[X] My Assistant

is that something worth considering or is it negligible?

Negligible.

i was under the impression that IA constantly drains my mana in order to maintain the spell.
i never tried but if someone could explain exactly how it works that would be nice.

also i noticed that the auras give a hefty power boost.
is that something worth considering or is it negligible?

thanks for the answers so far

IA drains mana constantly, but the price per turn, compared to casting it yourself, is slightly, slightly lower.
So if you have a buff that costs 10 mana and lasts 10 turns, IA would give you and upkeep of 1 mana/turn (or slightly lower, like 0.97 mana/turn or something) which means that IA lvl 1 gives almost the same cost for upkeep a spell, as if you had casted it yourself every time it ran out.

So for lvl 1 IA, you save the turns that you'd normally need to cast the spell, but mana costs are the same.
At lvl 2 IA, you start saving mana.

IA 1 is shit... It's as simple as that.

However, I wonder how much mana you would save from using IA2 and 2 spells... (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

It will helps save mana, no doubt about that. But for lv. 170+ melee at least, casting a support spell means more chance for free Heartseeker and more importantly, Regen2 ... Because of this, I wonder if IA2 is really worth it or not..? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

IA drains mana constantly, but the price per turn, compared to casting it yourself, is slightly, slightly lower.
So if you have a buff that costs 10 mana and lasts 10 turns, IA would give you and upkeep of 1 mana/turn (or slightly lower, like 0.97 mana/turn or something) which means that IA lvl 1 gives almost the same cost for upkeep a spell, as if you had casted it yourself every time it ran out.

So for lvl 1 IA, you save the turns that you'd normally need to cast the spell, but mana costs are the same.
At lvl 2 IA, you start saving mana.

thanks. so what your saying is that IA will never "waste" my mana correct?
if thats the case i think i will get them once i obtain some more hath.
i get the majority of my credits from arena clears so the longer my mana lasts the more of them i can reasonably finish.
just one last thing. i would definitely use shield for the first slot but what would anyone recommend for the second slot?
i would put regen but if i have full health at any point it would feel like a waste

IA 1 is shit... It's as simple as that.

However, I wonder how much mana you would save from using IA2 and 2 spells... (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

It will helps save mana, no doubt about that. But for lv. 170+ melee at least, casting a support spell means more chance for free Heartseeker and more importantly, Regen2 ... Because of this, I wonder if IA2 is really worth it or not..? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

That is exactly the dilemma I'm having (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) although it seems I'm still casting Cure like crazy on Nightmare with just Haste + Regen, so I guess it wouldn't be an issue in the long run. I'm still not using all my item slots anyway, around 8-10 max.

what would anyone recommend for the second slot?

Haste, period. Later you'll only use Haste+SpiritShield.

Haste + Regen

You mean Regen II, right? (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

If your goal is to save mana and you have hath, then yes, I think its worth it. Although its not necessary IMO and you can play fine without it. That's how I played so far...

This post has been edited by buktore: Sep 16 2011, 16:59

I'd only cast Regen II if I had Channeling, otherwise I'd rather save mana with Regen.

I would rather cast Regen2 if casting Regen1 means you have to cast cure a lot. And you have a pretty good chance getting channeling when casting Regen2 ... Which then can be use to cast Heartseeker once you reached 170, or even casting another Regen2 to get more turn. This depends on the situation though...

Just my 2 cent. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Regen II and Regen have a small 60 HP regen difference, which isn't nearly enough to overcome the damage I take in the 60+ rounds with 6+ giants/machines. Before that, Regen or Regen II work fine, as I can stun the entire mob before they can land a lot of hits on me.

Either way, I'll be needing to cast Cure a lot anyway.

Oh, so you use mace? I thought you're using 1H... (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/heh.gif)

Have 5 points ready for lv.170 ... Heartseeker helps a lot.

If I was using 1H, I'm not even sure I would even be able to get past the magic mobs.

And yeah, I'm looking foward to Heartseeker, 25.4% crit rate isn't cutting it. Neither is my 89% hit rate, apparently.

I should write a detailed IA description for wiki in the next few days.

@buktore: Question is, you would like to wait for some inconsistent free spells, or you would like to consistently save mana through IA so you can cast them?
I would say that's a personal choice.

@ varst

My question is that if its benefits really worth the hath spent or not? I would say that's depend on personal wealth.

I'm dirt poor, so... (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)




PS. In fact, I still owe someone 900k ... with no foreseeable way for me to be able to pay any time soon. (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/blush.gif) (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/heh.gif)

This post has been edited by buktore: Sep 16 2011, 18:51

if you clear all your arenas every day for a month you can pay him/her back (IMG:[invalid] style_emoticons/default/happy.gif)

Can Magic Missle proc CM?

I'm trying to raise my magic proficiencies to increase the duration of things like Poison (and soon Heartseeker), but waiting for it to recover from regening takes too long, I'm too poor for things like Rainbow Aura, and I'm too cheap to use a crapload of Mana potions. So I'm opting to try out Ether Theft to recover MP. (Though I have 0 Staff prof, so I assume my chances of getting it would be very low anyways)

Can Magic Missle proc CM?

I'm trying to raise my magic proficiencies to increase the duration of things like Poison (and soon Heartseeker), but waiting for it to recover from regening takes too long, I'm too poor for things like Rainbow Aura, and I'm too cheap to use a crapload of Mana potions. So I'm opting to try out Ether Theft to recover MP. (Though I have 0 Staff prof, so I assume my chances of getting it would be very low anyways)

Yes, it can.

Can Magic Missle proc CM?

I'm trying to raise my magic proficiencies to increase the duration of things like Poison (and soon Heartseeker), but waiting for it to recover from regening takes too long, I'm too poor for things like Rainbow Aura, and I'm too cheap to use a crapload of Mana potions. So I'm opting to try out Ether Theft to recover MP. (Though I have 0 Staff prof, so I assume my chances of getting it would be very low anyways)

Yes, it can.
Just make sure you have a good ET stick (35%+ is decent, 40%+ is good, Redwood usually grants higher chances) if you want to go down the Ether Theft route.
Also, Heartseeker is kind of utterly useless to mages. Maybe you meant Arcane Focus?

As for the Mana potions, once you have a decent level of Scavenger they won't be a problem (you'll get way more than you can consume).

Yes, it can.
Just make sure you have a good ET stick (35%+ is decent, 40%+ is good, Redwood usually grants higher chances) if you want to go down the Ether Theft route.
Also, Heartseeker is kind of utterly useless to mages. Maybe you meant Arcane Focus?

As for the Mana potions, once you have a decent level of Scavenger they won't be a problem (you'll get way more than you can consume).

No, I use Melee, but since Ether Theft can get me MP (hopefully faster than the regen rate), I decided to give it a try. I'll be playing on Easy Crysfest so I don't really have to worry about getting killed.

Undead monsters seem a bit tricky to level up, what with having four of the seven ER's maxed out already.