273 réponses à ce sujet

[Neniuel]

I really enjoied playing my mage in Dragon Age

What do you like and dislike about the Mage?
What i dislike about the mage is the lack of gear, when i first played through i ended up staying in my starting robe and staff for almost the entire game, it was very difficult to find upgrades other then buying stuff for a bunch of money. Lots of stuff for rogues and warriors but really not much on mage.

Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?
I felt that mages had a lot of really cool spells, all of them interesting and fun, i felt that a near instant cast fireball on 15 second cooldown was pretty overpowered, did lots of damage and knocked them down, i could clear rooms. I felt summon skeleton was a bad spell since time you zoned to a new area you would lose it, you couldn't set up any tactics for it, but was pretty good when you acctually had one out.

What are your favorite Mage specializations? What are your least favorite?
the only 2 specs i liked were blood mage and spirit healer, the other 2 didn't interest me. I like those 2 since they stuck with the sort of ranged spell caster. Shapeshifter i didn't like since you would go into an animal form and lose all your cool spells, and Arcane warrior also didn't interest me, i am a mage i don't want to put on armor and a weapon and melee i like casting spells.

What are your favorite Mage talent trees? What are your least favorite?
my favorite mage talent tree had to be creation, couldn't make it through the game without that for my heals, i found nearly every single spell in this tree useful to me. Primals has some good early spells, however got pretty weak on the higher end spells except fire. The spirit tree while it had some pretty interesting spells i found this tree to be of almost no use to me, love animation for walking bomb however felt it was doing too much frendly fire to be practical for me, really only used this tree for spell might and crushing prison is an excelent spell but all the way at the end, felt i was wasting 3 points to get it. And finally Entropy tree, a really good tree here, loved the hexes and paralyze in this tree nice tree for some damage and crowd control.

I really loved this game alot, very good game and just can't get enough, played through many times as almost every talent spec and tried everything. I assume from that begining post i missed the other classes, so i will just name my biggest problem. I really found the Archery talent to be extremely frustrating. This was a really good tree with some good abilities but i was constantly having problems with enemies runing to my sides, behind me, behind obstructions or just stuning me in some way after i activate my ablities, doing this cause me to lose my stamina without the ability going off and a few times i spent an entire bar without even 1 ablility going off.

Modifié par Neniuel, 18 février 2010 - 03:42 .

[contown]

The biggest complaint with mages I have is that they're incredibly overpowered. (ESPECIALLY with cone of cold. Cone of cold is just ridiculous.) A party with a mage PC, morrigan, wynne, and anyone else is completely dominant over any other combination. The other classes need to be stronger, and mages need to be weaker. Much weaker.

[godlike13]

Needs more stuff directed for the Arcane Warrior, but other wise its perfect.

[Vrilotar]

I have to join the rest of the masses in their request to see the Arcane Warrior specialization tweaked.  I really enjoy the ability to substitute my magic stat for strength when equipping armor.  It is really difficult to give up any of my normal mage clothes for armor due to the stat bonuses, but I appreciate the option nonetheless.  I even carry a second set of armor around for special situations.

However, the Arcane Warrior's inability to cast all of their spells with the spellsword, or any other weapon except the staff, is a bit disappointing.  I was excited to find the one sword that was special and would give me magic stat bonuses, but then I realized the delay in spell casting as I put the sword away each time.  Some spells don't fall into this category, but enough do that I wish this could be changed.  If someone is going to go through the effort of specializing as an Arcane Warrior, it would make sense to me that they would learn to use their spells with weapons more appropriate to their standing as a "warrior".  It just seems as though the Arcane Warrior is not any more versatile offensively than he or she was as a mage in the first place.

