Laar
02-20-2014, 07:26 PM
Hey Spacetime Community, today I'm bringing an in-depth guide of how to play as a Lv51 Mage!
Table of Contents:
I: Introduction
II: Builds
III: Strategies
IV: Conclusion
Introduction
So before I start the guide, let me answer a few questions:
Why are you making this guide?
Well to start things off, I think this PvP level range is really balanced, and it makes it really fun. I also haven't seen any good Lv51 Mage guides out there (not saying I'm really pro), but I HAVE seen Lv50 mage guides that are really good. This is strictly based on Lv51 though, and although I respect those guides it's not what others might be looking for.
Isn't it better to be a Dex/Int hybrid?
The advantages of being a Pure is that you have more mana regen, a bigger mana pool, and more skill damage than a Dex/Int hybrid. In this guide, we mainly focus on maximizing those aspects.
Does K/D matter?
Absolutely NOT! It's not looking at the opponent's stats that makes the opponent good, it's how he plays against you that does. You have to rely on your own personal experience, not by looking at another player's stats.
Builds
First let's talk about the skill build. Without further ado here it is:
64113
You might be asking: Why don't you have Icestorm?
Well, to me Icestorm is a big waste, and I'd rather give it up for another skill point in Weakness. This leads to another question:
Why do you use Weakness instead of Nightmare?
Nightmare is more of a defensive-lowering debuff, and since I'm technically a nuke, it's not as helpful as a Weakness. A Weakness IMO is better because that -25% hit and crit debuff is really crucial since you're pretty squishy as a Pure mage, so that limits the opponent's damage dealt on you. This is ESPECIALLY crucial against bears, since right now they are considered to be the "king" of PvP. Another thing you should consider is range. Nightmare has a 6m range while Weakness has an 8m range, and with an 8m range, you could spam your Lightning while in range for your debuff.
Of course, you can choose to use Nightmare instead to go in for the complete nuke. Either way is fine, it's up to your playstyle.
Why do you have a Revive?
I know that some people give up the extra point in Revive to put it into another skill, but right here I don't see the point. For starters, what are you going to put the point into? Icestorm would be an option, but in 51, you don't necessarily need another ice debuff. Plus, Icestorm has a 6m range, and you need to kite as a mage. Another option is to put it into Nightmare for an extra debuff, but 1 point into a debuff is a very minimal debuff. It isn't worth the time to use in a fight, and as you're squishy, every second counts. The last option is to put the Revive point to get your Mana Shield to level 2. That's also very minimal: all that is gained are a few armor points, which isn't much of a defining factor. It's better to leave the point into Revive, and it also covers up the supporting role well.
Rings: This is to fit your preference, but for me, I use a 10 damage and 2 mana regen ring.
Face: At this level range, a face hardly affects you, but ever stat counts. Seeing as I already have enough mana to stable me, I went for a crit face (Red Elf). Another option is to go with the hit% face (Dark Elf), seeing as that low 100% hit could really get ruined by a debuff.
The first loadout is a Mega Mage Wand Set:
64114
As you can see, I do have 67 Dex to equip a ring, but that's optional. Even if you have an Int ring, you might want to get just 67 dex because that would boost you up to 100% hit. It shouldn't matter, either way works.
If you can't afford a wand, the star wand is an alternative as a substitute and easier to get since it's cheaper.
This set is a really good loadout because since you're a Pure mage, you're mainly focusing on maximizing that mana regen and mana pool. You want to have a good supply of mana since you have a Mana Shield, which is essential to surviving as a mage. This set also contains a pretty good amount of damage, which is also a main priority to paying attention to as a Pure mage.
The second loadout is a Mega Mage Staff Set:
64115
This set prioritizes into maximizing that skill damage. This is just about the closest you can get to getting the max skill damage (or close to it). For a squishy staff set, it also has a really good mana pool and regen, so using your Mana Shield is safe even with a staff set. Keep in mind that it is a pretty even trade between damage and survivability in comparison with the staff and wand set - you're giving up 20 armor for 20 damage.
