Hopping around, AOE mages (New player questions)...

[Behindthejab]

I started the game with an archer as I tend to favor DPS classes in MMOs. I'm really impressed with the aoe spamming goodness, and was wondering if they maintain the ability to clear areas like this in end game?

Also how do they do as dps classes against bosses?

I appreciate your time.

[Duke]

I think I already posted in a similar thread in the Archer board... :)

I find that my level 46 (as of last night) mage is pretty good at nuking the mobs, and it's actually gotten better in this regard since I've been playing it from level 33 after the balance changes. Mana regen is fast enough that I can pretty much spam the attack/debuff skills as fast as they cool down without any real drop in mana -- allows me to use Mana Shield in a pinch for defense.

My standard attack pattern for mobs is Nightmare + Lightning + Ice Storm + Fire Storm + Lightning (again, if necessary). I don't bother with Nightmare if there are other AoE mages with me.

Drain Life works great on bosses. Shame about its long cooldown time, though. I find that my primary job against bosses is to make sure everyone is buffed, clear out the mobs ASAP, chuck out debuffs, spam Heal as often as possible (and Revive if necessary), and add whatever damage I can. From repeated runs through Plasma Pyramid, the groups that had no Birds took the longest to bring down the bosses. Bears + Mages are pretty "safe", in terms of getting wiped, etc., but they take a lot longer to bring down the bosses.

[Fyrce]

Please throw a weakness in there Duke, before or after Nightmare. Particularly if you have a bear in your group, but it's a good skill anyways.

Birds are awesome, though mages are awesome also. Ao3 groups need birds for damage. At least one bird, preferably two. You do have to figure out how to use your skills (buff, debuff, damage) and how they might work in a group. Obviously you want to throw debuffs as soon as you can against mobs, particularly bosses. And break armor as great range. As a class with some of the best range damage skills, you'll also want to use those in luring mobs, which is useful, particularly at lower levels.

It doesn't hurt to try out the other classes. It helps you to learn what their skills are so you can better coordinate your fighting.

[DawnInfinity]

My normal combo is nightmare weakness ice storm fire storm lightning then frostbite, if fire storm has cooled then I use that to make the combo with frostbite. I spam heal in AOe especially during bosses.

[random1102]

i guess the sequence thing is more a thing of timing it according to your teammates skills.

so far , my personal experience is something like this.

bears will be running in front
followed by mages
and then birds

bear does the aoe pull skill
mage -> run in with weakness , and then aoe frost
bird comes in with a thorn wall(greenish stuff)
< bears combos the weakness sometime here >
mage -> lightning and then fire storm < bear stomps sometime before the firestorm >

and everything dies :D

making combos with other classes kill mobs way faster than just a mage spamming their own spells.
so just adjust your sequence to fit the nuances of your teammates :)
but i think weakness within the first 3 moves(or even 1st move) is a must in any scenario

[Duke]

For mobs, I generally don't bother with Weakness. They're dead before it matters. For bosses, my primary job is nightmare, weakness, and heal. Direct damage is secondary.

[FluffNStuff]

For mobs, I generally don't bother with Weakness. They're dead before it matters. For bosses, my primary job is nightmare, weakness, and heal. Direct damage is secondary.

Read your skill description (yeah, they are pretty bad I guess). Anyway, weakness reduces dodge which increases the chance that your Combo will 'stick'. That is why it is used.

[omnipresence]

Read your skill description (yeah, they are pretty bad I guess). Anyway, weakness reduces dodge which increases the chance that your Combo will 'stick'. That is why it is used.

Agreed when you enter a room or pull too many mobs. But in a good group against only a few mobs, the AOE skills will bring them down before weakness is done casting. ;)