I am also disappointed by the spirit healer specialization.  While the abilities in the specialization tree are very useful, I am disappointed that they are not available to all mages in some form.  Having only one common heal spell takes away from the customization that others have mentioned as a strong positive when choosing spells.  The ability to jump from school to school is great.  However, for my mage to get access to more useful healing spells than the one available one, I had to take spirit healer.  Basically, I believe that a group heal and revive function should be available to all mages to choose.  This could be at the far end of the creation tree, but it should still be available.  More robust versions of these spells could be saved for the spirit healer specialization.

I also have to agree from playing with the shapeshifter spells that they leave something to be desired.  The spell times to transform alone are disappointing.

Overall, though, I am very pleased with the mage class.  It is certainly a compelling experience for the player, and I really enjoy the origin story!  I think the fact that so much of the conversation here seems focused on specializations and specific areas shows that the basic dynamics of the mage are very impressive!  I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback on the Mage class, and I look forward to the expansion!

[the_silent_tool]

I would also like to see an alternative to the tank like arcane warrior, a class that's better at melee than the AW but perhaps with more limited spells/magic power, in short something in between a warrior/rogue and a mage.



More variation in the outfits/robes for mages would be very nice.

[PatT2]

I disagree that mages are overpowered. I wish that the overpowered/underpowered vote had to come with a "are you on pc or console?" Because on console, there are so many limitations that do not exist for others that the additional power is a necessity to offset the sheer lack of other talents/skills/abilities in all classes on the console.



I will add a few things that are universal apparently: shapeshifter is useless (except as how it is implemented in the fade). Limitless potions (as others point out) --true, but they aren't free. If you're spending lots on potions, you aren't buying equipment.



Lack of robes.

Even bigger lack of headgear. (I like the thing they show on the mage in the illustration on the prima guide. The whole thing, for a woman.) For a guy...not sure, but what there is is "okay" but not enough.

-Horrible lack of staves at a higher level. There's like a million armor sets and only 3 robes.There are like 10 good swords, so that you can equip an entire party with a premium sword, but only 2 good (one decent, one great) mage staffs in the game. I don't have to pay 128 gold for Topsider's honor or Starfang or whatever, but there's nothing similar for a mage. There's one top=tier staff, that's all (and it's Staff of the Magister Lords, not the wintersbreath). Two staffs beyond entry level, that's it? And if you have 3 mages including Wynn and Morrigan, then what? Nothing there. nada.



I like the variety of spells available. I haven't even tried them all yet. But I wish for more specializations. 1 is useless (shapeshifting) and one is not going to be used by a "paragon type" (blood mage) which leaves only spirit healer and arcane warrior. That's a bit confining.



I have no desire to tank with my mages, and they don't wear armor. I enjoy the challenge of being a glass cannon. It's better that they have to avoid being within melee range. So I prefer a larger variety of robes. And need more staves, period. Add them. Please.

[Saivlin]

* What do you like and dislike about the Mage?



I really like the variety of spells available and the overall mechanics of the magic system. Mage is definitely the most versatile class.



I dislike the lack of synergy between the available specializations. Also, shapeshifter needs work (shapes need to cast much more quickly, and the shapes stats/abilities really should scale off magic). Also, mage itemization is lacking, both functionally and aesthetically.



* Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?



Arcane warrior is overpowered, and I think that derives from the mechanics of sustained abilities. I think that the game would be improved, overall, if sustained abilities required you to have the mana available. Then it wouldn't be possible for an arcane warrior to blow their entire mana bar on spells and then turn on the sustains that will keep them alive while they mop up the few mobs that are still alive.



As for individual spells, Blood Wound's combination of AoE crowd control and damage is a little bit too devastating. Arcane Mastery, Chain Lightning, the Heroic X line (except Haste), the Spell Shield line, Death Syphon, and Death Magic are all too weak.



* What are your favorite Mage specializations? What are your least favorite?



My favorite is Blood Mage. I grant that Arcane Warrior is more powerful, but I enjoy the flavor of the Blood Mage class. I do wish that choosing that path would have more in-game consequences.