The third loadout is a Mastermind Wand Set:
64116
You might be asking: Isn't the whole purpose of being a Pure to maximize your skill damage? That is true, and this is why I don't recommend this set too often. Sometimes in PvP you find yourself in sticky situations, so you pull this set out to hopefully get some good nukes with that crazy hit% and crit. Keep in mind it's really risky using this set, your skill damage is low, your armor is low, and your mana regen is low. You're vulnerable using this, and you can't rely on your Mana Shield as much as with the Mega Mage sets. When buffed, you have ultra crit, around 58 crit as a matter of fact, so in some cases it's really worth it.
Strategies
PvP is mostly based off of skill, technique, and strategy. Yes, gear does play a big part in PvP, but it's how you use the gear efficiently that makes a good PvPer.
What to practice:
- Learn your range!
- Time your skills properly. Don't use Heal too early, don't waste Drain, and learn to use your Mana Shield.
- Learn when to use skills according to the situation. This is essential. Many people rely on a combo, but really, it depends. Half the time, a combo wouldn't work.
- Use a skill map that you don't have to look at. A lot of PvPers look at their skill map to tap the skills, but you have to memorize where your skills are instead of looking and THEN tapping. You need to be concentrated on the battle, not where to tap.
- Look at the battle to see if they used a skill out of ranged, missed a skill, etc. This is really helpful, because if the enemy is missing a skill due to cooldown, you have a few seconds of advantage.
My Skill Combo
Drain, Frost, Lighting, Fire
*Note: Do NOT rely on this combo too much! Don't wait for the skills to cool down just to use this, learn to use skills depending on the situation and what you're facing against. A good PvPer relies on tactics, so use tactics and don't be dumb (not to be offending you guys) and rely on one thing!
Against Bears: I figured I'd start with this because this is the class that's your worst enemy. If they hit beckon and then pin you, you'll have to resort to your Mana Shield, but since you're pinned, you're going to run out of mana fairly quickly. These are a few tips to help with that! At the beginning of the battle, use Firestorm to try and knock him back so the bear misses his beckon. If that doesn't work and he hits the beckon on you, use that weakness when you get pulled into your opponent! Bears would be significantly easier to tank and kite. Use your Heal when the bear Hellscreams, that would heal the debuffs away. Make sure to keep on spamming Lightning, it has pretty nice debuffs. Keep on kiting with your Frostbite and Firestorm. To win a fight against a bear, its vital to hit those debuffs. Time your heals correctly, those stuns and debuffs are really annoying and hard to deal with sometimes.
Against Birds: After they've used their first/second damaging skill, use Mana Shield. Try not to use it immediately, they can break it with Blast Shot and it would serve no purpose. If you late MS however, it would be harder for them to time their Blast Shot because they don't know when you're gonna use it. Some birds would even go as far as spamming Repulse and running away until you hit the MS. You need to kite these guys, and control the opponent, knocking him back with Firestorm and spamming Frostbite. They have roots at 10m, so learn your range and stay out of theirs. Try to stay at 10 - 12m, only go to 8 for the lightning. Immediately go back once you use that skill, because 8m is in range for an extremely painful Creul Blast combo (Shattering Scream + Blast Shot). When they have their repulse on cooldown and you know you could safely heal off their roots, go in for the kill. Make sure you have the bird pinned down with frostbite, and make sure that their avian scream (deroot) is also on cooldown. The stituation would go as followed: Frostbite, Mana Shield, Heal, Drain, Lightning, Firestorm. Of course, this scenario could change depending on when the bird roots or what the bird decides to do, but this is how it should be looking as.
