Spell costs way too high.

[dorn]

This is of course an opinion but I'm about to attack the citadel and I'm starting to get to a high enough lvl that the spell damage is becoming a problem. I've 215 mana/32 elemental/45 perception and killing a mere two mino's takes up slightly more mana than that unless I can get lucky and aoe them. If I get caught resting I have to just reload because it's always 3 minos now.

To be fair I made a pure mage caster (no divination) without going for anything cheesy so I don't expect to slaughter everything but I've pretty much the best mage gear I can find and the only way I can win an average fight is to use a mana potion. It's true that I could win any fight if I just chugged mana pots to my hearts content but the cost of them (even if you use alchemy) is quite high and they don't seem like they should be used this way.

I can't help but feel the mana cost of spells is way too much or the damage is too low. Looking back the only reason I could really get this far was the mana efficiency of sonic blast is really high if you use it correctly. But now mobs resist that spell to easily and it's too dangerous to use.

In book 2 I think that this needs to be looked at (unless I'm doing something wrong). There needs to be gear to somehow improve the mana:dmg ratio by either raising dmg or lowering mana cost. Also why are mana pots 3x the cost of hp pots? This makes even less sense considering the amount of killing power a fighter gets from one hp pot is far superior to what a mage gets from 1 mana pot.

Has anyone else played a pure ele mage like this? I'm curious what their experience was.

[Asgard The Elder]

This is of course an opinion but I'm about to attack the citadel and I'm starting to get to a high enough lvl that the spell damage is becoming a problem. I've 215 mana/32 elemental/45 perception and killing a mere two mino's takes up slightly more mana than that unless I can get lucky and aoe them. If I get caught resting I have to just reload because it's always 3 minos now.

To be fair I made a pure mage caster (no divination) without going for anything cheesy so I don't expect to slaughter everything but I've pretty much the best mage gear I can find and the only way I can win an average fight is to use a mana potion. It's true that I could win any fight if I just chugged mana pots to my hearts content but the cost of them (even if you use alchemy) is quite high and they don't seem like they should be used this way.

I can't help but feel the mana cost of spells is way too much or the damage is too low. Looking back the only reason I could really get this far was the mana efficiency of sonic blast is really high if you use it correctly. But now mobs resist that spell to easily and it's too dangerous to use.

In book 2 I think that this needs to be looked at (unless I'm doing something wrong). There needs to be gear to somehow improve the mana:dmg ratio by either raising dmg or lowering mana cost. Also why are mana pots 3x the cost of hp pots? This makes even less sense considering the amount of killing power a fighter gets from one hp pot is far superior to what a mage gets from 1 mana pot.

Has anyone else played a pure ele mage like this? I'm curious what their experience was.

Not pure elemental however a pure mage with both devine and elemental.

Have you tried the fortify mana potion just before you battle the cows? That potion along with a haste spell or potion makes you a fast mean spell casting machine. Also prep yourself before with a stoneskin potion or spell and bless to reduce damage while you stand there and reduce your cows to ashes.

[Lucifer]

Meditation. Lots and lots of Meditation.

I regen 1 mana per a turn, trying to get to two.

[dorn]

I regen 1 mana per a turn, trying to get to two.

I've tons of regen but the problem is total mana.

Have you tried the fortify mana potion just before you battle the cows?

I guess I wasn't clear. I can kill an entire army of cows if I use potions. If I don't use potions though I can only kill 1.9 cows before I'm dry. Then I must run around like a chicken with it's head cutoff to regen mana. This seems stupid when a normal warrior at my lvl can probably kill several of them w/o even using a single health pot. Fortify mana pots are expensive even when you make them btw.

[BasiliskWrangler]

Your maximum Mana rises only when you level. Keep your Perception and Intelligence high and you get more Mana per level. There are also some items that will give you a few more Mana points when they are equipped.

It's not hard to imagine that a Mage could not take on a whole army at once. Being able to kill nearly two Taurex with your Mana reserves is pretty good actually. Beyond that, for large fights, you are going to need some Mana Potions to boost yourself, just like a Fighter would probably need Health Potions to make it through a large battle.

