Not enough mana?

[subzero22]

I find myself sleeping a lot. and I mean a lot cause I only have 140 mana and that's with some enchanted items. I'm level 10 and here's my stats

Str 12
Dex 8
End 17
Speed 15
Int 30 (+6 with enchanted items)
Wis 17
Per 27
Con 10

At the very start I put a couple points on speed, 2 or 3 points to raise con to 10 and I used a couple on wis and end but 90% of the points i use are on per and int and I seem to run out of mana fast. Like when I sleep to raise my level 5-6 goblins will show up. I'll kill 3-4 of them and then the rest I have to use my sword on which I trained to 5 as it won't go any higher with the trainer.

Edit: reason I'm asking is that I need to go threw those raptor things I forget what there called. Using my strongest fireball spell I can only kill one at a time then need to run away/sleep before killing another.

[xolotl]

Playing a Mage is one of the harder classes in Book 1, IMO, largely because of the mana regeneration thing. In Book 1, you're capped at 1turn/MP aboveground, in the best-case scenario, and 3turn/MP underground, I believe.

The most important stat in terms of mana regeneration is actually Perception, so you're going to want to start pumping points into there whenever possible. You're probably good to go INTwise for the rest of the game; INT's primary use is in terms of how many spells you can memorize at the same time. If you want to give yourself some added boost to your mana regeneration, invest in some Meditation skill, though others on the board will say it's a waste of skill points (personally I tend to still put points into it when playing a Mage, just to max out the MP regeneration as quickly as possible).

Additionally there is one Axiom/Class/whatever which gives you a Mana regneration bonus (but doesn't provide it underground), which I pretty much always pick when playing a mage.

FWIW: 1) My first Book 1 playthrough was with a mage who had a very severe having-to-camp-out-all-the-time problem, largely because I didn't know about pumping points into Perception (also my character was spread way too thin skillwise). I ended up having a great time pulling him out of his pit of despair once I figured out how to level him up a little more efficiently, and finished the game with him.

Also: 2) Book II addresses the mana regeneration thing handily, with a max regeneration of either 5 or 6 MP per turn once you're maxed out. Many folks say that goes too far in the other direction, but personally I find it a welcome change. (IMO Book 2 makes the mage one of the easiest classes to play, contrary to Book 1's hardness.)

[Randomizer]

If you don't want to be woken up while recharging mana, then camp in short bursts or stay awake and move in a circle in a safe area so you don't run into more monsters while low on mana.

[subzero22]

ya I know about sleeping less than 4 hours to not be woken up. One of my problems is when I want them to come I end up sleeping almost 2 days before they come. Then when I don't want them to come when I do the short bursts sometimes I'll barely go over 4 hours and they come lol.

So would 2 per and 1 int be good then? I thought int raised how much mana you get per level which I want as much mana as possible. But if per also raises how much mana you get per level then I'd do that. What's a good time to stop raising int then?

I also just came across a funny bug. Most the time when I charm 2 goblins and I kill all the others. I will attack one of the goblins and makes both of them aggressive towards me. Well this time was kinda funny as one of the goblins started attacking itself and killed itself while I killed the one I initially attacked.

[SpottedShroom]

So would 2 per and 1 int be good then? I thought int raised how much mana you get per level which I want as much mana as possible. But if per also raises how much mana you get per level then I'd do that. What's a good time to stop raising int then?

Perception is the primary stat both for MP regeneration and max MP. Intelligence helps max MP, too, but less so. Once you're able to learn third tier spells, you don't need to increase intelligence any more.

Oh, and you mentioned needing to get through the raptors. If you haven't been to Blackwater yet, you can get there without going through Baron's Thicket. Look for other routes farther south.

Once you've been to Blackwater and know the Portal spell, there's an excellent (some might say game-breaking) way to avoid the problem of running out of MP.

[subzero22]

Ya I learned portal after killing all the raptors. I like that cabin area with the gate as I have a portal set there to store a lot of my stuff I want to keep. Mainly potion ingredients.

What's the best way to kill a Taurex. As my mage I finally found a way to kill all 6 goblins without running out of mana and doing 1-2 hits each. I would cast depending on night/day archer or not, air shield, predator eyes, nimbleness, both enchant weapon spells, leatherskin, bless, and I might be missing a spell but I was able to kill goblins like crazy. Not when I sleep to try to level up I get those taurex things and even at night they have a 76% chance of hitting me and do a ton of damage. Even when I use up all 199 mana points with lvl 6 fireball it only kills one of them. I guess leveling that way is over now lmao.

Oh and I finally found 2 rings and and amulet that raises my mana by 20 so that helps a lot. The only reason I used my sword/bow on the goblins with all those enchantments was that I paid for the training and also used a couple training books on each so there at skill 6.

I just might redo my mage and put tons of points in to per. As for int how high does it have to be to be able to read 3rd teir skills? I'm thinking 20 or 30 if I read that right somewhere but never bothered to remember as I was putting my points into int.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

I just might redo my mage and put tons of points in to per. As for int how high does it have to be to be able to read 3rd teir skills? I'm thinking 20 or 30 if I read that right somewhere but never bothered to remember as I was putting my points into int.

You can read all Elemental scrolls with an Int of 25, including whatever you get from equipment. In Book I, if I'm remembering correctly, there was no limitation to the number of spells you could learn (in Book II you can learn a max of 1/2 your Int in Elemental spells). For Divination substitute Wis for Int in those calculations.

I found that the most effective spell for Taurex is Compress Atmosphere, as I recall. They cannot resist it the way they do other spells. Also, it can be helpful to run around and get them close together, whether you're using fireball or compress atmosphere. Both spells affect your target and any other monsters (or items) in the surrounding squares.

[blatherbeard]

Do any of you mages put points in meditation?

I ask this because my first cleric build i put too many points into too many different things, but meditation i maxed and it was super easy to regen mana.

[xolotl]

Do any of you mages put points in meditation?

I usually do, especially in Book 1, though the opinion on this is definitely split. Perception provides the same benefit, and because skill points are more "precious" than attribute points, many folks will say that you're "wasting" points if you put some into Meditation. Regardless, I'll probably continue to do so, just to get my mana regeneration up as quickly as possible.

[blatherbeard]

meh, the only thing i say to wasting points is, that its my game and ill cry if i want to! lol