Pure Mage Build Question

[Tsarra]

Hey gang. First thread on the Spacetime Forums, so go easy on me. I've been trolling for a few days, and I wanted to get your opinion on the real dirt between running a Pure Mage Enchantress with a wand and an eye/bracer/shield versus running her with a staff. It seems like there are benefits to both approaches, and maybe some information which I'm just not clear on. I hope you can clear this up for me.

My understanding so far is that an Enchantress run with a wand and a shield (let's call it a shield...I know it isn't a shield, but it's just easier) does less damage overall, but affords your character more armor and stat bonuses in general (from the extra piece of equipment). An Enchantress run with a staff, however, is said to be able to do more damage overall.

It seems like there are a couple of different ways look at this, though. Currently, I run a Level 37 Enchantress, and I use the wand/shield setup exclusively. I have a staff as well which I regularly upgrade at the Consignment Store (every 5 levels or so if I don't find something), and Yanis' EXTREMELY NICE list of stuff is very helpful with this. Maybe my wand is just really good compared to the staff, but I've only noticed a 2-3 point difference in spell damage across the board between the two when I actually look at the Skills page with the different equipments. I don't really feel like doing the math right now, but it seems like my overall adjusted DPS might actually be higher with a wand in some cases, based on the additional critical hit bonuses given by the extra piece of equipment (constant use of Blessing of Might at Level 5 notwithstanding) and the rather nominal difference in damage.

Have you guys run across this scenario? Generally, I buy equipment which affords me a high mana regeneration rate, and I've noticed that eq like that usually yields a bit less damage than eq that is obviously FOR DAMAGE. The for damage eq, though, typically has crud for stats. It shouldn't matter, though, because I usually buy the same type of wand and staff to be consistent. What am I not doing right? Are the numbers on the Skills tab maybe wrong? Or is there not that big a difference between the wand and staff set up. I know someone charted it out...is that available anywhere? :) Sorry to be a pain, but this is driving me nuts.

[Pharcyde]

You got a pretty good understanding in the benefits and downfalls :D.

Anyways, keep having both wands and staffs, theres on right weapon for every situation.

You were saying that you use wand for DPS, thats actually not good. DPS Means Damage per second for only the weapon. DPS does not increase your spell damage. So using a staff with lower DPS will actually increase your damage across the board.

Wand is pretty much just for extra armor.

[Unruly]

Yep, as a bird i usually use my cyber wing and void talon to fight mobs.. And then switch to Cyber blaster of void to fight the boss. 1h and shield for mobs and 2h for bosses. I love the defense that shields gives because my class gets a lot of aggro and i tend to die fast with a 2h handed weapon.. EVen with Cyber.. My talon/wing combo gives me 119 defense while a 2h weapon gives me 85 defense... Major difference

[Tsarra]

Right...DPS on the stat page (which is just the weapon) versus overall character damage per second. Gotcha. So, a better question then would be...is there a stat that affects overall magic damage with skills? I notice that the different weapons do change the damage the skills do, but I can't seem to figure out what influences this. Is it just the weapon damage ranges? Or is it kind of arbitrary; like a secret stat that we can't see? Thanks! :)

[Tsarra]

My talon/wing combo gives me 119 defense while a 2h weapon gives me 85 defense... Major difference

That IS a huge difference. I will continue to carry both around...though I can usually hang in Ao2 with just my wand and shield solo. No issues yet. ;)

[Pharcyde]

Right...DPS on the stat page (which is just the weapon) versus overall character damage per second. Gotcha. So, a better question then would be...is there a stat that affects overall magic damage with skills? I notice that the different weapons do change the damage the skills do, but I can't seem to figure out what influences this. Is it just the weapon damage ranges? Or is it kind of arbitrary; like a secret stat that we can't see? Thanks! :)

Int Boosts your Magic Spells Traumatically. I haven't taken any time to look at difference weapon damage makes on spells, but its enough to make me use staffs almost all the time.

[Tsarra]

I have a Level 35 Mamboza's Voodoo Fire Pin right now; it stacks up to just about every staff I've looked at against it. More AoE damage would be nice, but I bet I need to look for bigger eq. Best staff I've found so far is a Level 30 Brain-freeze Icebolt Staff, and THAT'S the one with the armor on it. Sounds like I've got it backwards...but I already leave piles of corpses everywhere I go, so I'm not too worried about it yet. Probably do more looking around when I get to Level 40. :)

[Zeus]

When you start at around lvl 45 go get a apep staff, it will really help you level through, trust me on this.

[Pharcyde]

Keep in mind that the Brainfreeze staff is lvl 30, Your using a lvl 35 weapon. You can't accurately compare them very well because of the 5 level difference.

Good Level 35 staffs are zombie voodoo staff and voodoo master staff.

[Tsarra]

KK...lemme take a look at those and I'll post back and let you know what I find out. I think I've seen both at the Consignment Store. I'll check there now. :)

[Tsarra]

So the Skills tab reports back a 4-5 point damage reduction across the board on every one of my skills with the staff equipped (I got a Zombie's Voodoo Fire Staff). I think that's because there's no Int on the staff...but I should test it to make sure. I guess the best way to see if that's accurate is to test it in Ao1's boss area solo, which I'll try right now. I'll be back...or dead. :)

[Tsarra]

Seth sucks, BTW.