If you don't want to rely on potions, then learn how to separate enemies from each other so that you don't have to take on large groups at a time. Isolate and destroy them.

[sarah-michelle]

normaly if you pass before and shadowmirk and you see erubor he gives you a quest to recuperate a red goblin key in a giant's village when you go to the village omar the giant said you "find the giant skull and I give you the key" when you bring back the giant skull you recuperate the key and in the same time the help of giants when you attack goblin citadel
like that your not alone and it's easier

[Zorlac]

Meditation. Lots and lots of Meditation.

I regen 1 mana per a turn, trying to get to two.

I agree, I started upping my Meditation right near the end. My mana would skyrocket after just a few seconds of camping.

It went up so fast that I could easily camp after each battle and not worry about getting ambushed.

[Mongolian]

So i'm in the middle of finishing off a Mage class character. I've gotten to the point of quiting multiple times and yes I think i don't want to even finish it. It's just extrcuiatingly painful, not to mention cheap, to keep quick pathing back to Aridell and resting. Sure, I could rest where ever I go, but same thing. It feels lame.

Having spells regenerate faster or spells costing less seems like the perfect solution for book2. I hope this happens.

[Twaz]

So i'm in the middle of finishing off a Mage class character. I've gotten to the point of quiting multiple times and yes I think i don't want to even finish it. It's just extrcuiatingly painful, not to mention cheap, to keep quick pathing back to Aridell and resting. Sure, I could rest where ever I go, but same thing. It feels lame.

Having spells regenerate faster or spells costing less seems like the perfect solution for book2. I hope this happens.

I've just started playing (also playing a true Elemental Magic User) and I've felt pretty much the same way. I'm in the habit of stocking up on mana potions and making trips back to town every 2-3 monsters I kill, so I can rest safely.

It's a great game otherwise, but my interest is starting to wane because it gets tiring (and it does feel like cheating as Mongolian alluded to) when I run back to town every 2-3 kills to get my mana back up. Otherwise, I'm just drinking mana potions left and right, or pacing a good deal. While I started the game putting points mostly into Intelligence and Perception, I'm not finding myself buying those points exclusively. It helps, but the benefit isn't nearly what I'd like it to be. Cheaper spell costs would be my preferred way to solve this.

Still, the rest of the game is pretty impressive. I'm considering starting over with a rogue-type to see if gameplay is more to my liking with a different class.

[aetius]

Your maximum Mana rises only when you level. Keep your Perception and Intelligence high and you get more Mana per level. There are also some items that will give you a few more Mana points when they are equipped.

It's not hard to imagine that a Mage could not take on a whole army at once. Being able to kill nearly two Taurex with your Mana reserves is pretty good actually. Beyond that, for large fights, you are going to need some Mana Potions to boost yourself, just like a Fighter would probably need Health Potions to make it through a large battle.

If you don't want to rely on potions, then learn how to separate enemies from each other so that you don't have to take on large groups at a time. Isolate and destroy them.

I just finished the game as a hybrid mage with some rogue skills. The issue is not taking on a whole army at once - the issues is that the mage has to rest after every single fight. Every one. And it gets worse as you move up in level, because while spell damage goes up, so does the spell cost and the amount of damage you need to kill the mobs. Essentially, the percentage of your mana that you spend on the spell stays roughly the same. I finished with 149 mana, which meant I could cast Deep Freeze 6 a whopping four times. Four. I *might* kill one Taurex, if he doesn't resist.

And actually, recommending separation of enemies is good until you get AoE spells - then you want to herd them together, since your AoE spells are far and away the most efficient method of "shoot shoot rest". Hitting two mobs with Compress Atmo is a huge damage/mana improvement over any single-target spell - not to mention that Compress Atmo gets resisted a LOT less.

