[Guide] Sorcerer PvE Build

[chorba69]

Hello smurfs.
After I've seen lots of builds here, good ones and bad ones, I'd like to present you my PvE build so new players can have an easier start as a mage. Also, this might help old players too.
This build is based on highest AoE damage output, lowest amount of damage recieved and works very well for soloing and elites.

About Mages:

So, you have decided to play a mage, but you'd like to know more about it.
Well, we're little smurfs.

Pros:
- great AoE skills
- nice stuns
- great crowd control
- and more..

Cons:
- low armor
- low critical/dodge chance
- not the highest health amount


Stats:
Inteligence, inteligence and only inteligence..
Inteligence raises our damage, our dps, our mana, our bonus damage and a little amount of health.
Every single point should be invested in >Inteligence<


Skills:
What to upgrade, how many points to invest, which passives etc etc..
If you want to solo maps, have great aoe dps, you're in the right place.
In this build, I'll be talking about most important skills in my opinion.

So let's have a look.

Fireball:
Our first AoE skill. Mostly, it's used to stun lots of monsters. Its damage is decent but not the best one. If upgraded, it has an amazing DoT damage.

Lightning Strike:
Our best single target dps skill. Mostly used to kill bosses faster. If upgraded, there is a chance for AoE damage and stun.

Frost Bolt:
Another great skill. Frost bolt has a great damage output, can freeze and DoT multiple targets.

Time Shift:
In my opinion, best PvE skill we have. It has great damage, great dps, nice DoT and great crowd control.

Arcane Shield:
One of our survivability skills. Absorbs lots of damage, great if there are lots of monsters chasing you. Damage absorbed and duration are based on your Strength stat.

Lifegiver:
What else to say, only heal we have got. If upgraded, restores mana along with the health. In my opinion, it really sucks. Don't get it because, in PVE everyone can use pots. Only good thing is you can restore mana to your teammates but.. Just, don't take it.


Skill Upgrades:
So, that was about the skills. Let's learn about the upgrades.

Fireball:
- Engulf- Increases the spherical area of fireball explosion by 3 meters. Very good if you have a large group of monsters but even without this upgrade, Fireball has great AoE radius so in my opinion, not a must.
- Ignite- After you've hit a monster/s, you deal great DoT damage. In my opinion, must have!
- Impact- Stun them, stun them all! If you charge your fireball, monsters you've hit will be stunned for few seconds. Must have!
- Scorch- Reduces targets' hit chance by 25%. Not neccessary in this build.

Lightning Strike:
- Empowered Bolt- Increases the damage of this skill by 15%. Must have!
- Electrical Discharge- Gives you a chance for AoE damage but chance is low. Not needed.
- Positive Surge- Increases your AoE dmg on critical by 250%. Not needed for this build.
- Shock- Small chance to stun your targets. Not needed too.

Frost Bolt:
- Ice Wielder- Has chance to freeze and damage enemies around your target. Not needed since Frost Bolt DoTs the targets anyways!
- Jagged Ice- If monster is stunned or slowed, it recieves DoT. Must have!
- Shiver- Increases the duration of stun/slow by 3 seconds. Must have!
- Arctic Shatter- Low chance to leave behind an ice patch. Not needed.

Time Shift:
- Dodge and Death- Reduces monsters' dodge chance and increases damage of clock drop. Optional. Upgrade it if you want additional dps. It increases clock drop damage by ~15%-35%.
- Time Bomb- When the clock expires, it deals small damage to all targets nearby. Also optional. If you want to sacrifice a passive, upgrade it, but, better spend a point on a passive than on this upgrade.
- Countdown of Pain- Charge your attack and you will deal nice DoT. Must have!
- Freeze Time- Root your targets. Don't let them move! Great CC, must have!

Arcane Shield:
- Extended Shield- Increases amount of damage absorbable and lets your shield last 5 seconds longer. Must have!
- Displacement Wave- Knocks back targets around you if charged. Not needed.
- Static Resonance- Increases damage reduction by 15%. Must have!
- Hardened Shielding- Grants invulnerability for 2 seconds if you charge your Shield. Optional, if you have spare points, upgrade it.

Lifegiver:
- Increased Ranged- Increases range of heal effect. Not needed.
- Empower- Restores mana along with the health. Optional. If you want to save some pots, upgrade it.
- Regrowth- Heal over time. Doesn't heal good enough, not needed.
- Recharge Mana- Restores mana over time. Doesn't restore good enough, not needed.


Passives:
There are passive skills that are always active. Great, isn't it?

- Durable- Increases your armor by 1% per upgrade.
- Critical Shot- Increases your critical chance by 1% per upgrade.
- Damage- Increases your damage value by 1% per upgrade.
- Agility- Increases your dexterity stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Knowlegde- Increases your inteligence stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Quickness- Increases your moving speed by 1% per upgrade.
- Might- Increases your strength stat by 5 per upgrade.

In my opinion, Knowledge and Might are must have. Others are optional.


Build:

So, now you know everything about the skills. Now, what to use, what to upgrade, when, how? Proceed..

Basic build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time.
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might

Those skills and upgrades are important and must have for every PvE build!
Now, you can combine what you want and what you need. My suggestions and full build is bellow..

Build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time, (Dodge and Death).
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance, (Hardened Shielding).
Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might, 5 points Critical Shot, Damage/Agility 5

You can choose either Dodge and Death in Time Shift or Hardened Shielding in Arcane Shield. With Dodge and Death upgrade you hit ~15-35% more with Time Shift, and with Hardened Shielding you can survive those insta-kill boss attacks (red area) if casted on time.
You can see I've added Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt and new passives. Lightning Strike is used for boss fights only.
I've added Critical Shot because we have low crit chance, and even that little chance will help your attacks and your DoTs to do more damage.
Damage or Agility, what fits you more, upgrade it.
Also, you can notice there is no Lifegiver. Correct. For PvE, it's not so neccessary. You can use pots in PvE as many as you want, and if there's a rogue or a warrior blaming you for not having Lifegiver for health and mana restoration, tell them to use pots, because, well, they can.


Skill rotation and tactics:
Now, after you know everything, it's time for skill rotation and tactics.
I will tell you what do I use, and how do I use. Hope you will understand.
Lets begin..

First, it all depends how much HP and armor you have. If you have more HP and armor, you will be able to lure more monsters. It's all about your gear.
So, you wanna lure 10-15 monsters in Dead City map for example. Run and use your non-charged Fireball, your non charged Frost Bolt and your non-charged basic attack. If you get in trouble, use your Arcane Shield. Now, after you've lured enough monsters, run in a circle around all of them for 1-2 seconds max, place your charged Time Shift. After that, run out of the Time Shift and start dpsing. My rotation is charge Fireball for a nice DoT and to stun the archers and mages because they can reach you with their arrows/spells, charge Frost Bolt for another DoT and to freeze your targets, and then spam your basic attack untill your skills recharge. And then repeat. While monsters are in effect of your Time Shift's root effect, normal monsters can't reach you (except archers/mages with spells and non-cc-able monsters). If any of those non-cc-able monsters get to you, just dps and kill it while keeping all of the cc-able monsters in effect of your Time Shift. For single target dps, meant for bosses, minibosses and other strong monsters, you can switch one of your skills with Lightning Strike. I usually switch Arcane Shield with Lightning Strike for boss fight because if you are running elite runs, you will have a warrior tanking the boss so you can just dps.
And that's it. Just cc everything that can be cc-ed, dps them, dot them, charge important skills (mentioned above) and watch your enemies dying rooted under effect of your Time Shift! Hope you've understood everything I've said. It really works.
In elites, everything stays the same. Except the part where you pull the mobs. You dont pull them, warriors pulls them. :) Wait for warrior to tank them all, place Time Shift near him, get out of the Time Shift's area and start dpsing. At boss, switch Arcane Shield with Lightning and that's it. Also, watch out for those red area attacks. Lots of bosses might insta-kill you so stay out of the red area.