Against Mages: There are two ways to win against a mage - an early MS and a late MS. Many people are reluctant to use an early MS because its "noobish". In reality, however, an early MS would either force the enemy to kite, MS or die from your nuke. If they chose to MS, properly time your heals and drains to last longer. Be careful not to MS too early, you should MS once you got them pinned down with Frostbite. If you do MS early, you'll be knocked away by Firestorm, making that MS pointless. Another way is the late MS strategy. Learn to time your heals and drains to survive, and use MS as an extra life if you're low or expecting a nuke. A few strategies to keep in mind while fighting a mage is to heal off their Frostbite. By doing so, they won't be able to do the *COMBO*, which really hurts. Heal off Frostbite on time, otherwise if you heal too early, you'll be stuck. Be careful not to waste your Drain, it has a faily long cooldown. Lets say you're going against a kite mage.. if you waste drain at a distance, they could knock you back and then nuke you while you're at a disadvantage. Drain when you have the enemy pinned down. Also, learn to look at the enemy mage and see when she heals. After she heals, use Weakness. It gives you a debuff advantage while their heal is cooling down.. Learning cooldown applies to many situations, in fact. Use cooldown time to your advantage. Remember to output all your damage accordingly. With these Mage vs. Mage fights, it all comes down to luck based factors and skill.
Against Foxes: These guys are tricky because they have 2 dashes. When you see the opponent fox use it's dash, go ahead and use Firestrom and knock him back a bit. Keep them farther by spamming Frostbite. Foxes nuke HARD close up, so when he gets close to you or pulls you toward him, use that Mana Shield immediately. Keep in mind that their deroot has a very long cooldown (15 seconds I believe), so use that knowledge to your advantage. Make sure to use that Weakness, I can't stress how important that skill is. You really shouldn't have problems with these guys, early MS tactics against foxes are great.
Against Rhinos: Rhinos use a lot of mana quickly, and since many rhinos don't deal a lot of damage, you should be able to out heal them and stall out their mana. Rhinos generally also have low hit%, so use that Weakness so it's helpless. Continue to nuke nuke nuke! These guys should also be really easy, but I know some pretty smart rhinos who, if they see you use MS, they tank it and then extract all their damage onto you once it is used up. It should be a big deal even so, since then their buffs will be gone. Facing against rhinos is basically like a game of stalemate until the rhino's buffs are gone.
Remember, don't stress yourself out on MY strategies! Do not rely on ANYTHING strictly, except for the fact that PvP is a variety of things. The point of this guide is to get you thinking of how YOU want to PvP, and your play style should be unique and strategic.
Conclusion
My conclusion is that Pure mages are really good and fun to play! They have balanced gear, amazing debuffs, and generally are awesome. I hope this guide helps, have fun wrecking at 51 :)
Table of Contents:
I: Introduction
II: Builds
III: Strategies
IV: Conclusion
Introduction
So before I start the guide, let me answer a few questions:
Why are you making this guide?
Well to start things off, I think this PvP level range is really balanced, and it makes it really fun. I also haven't seen any good Lv51 Mage guides out there (not saying I'm really pro), but I HAVE seen Lv50 mage guides that are really good. This is strictly based on Lv51 though, and although I respect those guides it's not what others might be looking for.
Isn't it better to be a Dex/Int hybrid?
The advantages of being a Pure is that you have more mana regen, a bigger mana pool, and more skill damage than a Dex/Int hybrid. In this guide, we mainly focus on maximizing those aspects.
Does K/D matter?
Absolutely NOT! It's not looking at the opponent's stats that makes the opponent good, it's how he plays against you that does. You have to rely on your own personal experience, not by looking at another player's stats.
Builds
First let's talk about the skill build. Without further ado here it is:
64113
You might be asking: Why don't you have Icestorm?
Well, to me Icestorm is a big waste, and I'd rather give it up for another skill point in Weakness. This leads to another question:
Why do you use Weakness instead of Nightmare?
Nightmare is more of a defensive-lowering debuff, and since I'm technically a nuke, it's not as helpful as a Weakness. A Weakness IMO is better because that -25% hit and crit debuff is really crucial since you're pretty squishy as a Pure mage, so that limits the opponent's damage dealt on you. This is ESPECIALLY crucial against bears, since right now they are considered to be the "king" of PvP. Another thing you should consider is range. Nightmare has a 6m range while Weakness has an 8m range, and with an 8m range, you could spam your Lightning while in range for your debuff.
Of course, you can choose to use Nightmare instead to go in for the complete nuke. Either way is fine, it's up to your playstyle.
Why do you have a Revive?
