I'm thinking of creating a mage character, but I am unsure what school to focus on. Primal seems quite straight-forward, and must probably be the most common pick among players. I'm looking to see if someone has experience with the other types of magic, spirit and entropy.
Is it viable to play a full fledged mage in these schools of magic? Most seem to have a more support role than a direct role, though I am not sure how the mind-blast trees and others stand up against the primal tree.
So many choices...!
Magic Types
Débuté par
Giantmoth
, nov. 05 2009 10:55
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#2
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:00
Guurzak
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How you spec your mage will depend on how you plan to set up your party. Will you be duoing with Wynne? Then you can probably go light on Creation. Likewise, if you pair up with Morrigan then Entropy is covered. If you do a 3-mage party, Spirit is the big gap you want to cover.
If you want to be the only mage in your party, then you definitely want some healing, and you definitely want some kind of crowd control, and you definitely want some debuffs to soften up bosses. You'll need to scatter your spells among multiple schools rather than focusing on just one.
If you want to be the only mage in your party, then you definitely want some healing, and you definitely want some kind of crowd control, and you definitely want some debuffs to soften up bosses. You'll need to scatter your spells among multiple schools rather than focusing on just one.
#3
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:07
Giantmoth
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I was thinking of going solo mage, as the character is female and I'll probably have no interest in having Wynn or Morigan there.
Force Field seems incredibly useful to lock out bigger enemies to deal with their minions. Likewise I can think Dispel might come very much in handy. I can't say I like the mana leech tree, or the living bomb one... that one is just an excuse to get stuck in friendly fire! Since my mage already got a lovely coolish look, I was thinking of frost magic at first.
Force Field seems incredibly useful to lock out bigger enemies to deal with their minions. Likewise I can think Dispel might come very much in handy. I can't say I like the mana leech tree, or the living bomb one... that one is just an excuse to get stuck in friendly fire! Since my mage already got a lovely coolish look, I was thinking of frost magic at first.
#4
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:07
Giantmoth
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Edit: Double post
Modifié par Giantmoth, 05 novembre 2009 - 11:07 .
#5
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:20
Seagloom
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I can tell you a bit about Entropy. For the most part it's a debuff and crowd control school without much in the way of direct damage. Disorient and Weakness are straightforward stat reducers that attack different defenses. Of the two I prefer Weakness because it slows them too.
Horror is a stun with a decent duration for its power. It also hurts a *lot* if you cast it on a sleeping enemy. Sleep is an AoE stun that lasts about as long Horror. Waking Nightmare throws everything into chaos. Its great to throw crowds into disarray but rarely takes out many enemies.
Paralysis is an even better stun that Horror, but like Weakness, targets physical resistance instead of mental. Miasma is a situational debuff. You don't want it on all the time if you like casting, but it's useful if your warriors are having trouble with a crowd of enemies. Mass Paralysis is amazing. Its only flaw is a painfully long cooldown and not so long duration.
Drain Life is okay if you don't have a dedicated healer, but not as useful as chugging a potion usually. Death Magic is better, but like Miasma, situational, and quite a drain on mana besides. Curse of Mortality is another situational spell, and in my opinion rarely worth using. Most enemies don't heal, but when you do see one drinking potions it's useful. Death Cloud: this spell is nasty. Probably the best offensive talent in the Entropy category. Works very well when combined with Mass Paralysis.
The Hex line is all debuffs and rely heavily on complementary party members or spells from other schools. You can add more punch to Horror and Death Cloud with it, but it's much improved if another mage can also benefit from them. The first two Hex spells lower resistances. One on a single target and the next a group. Misdirection Hex is useful on a nasty opponent if you can get it to land. Trouble is the most vicious foes have a better chance of resisting it. When it works, it's almost as good as immunity from physical attacks for a brief time. Death Hex is the opposite. It's what you use when you want something to die *fast* and works best with a good warrior or two.
My overall view of the Entropy school is that it's powerful, but not great for offense. Only a handful of spells hurt enemies outright, and they all have long cooldowns. It's great in a coordinated party though, and even better if you bring Morrigan along to take full advantage of the stuns and penalties with her Primal spells. There's a bit of overlap though. Without her, you can still do well with Hexes if you bring strong meleers along.
I haven't played around with Spirit yet. Therefore I can't comment on it from firsthand experience.
Horror is a stun with a decent duration for its power. It also hurts a *lot* if you cast it on a sleeping enemy. Sleep is an AoE stun that lasts about as long Horror. Waking Nightmare throws everything into chaos. Its great to throw crowds into disarray but rarely takes out many enemies.
Paralysis is an even better stun that Horror, but like Weakness, targets physical resistance instead of mental. Miasma is a situational debuff. You don't want it on all the time if you like casting, but it's useful if your warriors are having trouble with a crowd of enemies. Mass Paralysis is amazing. Its only flaw is a painfully long cooldown and not so long duration.
Drain Life is okay if you don't have a dedicated healer, but not as useful as chugging a potion usually. Death Magic is better, but like Miasma, situational, and quite a drain on mana besides. Curse of Mortality is another situational spell, and in my opinion rarely worth using. Most enemies don't heal, but when you do see one drinking potions it's useful. Death Cloud: this spell is nasty. Probably the best offensive talent in the Entropy category. Works very well when combined with Mass Paralysis.
The Hex line is all debuffs and rely heavily on complementary party members or spells from other schools. You can add more punch to Horror and Death Cloud with it, but it's much improved if another mage can also benefit from them. The first two Hex spells lower resistances. One on a single target and the next a group. Misdirection Hex is useful on a nasty opponent if you can get it to land. Trouble is the most vicious foes have a better chance of resisting it. When it works, it's almost as good as immunity from physical attacks for a brief time. Death Hex is the opposite. It's what you use when you want something to die *fast* and works best with a good warrior or two.
My overall view of the Entropy school is that it's powerful, but not great for offense. Only a handful of spells hurt enemies outright, and they all have long cooldowns. It's great in a coordinated party though, and even better if you bring Morrigan along to take full advantage of the stuns and penalties with her Primal spells. There's a bit of overlap though. Without her, you can still do well with Hexes if you bring strong meleers along.
I haven't played around with Spirit yet. Therefore I can't comment on it from firsthand experience.
Modifié par Seagloom, 05 novembre 2009 - 11:27 .
#6
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:21
Guurzak
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Ice is a good CC+damage line for a single mage party. Force Field can usefully be applied either to heavier foes or to your own tank once he builds enough threat. (That also shields him from your AOE...) Again, since you're the only support you'll also want to spend a few points in both heals and hexes.
If you figure you'll have enough spell points to buy about 6 lines, you might end up with:
mage standard (arcane)
primal ice
creation healing
spirit mental
entropy hexes
...and one other of your choice, such as a specialization.
If you figure you'll have enough spell points to buy about 6 lines, you might end up with:
mage standard (arcane)
primal ice
creation healing
spirit mental
entropy hexes
...and one other of your choice, such as a specialization.
#7
Posté 05 novembre 2009 - 11:28
sig570
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i am at a lvl 8 mage and i just love using the fireball and the viral walking bomb. the fireball knocks everyone down before my tank gets there and when the viral bomb goes off it is like watching dominos go down as a vast majority of the bad guys blow up.
#8
Posté 06 novembre 2009 - 12:40
Ub3r_
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i wanted a mix of strong DPS with CC, so i went Fire/Ice in primal, and went the mind blast line for CC in entropy
also went for grease in spirit so i can do nasty grease bomb explosions (VERY useful - the slip on the grease, and as they are getting up fireball them, and they go flying, its a good CC/DPS combo)
the last branch i went into was the walking bomb ones, its sooo fun!
also went for grease in spirit so i can do nasty grease bomb explosions (VERY useful - the slip on the grease, and as they are getting up fireball them, and they go flying, its a good CC/DPS combo)
the last branch i went into was the walking bomb ones, its sooo fun!
