26 réponses à ce sujet

[beancounter501]

It is easy to pick out what spells you want for your character overall, but I am having a hard time deciding what spells to take in the low levels. So I figured I would throw the question out there and see what people think are the best spells in the low levels - before level 7.
For instance, you could focus on the fire and glyph line for an early inferno + paralysis explosion. Or you could take the Cold and first two earth lines for shattering.
So lets here what do you think is the best spells in the low levels!

[BlackVader]

Heal.

[beancounter501]

Ha, I almost said except heal.

[T1l]

Cone of Cold and Winters Grasp are a must. Anything after that is gravy.

[Pubknight]

Depends a lot on your play style.
For me, I think Cone of Cold is one of the most useful spells in the game, so I work backwards from there.  Likewise, having every mage have the basic Heal spell makes sense.

I think in general, you pick your favorite spell line and build on it.  I've had success with the Sleep line, Telekinesis line, and Cold line.  Experimenting a bit now with the Glyph line, and it's pretty cool.
In fact the only lines I don't really care for is the Enhancements line and (with Alistair as a Templar in the party) the Anti Magic line.  Everything else has a good amount of utility depending on your 'mage type'

Modifié par Pubknight, 05 février 2010 - 07:07 .

[weredog717]

 Drain life is a need, until you get wynne.  Heal is only for people who want to be spirit healers.  Lightning line is a great idea, works well against all creatures.

Modifié par weredog717, 05 février 2010 - 07:41 .

[Sylvius the Mad]

weredog717 wrote...

Drain life is a need, until you get wynne.  Heal is only for people who want to be spirit healersB)

Drain Life and Vulnerability Hex are a terrific combination right from level 1.

[x-president]

Top 3:

Winter's Breath - Must have spell no matter what. 
Glyph of Paralysis - Probably best Tier 1 CC Spell for a single target
Mind Blast - Almost equal to Glyph of Paralysis, but group effect.


I've gotten to lvl 16 with only Winter's Breath, Glyph of Paralysis, and Arcane Bolt on Nightmare.  I was using Shapeshifitng, but you can easily survive battles not having the high tier spells.


I never worry about healing spells.  I get through the game easy enough that I never need it.  I few potions here or there is sufficient until I get Wynne.

Cone of Cold is not pre lvl 7.  That is a lvl 25 spell.  Personally I never really use it and have no problems wihtout it.

[weredog717]

Modifié par weredog717, 05 février 2010 - 07:56 .

[weredog717]

What spells you want depend on what you want to specialize as

Blood Mage- drain life, spirit bomb line, paralysis line, and a primal line

Shapeshifter- disorient line, primal is probably a major thing

Spirit healer- creation lines, and a couple offensive spells

Arcane warrior- any buffs or sustained abilities

[beancounter501]

Thanks for the suggestions! I would have never thought of going after Drain Life early and especially the Drain/Vulnerablity Hex Combo at level 1! May have to experiment with that. The Cold line is good so no surprises there.



Don't worry about the specialization of the mage. I like more general purpose mages with a mix of damage dealing and CC spells. So I have no problems fitting in a couple of extra spells. Besides its fun to see what other people like and I may be underrating certain spells. Like the Drain/Vulnerability Combo from the start.

[Sylvius the Mad]

beancounter501 wrote...

Thanks for the suggestions! I would have never thought of going after Drain Life early and especially the Drain/Vulnerablity Hex Combo at level 1!

One-shot all those wisps in the fade.  And at that point it's almost a full heal, too.

[BlackVader]

beancounter501 wrote...

Ha, I almost said except heal.

Well "almost" is not enough

Ok, ignoring heal, my very first spell picks are the glyphs. Up to Repulsion is a no-brainer, but I've even come to love Neutralisation. The one telent investment is WAY better than the 4 talents for Mana Clash. And the Glyph has some utility, too. You an use it as an emergency dispel or even cast it on your Archer having him snipe at the enemy mage while the mage wastes all his mana throwing spells withouz any effect at the archer.

Basically, GoN is Anti-Magic Ward, Dispel Magic and Mana Cleanse all in one spell. 3 for the price of one sounds good to me, especially on low levels when your  number of talents is limited. Then again, I'd proably not take it before level 7 due to the lack of enemy mages in Ostagar and Lothering.

Oh, and surprisingly, a mage standing in the Neutralization Glyph WILL be hit by Paralysis Explosion whereas stuff like Fireball won't even scratch him, meaning that Paralysis Explosion is really unresistable. ... Come to think of it, I actually froze the High Dragon with Blizzard in my first playthrough. I wonder if the Explosion works on him and other bossees like Brood Mother. Gotta try this next time.