Pets:
Pets are also very important in our fights. In my opinion, best ones are:
Samael, Abbadon, Slag, Glacian, Clyde, Hammerjaw, Haze, Orion, Malison, Keetle, Colton, Ribbit, Ethyl etc.
In first place, they all help you. One gives HP, other damage, third crit chance, fourth armor etc.
It's up to you which one you will choose.

Gear:
If you have gold, get yourself mythics and arcane staff.
If you don't have gold, Tarlok gear is the second option and I must say it's not bad at all.
Best legendary items are: staff- Architect Pylon of Brutality, helm- Tarlok's Winter Crown of Assault, armor- Tarlok's Vestment of Assault, ring- Ruby Band of Brutality (epic ring), necklace- Tarlok's Heart of Brutality.


The End:

So this is it. I hope I've helped new players, maybe even old players with this guide.
Enjoy it and have fun playing AL!

[sherentsoj]

Thanx for guide Chor that's good build

[chorba69]

Updated the thread after a long time. If anyone has a question or suggestion, feel free to reply.
Thanks and happy farming! :)

[borix]

Good guide. I will def. use this for respec this weekend. I am currently happy how my smurf performs but I know it can become better because I messed up last respec when I left 5 points in Quickness - which makes an almost unnoticeable difference - so I will redistribute this and get some speedy pets instead for when farming Brackenridge.

[manhands]

Great post. I currently have a level 35 mage that I thought was pretty tough. After using this build on Kraken Mines I've now seen the error in my ways. Good ideas!


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[mish3al]

Thank you for this great guide ..it helped me alot.. I made some changes tho.
I wish you can tell me what you think about my build :
Lv 23, skills:
5/5 fireball
5/5 time shift
3/5 gale force (+protective current and outward squal)
1/5 arcane shield
Passives:
5/5 knowledge
5/3 damage

I don't have the greatest gear.. But I think I really do massive dmg..
Skill rotation and tactics :
Arcane shild->fireball->time shift ->gale force
I only use arcane shiled when I'm luring enemies
Down side of this build.. It costs ALOT of heal potions to survive

Thanks again :)

أرسلت من SM-N9005 بإستخدام تاباتلك

[chorba69]

Hello @mish3al
Well, first of all, there is no need to get Fireball 5/5. Imo, the -25% hit chance isnt needed because, if you use my tactic, close-range mobs cant even hit you, and using it for archers/mages only, then it is not worth a skill point.
Engulf upgrade is alright if you want to hit more mobs.
Also, Arcane Shield should have at least 3 points spent. Extended Shield and Static Resonance are a must if you are going to use the shield.
Time Shift- If you have spare points, you can max it because of additional dps. Its fair deal.
Gale- Not bad skill. Does less dmg than Frost. I mean it has better aoe than Frost frost has more 1 target dmg plus it has DoT that dots mobs around ur target. If you feel good with Gale, keep it. :)
And at the end, the rest of points you will get, spend them on passives only. Imo, Intelligence and Strength upgrades should be maxed, crit/dmg/dex up to you. I suggest crit 5/5 because it gives us lil crit chance plus Time Shift DoTs can crit so its great. :)
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Enjoy

[chorba69]

Great post. I currently have a level 35 mage that I thought was pretty tough. After using this build on Kraken Mines I've now seen the error in my ways. Good ideas!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

manhands, I'm glad it helped you. :)
Enjoy and have fun playing a mage!

[neko]

Thank you for a very helpful guide. With the release of the Tindirin campaign, would you recommend any updates/changes to your skills, passives and gear, including rings and pendants?

[chorba69]

Thank you for a very helpful guide. With the release of the Tindirin campaign, would you recommend any updates/changes to your skills, passives and gear, including rings and pendants?

Hello and you're welcome. :)
I'll update the guide when I get some free time IRL.
But yeah, what I'd suggest is:
- if you have gold, buy mythic armor and helm and upgrade them because those are still better than current legendaries.
- buy mythic ring. I like it more than lv41 Archon ring because of the HP and IMO, its better than archon rings. And yeah, arcane ring is best ring ingame so if you have 70m, buy it. :)
- mythic necklace and tarlok brutality/assault necklace are still better than new lv41 legendaries so I suggest to keep the old necklace.
- arcane and mythic staffs are still best weapons for mage but if you cant afford them, lv41 expedition rifle of brutality is the best choice.
Now, about skills. I suggest to stay with the lv36 build, with updates. What I suggest is:
- Fireball (engulf, ignite, impact). I took the AoE radius upgrade because after lots of tomb and elite runs I've ran, I found it pretty useful.
- Frost (jagged ice, shiver).
No changes here.
- Time Shift (full). I took all upgrades because with Dodge and Death you deal ~15-35% more dmg with clock drop, and Time Bomb upgrade because you hit about 50% of your clock drop damage which means if you hit 1k with Time Shift, you will do another 500dmg at the end of Time Shift effect to all targets that are under Time Shift's effect. I took those two upgrades because of extra dps.
- Arcane Shield (extended shield, static resonance, hardened shielding)
I took 2sec invulnerabilty because Dragon Enclave elites are lots harder than elites before the lv41 cap.
Lightning (empowered bolt).
No changes here either.
- Passives: Knowledge 5/5, Might 5/5, Critical 5/5, Agility or Damage 5/5.
Agility or Damage is up to you. If you want more HP, get agility, if you want more dmg, get Damage passive.

Cheers and have fun playing a mage!

[neko]

Hello and you're welcome. :)
I'll update the guide when I get some free time IRL.
But yeah, what I'd suggest is:
- if you have gold, buy mythic armor and helm and upgrade them because those are still better than current legendaries.
- buy mythic ring. I like it more than lv41 Archon ring because of the HP and IMO, its better than archon rings. And yeah, arcane ring is best ring ingame so if you have 70m, buy it. :)
- mythic necklace and tarlok brutality/assault necklace are still better than new lv41 legendaries so I suggest to keep the old necklace.
- arcane and mythic staffs are still best weapons for mage but if you cant afford them, lv41 expedition rifle of brutality is the best choice.
Now, about skills. I suggest to stay with the lv36 build, with updates. What I suggest is:
- Fireball (engulf, ignite, impact). I took the AoE radius upgrade because after lots of tomb and elite runs I've ran, I found it pretty useful.
- Frost (jagged ice, shiver).
No changes here.
- Time Shift (full). I took all upgrades because with Dodge and Death you deal ~15-35% more dmg with clock drop, and Time Bomb upgrade because you hit about 50% of your clock drop damage which means if you hit 1k with Time Shift, you will do another 500dmg at the end of Time Shift effect to all targets that are under Time Shift's effect. I took those two upgrades because of extra dps.
- Arcane Shield (extended shield, static resonance, hardened shielding)
I took 2sec invulnerabilty because Dragon Enclave elites are lots harder than elites before the lv41 cap.
Lightning (empowered bolt).
No changes here either.
- Passives: Knowledge 5/5, Might 5/5, Critical 5/5, Agility or Damage 5/5.
Agility or Damage is up to you. If you want more HP, get agility, if you want more dmg, get Damage passive.

Cheers and have fun playing a mage!

Thanks for your detailed reply! I started rather late in AL and have a lot of catching up to do.

I don't have a lot of gold, but enough to start making some important decisions on how I should spend it. My Mage is currently at Level 29 and is sporting the odd assortment of Tarlok gear and a Level 29 Exp Assault Rifle. I love its DPS and lightning proc.

Let me check my pocket for 70m...nope (grin) so, do you recommend Fang of Fenrir or Lunar Pendant?

[AL_Newbie]

Thanks for your detailed reply! I started rather late in AL and have a lot of catching up to do.

I don't have a lot of gold, but enough to start making some important decisions on how I should spend it. My Mage is currently at Level 29 and is sporting the odd assortment of Tarlok gear and a Level 29 Exp Assault Rifle. I love its DPS and lightning proc.