I know that some people give up the extra point in Revive to put it into another skill, but right here I don't see the point. For starters, what are you going to put the point into? Icestorm would be an option, but in 51, you don't necessarily need another ice debuff. Plus, Icestorm has a 6m range, and you need to kite as a mage. Another option is to put it into Nightmare for an extra debuff, but 1 point into a debuff is a very minimal debuff. It isn't worth the time to use in a fight, and as you're squishy, every second counts. The last option is to put the Revive point to get your Mana Shield to level 2. That's also very minimal: all that is gained are a few armor points, which isn't much of a defining factor. It's better to leave the point into Revive, and it also covers up the supporting role well.
Rings: This is to fit your preference, but for me, I use a 10 damage and 2 mana regen ring.
Face: At this level range, a face hardly affects you, but ever stat counts. Seeing as I already have enough mana to stable me, I went for a crit face (Red Elf). Another option is to go with the hit% face (Dark Elf), seeing as that low 100% hit could really get ruined by a debuff.
The first loadout is a Mega Mage Wand Set:
64114
As you can see, I do have 67 Dex to equip a ring, but that's optional. Even if you have an Int ring, you might want to get just 67 dex because that would boost you up to 100% hit. It shouldn't matter, either way works.
If you can't afford a wand, the star wand is an alternative as a substitute and easier to get since it's cheaper.
This set is a really good loadout because since you're a Pure mage, you're mainly focusing on maximizing that mana regen and mana pool. You want to have a good supply of mana since you have a Mana Shield, which is essential to surviving as a mage. This set also contains a pretty good amount of damage, which is also a main priority to paying attention to as a Pure mage.
The second loadout is a Mega Mage Staff Set:
64115
This set prioritizes into maximizing that skill damage. This is just about the closest you can get to getting the max skill damage (or close to it). For a squishy staff set, it also has a really good mana pool and regen, so using your Mana Shield is safe even with a staff set. Keep in mind that it is a pretty even trade between damage and survivability in comparison with the staff and wand set - you're giving up 20 armor for 20 damage.
The third loadout is a Mastermind Wand Set:
64116
You might be asking: Isn't the whole purpose of being a Pure to maximize your skill damage? That is true, and this is why I don't recommend this set too often. Sometimes in PvP you find yourself in sticky situations, so you pull this set out to hopefully get some good nukes with that crazy hit% and crit. Keep in mind it's really risky using this set, your skill damage is low, your armor is low, and your mana regen is low. You're vulnerable using this, and you can't rely on your Mana Shield as much as with the Mega Mage sets. When buffed, you have ultra crit, around 58 crit as a matter of fact, so in some cases it's really worth it.
Strategies
PvP is mostly based off of skill, technique, and strategy. Yes, gear does play a big part in PvP, but it's how you use the gear efficiently that makes a good PvPer.
What to practice:
- Learn your range!
- Time your skills properly. Don't use Heal too early, don't waste Drain, and learn to use your Mana Shield.
- Learn when to use skills according to the situation. This is essential. Many people rely on a combo, but really, it depends. Half the time, a combo wouldn't work.
- Use a skill map that you don't have to look at. A lot of PvPers look at their skill map to tap the skills, but you have to memorize where your skills are instead of looking and THEN tapping. You need to be concentrated on the battle, not where to tap.
- Look at the battle to see if they used a skill out of ranged, missed a skill, etc. This is really helpful, because if the enemy is missing a skill due to cooldown, you have a few seconds of advantage.
My Skill Combo
Drain, Frost, Lighting, Fire
*Note: Do NOT rely on this combo too much! Don't wait for the skills to cool down just to use this, learn to use skills depending on the situation and what you're facing against. A good PvPer relies on tactics, so use tactics and don't be dumb (not to be offending you guys) and rely on one thing!
Against Bears: I figured I'd start with this because this is the class that's your worst enemy. If they hit beckon and then pin you, you'll have to resort to your Mana Shield, but since you're pinned, you're going to run out of mana fairly quickly. These are a few tips to help with that! At the beginning of the battle, use Firestorm to try and knock him back so the bear misses his beckon. If that doesn't work and he hits the beckon on you, use that weakness when you get pulled into your opponent! Bears would be significantly easier to tank and kite. Use your Heal when the bear Hellscreams, that would heal the debuffs away. Make sure to keep on spamming Lightning, it has pretty nice debuffs. Keep on kiting with your Frostbite and Firestorm. To win a fight against a bear, its vital to hit those debuffs. Time your heals correctly, those stuns and debuffs are really annoying and hard to deal with sometimes.