Spirit healer is a good specialization, and well balanced. Its spells are all useful without being broken.



Arcane warrior is fun to play, and I love the phylactery. I felt so bad for the trapped spirit. Anyways, it's a fun specialization, but too powerful. With all the sustain available, it's easy to get 75% resistance to all energy, have some constant healing, 200+ defense, and 100% spell resistance. Seriously, it's trivial to solo the Archdemon on Nightmare difficulty with a level 22 Arcane Warrior/Spirit Healer.



Sadly, shapeshifter has great flavor (I love Morrigan), but terrible mechanics. If the shapes cast more quickly and scaled with the Magic stat, then it might be decent. Until it's changed....



* What are your favorite Mage talent trees? What are your least favorite?



I love the Frost, Lightning (except Chain Lightning), Walking Bomb (except Death Syphon), and Telekinesis lines, along with the entire Entropy school (excepting the Death Magic spell).



The Fire and Glyph lines are good, but I prefer the above for aesthetic reasons. They're still well designed lines.



The Earth, Heroic, Spell Wisp, and Spell Shield lines leave a bit too be desired. The Heroic spells could be made useful by making them party wide.







On a side note, I'm divided about whether Mana Clash is overpowered or not. It spends most of the time sitting on my hotbar being useless.... but when it is useful, it is so powerful. Then again, it is a Tier 4 that's only useful against demons and mages.... I'm not sure how to feel about it, other than making sure I have it before going to the Circle Tower.

[Destrier77]

Not had that much experience with the game but i would say one thing i would like to change would be for the swarm in the transform tree of the mages to stay going even when mana runs out. The character could start to take damage.

Also if the magic recharged a bit faster when you are in beast form (spider or bear) if it already recharges than a little bit faster. Other than that they seem pretty cool to me. Thanks, loving it.

[Destrier77]

Sadly, shapeshifter has great flavor (I love Morrigan), but terrible mechanics. If the shapes cast more quickly and scaled with the Magic stat, then it might be decent. Until it's changed....

As far as i knew they do scale with the magic stat. Thats what they are supposed to do i never checked them, is it bugged? I will have to have a look.

[draxynnus]

From all accounts, it IS bugged - attacks of shapeshifted forms are still based on Strength instead of Magic.

Plus, two out of three forms ARE bugs...

PatT2 wrote...

I disagree that mages are overpowered. I wish that the overpowered/underpowered vote had to come with a "are you on pc or console?" Because on console, there are so many limitations that do not exist for others that the additional power is a necessity to offset the sheer lack of other talents/skills/abilities in all classes on the console.

This, and a declaration of which playthrough the mage was. As I've been saying all thread, later playthroughs will feel easier - compensating for this, I think on the whole the mage probably is a little more valuable than other classes in combat situations, but not in the overwhelming needs-to-be-beaten-into-the-ground-with-the-nerf-stick way that a lot of people have claimed. Instead, I'd be inclined to tone down some specific problem elements (and potentially tone up others to compensate so that the nerfing of a keystone spell doesn't render an entire line useless) while buffing other classes a little to match. 

[KumoriOokami]

I -loved- the mage class the most out of all of the classes in DAO. I think the thing I disliked the most though was that it was the class with the most options fro different gameplay but the least options for different origin stories.

It's not a huge deal if you were playing on PC because you can download the 'no autolevel' for companions and then spec those mages however you like to enjoy different gameplay...

But really I had a difficult time playing through my dwarf warrior / city elf rogue which seemed pretty shallow gameplaywise in comparison. Their stories were great though, I had just wished for those classes to be half as complex as the mage. :-)

[Jackimole]

Oh god, the helmets. Please. Designers, or whatever. Make them look... normal...