Let me check my pocket for 70m...nope (grin) so, do you recommend Fang of Fenrir or Lunar Pendant?

Lunar is for Mages and Fang is for Rouges...
Gonna try this build on next free respec. I chose lifegiver which I regret

[chorba69]

Thanks for your detailed reply! I started rather late in AL and have a lot of catching up to do.

I don't have a lot of gold, but enough to start making some important decisions on how I should spend it. My Mage is currently at Level 29 and is sporting the odd assortment of Tarlok gear and a Level 29 Exp Assault Rifle. I love its DPS and lightning proc.

Let me check my pocket for 70m...nope (grin) so, do you recommend Fang of Fenrir or Lunar Pendant?
If you dont have much gold, I'd suggest NOT to buy mythics. At least, not yet. You should buy a lv 30-31 Exp rifle of brutality (assault gives a bit more dmg but brutality one gives 100health more so i'd get brutality but its up to you), tarlok assault helm and armor, epic ring called ruby band of brutality (yes epic) and tarlok brutality necklace. I think all of that gear is avaible at lv30-31 and you can use it till lv41 without problems.
I would not spend so much gold on low level items because you want endgame. You can get that gear for really low price and hit 41 with ease.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask :)

[Sheabascity]

Lifegiver

I so disagree on your statements of lifegiver. This is a PVE build and lifegiver is one of the best skills in game. I don't know if youu realise it but lifegiver instantly replenishes full health and mana on your partymembers at least once they are rogue's. And were the rogue the main part is of any pve team when it comes to damage, you can help out your pve team allot. Especially the part on mana replenish, skills absorb your mana so fast that a 25 perc pot barely does anything. remember only sorcerers have int realotted. So this skill helps your mates, cause 1 skill combo on a rogue is usually 1-2 pots depends on your stats.

So as a rogue i say any PVE sorcerer needs lifegiver, if you think pve is about doing solo stuff then you haven't played this game to well.

[chorba69]

Lifegiver

I so disagree on your statements of lifegiver. This is a PVE build and lifegiver is one of the best skills in game. I don't know if youu realise it but lifegiver instantly replenishes full health and mana on your partymembers at least once they are rogue's. And were the rogue the main part is of any pve team when it comes to damage, you can help out your pve team allot. Especially the part on mana replenish, skills absorb your mana so fast that a 25 perc pot barely does anything. remember only sorcerers have int realotted. So this skill helps your mates, cause 1 skill combo on a rogue is usually 1-2 pots depends on your stats.

So as a rogue i say any PVE sorcerer needs lifegiver, if you think pve is about doing solo stuff then you haven't played this game to well.

First of all, when I started reading your comment, I thought you're a rogue. Lots of rogues whine about the mana and they blame sorcerers if they dont have Lifegiver with mana upgrade, so it seems you whine about it too.
Please tell me, how could Lifegiver help in elite runs? Or even in tomb runs? Or anywhere? Maybe in low levels when you dont have money for pots. But, in elites, mage's heal won't help you at all! Okay it restores few some hp and mana but? Nobody benefits od it. There is a reason why you can spam pots in PvE. Mages are AoE dmg dealers and CCers. Though, they should be support class but they dont have any good support skill.
Using Lifegiver in PvE just slows your runs by a lot because as a mage you're there to deal AoE dmg.
Dont be offended by this post but, any experienced player will never ask for hp/mana restore in PvE because you can use pots. If STG gives a dmg buff or something else like Shadow Veil or anything similar, then there could be some use of this skill. Otherwise, just NO.
And just one info, I play this game since season1 and Im sure I know something about mage class.
Cheers and have fun!

[neko]

I've maxed out Knowledge, Might, Critical Shot and Damage. Is there any point in putting passives into Durable? I find myself so squishy against certain bosses even with a Level 36 Tarlok Assault Vest and a Mythic helm. Having just reached 39 I've still got a few odd points left to throw around before I reach end game.

Between STR, DEX or Speed, which has more value? Back in Pocket Legends, I used to have this philosophy of playing the role of a glass cannon. I'd go in guns blazing since a dead enemy can't hurt you. It was easier there since I had maxed out gear. Here, I'm being a bit more careful.

[Otahaanak]

No point in putting points in durable IMO.

Strength passive is best as it boosts your health and strengthens your shield.

For passives I have maxed INT, STR, DAM and 4/5 in both DEX and crit. Might change the latter two at some point but it's working well in elites now.

EDIT: With the % Dam issue now in the open I am running 5/5 Str, Int, Crit, Dex

[chorba69]

I've maxed out Knowledge, Might, Critical Shot and Damage. Is there any point in putting passives into Durable? I find myself so squishy against certain bosses even with a Level 36 Tarlok Assault Vest and a Mythic helm. Having just reached 39 I've still got a few odd points left to throw around before I reach end game.

Between STR, DEX or Speed, which has more value? Back in Pocket Legends, I used to have this philosophy of playing the role of a glass cannon. I'd go in guns blazing since a dead enemy can't hurt you. It was easier there since I had maxed out gear. Here, I'm being a bit more careful.

I'd not suggest adding points to durable. We're not tanks, we're AoE dmg dealers and we should stay behind the warriors. Durable upgrade does not add so much armor because our default Armor stat is extreamly low. If you feel squishy, you should get mythic armor and helm and upgrade them (if you have gold). Also, you should not stay in red areas in boss fights anyways. Just learn how to play vs each mob and which mobs can be stunned, how they attack etc. And always stay behind a warrior because mages cant recieve all the damage and surive. :)
Speed stat is not worth anything. I wont explain anything about this because this stat just sucks and points should be spent elsewhere.
Str is better than dex. Gives you more HP and lets your shield absorb more dmg.
Have fun! :)

[borix]

I have ran a while with 5 points in speed (little mistake after a respec weekend) and I can confirm it does not do much for you. My theory was that with a little extra speed you could dodge red zones more easily and you would have a little edge while farming crates in Brackenridge. Only this last might be true but the edge is so small that it is not worth it.

Any point spend somewhere else is much better to keep you alive longer in battles.

If a point would give us 2% speed increase (so 10% in total) then I might reconsider.

[neko]

I'd not suggest adding points to durable. We're not tanks, we're AoE dmg dealers and we should stay behind the warriors. Durable upgrade does not add so much armor because our default Armor stat is extreamly low. If you feel squishy, you should get mythic armor and helm and upgrade them (if you have gold). Also, you should not stay in red areas in boss fights anyways. Just learn how to play vs each mob and which mobs can be stunned, how they attack etc. And always stay behind a warrior because mages cant recieve all the damage and surive. :)
Speed stat is not worth anything. I wont explain anything about this because this stat just sucks and points should be spent elsewhere.
Str is better than dex. Gives you more HP and lets your shield absorb more dmg.
Have fun! :)

Yours and borix's comments are most helpful. Thank you. I was thinking the same thing with speed but will reconsider.

Does anyone have experience with the new magma gear? If so, how does it compare with an upgraded mythic set? <<AHHH! Nevermind. It didn't take long before I found this thread: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?146612-need-advice-what-is-best-pink-gear-for-mage-atm

[Nesox]

Lifegiver

I so disagree on your statements of lifegiver. This is a PVE build and lifegiver is one of the best skills in game. I don't know if youu realise it but lifegiver instantly replenishes full health and mana on your partymembers at least once they are rogue's. And were the rogue the main part is of any pve team when it comes to damage, you can help out your pve team allot. Especially the part on mana replenish, skills absorb your mana so fast that a 25 perc pot barely does anything. remember only sorcerers have int realotted. So this skill helps your mates, cause 1 skill combo on a rogue is usually 1-2 pots depends on your stats.

So as a rogue i say any PVE sorcerer needs lifegiver, if you think pve is about doing solo stuff then you haven't played this game to well.


