[X] My Assistant

There is absolutely no way you can have enough mana to attack with magic every single turn if you are using AOEs. Tenb said he wanted it to be possible with single target spells, but I haven't tried it out to see if he accomplished it. The point is, you are going to need to hit enemies occasionally.

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I am greatful for the replies. But as you have pointed out, yes I use a lot of mana. I spend most of my time waiting for mana regeneration, I generally burn out of mana at most, at the tenth round of grindfest or if not, the fifth round of grindfest.

I do not whine about the mana burn it costs me, I find it rather fun to throw spells. Patience for waiting mana regen is not too bad. Although my latest pet peeve is that I am finding even sometimes A New Beginning is too hard to fight. Because at the last round with the mini boss, the mini boss and minions seem to have really good habit of resisting everything when it is their turn up. Then I have trouble keeping up to kill them off in the long run.

PS: boggy, to your curiousity, even if you use single target spells, it is not worth the tradeoff, I can tell you this right now. I am unsure of higher levels. But every AOE (lightning, fire, water) spell costs me 2 points in mana, I can say I have over 70 in the mana bar. However single target spells costs 1 point of mana. I only rely on single target spells when I fry everything except for 1 monster left. Or else generally AOE is a better tradeoff than single shots.

PPS: for coredump's help, I switched to a Focus staff I already had on hand. It shot my mhit accuracy to 54%. Then I went ahead to do a Test of Faith. End result? A LITTLE less resist, but definately not enough. But considering my original mhit was already 30%, an extra 24% wouldn't have made a major deal out of it.

This post has been edited by hybras: Jan 26 2010, 20:05

Although my latest pet peeve is that I am finding even sometimes A New Beginning is too hard to fight. Because at the last round with the mini boss, the mini boss and minions seem to have really good habit of resisting everything when it is their turn up. Then I have trouble keeping up to kill them off in the long run.

You are annoyed, that you are unable to be successful using a strategy that pretty much everyone would agree is not viable. RIIIIIGHT. (Well, I can get through every pre-boss arena without using MP items simply by alternating Purge and Pestilence, but that does not count)

I am greatful for the replies. But as you have pointed out, yes I use a lot of mana. I spend most of my time waiting for mana regeneration, I generally burn out of mana at most, at the tenth round of grindfest or if not, the fifth round of grindfest.

Well, as we told you before, it's harder to be a mage at low levels. For one thing, you only have access to so many spells, and you probably won't have enough MP or accuracy to be that effective. Plus, your spells will consume even more MP as you level up, so having MP tanks maxed out will be a must.

In short, pretty much everything becomes more manageable at higher levels, you just have more options. You may be better off just switching to melee style for the time being.

You are annoyed, that you are unable to be successful using a strategy that pretty much everyone would agree is not viable. RIIIIIGHT. (Well, I can get through every pre-boss arena without using MP items simply by alternating Purge and Pestilence, but that does not count)

I simply asked for a solution to stick to being a pure mage, so in short. Everyone agrees that it is a dumb idea to be a mage at my current level, and I should just give up and fall back to melee? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

PS; Thank you to dap00, I happened to be writing the reply to boggy when you said your piece. I get the clear picture now...

Thank you for everyone who have helped me so far, I will continue to see how it goes.

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Sorry if I angered anyone, expecially boggy, he seemed to be a little peeved at the second time telling me to give up being a mage at my level.

This post has been edited by hybras: Jan 26 2010, 20:13

There is absolutely no way you can have enough mana to attack with magic every single turn.

That's exactly what I'm getting at. Even a "pure" mage has to use his melee attack sometimes, because it's simply not mana efficient to do otherwise. That's why I've found that unbalancing your stats tends not to be an effective strategy.

Because stats get more and more expensive as they get higher, you end up sacrificing more than you gain when one stat is far above the rest. With your stat balance, you have 13 extra INT, but you've sacrificed more than 20 of both STR and DEX, as well as several points of WIS and END. That's just not worth it. Don't forget that STR is almost as powerful as END at increasing your Shield Rating, which is the main stat that determines how much damage you take from enemy attacks.

