Mage 101
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Slightly of topic, but a lot of the nice new kits are designed to make certain rp choice work mechanically that didn't before. Monk/sor for a long long time was pretty much imposable to use, but now they've added the Dark Moon kits, its pretty dam good! Also things like iron gauntlets mean beating people up with your fists works!
Getting back to the topic of wizards… work with what you've got in your concept. If your wizard flattery refuses to sneak around because he's prideful, then take spells and feats to ensure he can go toe to toe with the enemy. If your playing some a rogue/wizard and know your caster level going to be low, take spells that don't need a high caster level and maybe extend spell latter on. Colour spray a good one because it let you take advantage of your rogue levels for example.
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While only a very small percentage of the concepts can take advantage of this. I think the various kits are awesome, especially the ones available for multiclasses, but I'd prefer not to have restrictions on dieties and more generally concepts. Just as anyone can take a fighter level. And yes. I'm aware the restrictions make sense.
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I see this thread going horribly off topic. Not that the conversation isn't valid, it just seems no longer about Wizards and suggestions on how to survive while playing them. /2cents
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A singular "Mage 101" could still be useful. However, maybe focus it more on the CoA take on mages rather than simply how to play a mage.
e.g. a handy set of links to things like "spell changes", and a summary of what all the spell-focus feats do, what the new familiars are, how to use reagents/tomes for summoning etc. Even as an old-timer I'm still trawling through the search function to find this information, very often.
Not that I am condoning wizardry.
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Knowing how to play a mage competently and playing a mage that is incompetent are very much two different things. The first requires knowledge and skill, the latter requires class and role play.
Posts like this are excellent. This wasn't a "How to Role Play a wizard", this was a "How to not suck as a wizard" post. [DM Edit: Took out inflamitory comment. Frank != Rude.]
Knowing what your group needs and how to fill in the hole that comes with an incomplete party is key in any party dynamic. -
@SpiffyHas:
Knowing how to play a mage competently and playing a mage that is incompetent are very much two different things. The first requires knowledge and skill, the latter requires class and role play.
Posts like this are excellent. This wasn't a "How to Role Play a wizard", this was a "How to not suck as a wizard" post. [DM Edit: Took out inflamitory comment. Frank != Rude.]
Knowing what your group needs and how to fill in the hole that comes with an incomplete party is key in any party dynamic.Very true, however, from the viewpoint of another character their may be little difference between a wizard played as a selfish, selfserving,selfprotecting, scared cross-bow shooter due to choice…. and one played that way due to lack of player knowledge. Either way, of course, the likely consequence "We don't want to bring you, as you haven't been useful in the past" can be handled IC. That however, is so rarely said IC.
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I think it would be fitting if an admin moved the meta-discussion (whether this thread is cool or not) to a different thread. There is some handy information here and I'd personally love to see more. If I knew how to play a wizard effectively, I know I'd enjoy my MT character more.
If you think this thread is bad though, don't read it. Simple. -
I had my own sort of mage not listed there
The Control Mage or what I called "The Shut Down Mage"
Rock those Illusions and Enchantments.
He was so stupidly awesome he could make the hardest parts of quests easier than dirt. A few blind spells, a few hold person spells, color spray here or there, suddenly the boss and all his minions are stuck in one spot, blind, or killing there own men. Pretty silly. -
If you think this thread is bad though, don't read it. Simple.
Same goes for reading comments commenting about not liking the suggestion. It's not like making a thread is a land claim. The topic is being discussed.
If I feel like there is a mass movement toward (potentially) cheapening a class' depth to the collective conception the server has of it in favor of win buttons and formulae, I'll point it out. That said only some are advocating that.
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@H:
Same goes for reading comments commenting about not liking the suggestion.
Can't agree here. In a "wizard tips" thread it's reasonable to have those tips. Not off topic musings.
@H:If I feel like there is a mass movement toward (potentially) cheapening a class' depth to the collective conception the server has of it in favor of win buttons and formulae, I'll point it out.
OP gave only general guidelines which I personally find handy. What win buttons were ever mentioned?
It's a thread with very basic tips to help newbies survive, why bring rp vs. mechanics holywars here? -
@H:
It's not like making a thread is a land claim.
Direfish might be right about the actual thread, but the general term exists.
The land claim metaphor is awesome though. Thanks, H! :) -
@H:
It's not like making a thread is a land claim.
Direfish might be right about the actual thread, but the general term exists.
The land claim metaphor is awesome though. Thanks, H! :)Have to agree, its a great metaphor. On that topic (or is it offtopic?) whoever suggested moving the meta-discussion to somewhere else is on the right track. maybe a area in player resources that is a Survival-In-Coa-Pointers ?
Saw it happen very graphically that Pointers could be useful as yesterday someone who had not played in a many months came back, and was utterly shocked when the skellie warriors ignored my character in front and zoomed to the back obliterating his lowAC archer.
Fugued before he saw what engaged him. (of course, the axe-crit didn't help)(and dammit, forgot to take screenshots of the kills, that was several hundred of Marliirs gold I forgot about)
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While I understand the thought, Alice. I am sure that encouraging mechanical based builds is not what we are looking for.
