Best Mage Spc.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:04 pm

Hey I'm getting back into DAO and I'm gonna play a new mage and I was wondering what is the best mage specialization. I recall trying blood mage and I died before the first enemy downed and I was just letting off arcane bolt mostly and firestorm once can I get some help,Tips would be helpful

Moot · Post by **Moot** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:26 pm

Well, fire is really great for damage. I'd invest in that.

But, personally, I really love being an Arcane Warrior in DA:O.
If that interests you, I recommend checking out [url="http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/66/index/904426/1"]this AW guide[/url].

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 4:07 pm

Hey man thanks
you reminded me I always wanted to try Arcane warrior.
I appreciate it

Faust · Post by **Faust** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 5:15 pm

The AW is incredibly powerful. Though - I've got to admit - the class bored me to tears. I basically felt like I was relying solely on auto attack.

LastDanceSaloon · Post by **LastDanceSaloon** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 5:22 pm

Neither Blood Mage nor Arcane Warrior appealed to me. Mainly because they appear quite late in the game, but also because their talents just seem a bit naff without lots of combos.

I went for just a regular mage for most of the game then took faith healer when it arrived because I'm most used to playing clerics.

In terms of specialisation I made myself a pure Entropic mage. Mainly to find out if you get a bonus for doing so. You don't, you just get a crappy achievement for collecting them all.

Having said that, the entropic section is an absolute ball! Don't listen the nay-sayers, I was paralysing even the toughest demons and revenants, then hex them for automatic criticals, then, when the paralysis wore off, hex them for automatic misses. As for the supporting goons, the mass paralysis and confusion spells were normally plenty.

Ohhhh, how the mighty fell!

For the entropic tree to work properly though I think you really have to pump the magic skill constantly and with very little variation to make sure you can effect the big bad guys as I have seen a lot of posts were people complain the entropic tree is just a collection of fail spells. For most of my game it was pretty much an assured success.

The undead tree in entropy was a bit naff, I'd probably go for a more fun one from another specialisation if I did another run-through.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:04 pm

Well Personally I relied on Wynne solely for healing and what do you know I took the archdemon and had him go crying back to his momma because if you screw around with her tactics for a while you can get it to where her mana is solely for healing and she could keep everyone alive and crowd control at the same time.

Oh and thanks for the advice but I was going for DPS&Crowd control/plain dps mage advice. I seriously appreciate people helping me out though.

And anybody know which race is best for DPS mage? I had an elf but he died too much couldn't take a good crit

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 6:50 am

I think your best bet with a mage - not that I've played one in this game! - is just to have her attack Tactics on Ranged, and to keep her healing the Tanks, also on Ranged. I have Wynne set up that way and she is not often attacked. When she is, I scoot my Rogue over there to protect her. So it doesn't really matter if you have an elf or a human. You need to compare abilities...:

Elf:
Str - 10
dex - 10
will - 16
magic - 17
cunn - 11
cons - 10

Human:
str - 11
dex - 11
will - 14
magic - 16
cun - 12
con 10
... and choose which fits best with your concept. Whichever you choose, as with any class, build up your Constitution and Will for a char who will survive longer!

As with my Rogue - I could have had any race, but I chose Dwarf because she can also tank better than either of the others. Elves are not good to do even off-tanking, and Rogue humans are not much better, imo.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:20 pm

Hmmmm....Well I had an elven rogue and he was a fair off-tank but I basically built him for it:laugh:

When I make my new mage I'll prolly play a human because it's more balanced than the elf.

dcinroc · Post by **dcinroc** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:46 pm

Personally, I prefer Spirit Healer and Blood Mage. they both give a boost to spellpower or magic (+2 each), even if you don't use the spells (which I don't, other than group heal).

Arcane Warriors can be powerful, but I prefer to blast rather than bash.

Shapeshifter is a waste.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:57 pm

Blood Mages kinda suck in my opinion tho.

SH aren't that good except for revive and the generic heal is all you need really that's what health poultices are for and I found them to suck because they can't fight solo worth crap.

SS are crappy.

Well I'm basically gonna restart a mage because I'm playing a SS + SH combo and he SUCKSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

And everybody thanks for the advice and I'd be happy if more members would keep contributing to this topic!

GoldDragon · Post by **GoldDragon** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:10 pm

Hmmm... I fought a battle solo as a Spirit Healer, and won. It takes time and patience.

Spoiler

I defeated the Arishok in a Death Duel by using the Upgraded Glyph of Paralysis and a fire-based staff.

