Guide to Being a Successful Mage in CTF

[Alhuntrazeck]

Hey forumers,

I have created this guide to help newer and older mages play CTF better. Keep in mind, I will be stating my own views and thus this might be controversial. Hence, I request posters to remain cordial and not resort to flaming. Constructive criticism and opinions are welcome.

I have to first pose a question to the mage community: What is the mage’s role in PvP?

In PvE, the question is easily answered; the mage is used for dealing out massive AoE damage, holding mobs in check by stunning, panicking, freezing, rooting them.

PvP is a tiny bit more complicated.

First we must look at the mage class’s specifics.

They have:

• Low HP; usually lower than rogues’ and tanks’.
• Decent damage; higher than tanks, lower than rogues’. Bear in mind, mages usually have higher stat page damage, but a rogues’ actual damage is way higher.
• Great CC (crowd control): In PvP and PvE, mages shine at hitting many targets with AoE damage. Rogues and Warriors also use CC but at a much less extent.
• Stuns: All classes in AL have stuns, but mages have the best ones (Fireball alone is a 100% guaranteed stun, while rogues’ bow stuns are about a 70, and warriors’ Skyward Smash and Axe Throw are 25% each.)
• Mana Healing: The only class in AL who can heal mana.

To become a good mage in PvP, I first analyzed the above and decided how to make the best out of all of them. So below is my guide which contains all my experience of 2 seasons of PvP, 1 and a half as a non-mythic mage.

-~-

Type A: CTF – Free For All (FFA)

A mage in FFA is much less effective than a rogue; a rogue specializes in single target damage, which is what FFA is all about – singling out targets and killing them and moving on to the next. Since this is what makes up the majority of CTF, let’s get right to the heart of the matter.

I. The BUILD(S)

FFA as a rogue or warrior is fairly simple; you have one build you can stick to. For mages, its more complicated. For fighting different classes, you need different builds.

For general FFA, this is my build:

Fireball: 4/5, all except Scorch
Lightning: 3/5, Empowered Bolt and Positive Surge upgrades
Shield: 4/5, all except Displacement Wave
Heal: 2/5, Empower upgrade.

You need to use different fighting strategies for each class.

If you see a rogue, charge shield, charge fireball (make it hit before the charged bow hits you if possible) and quickly follow up by lightning. Charge fire and charge lightning, spamming auto attack in between. Heal when HP's low. If you have a stun pet, stunlock the rogue. This should be enough. If you cannot kill the rogue, visit this link: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/show...-Rogue-a-Guide!.

For a warrior, charge fire and lightning. Stunlocking is helpful, so long as the warrior doesn't start with Juggernaut (you'll know by the brief pot sign over his head, and the fact that your FB doesn't stun him). Warrior vs mage fights are difficult, the odds are stacked heavily against you; but lucky crits can win.

For a mage, do the same thing as for rogue.

II. Pets

Favorites of mine are Samael, Slag, Grimm, Orion, Malison, Ribbit.

Type B: Clashes

When you FFA, you'll probably get the enemy RG'd and ready to gang-bang your butt - how could you kill them when they were peacefully flagging?! You naughty mage, you!

Get your team ready. An optimum team is 2 warriors, 2 rogues and 1 mage (you). Another good one is 2 warriors, 2 mages and 1 rogue.

A clash is where mages truly shine. With our vast CC and stunning skills, we can amass large amounts of kills and keep the other team literally stunned.

For clashes, we must go back to what a mage does. In my opinion, the role of a mage in a clash is IMMOBILIZING THE OPPONENTS.

What does this mean? Simple. Immobilizing the opponents means to not allow them to attack effectively. This can be achieved by the following skill build:

Fireball: 4/5, all except Scorch
Curse: 5/5
Shield: 4/5, all except Displacement Wave
Heal: 2/5, Empower upgrade.

As you can see, the above build utilizes this requirement to the utmost. With this build a mage can:

1. Lower the other team's attacking - Curse handles this. A team cursed is a handicapped team. Mages cannot drop clock or use skills like ice or, for that matter, spam attack skills; rogues cannot use nox or spam combos like no tomorrow; the only immune class is the warrior, though their magma proc can severely reflect damage on themselves.

2. Stuns: Charged fireball potentially stuns all 5 opponents, thus enabling your team to move forward and attack while the other team is stunned.

3. Stay Alive: Charged shield grants 2 seconds invulnerability and can absorb vast amounts of damage - it is the most essential skill in a clash.

4. Heal mana: Another of the most important benefits. Charged heal heals the rogues' mana and this is vital; because a team with a rogue who cannot attack is, again, a handicapped team.

Once I started playing with this build, I remained unsatisfied. I was still dying much too often and not inflicting enough damage with my 1 attack skill. And that's when I thought of something else.

A high HP build.

This can easily be achieved by buying a Magma Totem of Potency, Ancient Druidic helm & armor (or mythic helm & armor if you have them), and a Tarlok Heart of Brutality. You can use at least one strength gem on at least 1 of these; or a better option is the new Health shard which adds 54 HP.

The Magma Totem is amazing. With one attack skill alone (Fireball), there's no way you can deal out enough damage with gun - and that's where Magma's killer DPS factors in. Since in clashes with the above build you end up spamming your auto attack, what better way to do it than with a staff? Also if you're worried about curse's damage reflection, your high HP will guarantee you won't die because of your weapon's attacks.

While in a clash, monitor your rogues' mana and HP bars. Use heal when your HP falls below 40% or when a rogue is out of mana; also watch the rogue's HP. Focus on the damage classes of the opposing team and ignore the tanks if possible.

I have used this build with huge degrees of success over the past season. Since I've begun using it, I have never been asked to be replaced in a clash, which is quite an impressive feat considering I don't have an arcane staff/mythic gun and there were plenty of my old guildies who did. Bottom line, if you've got the skill, gear isn't that essential; what's important is making sure you know how to play your class perfectly.

A little hint: since staff hits multiple targets, one way of clashing would be to run in circles, all the while spamming charged FB and auto attack, hitting as many opponents as possible, also making yourself a bit of a target, thus serving as an off-tank; your high HP shouldn't be a problem.

P.S: Know when to avoid rogues. You aren't immortal.

Hiding behind a tank and attack the dps is pretty effective.

That brings us to the end of this guide. Using this, you should become a successful mage in PvP while also killing a lot.

I'll sum up with my golden rule of PvPing:

A mage should never try to be a rogue. You're a mage. Act like one. Don't use 3 attack skills and sacrifice curse and heal because those are essential parts of a mage's skill build, in my opinion.

Thanks for reading,

Al.

P.S: Mages! This thread is for you! Go on and be the best class in AL.