So, I definitely do more damage overall with a staff...but it doesn't appear to be with my skills, unfortunately. I've read a bit here on the forums which suggest that a staff directly increases AoE Skill damage, and this doesn't seem to be the case. What does seem to be the case is that the staff punches through armor more efficiently, and I was regularly hitting 180 damage every 1.1 seconds with Blessing of Might on (and even 100+ without crits) versus 60-80 damage every second with a wand. That's a big difference! Skill damage appeared to be unaffected, both on smaller monsters and bosses. The "AoE Mage Blender" effect was about the same with both set ups. Death was a lot more apparent with the staff (I didn't even attempt Seth with the staff, since I have to spam pots during most of that fight when I'm soloing him); I figure that this is because of the reduced armor.

I can absolutely see the merit in both set ups, though, and I appreciate you guys helping me with this. Please let me know if this sounds right to you guys.

[Palyna]

I prefer using a wand and a shield, although it cause lesser damage. Using a staff if I didnt spam my pot in time I will be dead, then gotta start over. Gotta farm for a good wand.

[Duke]

I prefer the wand/shield set-up myself. It allows me to stack on a high enough M/S regen rate that the only reason I'd ever run out of mana is if I draw aggro and have to use Magic Shield. Staff users may be able to clear mobs a little faster, but if you're not soloing, it's not that big of a deal.

[Tsarra]

That's more or less what I ended up settling on. I take a huge hit on M/s with the staff setup, and it seems like the staff is only really useful for my play style when I'm in a big group, since I don't need to worry about drawing aggro quite as much. I solo quite a bit and I noticed that the set up with the staff isn't quite sustainable without tons of mana pots. With the wand and shield, there's almost no pot usage except during boss fights. And for tanking for a group as an Enchantress, I think I'd go with the wand everytime. And mana shield. 18 M/s makes for a pretty nice wall.

[Tsarra]

Thought I'd resurrect this dead thread to amend my story on this topic. At lower levels, there isn't a whole lot of difference between the damage on the two setups, which is where my confusion was coming in -- the wand seemed better every time (plus, I was using holiday gear, which increases damage). There is an enormous difference at higher levels, though. I use an Apep Sunkiller Staff of Isis now at Level 46 almost exclusively (for the AoE ice effect), and I clean through mobs in places like Ao2 like butter by myself. I read that a D'jinn Wand is my best bet for boss fights because of the procs. But I also read that bosses are immune to this sort of thing. I will have to experiment and maybe start a new thread on it later. :)

[Fyrce]

A lot of weapon effects work on bosses. Skill effects, no. Weapon effects, yes. Not sure about all bosses, but works on lots of them. Try it.

[Royce]

Bosses are immune to root and freeze, and are not affected as much as common mobs by some stuns. Afaik all othe procs and skills effects work on them.

[omerojs]

ok.. so staff for lvl 46 is good.... what is apep? sorry the noob question... i dont hang out much in forums so i am not aware of the terms..

[PhreEkGarden]

search for apep under weapons in the auction, youll see the staff

[omerojs]

ok, sorry for the noob question lol...
i know that is the name now lol.... i still dont know if a apep staff of isis or the apep staff of tooth..(or something like that)

[Royce]

ok.. so staff for lvl 46 is good.... what is apep? sorry the noob question... i dont hang out much in forums so i am not aware of the terms..

Apep is nice and really cool looking, but if you can find an alien staff, use that instead. They also have AOE ice damage/freeze and higher damage and are actually cheaper than Apep because they are more common and I think often overlooked because people done realize they are ice blasters.


ok, sorry for the noob question lol...
i know that is the name now lol.... i still dont know if a apep staff of isis or the apep staff of tooth..(or something like that)

Of the AO1/2 varieties, Isis is the best for a mage followed by Thoth (well dreamers actually but there is no dreamers Apep).

[Tsarra]

The Apep Sunkiller Staff of (I liked Isis). Look for it in the auction house. :)

[omerojs]

that is the one i got yesterday.. Apep Sunkiller Staff of Isis lvl 45, i liked it on the damage (i think) but i did feel the -18 in armor because my "shield" was giving me 22 armor and my wand an extra 2 armor...
i kept the previous set even the wand is lvl 35, actually i may sell it to buy a D'jin wand...

[Tsarra]

The D'Jinn Wand is a must-have if you can afford it; level is not important, so long as you get one. And the Imhotep Eyes are super cheap. The wand, however, is not.

[Blazin]

whoa whoa wait a minute, are you saying weapon damage affects spell damage directly? havnt heard of this and havnt tested it out.. will have to look into it tonight

[Blazin]

i have a question, might be back tracking, someone said something about bosses not being affected by root, is that just the root portion or are they immune to the dodge decrease as well?

[Major]

Yes weapon dmg affects spell dmg and as for root I'm not not sure but I believe the dodge takes effect but the root portion does not...

[Royce]

i have a question, might be back tracking, someone said something about bosses not being affected by root, is that just the root portion or are they immune to the dodge decrease as well?

Bosses are immune to the root and freeze effects but not the other components I'd rooting and freezing skills. So the dodge debuff works, damage from frostbite works, etc.

[Pharcyde]

whoa whoa wait a minute, are you saying weapon damage affects spell damage directly? havnt heard of this and havnt tested it out.. will have to look into it tonight

Yes weapon damage directly effects spell damage, by a lot actually.

[Blazin]

did not know that, very good to know thank you. so what's the staff to use seems like keeper staff might be the best for spell damage? dunno too much about the 55 pinks

[Blazin]

double post, my apologies

[Royce]

did not know that, very good to know thank you. so what's the staff to use seems like keeper staff might be the best for spell damage? dunno too much about the 55 pinks

Keeper (particularly with the set) gives the highest skill damage at 50. At 55 the gem blast staff does even more skill damage (though that may be in part due to the +10 base damage all mega Mage items give). Haven't tested the gemstone staff yet, and it's probably even higher but it's not an AOE staff like the keeper and gem blast.