This was my climactic attack on the Goblin Citadel with my Giant allies:

Enter the Citadel gate. Cast Air Shield. Aggro the initial goblin group. Run away to herd the goblins together. Kill three goblins with two Compress Atmo blasts, and damage a fourth. Kill the fourth with a Fire Dart. Now I have two goblins left, and a goblin warlord. But ... I'm out of mana. A mana II potion will give me one more shot with either Compress Atmo or Deep Freeze, which isn't enough. I'm not swimming in potions, so I run. Run run run, getting back 1 mana every other turn or so. Turn on them and hit them with Compress Atmo twice. The two lesser goblins are down, but the warlord is still coming. Run. More running. I could take a potion, but why bother when it'll only give me one Deep Freeze shot? Save it for when I really need it, like when I'm stuck in a room and can't run. So I run. Run, run, run, run. Finally, turn and kill the goblin warlord. Now I'm halfway across the zone.

Rest for ten seconds, get all my mana back. Run back to the gate. Run, run, run. Giants are here now, getting their butts kicked because I'm not in the fight. Kill one goblin with Fire Dart. Start on another one. Uh oh, I've attracted the attention of a Taurex. I'm at half mana, which isn't enough to kill him - it's not even enough to fire two Deep Freeze 6's. I Fire Dart him a couple times, both resisted. Wonderful. Run, run, run, out into the desert with the Taurex on my heels. Round and round the campfire we go. Deep Freeze. Run round and round and round. Fire Dart. Resisted. Is this guy made of fire-resistant material or something? Run away again. Fire Dart. Hits for wimpy damage. Run and run and run. Run more, we're going to Deep Freeze him this time. Deep Freeze. HIT! But ... didn't kill him. Run away again. Run run run. Fire Dart. FINALLY dead.

Rest for ten seconds, get all my mana back, pray I don't get attacked. Run back to the Citadel gate ... and the fight's over. One giant still up. Still a few goblins in the corners. I clean them up one or two at a time, resting for ten seconds between every single fight.

Essentially, I missed most of the fight because I can't afford to quaff potions like Tylenol. In game time terms, I spent 99% of the coolest battle in the game resting to regain mana. I probably would have needed 20 or 30 Mana II potions or 10 Mana III potions to participate in the Citadel gate attack with any sort of staying power. I spent almost all of the fight running for my life, trying to build mana in order to shoot.

It's an eminently frustrating mechanic.

[Gribble]

I have to agree with the above sentiments.

I spent about 6 hours playing a pure elemental mage. After every fight I had to rest. And rest for quite some time. I kept telling myself that mages start weak and things would improve. Well, they didn't.

Finally I scratched the mage and created an archer/divinator. A much more enjoyable combo. I don't have to spend nearly as much time resting or jumping to town.

Here's hoping the mage is reworked in the sequel.

[BasiliskWrangler]

A mage is a very difficult "pure" class to play; it is probably not the best class for a first time player to select. We will balance it a bit differently for Book II.

However, if you really learn the process of building a character, read all the tips here in the forums, maximize the Attributes and Skills essential to your class, discover the best combat techniques for the magick you employ, and equip your character just right- you can play a pure mage from start to finish. I have done it, others have too. It's just a different experience than playing with a Fighter.

I don't have a lot of time due to work on Book II, but I will start to put together a "Mage Guide" on how to do this.

[Mongolian]

I think your missing the point Basilisk. I gave up playing the mage officially cause it wasn't fun. I don't want to splash and become part rogue or warrior cause it feels cheesy. I have all the stats I need. Sure, I can go back to town and rest after every fight, but what fun is that?

[Mongolian]

Here are some decent solutions to solve the spell problem:

OK - Just change all the MP of all spells to 50% (not a fan of those one)

Decent - Equipment that helps regenerate your mana faster

Good - Adding spells that help deal with the situation like: Freezing opponent for a few turns, webbing target so they can't move, weaking attacker's damage, fear - making attacker run away

Decent - Eliminating most direct damage spells like Fire Bolt and then make it so magicians are used offensively in combat.
------------------

Overall, I don't want to see magician's abused. It's just not fun to be able to cast tuns of spells or have to keep resting after every battle.

[Mongolian]

Camping is actually a decent solution too. I guess I wish camping was something else for the magician like "meditating". Not sure how it would be different then camping