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#445090 30/05/11 09:34 AM
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I was wondering about how good mages or magic classes are in this game, never tr one but i really would like to try one, anyone has any possible guide for a good mage combo ?, thanks in advance !

Silir #445093 30/05/11 11:26 AM
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Mages are very effective in DKS, especially if you duel wield weapons with magic damage bonuses and/or enchantments (no need to boost the Duel Wielding Expertise skill). Any magic damage bonuses get applied to each magic missile or other attack spell. Early in the game you can use magical weapons so you can concentrate on boosting Intelligence and still have the option to fall back on ranged or melee combat waiting for spell cooldown or mana recharge.

mages

Spell question

Battlemage build

New character help..

There was a mage guide for D2:ED (here), which might be helpful, though some skills have been modified, and other changes made in DKS.

Raze #445110 30/05/11 09:05 PM
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Magic Missile Spam = Death.

So yeah... very powerful. Though with a weak start.

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Really you can cross-class without a hitch too. I had a character with firewall, explosive arrows, summon demon, magic blast, and thousand strikes and didn't encounter too much difficulty

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Use a bow for lower levels as a mage - you'll need to be over level 10 before you can fight by magic alone. But it is a very powerful class once you reach higher levels.

Some general advice (which you can find by following Raze's links):

- Concentrate on Int, followed by Spirit - I kept my Spirit at 50% of my int as it was better to kill fast as a weak mage, rather than having stamina for a long battle.

- +Magic damage enchants are the best enchants you can have - dual wield so you can eventually cast +100 magic damage on both weapons, and keep an eye out for jewellery with 'built in' +magic damage enchants.

- Magic Missile is probably the most powerful spell in the game as when you max it out, you will get 7 missiles per cast, and your +magic damage bonuses are added to each missile. So combine this with +100 magic damage on each weapon, and you'll be getting +1,400 damage per cast.

- I'd also recommend fireball (area effect, and moves faster tham magic missile, so it can hit fast moving flying targets that magic missile generally misses). Firewall is useful for when the bad guys get too close, and Destruction (followed by Way of the Battle Mage) is a great sink for spare skill points as any increase in damage is highly desirable.

Anyway, check out Raze's links for more advice from me and others (I always play a mage..).

Trippy #445134 31/05/11 08:41 AM
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Once you get the Belt of the Aleroth Archmage (and any other part you desire, since alone it does nothing) mana is never an issue, so don't spend *too* much on Spirit.

Don't like firewall or fireball. First is too dangerous, rather make a run if enemies get too close. Second just isn't as powerful as MM. Destruction is always welcome, and use Battle Mage once the penalty is reduced or even giving bonusses!

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I agree on Spirit (which is why I capped it to no more than 50% of int), and admitedly I only had limited use for firewall (like you Hassat, I found running easier).

But must disagree with fireball.

Firstly, a maxed out fireball (15/15) can do up to 5k damage with the right build and buffs, and can do it over a very wide area. When you've got a swarm of minor minions running at you, magic missile just won't kill them fast enough because it will only hit them one at a time.

Secondly, it has a separate cooldown to MM. That means an extra 5k damage every 30 seconds in a boss fight, and this significantly increases your average DPS compared to MM alone.

Finally, there's many places where you can kill air targets from the ground (by shifting to human form). Human form has major advantages (health regen and access to potions), but MM just isn't fast enough to hit flying targets when they come in range - it mostly peters out before it even gets close. Fireball hits every time, and does enough damage to take out almost any flying opponent in one hit.

Magic Blast is an alternative to fireball, but it takes too long to do its damage, and doesn't have the area-based effect for when you're being rushed by minions, so I'd still recommend fireball as your secondary damage spell (MM as your primary).

Trippy #445141 31/05/11 10:35 AM
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Good points, but in my current game (lvl 28 Mage now) I just find I don't have enough spare skillpoints to use MM and Fireball.
Maybe in FoV, but of course then there are no flying opponents to hit.

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Nice point about flying opponents - but I should mention that I kept both Fireball and MM maxed out before I spent points in Destruction, so I benefited from fireball before FoV.

The maths that I did indicated that spending two skill-points across MM and Fireball was more than twice as good (damage wise) as spending a single skill-point on Destruction, therefore you should max out at least two damage spells (MM + Fireball/Magic Blast) before spending points on increasing damage (Destruction). Ultimately you should max out them all, as well as 'way of the battlemage', but leave that until FoV when there are skill points to burn...

Obviously, the first point you spend on destruction gives you much larger bonuses than any future points, so spend that first point as soon as you can, but leave the later points until you've maxed out BOTH your favourite damage spells.

But don't take my advice too seriously... I like to think I know what I'm talking about, but that only applies to my own playing style and my definition of a 'Mage' build. DKS is flexible, and just because my personal build worked well (first time through) doesn't mean other builds won't work just as well.


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