[dkjestrup]

I will say, that I took Mana Clash on my PC Mage. Sure, it's a brilliant spell, OHKO's pretty much every mage that isn't a boss, and is AoE, and trivialized the Circle of Magi, it's very overrated.



I definitely agree with Black Vader, I should've taken Glyph of Neutralization. Then I could've go something else, like Sleep, or Crushing Prison. Or even Petrify.

[weredog717]

petrify works well, and used with the fist of stone or winters grasp it can be a two hit KO for even the strongest bosses. (unless they pass phys resistance

[beancounter501]

LOL, I thought to myself when I first posted that someone is going to say heal! And sure enough first post.



I love the Glyph line, only problem with taking it early is the long cool downs. Lots of time to just sit there and staff attack.



I never thought about placing the GoN on one of my characters and let the enemy AI unload their spells on them. Thats a pretty good idea. I usually place it right on a mage, but your strategy would be better when facing two mages!



As for Paralysis Explosion I have not had any luck finding a way to make your character immune to it. Neither the Glyph of Neutralization or Anti Magic Ward will protect against it. However, Dispel Magic will end the effects. The second level dispel is cheap with a 2 second cooldown. I actual found it extremely useful to have poor Alistar run into a room, taunt and then drop a Paralysis Explosion right on top of him. Then cast dispel and then Inferno. Or if you like watching Alistar cook you could always skip the dispel!

[Addai]

I don't really understand the glyph love. They are helpful but not a must, at least as far as I've found.



Anyway, I usually take Winter's Grasp and Mind Blast as my first spells. From there on I improvise depending on type of mage I plan to play. I like the Grease + Fireball combo because it will serve you well all throughout the game and you can get it pretty quickly. I had mine by the end of Lothering, with a few spells besides.

[RDeLove]

Well I just started a new mage, I got Paralysis Explosion combo ( paralysis + repulsion glyph ) before leaving the fade. Next I took Arcane Shield, then Vulnerbility Hex. I stand in Glyph of Warding circle, with Arcane Shield up, this with the minor +Def items you get in Chantry, gives me something like 98 defense and 128 missle deflection. Im soloing the wilds right now. At level 5 I will add Drain Life for the "Improved Drain Life Combo". At LvL 6 its a toss up, still deciding what spec I will be this time around.

[beancounter501]

Addai67 wrote...

I don't really understand the glyph love. They are helpful but not a must, at least as far as I've found.

The Glyph line is awesome.  First, every spell is extremely useful.  Glyph of Paralysis is a tier 1 paralyze.  Warding is +30 defense, +60 vs archers and +50 mental resistance.  Perfect for your tank!  Combine that with Heroic Defense and your tank is just about invincible!  (Easily +60 defense, +90 vs archers!)  Repulsion will prevent almost all melee toons from attacking your mage or you can use it to block a doorway(very nice when you drop an Inferno or SotC in the next room.  Neturalization will completely shutdown any mage, or give your tank complete magic resistance.

The icing on the cake is paralysis explosion.  That is a big AOE combo that will paralyize any critter for 20 seconds.  Bosses will not be paralyzed as long, but still it is the longest paralyze in the game.  Even better it has zero save.  But it is not party friendly so watch out!  If you like the Grease Combo then you will love PE + Inferno!

Modifié par beancounter501, 06 février 2010 - 12:05 .

[mosspit]

Walking Bomb is a nice low level spell which work very well with CoC. I am still using those close to end game.

[weredog717]

virulent walking bomb is a big help against mobs when your guys have good armor or high health

[beancounter501]

Like I said in a previous thread, I am just not feelin the love on the walking bomb line. Half the time they blow up solo. And if I CC a whole group near him I am just as well off killing them off with fireball or melee or better yet a AOE damage over time like Inferno or SotC. Seems like a lot of work to make the line useful. And even worse if they blow up next to my tank.



Now if you are going to forcefield your tank, then it is an awesome line.



I tried out improved drain. It is pretty good. You can put out some decent famage rotating Winters Grasp/Drain Life/ Arcane Bolt in the low levels.

[mosspit]

Very true. I only took tier 1 walking bomb. The point here is low level. At < lvl7, walking bomb is simply the best tier1 damage spell at point in time when mana is in short supply. Even if the target does not blow, the DoT at low levels is truly worthwhile.

I agree that it requires a fair bit of micro to do the CoC WB combo.

[soteria]

Well, except for mana clash, all the best mage spells take a lot of micro. I think it's interesting that for a mage, the more tinkering you do the more you get out. For a warrior, just turn on a bunch of sustains, and throw haste in, and watch him kill stuff.

[mosspit]

soteria wrote...

For a warrior, just turn on a bunch of sustains, and throw haste in, and watch him kill stuff.

For some reason, that sounds just like my AW