Spoiler above.

dcinroc · Post by **dcinroc** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 4:57 pm

Lord++Revan wrote:Blood Mages kinda suck in my opinion tho.

SH aren't that good except for revive and the generic heal is all you need really that's what health poultices are for and I found them to suck because they can't fight solo worth crap.

Well, personally I don't think any of the mage specs are very good (unless you opt for an Arcane Warrior build).

That's why I choose SH and BM for the stat bonuses. I'll put a point in to buy Group Heal, but leave the rest to Wynne. I don't put any points into Blood Magic talents.

The main strength of a mage is in their regular spell trees. Good spell selection and a high spellpower make for a very dangerous mage regardless of what specs you choose. Make sure to buy all the stat and spell tomes.

Winter's Grasp is a must. Paralyze and Mass Paralysis can make many otherwise tough battles a piece of cake. Stonefist is great for targeting enemy spellcasters or knocking back enemies that try to engage your mage. The big area of effect spells are effective, but limited, since you are often fighting at close quarters (so it's a good idea to scout ahead with your rogue when possible).

It really depends on what kind of caster you want to be. Figure that by the end of the game you'll have 25 or so spells and plan accordingly.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Wed Jun 08, 2011 7:55 pm

Lord++Revan wrote:Blood Mages kinda suck in my opinion tho.

SH aren't that good except for revive and the generic heal is all you need really that's what health poultices are for and I found them to suck because they can't fight solo worth crap.

Combine blood mage with SH and the blood power from the keep DLC. Take restoration spells as well as spells like bloom, spell power etc. and defensive spells - you will draw tons of aggro after all.
Have a regeneration on yourself prior to casting Blood Magic and you'll be healed normaly.. or if you wish to avoid cheese.. manage mass rejuv, bloom, spell might, wisp and blood magic + blood power wisely, with healing, healing and even more healing on yourself.

If you have two mages for some reason you can cross rejuv, it's not needed though.

With a bit of practice (and spellpower) you'll activate blood magic only to cast blood wound (not using this spell? Are you insane!?) and will never have to use mana potions.

Early in the game invest in defense items, late in the game you'll want more hp and protective spells.
Don't go for directly damaging spells, go for disabling ones (freezing, stunning, scaring etc) like Winter Grasp, Cone of Cold, Mind Blast and DoT damage - insects, blood wound, acid bomb.

Alternatively you could go all-CC, double-glyph spell combo as well as double-globe spell combo are both amazing.

Still, each "tree" can be viable, depending on your play style, party, preparation and skill? No, not skill, understanding how mechanics work and long-term-planning both in char management and combat.

There was only one boss in game which i had serious problems with as a solo BM / SH, and it was the fight where you are "supposed to" lose (she drops a sword) and i found golems of argm..blablabla.. the DLC to be a pain, but doable (third class though, battlemage)

Ofcourse Arcane Warriors melt everything in their way with billion defense and two billion armor, but i say "nay" to these classes.

Two things though
- It;s best to unlock all classes prior to the play, as you need the blood mage & co early.
- Get the "free respec" mod, and just test which spells and classes suit you.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:59 pm

I don't have any DLC. And I'm on a PS3 so I can't get the respec Mod.

Mainly I did blood mage for blood control and it was VERY dissapointing. It didn't seem to work for me.

And I went thro enropy tree (as suggested) and paralyze never works and I put a bunch of points magic still didn't work. The only skill I found useful was drain life.

dcinroc · Post by **dcinroc** » Tue Jun 14, 2011 2:33 am

Lord++Revan wrote:And I went thro enropy tree (as suggested) and paralyze never works and I put a bunch of points magic still didn't work. The only skill I found useful was drain life.

That's odd. Bosses and some elites resist paralysis, but I never have trouble with normals. I literally put all my points into Will and Magic though with about 2 to 3 ratio and pile on any equipment that'll buff those stats (again favoring magic/spellpwer)...defense be damned!

I've even paralyzed the Ogre in Tower of Ishal and those in the Denerim end-game. I'm on PC, but I assume the creature/spell stats are the same as PS3. I don't have any mods that affect those variables. Of course, it IS somewhat random as well and I have had a few runs of failure...but it has worked well over the long haul.

BTW, Drain Life is one of my must-take spells. Damage you - heal me! Take that! For some reason, I find it a very satisfying "kill" spell, too.

Lord++Revan · Post by **Lord++Revan** » Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:16 pm

Well I do have to say I split off for a while for Cunning and Constitution for persuasion and health but still........

Although I heavily agree hurt you-heal me is the best thing ever invented in combat RPG's