I second Chorba69's comment. Any mage who runs lifgiver is a liability to the party. You are greatly hindering offensive potentional in exchange for a mediocre heal. You will contribute far more to the party by being offensive then 'supportive'. The best support is to remove more enemies. Any Rogue/Warrior who can't manage their own mana usage, especially endgame, is also a liability. Avoid running with these people at all costs.

Oh and in the revelation that dmg multipliers dont stack any points in passive damage are a complete waste. Put these in crit instead.

[yorikokikyo]

First of all, when I started reading your comment, I thought you're a rogue. Lots of rogues whine about the mana and they blame sorcerers if they dont have Lifegiver with mana upgrade, so it seems you whine about it too.
Please tell me, how could Lifegiver help in elite runs? Or even in tomb runs? Or anywhere? Maybe in low levels when you dont have money for pots. But, in elites, mage's heal won't help you at all! Okay it restores few some hp and mana but? Nobody benefits od it. There is a reason why you can spam pots in PvE. Mages are AoE dmg dealers and CCers. Though, they should be support class but they dont have any good support skill.
Using Lifegiver in PvE just slows your runs by a lot because as a mage you're there to deal AoE dmg.
Dont be offended by this post but, any experienced player will never ask for hp/mana restore in PvE because you can use pots. If STG gives a dmg buff or something else like Shadow Veil or anything similar, then there could be some use of this skill. Otherwise, just NO.
And just one info, I play this game since season1 and Im sure I know something about mage class.
Cheers and have fun!


one thing i hate being a mage, is when other players are asking "mage..mana plis" -_-'

[neko]

one thing i hate being a mage, is when other players are asking "mage..mana plis" -_-'

I've come to the realization that it's simply better to ignore them. I'll politely run the PUG and leave after the boss without so much as responding. Heck, I've been called plenty of negative comments: noob, lame, etc.

Decent L40+ warriors and rogues should know better than to ask.

[Guan Long]

Hi, i tried follow your build. but isn't heal important as well? shield or heal?
my build:

fire: 4/5
Ice: 3/5
time 3/5

can't decide... shield or heal.

[Guan Long]

Hello smurfs.
After I've seen lots of builds here, good ones and bad ones, I'd like to present you my PvE build so new players can have an easier start as a mage. Also, this might help old players too.
This build is based on highest AoE damage output, lowest amount of damage recieved and works very well for soloing and elites.

About Mages:

So, you have decided to play a mage, but you'd like to know more about it.
Well, we're little smurfs.

Pros:
- great AoE skills
- nice stuns
- great crowd control
- and more..

Cons:
- low armor
- low critical/dodge chance
- not the highest health amount


Stats:
Inteligence, inteligence and only inteligence..
Inteligence raises our damage, our dps, our mana, our bonus damage and a little amount of health.
Every single point should be invested in >Inteligence<


Skills:
What to upgrade, how many points to invest, which passives etc etc..
If you want to solo maps, have great aoe dps, you're in the right place.
In this build, I'll be talking about most important skills in my opinion.

So let's have a look.

Fireball:
Our first AoE skill. Mostly, it's used to stun lots of monsters. Its damage is decent but not the best one. If upgraded, it has an amazing DoT damage.

Lightning Strike:
Our best single target dps skill. Mostly used to kill bosses faster. If upgraded, there is a chance for AoE damage and stun.

Frost Bolt:
Another great skill. Frost bolt has a great damage output, can freeze and DoT multiple targets.

Time Shift:
In my opinion, best PvE skill we have. It has great damage, great dps, nice DoT and great crowd control.

Arcane Shield:
One of our survivability skills. Absorbs lots of damage, great if there are lots of monsters chasing you. Damage absorbed and duration are based on your Strength stat.

Lifegiver:
What else to say, only heal we have got. If upgraded, restores mana along with the health. In my opinion, it really sucks. Don't get it because, in PVE everyone can use pots. Only good thing is you can restore mana to your teammates but.. Just, don't take it.


Skill Upgrades:
So, that was about the skills. Let's learn about the upgrades.

Fireball:
- Engulf- Increases the spherical area of fireball explosion by 3 meters. Very good if you have a large group of monsters but even without this upgrade, Fireball has great AoE radius so in my opinion, not a must.
- Ignite- After you've hit a monster/s, you deal great DoT damage. In my opinion, must have!
- Impact- Stun them, stun them all! If you charge your fireball, monsters you've hit will be stunned for few seconds. Must have!
- Scorch- Reduces targets' hit chance by 25%. Not neccessary in this build.

Lightning Strike:
- Empowered Bolt- Increases the damage of this skill by 15%. Must have!
- Electrical Discharge- Gives you a chance for AoE damage but chance is low. Not needed.
- Positive Surge- Increases your AoE dmg on critical by 250%. Not needed for this build.
- Shock- Small chance to stun your targets. Not needed too.

Frost Bolt:
- Ice Wielder- Has chance to freeze and damage enemies around your target. Not needed since Frost Bolt DoTs the targets anyways!
- Jagged Ice- If monster is stunned or slowed, it recieves DoT. Must have!
- Shiver- Increases the duration of stun/slow by 3 seconds. Must have!
- Arctic Shatter- Low chance to leave behind an ice patch. Not needed.

Time Shift:
- Dodge and Death- Reduces monsters' dodge chance and increases damage of clock drop. Optional. Upgrade it if you want additional dps. It increases clock drop damage by ~15%-35%.
- Time Bomb- When the clock expires, it deals small damage to all targets nearby. Also optional. If you want to sacrifice a passive, upgrade it, but, better spend a point on a passive than on this upgrade.
- Countdown of Pain- Charge your attack and you will deal nice DoT. Must have!
- Freeze Time- Root your targets. Don't let them move! Great CC, must have!

Arcane Shield:
- Extended Shield- Increases amount of damage absorbable and lets your shield last 5 seconds longer. Must have!
- Displacement Wave- Knocks back targets around you if charged. Not needed.
- Static Resonance- Increases damage reduction by 15%. Must have!
- Hardened Shielding- Grants invulnerability for 2 seconds if you charge your Shield. Optional, if you have spare points, upgrade it.

Lifegiver:
- Increased Ranged- Increases range of heal effect. Not needed.
- Empower- Restores mana along with the health. Optional. If you want to save some pots, upgrade it.
- Regrowth- Heal over time. Doesn't heal good enough, not needed.
- Recharge Mana- Restores mana over time. Doesn't restore good enough, not needed.


Passives:
There are passive skills that are always active. Great, isn't it?

- Durable- Increases your armor by 1% per upgrade.
- Critical Shot- Increases your critical chance by 1% per upgrade.
- Damage- Increases your damage value by 1% per upgrade.
- Agility- Increases your dexterity stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Knowlegde- Increases your inteligence stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Quickness- Increases your moving speed by 1% per upgrade.
- Might- Increases your strength stat by 5 per upgrade.

In my opinion, Knowledge and Might are must have. Others are optional.


Build:

So, now you know everything about the skills. Now, what to use, what to upgrade, when, how? Proceed..

Basic build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time.
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might

Those skills and upgrades are important and must have for every PvE build!
Now, you can combine what you want and what you need. My suggestions and full build is bellow..

Build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time, (Dodge and Death).
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance, (Hardened Shielding).
Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might, 5 points Critical Shot, Damage/Agility 5

You can choose either Dodge and Death in Time Shift or Hardened Shielding in Arcane Shield. With Dodge and Death upgrade you hit ~15-35% more with Time Shift, and with Hardened Shielding you can survive those insta-kill boss attacks (red area) if casted on time.
You can see I've added Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt and new passives. Lightning Strike is used for boss fights only.
I've added Critical Shot because we have low crit chance, and even that little chance will help your attacks and your DoTs to do more damage.
Damage or Agility, what fits you more, upgrade it.
Also, you can notice there is no Lifegiver. Correct. For PvE, it's not so neccessary. You can use pots in PvE as many as you want, and if there's a rogue or a warrior blaming you for not having Lifegiver for health and mana restoration, tell them to use pots, because, well, they can.