Anyway, as a direct answer to your question, I would not suggest using daggers over a Staff, at least until you balance your stats more. There's a big tradeoff between using a Staff and DWing: a staff provides a huge buff to your offensive magic, while DWing gives you more defense and the ability to fall back on melee attacks when you need to conserve mana. Switching to daggers while having garbage melee stats would give you the defensive advantage, but it would take away so much offensive power as to not be worth it.

Don't forget the old saying, "The best defense is a good offense." The faster you kill monsters, the less damage they can deal to you before dying.

Pre-emptive edit: I see that I write way too slowly, and you guys have already had a lot of conversation without me. My best suggestion would in fact be switching to melee, but with your current stats, that may simply not be viable. With such low STR and DEX, you'll deal almost no damage. So, I'd suggest that you stick with mage for now, and completely stop buying INT and WIS for the time being. Get your STR and DEX up to a reasonable level, and then start meleeing.

I simply asked for a solution to stick to being a pure mage.

Your definition of being a pure mage is absurd. Always being able to use your most powerful attacks. I can kill pretty much every enemy a round in a non-boss arena is 2 turns using AOEs. You know how absurdly unfair it would be for me able to do that indefinitely? No one would ever play melee if that was the case.
The point is that it is not impossible to be a mage. You just have to realize that sometimes you will have to use your physical attacks, if only to save mana to use it on enemies who matter.

Well, as we told you before, it's harder to be a mage at low levels. For one thing, you only have access to so many spells, and you probably won't have enough MP or accuracy to be that effective. Plus, your spells will consume even more MP as you level up, so having MP tanks maxed out will be a must.

In short, pretty much everything becomes more manageable at higher levels, you just have more options. You may be better off just switching to melee style for the time being.

Your definition of being a pure mage is absurd. Always being able to use your most powerful attacks. I can kill pretty much every enemy a round in a non-boss arena is 2 turns using AOEs. You know how absurdly unfair it would be for me able to do that indefinitely? No one would ever play melee if that was the case.
The point is that it is not impossible to be a mage. You just have to realize that sometimes you will have to use your physical attacks, if only to save mana to use it on enemies who matter.

Boggy, no need to chew my head off. I did not mean to piss anyone off. I am just a little misguided. Do care that I am asking for help...

I just simply want to clear the first seven arenas without getting killed at the miniboss. Plus I already mentioned, and aware of that I cannot blast everything for more than 10 rounds anyways, but that was not my piont of complaint. Please don't take it personally. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I just simply want to clear the first seven arenas without getting killed at the miniboss.

Well, just to prove my point, I cleared the first seven Arenas with a shortsword and shield long before I could do it as a mage. But I've always kept my stats pretty even, so I don't expect that you'd have the same experience I did.

About the only thing I can suggest is to level up aggressively, so you can even up your stats faster and gain lots of proficiency. Item World could help with both, if you do it enough. Investing in an Aura or two could also help, in terms of a little extra HP and an EXP boost.

And to touch on what Boggy said, part of the reason that the mage route is so hard to set up early on is because they can be very powerful with the right build. If everyone could do it right away, the game would be far too easy. But the more time you put into growing, the easier such things will eventually become. There was a time when I thought I'd never be able to beat Endgame with any setup, simply because it's 20 rounds long. Now I do it every day.

So, this time only, I'm willing to give you one weapon, no charge. You can pick pretty much any type except a club, since I don't keep those long. Just PM me later with what kind you think you'd want, and around what level you'd want it. Based on what I've read here, it should either be a staff to get you grounded in magic, a rapier to help with melee, or a Battlecaster dagger to help with both (I only have two or so, so obviously you'd get the less useful one). And trust me, there are not a whole lot of people just handing out weapons, so don't get used to it. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

dap00 is a really nice, helpful person. he has given me a few weapons and some pointers on DWing and boss encounters. i havent lost to a boss since...

hybras, i started off spamming elemental magic too and had similar problems but i can tell you the same thing will still happen with melee from time to time. i still have monsters who evade my attacks 4+ turns in a row but if you want a dagger with decent parry to experiment with DWing you can have this one free of charge if you want
[Average Iron Dagger of the Nimble]

How can I set my items to auto use on battle inventory? I press "auto all", but didn't work when I need hp/mp.