Against Birds: After they've used their first/second damaging skill, use Mana Shield. Try not to use it immediately, they can break it with Blast Shot and it would serve no purpose. If you late MS however, it would be harder for them to time their Blast Shot because they don't know when you're gonna use it. Some birds would even go as far as spamming Repulse and running away until you hit the MS. You need to kite these guys, and control the opponent, knocking him back with Firestorm and spamming Frostbite. They have roots at 10m, so learn your range and stay out of theirs. Try to stay at 10 - 12m, only go to 8 for the lightning. Immediately go back once you use that skill, because 8m is in range for an extremely painful Creul Blast combo (Shattering Scream + Blast Shot). When they have their repulse on cooldown and you know you could safely heal off their roots, go in for the kill. Make sure you have the bird pinned down with frostbite, and make sure that their avian scream (deroot) is also on cooldown. The stituation would go as followed: Frostbite, Mana Shield, Heal, Drain, Lightning, Firestorm. Of course, this scenario could change depending on when the bird roots or what the bird decides to do, but this is how it should be looking as.
Against Mages: There are two ways to win against a mage - an early MS and a late MS. Many people are reluctant to use an early MS because its "noobish". In reality, however, an early MS would either force the enemy to kite, MS or die from your nuke. If they chose to MS, properly time your heals and drains to last longer. Be careful not to MS too early, you should MS once you got them pinned down with Frostbite. If you do MS early, you'll be knocked away by Firestorm, making that MS pointless. Another way is the late MS strategy. Learn to time your heals and drains to survive, and use MS as an extra life if you're low or expecting a nuke. A few strategies to keep in mind while fighting a mage is to heal off their Frostbite. By doing so, they won't be able to do the *COMBO*, which really hurts. Heal off Frostbite on time, otherwise if you heal too early, you'll be stuck. Be careful not to waste your Drain, it has a faily long cooldown. Lets say you're going against a kite mage.. if you waste drain at a distance, they could knock you back and then nuke you while you're at a disadvantage. Drain when you have the enemy pinned down. Also, learn to look at the enemy mage and see when she heals. After she heals, use Weakness. It gives you a debuff advantage while their heal is cooling down.. Learning cooldown applies to many situations, in fact. Use cooldown time to your advantage. Remember to output all your damage accordingly. With these Mage vs. Mage fights, it all comes down to luck based factors and skill.
Against Foxes: These guys are tricky because they have 2 dashes. When you see the opponent fox use it's dash, go ahead and use Firestrom and knock him back a bit. Keep them farther by spamming Frostbite. Foxes nuke HARD close up, so when he gets close to you or pulls you toward him, use that Mana Shield immediately. Keep in mind that their deroot has a very long cooldown (15 seconds I believe), so use that knowledge to your advantage. Make sure to use that Weakness, I can't stress how important that skill is. You really shouldn't have problems with these guys, early MS tactics against foxes are great.
Against Rhinos: Rhinos use a lot of mana quickly, and since many rhinos don't deal a lot of damage, you should be able to out heal them and stall out their mana. Rhinos generally also have low hit%, so use that Weakness so it's helpless. Continue to nuke nuke nuke! These guys should also be really easy, but I know some pretty smart rhinos who, if they see you use MS, they tank it and then extract all their damage onto you once it is used up. It should be a big deal even so, since then their buffs will be gone. Facing against rhinos is basically like a game of stalemate until the rhino's buffs are gone.
Remember, don't stress yourself out on MY strategies! Do not rely on ANYTHING strictly, except for the fact that PvP is a variety of things. The point of this guide is to get you thinking of how YOU want to PvP, and your play style should be unique and strategic.
Conclusion
My conclusion is that Pure mages are really good and fun to play! They have balanced gear, amazing debuffs, and generally are awesome. I hope this guide helps, have fun wrecking at 51 :)