Skill rotation and tactics:
Now, after you know everything, it's time for skill rotation and tactics.
I will tell you what do I use, and how do I use. Hope you will understand.
Lets begin..

First, it all depends how much HP and armor you have. If you have more HP and armor, you will be able to lure more monsters. It's all about your gear.
So, you wanna lure 10-15 monsters in Dead City map for example. Run and use your non-charged Fireball, your non charged Frost Bolt and your non-charged basic attack. If you get in trouble, use your Arcane Shield. Now, after you've lured enough monsters, run in a circle around all of them for 1-2 seconds max, place your charged Time Shift. After that, run out of the Time Shift and start dpsing. My rotation is charge Fireball for a nice DoT and to stun the archers and mages because they can reach you with their arrows/spells, charge Frost Bolt for another DoT and to freeze your targets, and then spam your basic attack untill your skills recharge. And then repeat. While monsters are in effect of your Time Shift's root effect, normal monsters can't reach you (except archers/mages with spells and non-cc-able monsters). If any of those non-cc-able monsters get to you, just dps and kill it while keeping all of the cc-able monsters in effect of your Time Shift. For single target dps, meant for bosses, minibosses and other strong monsters, you can switch one of your skills with Lightning Strike. I usually switch Arcane Shield with Lightning Strike for boss fight because if you are running elite runs, you will have a warrior tanking the boss so you can just dps.
And that's it. Just cc everything that can be cc-ed, dps them, dot them, charge important skills (mentioned above) and watch your enemies dying rooted under effect of your Time Shift! Hope you've understood everything I've said. It really works.
In elites, everything stays the same. Except the part where you pull the mobs. You dont pull them, warriors pulls them. :) Wait for warrior to tank them all, place Time Shift near him, get out of the Time Shift's area and start dpsing. At boss, switch Arcane Shield with Lightning and that's it. Also, watch out for those red area attacks. Lots of bosses might insta-kill you so stay out of the red area.


Pets:
Pets are also very important in our fights. In my opinion, best ones are:
Samael, Abbadon, Slag, Glacian, Clyde, Hammerjaw, Haze, Orion, Malison, Keetle, Colton, Ribbit, Ethyl etc.
In first place, they all help you. One gives HP, other damage, third crit chance, fourth armor etc.
It's up to you which one you will choose.

Gear:
If you have gold, get yourself mythics and arcane staff.
If you don't have gold, Tarlok gear is the second option and I must say it's not bad at all.
Best legendary items are: staff- Architect Pylon of Brutality, helm- Tarlok's Winter Crown of Assault, armor- Tarlok's Vestment of Assault, ring- Ruby Band of Brutality (epic ring), necklace- Tarlok's Heart of Brutality.


The End:

So this is it. I hope I've helped new players, maybe even old players with this guide.
Enjoy it and have fun playing AL!

Hi, i've play this game since sometime and i was a warrior. but i'm a newbie towards mage.
for PVE mage shield or heal better?

[Criticizen]

Heal


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[chorba69]

Hi, i've play this game since sometime and i was a warrior. but i'm a newbie towards mage.
for PVE mage shield or heal better?

No, no, no and again no to heal! Just no. Heal is just useless for PvE. Warrior's heal is lots better than ours and we mages should be support class, c'mon stg..
But yeah, just dont use heal in PvE. You just aggro lots of mobs and as a mage you are there to deal aoe dmg and cc. Heal wont keep you alive trust me. Yes you heal yourself and your teammates but, you aggro then lots of mobs and nothing will help you to stay alive.
If you dont have mythics, shield will help you a lot in elites.
Once again, just use pots in PvE. And if warrior or rogue blames you for not having heal with mana restore, just leave the party. End of story.

[Kreasadriii]

Shield of course

[Criticizen]

Very helpfull thx !


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[Goodhabbit]

Hi! After. i read this guide, i make my own build and it was great :)
Thx for this guide :)
Im just wanna share my build
Skills:
5/5 Fire
4/5 thunder no shock
4/5 clock no time bomb
4/5 shield no displacement wave
3/5 heal just increase range and empower
Note: why did i put heal? Because many of the rogue and war beg for mana especially in km3 when i tell them i dont have heal they kicked me from the party. I tried explaining why we mages decided not to use heal but they dont listen thats why i put up heal.

You just change thunder to heal when your the only mage in the party but this is optional if your party decided not to use your heal and be all out dmg mage.

Now for the passive
5/5 str
5/5 int
5/5 dex
5/5 dmg

Cheers and have fun! :)

[ndirish8178]

I have a ? as far as gear goes and their secondary stats. I know we want as much int as possible, but what's the better secondary stat? Why does all BiS have str over dex? I know str gives more health but dex gives crit...

Sorry if this has been asked before I kinda new to AL.

[Nesox]

I have a ? as far as gear goes and their secondary stats. I know we want as much int as possible, but what's the better secondary stat? Why does all BiS have str over dex? I know str gives more health but dex gives crit...

Sorry if this has been asked before I kinda new to AL.

Str is the best secondary as it gives the most life. Dex is almost entirely useless to a mage.

[Nesox]

Hi! After. i read this guide, i make my own build and it was great :)
Thx for this guide :)
Im just wanna share my build
Skills:
5/5 Fire
4/5 thunder no shock
4/5 clock no time bomb
4/5 shield no displacement wave
3/5 heal just increase range and empower
Note: why did i put heal? Because many of the rogue and war beg for mana especially in km3 when i tell them i dont have heal they kicked me from the party. I tried explaining why we mages decided not to use heal but they dont listen thats why i put up heal.

You just change thunder to heal when your the only mage in the party but this is optional if your party decided not to use your heal and be all out dmg mage.

Now for the passive
5/5 str
5/5 int
5/5 dex
5/5 dmg

Cheers and have fun! :)

The 5% passive damage will be cancelled if you use any pet that has a higher % damage bonus. Put those points elsewhere. Also by lv41 I find that the 5 points in dex provides such a small health boost that this as well can probably be better utilized elsewhere. Crit would be a better choice if you dont need extra skills. For PvE remove ALLLLLLL points from heal. Under NO circumstances should heal be used in PvE. Please reread my previous post about running with people who can't manage their own mana.

For PvE your build should be Fire, Ice, Light, TS, Shield. Use full offense and sub in shield only when necessary as you want to maximize offense. IE. Shield for difficult elites and bosses only. Using higher armor/health gear and 4 skills will do more overall damage than a high Int build that requires shield because you are so fragile.

[Amazonina]

question, which skills is better at charging than others? for instance fb, ice and lightning the pros and cons of it. And on bosses do you charge clock seems worthless to me that u charge the clock at boss it doesn't root them.

[Nesox]

Fireball is the usuall initial attack as it stuns the largest number of foe. After that it depends on the situation. Usually I charge all skills as our job is to keep enemies stunned/frozen. Charge fireball before running in to drop a clock to help take less damage. Not charging ice and light will throw down more damage without the charging time but the stun effects are negated.

The purpose of charging TS is the DOT. Root does not work on bosses but the DOT does. Kelvin is my favorite pet for stunning bosses and disrupting their AOE attacks. He is not powerful but the stun is the most reliable.

[Zadzood]

Can i ask a question? i am a noob at this game and i just started so i dont know if this is true but cant you just get heal with the same skills you stated in the post and the passive skills since the max level is 41? so you have 40 skill points right?

