your energy barrage constantly canceling weakness.
I tried it on a dragon once, it was awful. That was, in fact, what made me decide it was useless. I'm against a fire dragon, very weak to ice, I use blizzard... And the damage was negligible. Basic attacks had a higher dps against it than the blizzard did. It may as well not even have been activated. If it can't even do good damage against something weak to ice, how good could it be in whole? Without blizzard, you can pretty much gattling gun your spells. I will concede that it is at least decent at keeping enemies off you thanks to constantly doing mirco-freezes on everything, which does help you even further if you have the ice armor passive.
Who doesn't? Rift mages don't have to get creative, just cycle through your powerful spells and you win. PotA+fire mine is about as creative as you need to get.
Lightning bolt's damage isn't terrible, and it's better than having your energy barrage constantly canceling weakness.
I tried it on a dragon once, it was awful. That was, in fact, what made me decide it was useless. I'm against a fire dragon, very weak to ice, I use blizzard... And the damage was negligible. Basic attacks had a higher dps against it than the blizzard did. It may as well not even have been activated. If it can't even do good damage against something weak to ice, how good could it be in whole? Without blizzard, you can pretty much gattling gun your spells. I will concede that it is at least decent at keeping enemies off you thanks to constantly doing mirco-freezes on everything, which does help you even further if you have the ice armor passive.
Who doesn't? Rift mages don't have to get creative, just cycle through your powerful spells and you win. PotA+fire mine is about as creative as you need to get.
You used an AoE spell on a dragon and were surprised it was less than effective? Why didn't you equip a frost stave and use energy barrage?
How's your PotA+fire mine doing against...oh say, fire resistant creatures: Dragonlings, Gurguts, Phoenix, Varghest, Rage Demon, Wraiths, and Behemoths. I loved putting up blizzard on a behemoth and standing next to it. It would try to smash my Rift Mage on nightmare, and I just laughed. The ice armor just shrugged it off. Should I mention all the creatures that are semi-resistant to fire?
I know I'm nitpicking here. But seriously, did you feel the urge to just jump down my throat because you don't like my opinion? The OP asked about an ice spell. Several people mentioned frost step. I found it useless on a Rift Mage because 99% of the time I am standing at a distant and the enemies can't even reach me. Why even have a frost spell that you never use? And who cares about one that does 300% when I can have one doing 75%/second for the whole fight while I'm using energy barrage (with cold stave) and stone fist.
And lightning bolt DOES suck. It does 200% damage (less than frost step) and +200% for every additional enemy. But why not just use fire mine????? Or immolate??? Or just about any other AoE spell. It also costs 65 mana. And I realize you will say mana is irrelevant for a rift mage, but then stop complaining about the blizzard mana drain.
You used an AoE spell on a dragon and were surprised it was less than effective? Why didn't you equip a frost stave and use energy barrage?
How's your PotA+fire mine doing against...oh say, fire resistant creatures: Dragonlings, Gurguts, Phoenix, Varghest, Rage Demon, Wraiths, and Behemoths. I loved putting up blizzard on a behemoth and standing next to it. It would try to smash my Rift Mage on nightmare, and I just laughed. The ice armor just shrugged it off. Should I mention all the creatures that are semi-resistant to fire?
I know I'm nitpicking here. But seriously, did you feel the urge to just jump down my throat because you don't like my opinion? The OP asked about an ice spell. Several people mentioned frost step. I found it useless on a Rift Mage because 99% of the time I am standing at a distant and the enemies can't even reach me. Why even have a frost spell that you never use? And who cares about one that does 300% when I can have one doing 75%/second for the whole fight while I'm using energy barrage (with cold stave) and stone fist.
And lightning bolt DOES suck. It does 200% damage (less than frost step) and +200% for every additional enemy. But why not just use fire mine????? Or immolate??? Or just about any other AoE spell. It also costs 65 mana. And I realize you will say mana is irrelevant for a rift mage, but then stop complaining about the blizzard mana drain.
I did both. It was Vivienne, I set her up to be ice because it was in-character for her, and she had an ice staff and had blizzard on for most of the fight. I had her spamming energy barrage as much as possible.
True. But if you're going by resistance, lightning is best since the least enemies resist it. However, lightning-energy barrage and chain lightning aren't really usable for rift mages, as you well know.
I said I don't think it's the best choice but I'm not calling it terrible anymore, though I posted what I did not because of disliking your opinion... It's because I dislike blizzard, and I think you could make a better choice (again, it's not terrible though since it's at least a good support spell). I do have to point out that if several other people are saying frost step is good and you're the only one disagreeing, that maybe you're wrong. I confess though that is an "appeal to numbers" fallacy, where saying other people say it so it must be right. But it should still at least get you to consider it, just like I now consider blizzard to not be awful even if I personally didn't care for it. And I find it hard to believe that you never need it, in fact I find hard to believe that any mage could not need it. In my mind it's just about mandatory, like stealth and evade on a rogue or combat roll on a 2-handed warrior. There are times where you need to get the hell out of a bad situation, and fade step gives you that option. You're not a rogue, you're going to get targeted by multiple enemies at times because of aggro, and at those times you're either going to step out of there... Or die. Not to mention that mages already have awful maneuverability as it is, and fade step helps with that. And you contradicted yourself, by the way. Last paragraph you're standing next to behemoths letting blizzard kill it, now you're standing way back from the main fight? Which is it?
Because you need every element. You don't want to encounter something weak to lightning and not have a lightning spell to take advantage of that. If a lightning-energy barrage is out because of shock, what else you do have? Static cage, which is redundant? Bolt does stink, but it's better than not having any lightning attacks at all. Mana is irrelevant with their high mana regen, which 5 mana per second will take away from and slow your casting. That's 5 mana per second that could leave you waiting a second until you use your next spell. Rift mages are all about casting as much as possible more than other classes, they should be casting their entire spell list like a knight enchanter casts their spirit blade. Blizzard slows that down, even if only by a tiny bit.
You're suggesting to use lightning-energy barrage and constantly be cancelling your own weakness effect and leave out bolt for blizzard. My suggestion of of picking ice element for barrage and keep bolt as your token lightning spell and leave ice damage to fade step and barrage seems better, since at least that leaves you with maneuverability and keeps you from canceling your own weakness. Blizzard is better than bolt, but blizzard isn't worth accidentally causing shock effects with a rift mage which is exactly what will happen with your suggestion. And if a rift mage is losing their own weakness, then that means their mana regen is being hurt since the regen relies on weakness being in effect. So trading blizzard for bolt with lighting being on barrage is hitting your mana regen from 2 directions at once, blizzard is slowing down the regen with its cost and shock is making everything you weaken go to sleep.
Also, you're starting to get angry. I thought we got along now and see this as friendly, but you seem to be getting as hot headed as I did in our last argument. From one hot head to another, cool it down a bit.
Retour en haut