The Support Mage - A viable option?

[vholt]

So, i have recently reached level 30 (after twinking for a while) to see how endgame pvp has changed. The last time i was really into endgame pvp and when i enjoyed it was when the cap was 21. Well, it has drastically changed. Level 21 pvp was more of random encounters with 1v1's and the occasional grouping up in teams of 2 or 3. Now endgame pvp depends heavily on team fighting. I'm not complaining, i'm just pointing it out. So i've thought about adapting to this style. Now me personally, i LOVE playing support classes, and being a fellow sorc ive been thinking about using a support build. The thing is, will it really help in pvp. Thats where you come in:

Which build would be more optimal in group fights? (5v5)

The Support Build i had in mind would consist of Fireball for crowd control, Curse for helping teammates do better damage, sheild for survivability, and heal for the teammates. Enough int to be able to heal sufficiently and enough str to survive. Damage is not a priority except for lifegiver. With this build i can lead with fireball, while they are stunned i can curse them run back behind the team. Since im not on the offensive i can focus more on my teams health meters rather than my skills. This way im charging lifegiver, ready to release in the time of need.

Vs

A team-fighting build which would consist of Fireball, timeshift, frost bolt and heal. Full int for maximum damage however would extremely rely on a team and using that team to shield you.

Now which provides better support?

Is it better to help your teammates survive and do more damage or to do some damage yourself, to help your teammates kill them.

Please help - Thanks, Vholt.

[Spymans]

Timeshift and ice aren't good for pvp, just for crowd control, but shield, heal, fireball and curse are really good for support(which is what you want), so i would say the 1st one is better then the 2nd option.

For your second question, I would say to do some damage yourself because it won't be much fun just healing your teammates, instead you could actually be providing your valuable skills to kill people.

[Pyromagnium]

I'm actually leveling a mage using your first support build. It's working wonderfully, I definitely notice the difference curse makes especially at lower levels. At endgame pvp however, I'm sure curse would be useful...as a 4/5 or 5/5. It's basically an AoE DoT buff/debuff all-in-one but the damage aspect just feels linear as opposed to exponential. I don't feel the damage is to scale. However, as a support class damage wouldn't be much of a concern as you have pointed out. One of the devs said some class rebalancing/free respec weekend was going to happen soon so feel free to try the build but perhaps the best option is to wait and see what becomes of sorcerers within the next few weeks.

[vholt]

I'm actually leveling a mage using your first support build. It's working wonderfully, I definitely notice the difference curse makes especially at lower levels. At endgame pvp however, I'm sure curse would be useful...as a 4/5 or 5/5. It's basically an AoE DoT buff/debuff all-in-one but the damage aspect just feels linear as opposed to exponential. I don't feel the damage is to scale. However, as a support class damage wouldn't be much of a concern as you have pointed out. One of the devs said some class rebalancing/free respec weekend was going to happen soon so feel free to try the build but perhaps the best option is to wait and see what becomes of sorcerers within the next few weeks.

You feel curse is effective at lower levels? How so?

[Pyromagnium]

You feel curse is effective at lower levels? How so?

I did a little experiment. So I had Curse at 3/5 by level 7 with the first two upgrades. I noticed how much of a difference it made in battle for my party when it was applied. Immediately the mobs went down in health 2 or 3 times faster for that five-second duration. Right after fireball but before time shift is how I rotated it. Heal when necessary. But the fact that they lose health whenever they attack at lower levels its almost as powerful as a Frost Bolt dot. But like I said before, I don't feel the damage scales very well.

[vholt]

I did a little experiment. So I had Curse at 3/5 by level 7 with the first two upgrades. I noticed how much of a difference it made in battle for my party when it was applied. Immediately the mobs went down in health 2 or 3 times faster for that five-second duration. Right after fireball but before time shift is how I rotated it. Heal when necessary. But the fact that they lose health whenever they attack at lower levels its almost as powerful as a Frost Bolt dot. But like I said before, I don't feel the damage scales very well.

Hmm interesting. Lets say you had frost bolt though. Do you think your party could kill faster, like those 5 seconds, if you used frost bolt instead of curse on the enemies?

[Pyromagnium]

Hmm interesting. Lets say you had frost bolt though. Do you think your party could kill faster, like those 5 seconds, if you used frost bolt instead of curse on the enemies?

Honestly, Frost with the proper upgrades is probably the better option for PvE at this time. Just due to the fact that it can freeze mobs and apply DoTs to all of them as well as the short cooldown. For PvP, Curse could be interesting though. Have your tank send you in with Horn up, stun with fireball, charge curse, charge shield, and get outta there. Frost is powerful for team fights, the slowdown and DoT damage is nice but ultimately I feel it depends on your team and your team dynamic. Keep in mind Frost is a cc skill while curse is a support skill. If you're going with the support role I'd go with Curse. It's a nice skill with a lot of potential. 15% damage buff and 10% damage debuff is nothing to sneeze at, especially going forward.

[vholt]

Honestly, Frost with the proper upgrades is probably the better option for PvE at this time. Just due to the fact that it can freeze mobs and apply DoTs to all of them as well as the short cooldown. For PvP, Curse could be interesting though. Have your tank send you in with Horn up, stun with fireball, charge curse, charge shield, and get outta there. Frost is powerful for team fights, the slowdown and DoT damage is nice but ultimately I feel it depends on your team and your team dynamic. Keep in mind Frost is a cc skill while curse is a support skill. If you're going with the support role I'd go with Curse. It's a nice skill with a lot of potential. 15% damage buff and 10% damage debuff is nothing to sneeze at, especially going forward.

How long does curse last without upgrade

[Pyromagnium]

How long does curse last without upgrade

5 seconds according to a dev. 7 seconds with the upgrade.

On a side note they should make it 7.5 seconds with the upgrade. Half of 5 (seconds) is 2.5 so adding the .5 would make a little more sense.

[vholt]

5 seconds according to a dev. 7 seconds with the upgrade.

On a side note they should make it 7.5 seconds with the upgrade. Half of 5 (seconds) is 2.5 so adding the .5 would make a little more sense.

Ok, thanks for the advice and info!