Elemental mage - Intellegence or Perception ?

[MaximB]

I begun my third attempt on this game as a mage, it's much more fun then a fighter imo.
I read the manual and skill/states description but I'm still finding it hard to understand , what is more important to Elemental Mage - Intelligence or Perception ?

On first glance they both add the same amount of mana but perception also adds mana regeneration and magic resistance.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like Intelligence is only good for lore, otherwise as a magic user you should take perception.

What do you think about it ?

[IJBall]

I begun my third attempt on this game as a mage, it's much more fun then a fighter imo.
I read the manual and skill/states description but I'm still finding it hard to understand , what is more important to Elemental Mage - Intelligence or Perception ?

On first glance they both add the same amount of mana but perception also adds mana regeneration and magic resistance.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like Intelligence is only good for lore, otherwise as a magic user you should take perception.

What do you think about it ?

I'm nearly positive Perception is more important, especially initially.

My understanding is that your initial number of Mana Points is (2xPerception)+(1xIntelligence) if you're a Mage.
(For comparison, your initial number of Hit Points is (2xEndurance)+(1xStrength), if you're Fighter.)

In general, with Mage, I'd keep rolling until you get 14s in both Perception & Intelligence, pick the Origin that gives you the Perception (& Intelligence?...) bonus, and then pour your 15 Attribute points into Perception. (I think you max out at 75 Mana Points initially if you work it this way.)

Then, based on what I've mined from this board, I keep putting level-up points into Perception until I hit 40 Perception. At that point, you should be getting 10 Mana Points per level-up with 40 in Perception.

After that, you can start focusing on Intelligence to allow you cast the Tier Three spells at higher casting levels.

YMMV. But that's how I've been playing it.

[Unclever title]

Intelligence is also good for elemental resistance but then again a Magick user gets a spell for that.

It along with Dexterity boosts lockpicking, or wait, there's a spell for that too...

Hmm...

I'm not sure on this but I believe it increases the damage you do with elemental spells.

[taltamir]

perception + meditation should equal 38 to max out your mana regen, which is essential for a spellcaster.
Then dump the points into wis for healer and int for elementalist, as those will increase your mana AMOUNT.
You might wanna go and put some point into strength to carry more stuff and have more health.

[azraelck]

I split my Perception and Intelligence 2/1 at level up, and did what they said; put all my points into Perception, rolled for 14 in both, and then split my skills between Elemental, Alchemy, and Meditation.

However, I don't really think it's worth it to try and get the tier 3 spells to max out; I rarely used them at all. I'd sooner put points into wisdom and Divine in order to get at some of the useful buffs and healing spells in that class.

[Evnissyen]

Hmm... .

I'm replaying as a pure mage, this time . . . no combat.

Going into level 10, I'm at 33 Perception and 6 Meditation, and at this point I regenerate about 2 mana per second when walking (one per step). Increasing both of these by 3 each doesn't make any change whatsoever in my regeneration rate . . . so I'm wondering if it's really worth stuffing points into either of these from this point forward. Is there a point where I'll start to regenerate 2 mana every other step or even 2 per step or even more? If so: how much Meditation do I need in order to reach that point?

I invested in 3 Divination (since I'm lacking, there) and 2 Wisdom (to bring up to 20) and 1 Concentration, instead.

I seem to be at the max-out point in Perception, now, so I'll stop investing there.

And if investing in Intelligence beyond my current 20 doesn't gain me either ability to read more scrolls or more than 1 extra mana point per level... I don't see any point in investing there, either.

I suppose after this level I'll start investing in Concentration... .

Another question: Do combat stats (specifically To Hit and Damage) apply to spellcasting as well as melee?

[IJBall]

Hmm... .

I'm replaying as a pure mage, this time . . . no combat.

Going into level 10, I'm at 33 Perception and 6 Meditation, and at this point I regenerate about 2 mana per second when walking (one per step). Increasing both of these by 3 each doesn't make any change whatsoever in my regeneration rate . . . so I'm wondering if it's really worth stuffing points into either of these from this point forward. Is there a point where I'll start to regenerate 2 mana every other step or even 2 per step or even more? If so: how much Meditation do I need in order to reach that point?

There's actually two issues you bring up here:

1) Mana Regeneration - As far as anyone has figured out, Mana Regeneration 'caps out' when PER+Meditation=38. So, in terms of your Mana Regeneration, you'll get nothing more out of points into either PER or Meditation at this point in your game. (The only thing that allows you to regenerate MP faster is if you choose Druidic axiom.)

2) Mana Points on Level-Up & Perception - Here, more points into PER will still help: if you put just 2 more points into PER so that you're up to PER=35, you should gain an additional MP on level-up. If you get your PER up to PER=40, you'll gain another additional MP on level-up. And so on.

If you're interested in the formulas for all this, I discuss those here.

And if investing in Intelligence beyond my current 20 doesn't gain me either ability to read more scrolls or more than 1 extra mana point per level... I don't see any point in investing there, either.

You are correct on this.

Earlier on, I somehow got it into my head that things like INT (and WIS) were necessary for casting Tier One, Two & Three spells at higher levels, but I was totally wrong on that - you only need INT (or WIS) to read scrolls/spells. So, once you max out at INT=20, you don't need to go any higher in INT (or WIS).

That said, if you do get INT up to INT=30, you will get another MP upon level-up. But you get more 'bang for your buck' on that front putting points into PER anyway. (Again, see here for details...)

Another question: Do combat stats (specifically To Hit and Damage) apply to spellcasting as well as melee?

I believe the consensus on this question is 'no' - combat stats (re: melee fighting) and magic stats/rolls are totally separate issues.

Hope this helps!

[Painted Lady]

Also there are things like hats and rings that can pump up wisdom and intelligence. I have been successful in using those when I needed to read a spell scroll that would otherwise have been beyond me. Then I can throw points at things like concentration that help with many skills.

[MyGameCompany]

Aww man, I wish I knew this earlier on. My mage is at intelligence = 50.

I assumed intelligence worked for a mage like strength does for a fighter - the higher, the better. It sure seems like it should at least make the spells more effective (e.g., better chance of maxing the damage points for a fireball or whatever), since the mage has more experience and smarts to bring to bear when casting.

[Evnissyen]

Thanks, IJ, that was helpful.

Actually, I was just about to raid the Goblin Citadel when along comes Avernum 6. Heh. Well, I'll get back to finish up my latest Eschalon campaign before too long.

...Then hopefully Book 2 will come out soon after.