To be honest, the best way to stay alive is to have friends. With any class
You probably not gone be suprise if i said am not realy..agree with that….even am not totaly desagree..
I dont think it a good idea to have a post on the public forum about what player shoud do when he creat is character if he want to survive.. it will be to aesy... peoples will juste gone go here and read and reproduce this in game...
and True .. the forum dosent have to encourage peoples to know how to build a character for he survive... cause the server do it IG aneways... and there some peoples.. as me.. who even, they always creat character whit who they will get fun to Rp and find the god i will have fun to rp being is follower..who gone bring me the kind of rp i want ...Well even that i still have fun to play at Arabel becose it hard to survive.. and where it not evrybody who can reach high level... so no i dont want the forum start to tell to evrybody how to creat them character.. i prefer they discover by them self or they get help if they join a faction ...
exemple : a warrior faction can aesely RP they teach specific feats or skill to them members as a strategie..etc..
As long peoples stay IC and RP the character they creat.. for me it good.
I realise there a lot of good RP player who give up with them characters becose they have no idea how to to build a character and that sad too when you lost good characters friends with who your character starte to have a link becose he give up after constently die...
And i find realy funny to read certains peoples talkin about none encouraging peoples to take care of the mechanic and the build.. when they creat sub race player can play if they make request and ask about .. whit +4 in str / +2 in dext / +2 int / +2 wis whit invisibility abillity and mutliple other stuff i do not remember cause the liste is to long.. and this whitout any malus... I realy not know why there willbe so unbalance sub race ..if we think the players who will play thos kind of subrace are great RP players.. I dont know why they need a so powerfull build for get fun to rp a character on CoA... but that juste my opinion...i hope i can share it whitout disturbing peoples to much..
Thank you
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a few different ways for a mage to survive. i treat dex as a stat dump and focus on DR spells. max int and pump con, everything else is rp dressing. not sure you can really enjoy mage concept rp wise or otherwise if goblins keep killing you. pvp direct damage spells seem very effective, most disabling spells can be handily countered with potions. pvm disabling spells work better than damage as you will run out of spells to often and become dead weight.
deal with charging goons with colour spray/invis/visage (stoneskins)/ darkness whatever will work best against whatever is charging you. careful not to disable team mates.
so you got no spells left and cant rest. to ensure survival you need wands, to ensure continued usefulness you need more wands. being an effective mage is generally far more expensive than being an effective fighter.
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Must you stick to pure wizard? Wizard/cleric is far more survivable when your using seer type items.
That said, pure wizard? You want 2x Invisibility, 1x extended invis, 2 exp-retreats and -maybe- a ghostly visage. Or a darkness spell. Or both!
After that, pick your spells based on your character's flavor. Your a wizard, your not self sacrificial. Your spells are your plate and tower shield. You protect yourself to a relevant level, then begin to handle the situation. If your not the prime target, then invis and get to work dealing with the threats. If you are, then have consumables on hand to buy time to escape. A potion of blur will protect you long enough to get a potion or spell of invis off.
Don't use a crossbow, unless you want to become the AI's new favorite chew toy.On the RP side of things
Your a Wizard. You spent months to years learning how to cast spells. You can reshape the material world at whim. Have a backbone (and an escape ready!) when that big, tough looking warrior talks down at you. Challenge him to a battle of wits. Or something your good at. The guy spent a few weeks swinging a pointy piece of metal. You can set things on fire. Or freeze them. Both at the same time, in time. Don't let others tell you what to do, take advice, sure, but at the end of the day, your the one making the laws of the world sit down and shut up when your casting.
A wizard's most powerful weapon is his own mind. -
Wizards are only really squishy at the lower levels. A high level wizard that spends a few spells to keep himself alive is VERY tough to kill and the most lethal adversary you'll find.
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imp invis alone with its 50% long term concealment is enough to see you most quests and pvp. Toss in con boots, toughness and endurance and you will have hp on par with clerics and multi class hd 10 classes.
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@Alice:
It easy enough to get a so so ac. Half decent dex, mage armour and a shield spell will do early on.
How do you do this without either
A) sacrificing all your spell slots to this, meaning you're alive but utterly useless to the party because all your spells are already used
or
B) having to drink two potions totaling just about 100GP for every encounter in a quest with ~7 encounters that pays 250 GP?@Alonsis2:
That said, pure wizard? You want 2x Invisibility, 1x extended invis, 2 exp-retreats and -maybe- a ghostly visage. Or a darkness spell. Or both!
This illustrates my problem.
This leaves me with 3 1st-level spells and 1 2nd-level spell.
If I cast one Bull's Strength and one Magic Weapon, maybe a Protection from Evil and an Endure Elements, that's it. That's effectively all I've done for the duration of that quest: +2 on attack and damage and a few healing potions' worth of damage mitigated to one frontliner. While convenient, this is not something said frontliner is liable to even notice as a meaningful change to their performance. -
It's 4 total spells to double your survivability, it hardly gimps you.
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It's 4 total spells to double your survivability, it hardly gimps you.
It's 5 at the very least and it's more than half my spells.