[simo2003]

* What do you like and dislike about the Mage?
Overall I think spellcasting is very well done.  In the plethora of fantasy books I've read, my favourite wizards are those from Raymond Feist's and Steven Erikson's novels, and I can create that kind of spellcaster from the options in Dragon Age.  I really can't get into the mage armour...  I'd really like to have more customisation there.  A greater selection of robes for a start - I really like the idea of wandering around looking like Gandalf.  Pointy wizard hats would be amazing!  And great big shadowy cowls and hoods would also be very nice - I like to put those on my Rogues and Fighters too, for the 'mysterious hero' look.

* Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?
Storm of the Century is brilliant but it's somewhat of a trump card over everything else that I've tried.  Either boosting some of the other combinations or giving a greater selection of combinations that are of comparable strength  would be welcome.  Shapeshifting is horrendously underpowered!  I agree with an earlier post that said the upgraded bear is ugly.  The shifted forms perhaps need to use spellpower as a guide to boosting physical strength and defence, and the shapeshifting timer runs for too long.  A greater variety of shapes would be great, I like the idea of shifting into a draconic form particularly!

* What are your favorite Mage specializations? What are your least favorite?
My favourite mage specialisation is probably the blood mage or the arcane warrior.  I would like to see a mage specialisation that boosts the elemental powers, an Elementalist if you like.

* What are your favorite Mage talent trees? What are your least favorite?
My favourite talent trees are the fire, ice and lightning lines mainly because they look really impressive.  The crushing prison line is also incredibly useful.  I also like the paralysis line, but to be fair I've not yet tried it extensively.  Shapeshifting is my least favourite for the reasons I gave earlier.  I tend to avoid the creation talent trees on my main character, because I like my character to take a leading rather than a supporting role in combat.

[KumoriOokami]

simo2003 wrote...


* Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?
Storm of the Century is brilliant but it's somewhat of a trump card over everything else that I've tried.  Either boosting some of the other combinations or giving a greater selection of combinations that are of comparable strength  would be welcome.  Shapeshifting is horrendously underpowered!  I agree with an earlier post that said the upgraded bear is ugly.  The shifted forms perhaps need to use spellpower as a guide to boosting physical strength and defence, and the shapeshifting timer runs for too long.  A greater variety of shapes would be great, I like the idea of shifting into a draconic form particularly!

Shapeshifting was shockingly useless when compared to just being in normal mage form.  I would like it to work a bit more like the D&D druid shapeshifting, where the shifted form is just a buff that you can shift into and out of at will.  (Also those are instant cast spells if I recall correctly.)
Also I don't think it would be wrong to suggest that a shapeshifter class could almost be considered not a mage at all but a different line entirely.  Kindof a 'jack of all trades' class. (Or that's what it usually is.) 

Also it would be great if Arcane Warrior had an ability to reduce fatigue from wearing armor. :-)

[DargonBlak]

Q1: What do you like and dislike about the Mage? 
Q2: Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?

From the perspective of game mechanics, i consider the Mage to be the most powerful class in the game.  At even the lower levels, they easily control the battlefield. Their ability to remove enemies from play is unparalleled in the 6-12 level range.  Above that, the rogue class can achieve similar effects, but only in a limited fashion; there's really nothing that can beat two mages wielding Mass Paralysis, Crushing Force Fields, Fireballs, and Cones of Cold (followed with a shatter). And i've heard of Glyphs that provide interesting capabilities.

But Are They Overpowered ??? 

Hmm...  Well, without them at all, i think the game would be far more difficult. After making it 2/3rds through Hard, i decided to try Nightmare and found it much easier than i expected... (it didn't scale crazy like Elder Scrolls or KOTOR 1 or 2)... once the game mechanics are figured out, DA:O is mostly simple (even on HARD) as long as you carry a Battle Mage in your party.

So, if i compare the Mage to the strength of other classes; on a scale of 1 to 10 i would give the Mage a 9, the Rogue a 6, and the Warrior a 4.5... how many people actually try to battle Logain with Allistair, anyway ???  My mages always take him out without ever needing a heal potion.

But overpowered ? Not by much for the game world - i agree they make most encounters way too easy, and that some encounters are way too difficult for what they are (but i suppose that's another topic).

I actually consider the Warrior class to be Way UnderPowered, and the Rogues to be about right (they should be in a support role).  This is very unfortunate because i would lover to play a Warrior as the lead, and enjoy the game, instead of always setting my Warrior and Rogues on tactics and controling my Mages.

What are your favorite Mage specializations? What are your least favorite?

I always take Arcane Warrior for my Battle Mage so he/she can wear the Armor of Diligence (better armor & defense than that Massive Armor set found with the Elven quest).  But i never actually turn on Arcan Warrior, because the Battle Mage controls the battlefield better by throwing spells around, not by swinging a sword (IMHO)

And i agree with the general concensus regarding Shapeshhifting -  a cool idea, but rather useless when considering then game mechanics and the possibilitied of the other spec.s

What are your favorite Mage talent trees? What are your least favorite?

Each group has a few spells i like, but i prefer the damage dealers...  clearly.

cheers.  and thank you.

[DargonBlak]

oh... and sorry if anyone considers what i said to be a spoiler... i'm used to talking with other gamers...

[Ahisgewaya]

* What do you like and dislike about the Mage?
  I LOVE the lore. Very nicely done. I like that you use mana instead of spell memorization. I also like the spell  
 combinations with the exception of the grease plus fire one.

* Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?
  Shapeshifting is vastly underpowered (read useless)

* What are your favorite Mage specializations?
    Arcane Warrior is all kinds of awesome. My playstyle is usually Mage-Knightish so having a combat 
    spellcaster is a necessity for me in games. Unlike the shapeshifter this one also does what it says it can, 
    using magic instead of strength for combat.

* What are your least favorite?
   Shapeshifter is most certainly my least favorite, which is shocking for me as I usually love shape shifting and 
   fully expected is to be my favorite class. Changing forms takes too long to the point of being useless. By the time
   I'm a bear the batlle is either won by my other party members or I'm dead. Usually it's the latter. I also agree that
   Zombie Bear looks disgusting. We already have corrupted spider if we want to look scary. Instead of looking
   dangerous the bear just looks....diseased. Yay I can change into animals and for my best trick I can change into 
   animals who have cancer....... Finally, magic should alter how my stats change in different forms. It
   doesn't. In fact it's the only mage specialization in which the Magic stat is completely useless.

* What are your favorite Mage talent trees? What are your least favorite?
   Spirit is my favorite school. That one is just awesome, with the crushing prison and force field and mind
   blast etc. the thinking man can utterly control any battlefield. My least favorite is the creation line of spells.
   Heal is great, as is mass rejuvenation, but the rest of the spells in the line are kind of a waste of talent points.
   This is especially true of the spell wisp, grease line. Grease is only useful for the combo, the rest of the time it  
   screwed over my own party far more than it did the enemy.

Last of all, where is my mage's cape? How can you be a mage with out a billowing slightly evil looking cape?

Modifié par Ahisgewaya, 21 février 2010 - 07:06 .

[DargonBlak]

yes, now that you mention it, a billowing cloak glistening with runes would be very nice indeed...



i'd also like a spell that has the same stunning effect as war cry at high level

[Fadook]

What do you like and dislike about the Mage?

I like that they're accessible and versatile. I also think their place in the DA setting is interesting, and would like to see more of the conflict between the various mage factions. The inherent unrest between Circle Mages and the Church has story possiblities beyond just Blood Mages e.g. mages who refuse to be bound by the Circle, group together, but aren't evil.

Is there anything that you feel that is underpowered or overpowered on the Mage?

They're overpowered, and the two big offenders are force field and crushing prison. These can be fixed fairly easily though. Reduce the duration for both. Alter the enemy AI so that they won't attack characters who are in a force field. Reduce the damage of crushing prison, and alter it so that you can't damage someone in crushing prison.

