I keep dying as a mage, especially in small rooms and multiple enemies. Any tips on playing as a mage? My magic dmg is super low , like 30-40 dmg, while with my sword, well I just own them. And yes I'm pretty sure im building it correctly with int and spirit. It's just that I keep getting hit by other magics whenever I try to use my own.

Can you give us more info about your build ? What level are you ? Do you dodge ? What level are the ennemies ?

OK - I promised I wouldn't respond to these forums any more, but this was just too tempting...

Mages rock in DKS - if you're having problems, then it's your build. The only possible better build than a Mage is a DPS Rogue, and that's mainly because of the insane dual-wield bonuses.

If you're a mage then:

(1) Remember being a mage takes time to reap the rewards. If you try to fight with magic alone before you reach level 10-15, you're going to die. Use a bow at low levels - but concentrate on your mage build (int, followed by spirit), as it will reap rewards later.

(2) Dual wield, with maximum +magic damage on each weapon. In fact, all your enchants/charms/bonuses should focus on +magic damage or +int (because +int gives you magic damage bonuses). Spirit really isn't that important.

(3) Never under-estimate the power of "magic missile" - at top level (15/15) it will give you 7 missiles per cast. Each damage bonus you have will be applied to each missile. So 2 weapons (each with +100 magic damage) will give you 200 magic damage per missile, or 1,400 magic damage per cast at level 15/15. That's an extra 1,400 damage per 1.5 seconds...

(4) Once again - remember that damage is everything. If your spirit (magical stamina) is more than half of your int (magical damage), then you're not serious about a 'pure mage' build. As a 'pure' mage, you should be trying to kill before your enemies can even touch you, rather than having enough magical stamina (spirit) to survive a long battle - leave the long battles to the tank builds...

That said, there's many builds that work in DKS, not just 'pure' Mage builds. But you'd be surprised just how powerful a 'pure' mage build is once you reach level 30+ (by which time you'll be able to kill almost any non-boss monster in a single shot @ normal difficulty).

I didn't have any problem as a Mage and I was playing on the arguably harder ED.

Adding on to Trippy's list of tips:

5. Know when to use what spells. Like you said, you die quickly in closed areas. Cast Fireball. Burst damage and it has AE, which would outright kill most things, and if not that then get them in OHKO range for your weapon of choice. Another alternative is Magic Blast, but it's out damaged by Fireball and it doesn't have AE.
6. As for your magic damage being low, I assume you are trying to balance Spir/Int, which you shouldn't. If anything your Spir should be 50% of your Int. But I personally kept Spir at 1 and relied on equips to boost it. Once you get Int to 70 or 80, then pump Spir up. ^^; 60 - 70 is the magic number because of the FoV armor sets that increase Str/Dex/Int by 20.
7. As for you getting hit by other people, learning to dodge really helps. Backwards jumping gives you dodging while also letting more distance get between you and the enemy. The same could also be said for learning to use your environment, all of it prevents uneeded damage. If you can hide behind a rock, pop in and out, do so.
8. I guess my last tip would just to be sure you have the "best" equips for your lvl.

Goodluck!

having a melee oriented Creature wouldn't hurt as a "bodyguard"

True, you could have the Creature on aggressive duty while (If you so choose) have your Ghost for healing. Eventually you could upgrade to Demon from Ghost and put your Creature towards a more ranged perspective. ^^;

learning Bleed could be handy in melee fights, and when has Reflect never been practical?!

Ha! Promises...My big ole butt...

@ OP

Listen to Trip!

wazzaout me? am i not helpful enough?

I think he meant in general. (: