Spell-hurling mages?

[Eschalonian]

For those of you who's had success playing a primarily spell-casting mage, I want to know how you do it. I find that the offensive spells cost way too much mana for the damage they deal. Take the spell Deep Freeze, for example. It deals 5-8 points of damage and costs 6 mana points per casting level. So basically, you expend as much mana as you deal damage. The spell Fireball does mass damage, so it makes a little more sense in terms of cost, but still... If you rely of spells to kill creatures, you must me carrying around a lot of mana potions. Is that the case, or am I missing something? I haven't played a mage, so I don't know if they get huge amounts of mana per level, or if they regenerate mana at a really high rate.

[BasiliskWrangler]

When I play as a "Pure Mage", I concentrate on getting as many Mana Points as possible. Keep your Perception and Intelligence very high, keep your Meditation Skill high so that you regenerate MP quickly. Also, always keep backup Mana Poitions in your Quick Slots to chug when you get low and need an instant boost.

[Randomizer]

Otherwise it's a lot of attack and retreat to recharge. When you know roughly how much damage it takes to kill something then you can plan how to do it with the lowest mana cost.

[Variol]

I just created one last night too. I didn't take any weapon or armor skills, thinking I'd go straight caster. It's a real nightmare early on. The spells kinda stink and you can't afford them anyway. Taking elemental and divination at the the beginning should give you 1 starting spell at least.

[krisklef]

I think a fire-cannon mage is the easiest way to play Bk I. You have to have a decent melee skill, of course, but the spell attacks are by far the most effective, except for hiding in shadows, which is a bit TOO effective . . . .

The only potential opps in the game that have ranged attacks are the mage students in Shadowmirk (and in-town spellcasters) and the goblin archers, aside from the final Boss. Most of your battles can be fought either with ranged attacks to weaken and then close for the kill, or in the dark with a good Hide-in-Shadows skill. Plus, having elemental skill allows air-shield, which confounds the goblin archers.

The strongest character I made was a "Druish" mage with high Perception and an eventual 5 pts in Meditation. Add the Zen amulet (+5!), and you don't even need but about 22 pts. in Per before you are recovering MP every 3 rounds (in the outdoors, of course.) At the endgame, I had about 180-190 MP, with the two Mana-storing devices. Underground, I just exited and spent 6-9 hours recovering.

Fireball is my least favorite spell, because of the limited number of situations in which I can get hit more than one enemy. For the MP, Compress Atmosphere and Ice Ball(?) are the better choices. I also love predator sight and a decent Shadows skill for close-in work.

It is true that if you Fire-dart 'raptors, e.g., to weaken and then try and finish them off with the axe before they hurt you too bad, you will only be able to knock off two or three before you have to regain MP, but compared the HP regain from a melee fight, it is SO much faster. And fighting from the shadows costs you almost as much time because you have less than half the day-cycle to use outdoors.

Mages rock in this game, but I have read that healer spells are superior. I tried a healer about through level 10, and I think it's a wash. The higher level Cleric spells do more damage, but the Flesh Boil gets resisted so much more often than Fire Dart. The advantage of being able to Boil flesh without emerging from Shadow just doesn't make up for this problem. Also, has Turn Undead ever been a useful option? Give me my Predator Sight over Cat's Eye's any day.

Healers have a big advantage in "buff" spells. A Hasty, Nimble, Ogre is an especially tough foe if he cannot be seen!

Sorry for the long post, I really, REALLY enjoy this game system!

[Necromis]

there is one other thing that makes mages work, if you don't consider it taking advantage of the system. If you have a good hide and are in the dark, such as a dungeon, you can simply hold the space bar down to regen your mana and not worry about random encounters from camping.