Other crowd control spells like Sleep, and Cone of Cold are too effective. Combine CoC with shatter abilities and many battles can become trivial.

What are your favorite Mage specializations? What are your least favorite?

Arcane Warrior is pretty fun. The problem with Spirit Healer is that it's practically a necessity assuming you're playing on Hard or Nightmare. That rrestricts your options when it comes to designing a mage, and indeed deciding on the make-up of your party.

[Ahisgewaya]

See, I understand that people are frustrated that mages get all the glory.
The answer however isn't to just nerf mages. That will just get those of us who like mages upset.
Instead, they should make warriors and rogues more powerful than they currently are. Warriors especially. When a mage can tank better than a warrior, then there's something wrong with the warrior class.

As a mage player I would like to fight warriors that are every bit as tough as I am. A mage should be able to deal massive ammounts of damage. A warrior should be able to take it in stride and keep coming at you anyway.

Modifié par Ahisgewaya, 21 février 2010 - 08:14 .

[DargonBlak]

i agree completely... but i admit that i'm guessing at the "nerf"ing part... new one on me, but maybe that's just cuz i'm a geezer by some standards...

i think the mage could be considered a bit overpowered, but if all the boss battles were as difficult as the most difficult ones, then they would be just right...

warriors should be tougher and harder to kill than anything else, but that doesn't the right thing to do i cripple mages.

but how to improve the warriors ? i wonder if mages should be limited to medium armor, and then they could introduce massive armor that is actually massive (while it looked cool, the stats were unimpressive)... the other problem is Willpower/Stamina to allow Warriors to use thier abikities more often... i think they get a Fatigue reduction for being Warrirors, and i hope this increases with Strength... that would make sense... (and Strength only, not Magic for Arcane Warrioris)...

but i suppose improving warriors is another topic...

[Destrier77]

I think improving others is not a good idea just to make them the "equivalent" of what you think mages are. The balance is good as is, each character needs each other.



The problem is mages are easier to use, so people think they do more damage. A well controled fighter/rogue will do just as much if not more damage, and most mages would die (and do when my rogue gets near) pretty quick if it wasnt for the backup they get. A fact of this is how most people find the shape changing to be completely useless because its more difficult to use than just firing fireballs.



I think people would be better focused on things they like added like different spells and better design on the items etc.



Just because you are defeated by something doesnt mean you should make it weaker or stronger. I mean in that case i want Dragons to have the fire ability taken off them, also make it so when they chew you it only does 5 damage. They are way too powerful...



Warriors are the hardest thing to kill, they take one hell of a beating. Rogues and mages cant take teh same beating, but their advantage is hopefully being able to avoid it.



Im just worried because nearly everyone here seems to have mmorpg experience and they are talking about this game like wow or something.



Nerf those dragons.

[DargonBlak]

i found the dragons to be about what i would expect... umm... they are dragons... but i'd never want to take one on if i didn't have at least one Mage in my party... that would just be crazy.

i agree that Warriors and Rogues can deliver more damage per strike (those mmorpg folks call it damage per second), but many encounters in DA:O are more about stopping a hoard than striking down a single target. And there's no one better at keeping the hoard stopped than a Mage (imho).

personally, i've never done the mmorpg thing, and this DPS/Threat thing was all new to me... but that's how the game plays, and i think it makes the AI engine work better... and it certainly took some getting used to.

but i do agree that there is a nice balance reached where you are encouraged to play with a well rounded team... and thus it is well balanced.

[Taitas]

What I like about the mage class... being a mage, having power over the elements, destroying masses of enemies in spectacular ways...



What I don't like about mages... incredibly overpowered. I have been unable to finish the game with any of my mage characters simply because I get too bored with the class. It's just stops being fun at some point. And being a mage doesn't really open up much in the way of unique quests or dialogue options so what's the point?



Also, the gear selection is horrible and all looks the same. Much more variety is needed here.