[X] My Assistant

BTW— the stat that's misleadingly named 'EDB' (Elemental Damage Bonuses) was rename to the more proper 'Spell Damage' now.

But I guess 'SD' just seem... too weird for stat, and 'SDB' doesn't rhyme well compared the the old 'EDB' so nobody switch. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/heh.gif)

just wondering, how much does critical hit add to the damage?

if a weapon has 100 or 200 damages lower, but twice the critical chance than another weapon, which weapon will be the better choice?

Approximately,
Damage per hit = Base damage*(1+Critical chance*Critical bonus)
by default, crit bonus is 50% (remember to add heartseeker bonus), so say you are comparing:
dmg crit DPH
2000 15% 2150 (2000*(1+.15*.5))
1900 20% 2090 (1900*(1+.2*.5))

Note that this is generally only useful in considering many attack situations, or when your crit chance is very high, otherwise you will get high variance which is sometimes undesired.

This post has been edited by m118w11: Nov 24 2013, 15:17

My deprecating proficiency is at 0.20. What's the best way to level it to 50 for silence? Is it worth it for light melee to use silence? I usually use SoL on hard REs and bosses.

I'm thinking I can use a staff of focus and build a decent cloth set to keep casting in crude IW to save stamina - thoughts? My supportive proficiency is at like 60 whereas I'm above level 150.

Invest in Faster Weaken so you can chain cast it for depreciating prof. I use silence for IWTBTH RoB on FSM and TT&T, but not much beyond that. Still, very useful for not getting OHKO if you do those RoBs.

Can't advice on the latter though, my IA keeps my supportive up, and i don't know anything about mage gear.

I have a question: It's said that there is no mitigation to Void damage, does Physical mitigation of monsters works on Ethereal weapons?

I have a question: It's said that there is no mitigation to Void damage, does Physical mitigation of monsters works on Ethereal weapons?

Yes

I looked around and all I found were old topics so if I missed something, please direct me to the right post/topic. I also read the Advice page in the Wiki.

Here's what I want to know, just the standard "I WANNABE MAGE!!! THUNDER STOOOOOOOORM!!!" questions

- I need better equipment (all I have is gossamer/cotton, all superior and one exquisite) and I don't know the best way to acquire it, nor what defines as "best fit for a Mage" in the first place (as in which suffix is best).

- All I bring to battle are mana pots. That's ok right? (I go hard/nightmare difficulty to the Item world, I can't manage more than that).

- I use Storm Spike Shield to to make monsters miss and then attack with thunder. What do you think?

- What do you suggest is an effective cost/damage spell, the elemental ones (51 prof) or divine(1.88)/forbidden(13.75) ones? do I need spells that require higher deprecating proficiency(confuse/imperil/blind/silence/magnet)?

- When will I get Down Burst? I have 51 Elemental Proficiency.

- And finally, is spirit beneficial to a Mage? Needing to load up Overcharge is sometimes a hassle and others (when you need it most) dangerous.

And then become the "MWAHAHAHAHAHA, NONE SHALL STAND IN MY WAY!"

- I need better equipment (all I have is gossamer/cotton, all superior and one exquisite) and I don't know the best way to acquire it, nor what defines as "best fit for a Mage" in the first place (as in which suffix is best).

get full set of phase with the same element suffixes. Even crude phase work better than cotton.

- All I bring to battle are mana pots. That's ok right? (I go hard/nightmare difficulty to the Item world, I can't manage more than that).

At your level, mana pots are sufficient. You may need some sp pot at higher level for SS/SoL.

- I use Storm Spike Shield to to make monsters miss and then attack with thunder. What do you think?

ok

- What do you suggest is an effective cost/damage spell, the elemental ones (51 prof) or divine(1.88)/forbidden(13.75) ones?

Elemental spells have better damage/cost ratio in the current patch.

do I need spells that require higher deprecating proficiency(confuse/imperil/blind/silence/magnet)?

Imperil is a must spell for high level mage.

- When will I get Down Burst? I have 51 Elemental Proficiency.

no idea

- And finally, is spirit beneficial to a Mage? Needing to load up Overcharge is sometimes a hassle and others (when you need it most) dangerous.