[extrapayah]

idk, mage are not supposed to tank, shield has long minimum inactive time (15s to wait after shield is down), 15s... battle in elite maps doesn't decided in first 15s, you probably only need shield to run from mobs (but you have tanks for that), so i always consider shield as a pvp skills, for pve, the better one is always the one that has shorter cooldown or inactive time,

so ice, lightning, fire, clock will be great offensive combination, and don't forget to kite and use your pots

ice, lightning, gale, clock for mobile play (don't use it to scatter though), or

ice, lightning, clock, heal for support play

choose whatever suits you


Can i ask a question? i am a noob at this game and i just started so i dont know if this is true but cant you just get heal with the same skills you stated in the post and the passive skills since the max level is 41? so you have 40 skill points right?

yes, but you might also want to spend it to armor instead, since devs make the skills unchangeable when it's on cooldown, so it's not so recommended having more than 4 skills (i used 6 before, and decided to stick to 5 since the update on cooldown)

[glengon]

yes, but you might also want to spend it to armor instead, since devs make the skills unchangeable when it's on cooldown, so it's not so recommended having more than 4 skills (i used 6 before, and decided to stick to 5 since the update on cooldown)

Uhh no. You are not supposed to change skills in the middle of the battle. Change time shift to lightning/heal to shield right before the boss if you have 5/6 skills.
And as for passives put in str dex int and crit not armour nor dmg.

[Sirnoobalot]

Nice guide.
I need FREE RESPEC now.
lol

[Sirnoobalot]

Why no Elondrian gear?isn't is good?

[Deanoboi]

Hi,

I need some advice please, I am using your build as I lvl up, but I'm finding it hard to make money, what's a good pet for Mage but cheapish? Also I'm confuessed with the Passives, where do I put the points in passive skills :S

[Sirnoobalot]

Hi,

I need some advice please, I am using your build as I lvl up, but I'm finding it hard to make money, what's a good pet for Mage but cheapish? Also I'm confuessed with the Passives, where do I put the points in passive skills :S
If you have less money,use the lifegiver with mana upgrade that way you save some gold.
Good cheap pets are ribbit,wrathjaw,malison,frost,blight,ethyl and orion.

[glengon]

Why no Elondrian gear?isn't is good?
Thats because the guide is old. The ancient druid of brutality and living spirit of assault sets are good.

[Deanoboi]

If you have less money,use the lifegiver with mana upgrade that way you save some gold.
Good cheap pets are ribbit,wrathjaw,malison,frost,blight,ethyl and orion.

Thank you for the reply,

The build I'm following is
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time.
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might

Also, at what levels should I be looking to be upgrading gear?

15/20/25/30/35 - 41?

[Deanoboi]

Anyone can help with upgrading gear levels please? I really dno what to buy at what level etc :(

[chorba69]

Hello again smurfs! How's it going? It's been a while..

Sorry, I couldn't update the guide. I couldn't even play AL at all for a long time.
I moved to Germany, had lots of stuff to do IRL so there was no free time.
Now I've got a job, a good internet connection, and I might start again with AL.

I see people still use this guide and I'm quite happy with that.
Since it's old, it needs to be updated because new smurfs may have problems with new stuff.

First, I'll get in-game to see how's it going, because lots of new stuff arrived as you already know.

Then, I'll update this guide. It's too old now, and it's time to update it.
Most of the stuff will remain the same. I'll update the Gear section, Pets section etc. because new of new stuff.
I can't believe this guide survived for this long though.

And when that's done, I'll start playing again.

I'm not sure when I'm gonna update this because this Friday I'm going on vacation.
I'll see if I can do it tomorrow. If not, I'll do it asap.

Cheers and have fun!

[Theenix]

I started to play a mage by accident when i buy a new character with story coins. I find this guide very very helpful but I have to disagree on one point: lifegiver
As you explain several times that we must not use it I will try to explain why I disagree. I am level 40 and just have runs the easiest elite map so may be i am loosing your point. May be after level 41 i will change and join your way.

Heal and mana regen is 2 skill points, not a big cost. Your point that you will loose supportive by using this. As it take you 1 out of the 4 skill places i understand that in a relevantly set up team on elite map when you need to be as efficient as you can it can be better to use shield. But...

Now if you start playing a mage you wont be able to play elite before reaching level 40! Before this on standard map having 3 dmg skills (fire, ice, time) + shield is not really helpfull. In fact shield will only help you few time with boss to handle the one shoot kill. Lifegiver will help you saving some pots which is not really relevant, but also help other teamates to be more efficient all the time! At level 40 when running standard map having 2 point in lifegiver seems more helpfull to me than shield.

My advice would be follow the guide but use lifegiver before being level40 (i did it by not using time skill but do now it seems better not using shied for me). And as leveling 41 is a long run from level 40, with this free respec WE
my current build is:
fire : 1 2 3 4
ice : 1 3 4
time : 1 2 4 5
shield : 1 2 4 5 => will use for elite or hard map
light : 1 2 4 => in place of fire whith boss
lifegiver: 1 3 => for all standard map or to hellp other people leveling
passive: 5int, 5 might, 5 agility, 4 critical

I do not consider that spending 2 lifegiver points in passive will be really more efficient. May be it can be better also for pvp but i do not play pvp so.

Will let you know if I change my POW.

Thanks again for the guid.

[glengon]

fire : 1 2 3 4
ice : 1 3 4
time : 1 2 4 5
shield : 1 2 4 5 => will use for elite or hard map
light : 1 2 4 => in place of fire whith boss
lifegiver: 1 3 => for all standard map or to hellp other people leveling
passive: 5int, 5 might, 5 agility, 4 critical

Agreed. Lifegiver really helps in non elite maps since mobs cant really kill you in oneshot anyway(except for bosses) and it really helps to save pots and helps to make noob rogues and warrs shut up for mana especially in pugs.

[Deanoboi]

Which gun/gear should I buy at level 25?

I dnt under stand brutality etc which is better?

Please help?

[Nesox]

Which gun/gear should I buy at level 25?

I dnt under stand brutality etc which is better?

Please help?

Look for gear with Int primary stat and Str secondary stat. Usually anything of "Brutality" is good for mages. Ancient Druid gear is cheap and effective. I am also having good results with the Ancient Druid of Security as well. You sacrifice damage for armour/life which saves pots and allows more agressive play without the death penalty. This is my preference for elites and dense mobs. For maps with sparse enemies a dmg build will be faster. If you are finding you need health then I would recomend swapping out any non-grand glacial gems for Life Shards. The extra 40 health per will outweigh the small damage reduction.

Elites, leveling, "support", too poor for pots... whatever your excuses for using Lifegiver in PVE, you are wrong. Add offense.

[Deanoboi]

Look for gear with Int primary stat and Str secondary stat. Usually anything of "Brutality" is good for mages. Ancient Druid gear is cheap and effective. I am also having good results with the Ancient Druid of Security as well. You sacrifice damage for armour/life which saves pots and allows more agressive play without the death penalty. This is my preference for elites and dense mobs. For maps with sparse enemies a dmg build will be faster. If you are finding you need health then I would recomend swapping out any non-grand glacial gems for Life Shards. The extra 40 health per will outweigh the small damage reduction.

Elites, leveling, "support", too poor for pots... whatever your excuses for using Lifegiver in PVE, you are wrong. Add offense.