How can I set my items to auto use on battle inventory? I press "auto all", but didn't work when I need hp/mp.

You have to use them manually - the 'Auto' feature only means that if you use one that's set to Auto, it will reload from your inventory at the end of the Arena/Grindfest/IW.

Hi, can someone whose level is higher(160 and up) than mine(120) post a screen-shot of his ability tree and tell me on which levels you get the new abilities (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Hi, can someone whose level is higher(160 and up) than mine(120) post a screen-shot of his ability tree and tell me on which levels you get the new abilities (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

See: wiki.

Oh, thx, I wasn't aware of the existence of EHWiki (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Hi, can someone whose level is higher(160 and up) than mine(120) post a screen-shot of his ability tree and tell me on which levels you get the new abilities (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

You are rolling your eyes while asking people to do a favor for you. Are you an idiot?

You are rolling your eyes while asking people to do a favor for you. Are you an idiot?

I even have a medical certificate to prove it.

This post has been edited by DMG: Jan 27 2010, 20:43

Oh, thx, I wasn't aware of the existence of EHWiki (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Well, it's probably a credit to you that you made it so far in the game without knowing that, but it also makes me feel like there should be some advertising or something now, considering how much work went into the Wiki. Of course, the advertising itself would be work, too... Maybe someone who posts a lot could add a link to their sig with a catchphrase. Or I could, it just wouldn't be seen as much.

it also makes me feel like there should be some advertising or something now, considering how much work went into the Wiki.

What I want to happen is the following:
1) Split the Wiki in two. One be for HV stuff, and the other for everything else.
2) Name one the HV Wiki and put it below the HV link on the main page.

That would likely solve a lot of the publicity issue, especially because that info is useful more for lurkers than people active on the boards.

Now it's my turn to ask some advices (or help) from the experts:
I'm a melee user, but not a full plate tanker, and I retaining the holy spell just to increasing divine proficiency (I have to think about the future legendaries I'm gonna engage (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ) , but I'm not interest in using offensive magic, at least for a long time.

1-
What should I do with the spare AP?
Should I wait for the next tile or put some in SV/sleep now?(I'm won't be training AP for some time)
(IMG:[i46.tinypic.com] http://i46.tinypic.com/5nnbm0.jpg)
2-
About the Primary Attributes:
I'm increasing INT till 75, it's a bad decision?
Should increasing WIS even more?
Focus on increasing other attribute, perhaps?
(IMG:[i46.tinypic.com] http://i46.tinypic.com/20rvb52.jpg)
3-
About the equipment:
What should improve/focus, or I'm making some mistake here?
2W: Attack Damage vs Parry
(IMG:[i46.tinypic.com] http://i46.tinypic.com/3466ibs.jpg)
(IMG:[i49.tinypic.com] http://i49.tinypic.com/5oijyr.jpg)
1H:
(IMG:[i48.tinypic.com] http://i48.tinypic.com/rh4z9f.jpg)
2H:I'm doing just for fun in IW, I don't use on the other (Arena, RoB, Grindfest)
(IMG:[i49.tinypic.com] http://i49.tinypic.com/2w5ktiu.jpg)

I can provide other informations (I mean more detailed), if is still not enough (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/happy.gif)

1-
What should I do with the spare AP?
Should I wait for the next tile or put some in SV/sleep now?(I'm won't be training AP for some time)

SV is good to have. You can also start thinking about increasing SP-OC.

2-
About the Primary Attributes:
I'm increasing INT till 75, it's a bad decision?
Should increasing WIS even more?
Focus on increasing other attribute, perhaps?

You'll like more WIS, but INT is good too. You should also consider putting more into AGI since your equip is tuned to evade and it'll improve your DW.

3-
About the equipment:
What should improve/focus, or I'm making some mistake here?

In your DW setup, you can slip in a heavy if you want more defense and/or STR/END bonuses,