Consider that is a bonus. You may not want to purposely melee attack for OC, but you may use melee for the last hit.

This post has been edited by Colman: Nov 24 2013, 20:05

@Colman
Thank you, that helps a lot.

So, I'm gonna grind deprecating proficiency up to 30 or 40. Is it best to do it in Normal or Nintendo difficulty?

This post has been edited by JohnyXD: Nov 24 2013, 20:55

So these people that auction stuff for others, do they charge a fee?

So these people that auction stuff for others, do they charge a fee?

Ask the person that auctions the stuff. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

- And finally, is spirit beneficial to a Mage? Needing to load up Overcharge is sometimes a hassle and others (when you need it most) dangerous.

Breaking coalesced mana with your staff is a quite effective way to get ether tap and recover some of your mana back. Of course doing it repeatedly when facing 10 enemies on Pfudor without any debuffs might be not very efficient. But in right time its very good. Also consider side benefit of raising your staff proficiency - there is staff spell damage ability, so staff proficiency is a good thing. Another benefit, for successful hits you gain overcharge, which could be also turned into mana. At some point, with combination of reducing spells cost by coalesced, ether drain, ether tap and focusing, you wont even need mana pots in battle. For me mana pots only speed process a little, when i dont wont to spend turns by hitting enemies or focusing, but generally not necessary.
Spirit is not needed for mages at low difficulty imho, but at higher ones, mage with lowest mitigations is most vulnerable, and spirit shield + SoL help a lot.

@Wraithtouch
Thank you. I do use the staff for Coalesced Mana but it's difficult for me to hit (especially in higher difficulties). Should I spend some more points in dexterity? Or am I using a bad build for a mage?
(IMG:[s16.postimg.org] http://s16.postimg.org/wiwlj0ved/Stats.png)

This post has been edited by JohnyXD: Nov 24 2013, 21:35

Its probably okay (your dex stat). "Advice" page on wiki suggests to have around 100% chance to hit for melee builds, for mage it should be expected to have lesser dex.
I see many players around level 100 concerned about the stats and the build. Don't worry about it. Stats right now are not most important in your "power". Best benefits you gain happen only about once per 25 investment. Equips, levels, abilities and proficiences are more important, imo.
Right now you can get very high bonus in most important ones just from equipment PABS and raise stats anyway you see fit. At higher levels you will get more insight on what you want from your build. As the cost of increment grows, it wont be hard even to rebalance build completely at 200-250 level, cause the cost of your neglected stats would be incomparable to your highest stats.
edit: hitting enemies on highest difficulties can be hard even for melee builds with a lot invested in dex, due to parry/evade things. I had cases when I spent a lot of mana curing, while trying to hit that damn coalesced. But if you remember that each increase of staff proficiency gets you some more spell damage, it will always feel good to do some melee, even if you miss (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

This post has been edited by Wraithtouch: Nov 24 2013, 22:25

So these people that auction stuff for others, do they charge a fee?

10%, chazer's a bit more newb-friendly though :3

At what point should I be able to do exquisite IW to upgrade equipment? I use Eth Estoc/Mace w/Shade.

Well... EDB of elemental weapon is useful for melee who also want to use offensive spell (or battle mage, whatever it is called)
(IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/duck.gif)

At what point should I be able to do exquisite IW to upgrade equipment? I use Eth Estoc/Mace w/Shade.

You can do the exquisite IW once you have developed in pack rat & IA.
If you don't have them well trained, you may still do it.
Just remember keep doing it below BATTLETOADS or you will be exhausted.
It sure takes a melee(<200 level )more than 30 mins to finish it even on Nightmare.

Hoping for a little help with my character. Trying to play a melee beast, which things were working out great until recently. I go into battle with an inventory full of potions and can destroy anything around Nightmare/Hell difficulty. Problem is now with the later Arenas, I run out of potions before I can finish. I have seriously neglected magic with my build, me thinks, and could use some tips on what to do to survive longer without sacrificing much. Below are my stats, equipment, and my ability tree. Equipment I've had most of the game, can never find anything good in the shop to replace it except for that Power armor i bought.
Training wise, I have Adept learner almost to a hundred and max out Pack Rat every time I can.