Thanks for the info, I have been purchasing Druid of security also =]

[madetofarm]

Thanks a lot for this post

[Kaziscate]

A really really really good build for endgame pve that I use is:
Attack Skills
1.Lifegiver
•Empower to get that mana back
2.Arcane Shield
•Extended Shield to keep you alive longer
•Static Resonance to get rid of those annoying debuffs and make it less likely that you will die
•Hardened Shielding to get those attacks in before you start taking damage
3.Fireball
•Engulf for better crowd control
•Ignite to get some extra damage in
•Impact to make it easier to crowd control and deal with those pesky ranged enemies easier
4. Time Shift
•Dodge and Death to deal more extra damage
•Countdown of Pain to deal more damage
•Freeze Time so that melee enemies cant get you
Passive Skills
5. 5/5 Durable for extra defense
6. 5/5 Knowledge for extra damage,bonus damage,and a little extra health
7. 5/5 Damage for extra damage
8. 5/5 Agility for some extra health,critical chance,dodge, and damage
9. 5/5 Might for extra health
10. 5/5 Critical Shot for extra critical chance
Other Stuff
11. For gear i recommend brutality gear since it lets you deal decent damage and it gives you extra health
12. For those of you that are confused on what the heck bonus damage is, it basically amplifies your base damage and helps you deal more damage against higher level enemies
•I wouldn't recommend sacrificing base damage for bonus damage unless the base damage deduction is very low like 0.5 for example
13. Here are a list of pets that aren't crazy expensive or are farmable and decent for mages:
•Wrath Jaw
•Orion
•Crawly
•Ethyl
•Kettle
•Colton
•Malison
•Flap Jack
•Ironbite (Stat buff isnt so great but its ability can help out and its normal attack is capeable of stunning bosses and it is cheap)
14. How I approach a group of enemies is that first I use charged up Arcane Shield then charged up Fireball to stun the enemies then I use charged up Time Shift to lock the enemies in place then I stand back and pick them off. I use Lifegiver when I am low on mana or health. When Time Shift wears off I stun the group of enemies again with Fireball and use charged up Arcane Shield as soon as it is available again and I keep repeating this process until the group of enemies is dead.

I hope this helped you guys :)

[MysticRob]

I would NOT recommend using Lifegiver in endgame PVE. Lots of information as to why this is a bad skill in PVE.

Also, the damage passive is a waste... it doesn't get stacked with pet damage and the five points are wasted.

[Otahaanak]

^^ This and I'll add one more

Definitely stay away from Scorn. Just no. One reason, among many others: You will hit his AA out of habit and kill the entire party at the absolute wrong time.


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[MysticRob]

LOL

I have done that with Scorn. Only once. Because I never used him again.

[Diggdugg]

I will disagree rob, I upgraded the life giver and for solo runs and farming it's nice to have that 5 seconds of invulnerability as endgame mages should be strong enough that aggro doesn't matter when controlling mobs as solo map runner. And the life giver lets me charge in and decimate heavy mobs without smashing pots. So yes to life giver (for solo and farming). I wouldn't use it in elite farming as you will need more attack skills to survive.

Also rob is waaay right passive damage is a waste of 5 skill points it it automatically overridden by any damage bonus by pet or elix.

But really nice post and good information kaziscate thx for sharing

[MysticRob]

Digg, I have heard the upgraded Lifegiver is way better than before and it might be beneficial when farming easier maps (still a death wish in elites).

I'm currently using Fire, Ice, Light, Clock, and Gale when farming easier maps... well 4 of those 5 depending on the situation. When running more difficult maps I'll use the shield instead of gale. For me, I don't see how Lifegiver fits into my preferred skills.

[Otahaanak]

My setup is the same as Rob's. A little background - I ran with 4 attack skills from from my earliest days in AL. Never used lifegiver or shield until Tindrin was released. At that points (prior to the release of Ankh's) the deaths just became too much, and I spec'd out shield (4/5 no knockback). And now, I've gotten used to using it.

As our damage has increased a ton (and my toon's gear improved) I even stopped running with shield in some of the elite maps - Planar tombs for example.

At the end of the day, I'd say there are valid arguments to both sides. For those with struggling with stats, gear and goldI can see the benefit, or for running mostly solo as you describe. For me, firing off lifegiver is time I could freeze or gale mob(s) and save myself or party member and give me time to pot.

[Kaziscate]

A really really really good build for endgame pve that I use is:
Attack Skills
1.Lifegiver
•Empower to get that mana back
2.Arcane Shield
•Extended Shield to keep you alive longer
•Static Resonance to get rid of those annoying debuffs and make it less likely that you will die
•Hardened Shielding to get those attacks in before you start taking damage
3.Fireball
•Engulf for better crowd control
•Ignite to get some extra damage in
•Impact to make it easier to crowd control and deal with those pesky ranged enemies easier
4. Time Shift
•Dodge and Death to deal more extra damage
•Countdown of Pain to deal more damage
•Freeze Time so that melee enemies cant get you
Passive Skills
5. 5/5 Durable for extra defense
6. 5/5 Knowledge for extra damage,bonus damage,and a little extra health
7. 5/5 Damage for extra damage
8. 5/5 Agility for some extra health,critical chance,dodge, and damage
9. 5/5 Might for extra health
10. 5/5 Critical Shot for extra critical chance
Other Stuff
11. For gear i recommend brutality gear since it lets you deal decent damage and it gives you extra health
12. For those of you that are confused on what the heck bonus damage is, it basically amplifies your base damage and helps you deal more damage against higher level enemies
•I wouldn't recommend sacrificing base damage for bonus damage unless the base damage deduction is very low like 0.5 for example
13. Here are a list of pets that aren't crazy expensive or are farmable and decent for mages:
•Wrath Jaw
•Orion
•Crawly
•Ethyl
•Kettle
•Colton
•Malison
•Flap Jack
•Ironbite (Stat buff isnt so great but its ability can help out and its normal attack is capeable of stunning bosses and it is cheap)
14. How I approach a group of enemies is that first I use charged up Arcane Shield then charged up Fireball to stun the enemies then I use charged up Time Shift to lock the enemies in place then I stand back and pick them off. I use Lifegiver when I am low on mana or health. When Time Shift wears off I stun the group of enemies again with Fireball and use charged up Arcane Shield as soon as it is available again and I keep repeating this process until the group of enemies is dead.

I hope this helped you guys :)

This build is just a suggestion just so you guys know so just add your own tweaks to it if theres anything in this build that bothers you :)

[Otahaanak]

Takes guts to share on this forum Kaziscate, props to you for doing so. Suggestions were just good, especially as an answer to the OP.
No offense to you intended :)


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[MysticRob]

This build is just a suggestion just so you guys know so just add your own tweaks to it if theres anything in this build that bothers you :)

Sorry, if my earlier commends came off as rude or mean. I was trying to provide constructive criticism based on my personal experiences/preferences. No offense intended.

[prinson18]

Awesome guide. I tried it and it works well

[newzealandmaorimage]

most interesting

[Ofaanacan]

6..........

[Uice]

Nice guide, in my personal opionio for pve i dont use heal

[Stellerax]

Hmm.. Gonna try this build. Ty.

[Ansm]

Hello smurfs.
After I've seen lots of builds here, good ones and bad ones, I'd like to present you my PvE build so new players can have an easier start as a mage. Also, this might help old players too.
This build is based on highest AoE damage output, lowest amount of damage recieved and works very well for soloing and elites.

About Mages:

So, you have decided to play a mage, but you'd like to know more about it.
Well, we're little smurfs.

Pros:
- great AoE skills
- nice stuns
- great crowd control
- and more..

Cons:
- low armor
- low critical/dodge chance
- not the highest health amount


Stats:
Inteligence, inteligence and only inteligence..
Inteligence raises our damage, our dps, our mana, our bonus damage and a little amount of health.
Every single point should be invested in >Inteligence<


Skills:
What to upgrade, how many points to invest, which passives etc etc..
If you want to solo maps, have great aoe dps, you're in the right place.
In this build, I'll be talking about most important skills in my opinion.

So let's have a look.

Fireball:
Our first AoE skill. Mostly, it's used to stun lots of monsters. Its damage is decent but not the best one. If upgraded, it has an amazing DoT damage.

Lightning Strike:
Our best single target dps skill. Mostly used to kill bosses faster. If upgraded, there is a chance for AoE damage and stun.

Frost Bolt:
Another great skill. Frost bolt has a great damage output, can freeze and DoT multiple targets.

Time Shift:
In my opinion, best PvE skill we have. It has great damage, great dps, nice DoT and great crowd control.