(IMG:[i.imgur.com] http://i.imgur.com/7w4SHkw.jpg)
(IMG:[i.imgur.com] http://i.imgur.com/70abEek.jpg)
HP TANK: 6
MP TANK: 5
SP TANK: 4
BETTER HEALTH POTS:5
2H DAMAGE: 2
2H ACCURACY: 1
HEAVY CRUSH: 2
HEAVY PRCG: 2
HEAVY SLSH: 2
HEAVY HP: 3
BETTER REGEN: 3
BETTER CURE: 3
BETTER PROTECTION: 5

@Colman
Thank you, that helps a lot.

So, I'm gonna grind deprecating proficiency up to 30 or 40. Is it best to do it in Normal or Nintendo difficulty?

Better to do it in a Crude item Normal IW. Since you're just grinding, you want to be able to shoot off as much spells as you can without fear of taking too much damage, and Crude+Normal has the weaker monster. If you can afford the AP, putting points into Faster Weaken would allow you to cast with reduced CD (reduced waiting time) and faster speed (less monster hit per turn).

At what point should I be able to do exquisite IW to upgrade equipment? I use Eth Estoc/Mace w/Shade.

You should have little problems on Normal, or Hard. Just make sure to keep an eye on your HP. If it drops too low, it would be prudent to cast a heal even if you're on your last round with only a monster left. I've died to such scenarios many times, after grinding for nearly an hour.

Using the mace would be best since it can stun, as the Estoc's PA effect wouldn't help much on those difficulty levels. However, remember that you can't IW an equipped item, so if you're trying to level your mace, for example, you'll need to equip your estoc or something else.

Hoping for a little help with my character. Trying to play a melee beast, which things were working out great until recently. I go into battle with an inventory full of potions and can destroy anything around Nightmare/Hell difficulty. Problem is now with the later Arenas, I run out of potions before I can finish. I have seriously neglected magic with my build, me thinks, and could use some tips on what to do to survive longer without sacrificing much. Below are my stats, equipment, and my ability tree. Equipment I've had most of the game, can never find anything good in the shop to replace it except for that Power armor i bought.
Training wise, I have Adept learner almost to a hundred and max out Pack Rat every time I can.

Get Better Mana Pots. Mana is more useful than health pots unless you're really taking lots of damage every round.

Also, you'll want to bring your agi and wis up to ~10% of your level. Wisdom is important for your mana pool and mana regen. Agi helps your PMI. Won't be noticeable at your level, but useful later on.

For gear, you should be looking for plate gear 'of Protection' so you take less damage, as well as looking for Str and End on your gear. You should also either look into getting a mace or longsword; estoc's PA isn't all that helpful at lower levels/difficulty.

Edit: Str and Dex on melee weapons. They don't have End, sorry.

If you're having difficulty finding stuff, try Wolfgirl's free item shop.

Do you have Haste? It's a good spell to have.

I do commend you on venturing onto higher difficulties, I never bothered going beyond Nightmare at your level XD.

This post has been edited by Valkrey: Nov 25 2013, 04:48

Hoping for a little help with my character. Trying to play a melee beast, which things were working out great until recently. I go into battle with an inventory full of potions and can destroy anything around Nightmare/Hell difficulty. Problem is now with the later Arenas, I run out of potions before I can finish. I have seriously neglected magic with my build, me thinks, and could use some tips on what to do to survive longer without sacrificing much. Below are my stats, equipment, and my ability tree. Equipment I've had most of the game, can never find anything good in the shop to replace it except for that Power armor i bought.
Training wise, I have Adept learner almost to a hundred and max out Pack Rat every time I can.

First of all, your PMI (physical mitigation) is too low.
Just change all of your gears to sup/exq plate protection, not warding. Aim to 60~65% PMI.

Using Haste greatly increases your action speed, and it will enhance your defense and efficiency of other buffs for thier durations last longer.

Take more mana potion instead of health potion. When you get more level, you may rely on just Regen and a little Cure.

And finally, raise your level. Level solves almost problems in HV. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)