Arcane Shield:
One of our survivability skills. Absorbs lots of damage, great if there are lots of monsters chasing you. Damage absorbed and duration are based on your Strength stat.

Lifegiver:
What else to say, only heal we have got. If upgraded, restores mana along with the health. In my opinion, it really sucks. Don't get it because, in PVE everyone can use pots. Only good thing is you can restore mana to your teammates but.. Just, don't take it.


Skill Upgrades:
So, that was about the skills. Let's learn about the upgrades.

Fireball:
- Engulf- Increases the spherical area of fireball explosion by 3 meters. Very good if you have a large group of monsters but even without this upgrade, Fireball has great AoE radius so in my opinion, not a must.
- Ignite- After you've hit a monster/s, you deal great DoT damage. In my opinion, must have!
- Impact- Stun them, stun them all! If you charge your fireball, monsters you've hit will be stunned for few seconds. Must have!
- Scorch- Reduces targets' hit chance by 25%. Not neccessary in this build.

Lightning Strike:
- Empowered Bolt- Increases the damage of this skill by 15%. Must have!
- Electrical Discharge- Gives you a chance for AoE damage but chance is low. Not needed.
- Positive Surge- Increases your AoE dmg on critical by 250%. Not needed for this build.
- Shock- Small chance to stun your targets. Not needed too.

Frost Bolt:
- Ice Wielder- Has chance to freeze and damage enemies around your target. Not needed since Frost Bolt DoTs the targets anyways!
- Jagged Ice- If monster is stunned or slowed, it recieves DoT. Must have!
- Shiver- Increases the duration of stun/slow by 3 seconds. Must have!
- Arctic Shatter- Low chance to leave behind an ice patch. Not needed.

Time Shift:
- Dodge and Death- Reduces monsters' dodge chance and increases damage of clock drop. Optional. Upgrade it if you want additional dps. It increases clock drop damage by ~15%-35%.
- Time Bomb- When the clock expires, it deals small damage to all targets nearby. Also optional. If you want to sacrifice a passive, upgrade it, but, better spend a point on a passive than on this upgrade.
- Countdown of Pain- Charge your attack and you will deal nice DoT. Must have!
- Freeze Time- Root your targets. Don't let them move! Great CC, must have!

Arcane Shield:
- Extended Shield- Increases amount of damage absorbable and lets your shield last 5 seconds longer. Must have!
- Displacement Wave- Knocks back targets around you if charged. Not needed.
- Static Resonance- Increases damage reduction by 15%. Must have!
- Hardened Shielding- Grants invulnerability for 2 seconds if you charge your Shield. Optional, if you have spare points, upgrade it.

Lifegiver:
- Increased Ranged- Increases range of heal effect. Not needed.
- Empower- Restores mana along with the health. Optional. If you want to save some pots, upgrade it.
- Regrowth- Heal over time. Doesn't heal good enough, not needed.
- Recharge Mana- Restores mana over time. Doesn't restore good enough, not needed.


Passives:
There are passive skills that are always active. Great, isn't it?

- Durable- Increases your armor by 1% per upgrade.
- Critical Shot- Increases your critical chance by 1% per upgrade.
- Damage- Increases your damage value by 1% per upgrade.
- Agility- Increases your dexterity stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Knowlegde- Increases your inteligence stat by 5 per upgrade.
- Quickness- Increases your moving speed by 1% per upgrade.
- Might- Increases your strength stat by 5 per upgrade.

In my opinion, Knowledge and Might are must have. Others are optional.


Build:

So, now you know everything about the skills. Now, what to use, what to upgrade, when, how? Proceed..

Basic build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time.
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might

Those skills and upgrades are important and must have for every PvE build!
Now, you can combine what you want and what you need. My suggestions and full build is bellow..

Build:
Fireball- Ignite, Impact.
Frost Bolt- Jagged Ice, Shiver.
Time Shift- Countdown of Pain, Freeze time, (Dodge and Death).
Arcane Shield- Extended Shield, Static Resonance, (Hardened Shielding).
Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt.
Passives- 5 points Knowledge, 5 points Might, 5 points Critical Shot, Damage/Agility 5

You can choose either Dodge and Death in Time Shift or Hardened Shielding in Arcane Shield. With Dodge and Death upgrade you hit ~15-35% more with Time Shift, and with Hardened Shielding you can survive those insta-kill boss attacks (red area) if casted on time.
You can see I've added Lightning Strike- Empowered Bolt and new passives. Lightning Strike is used for boss fights only.
I've added Critical Shot because we have low crit chance, and even that little chance will help your attacks and your DoTs to do more damage.
Damage or Agility, what fits you more, upgrade it.
Also, you can notice there is no Lifegiver. Correct. For PvE, it's not so neccessary. You can use pots in PvE as many as you want, and if there's a rogue or a warrior blaming you for not having Lifegiver for health and mana restoration, tell them to use pots, because, well, they can.


Skill rotation and tactics:
Now, after you know everything, it's time for skill rotation and tactics.
I will tell you what do I use, and how do I use. Hope you will understand.
Lets begin..

First, it all depends how much HP and armor you have. If you have more HP and armor, you will be able to lure more monsters. It's all about your gear.
So, you wanna lure 10-15 monsters in Dead City map for example. Run and use your non-charged Fireball, your non charged Frost Bolt and your non-charged basic attack. If you get in trouble, use your Arcane Shield. Now, after you've lured enough monsters, run in a circle around all of them for 1-2 seconds max, place your charged Time Shift. After that, run out of the Time Shift and start dpsing. My rotation is charge Fireball for a nice DoT and to stun the archers and mages because they can reach you with their arrows/spells, charge Frost Bolt for another DoT and to freeze your targets, and then spam your basic attack untill your skills recharge. And then repeat. While monsters are in effect of your Time Shift's root effect, normal monsters can't reach you (except archers/mages with spells and non-cc-able monsters). If any of those non-cc-able monsters get to you, just dps and kill it while keeping all of the cc-able monsters in effect of your Time Shift. For single target dps, meant for bosses, minibosses and other strong monsters, you can switch one of your skills with Lightning Strike. I usually switch Arcane Shield with Lightning Strike for boss fight because if you are running elite runs, you will have a warrior tanking the boss so you can just dps.
And that's it. Just cc everything that can be cc-ed, dps them, dot them, charge important skills (mentioned above) and watch your enemies dying rooted under effect of your Time Shift! Hope you've understood everything I've said. It really works.
In elites, everything stays the same. Except the part where you pull the mobs. You dont pull them, warriors pulls them. :) Wait for warrior to tank them all, place Time Shift near him, get out of the Time Shift's area and start dpsing. At boss, switch Arcane Shield with Lightning and that's it. Also, watch out for those red area attacks. Lots of bosses might insta-kill you so stay out of the red area.


Pets:
Pets are also very important in our fights. In my opinion, best ones are:
Samael, Abbadon, Slag, Glacian, Clyde, Hammerjaw, Haze, Orion, Malison, Keetle, Colton, Ribbit, Ethyl etc.
In first place, they all help you. One gives HP, other damage, third crit chance, fourth armor etc.
It's up to you which one you will choose.

Gear:
If you have gold, get yourself mythics and arcane staff.
If you don't have gold, Tarlok gear is the second option and I must say it's not bad at all.
Best legendary items are: staff- Architect Pylon of Brutality, helm- Tarlok's Winter Crown of Assault, armor- Tarlok's Vestment of Assault, ring- Ruby Band of Brutality (epic ring), necklace- Tarlok's Heart of Brutality.


The End:

So this is it. I hope I've helped new players, maybe even old players with this guide.
Enjoy it and have fun playing AL!

This can be used in Ellite Maps?

[Teasajah]

Hi, thanks for the guide. I have a question, how do I use a staff? I used a gun all the time and even thought I have +150 damage now, I feel like I'm much less effective.

[Potato is me]

This can be used in Ellite Maps?

with mastery and the level cap difference... this guide is really outdated...