What are dex mages good for?

[Sky../]

Just started one and so far i'm enjoying the lower levels. I'm just concerned that i might find out later on that they suck, and that i am just wasting my time levelling her up. Opinions?

[Echelong]

They can die really fast because of the damage and low armor. mana regen will suck above levels 51-55 if you plan on using pinks because the sets have very little mana regen or none. They do a lot of damage and you have to be really fast with pots. Try it out if you like it then why not? I would suggest for you to try that and pure int they are very fun builds and you might even like using a pally very strong but lack the damage of the previous mentioned.

[Sky../]

I already have a pure int and a pally. This will be my third mage lol. Been pying my bear a lot lately, and i just suddrnly felt the urge to make a dexmage last night.

So damage should be good but i'll be squishy. What's a popular build for dexmage? Pure dex? 2:1 dex int? Dual build eith int?

[Royce]

Dex mages are very good single target damage dealers, and second to Int mages in AOE damage capability. They are highly squishy, and not the best at anything, but are good at several things. They are a lot of fun to play, but not really an elite hybrid class any more since the rebalance. How to build depends on your preferences. For maximizing single target damage at the cost of lower AOE damage and weak healing, full Dex or mostly Dex is okay. For a more balanced build with good skill damage, decent weapon damage and average healing ability, just enough Dex to equip gear and the rest in Int is the way to go.

[Tengotengo]

I specd my mage from a Paladin to a dexmage, and I'm not really happy with it. I was using Sentinel and Cyber. When I get some plat again, I think she's going to go mainly int with enough STR to make her a little tougher.

I decided to set her up with a BS archery rig, and she's not quite dexy enough to use a bow. That's....useless. I was able to get into a wing and a dagger, which upped my DPS to 304 without buffs, but she's just not hearty enough to take frontline duties.

[Sky../]

Will i sacrifice a lot of damage by going from pure dex to dual?

[Royce]

Will i sacrifice a lot of damage by going from pure dex to dual?

Your weapon damage will go down, but your skill damage will actually increase, so it's a trade off of sorts.

[Sky../]

Your weapon damage will go down, but your skill damage will actually increase, so it's a trade off of sorts.

So if you were in my position, will you go for a pure dex or dual? Considering i already have one each of pure int mage, pally and pure dex bird all 50+.

[Royce]

So if you were in my position, will you go for a pure dex or dual? Considering i already have one each of pure int mage, pally and pure dex bird all 50+.

Yeah I have all 3 as well. Personally I like Dex/Int, but I play Dex mage almost the same as an Int mage. If you want to be more the stand back and shoot type, and not focus much on debuffing and AOE (which require you to move in closer), then pure Dex is probably better.

[WhoIsThis]

So if you were in my position, will you go for a pure dex or dual? Considering i already have one each of pure int mage, pally and pure dex bird all 50+.

You'd have to test all 3 out and see which is best for your play style. Just remember - the more dex, the stronger the single target damage, but at the expense of AOE damage.

Dex mage does not play like dex bird or mage - it's well, different; a strange hybrid of the playstyles. On one hand, you do have the long range ability, but your spells don't have the individual stopping power of a pure dex bird, nor the AOE power of a pure int. But you do have all of the abilities of a mage, although not as strong. I recommend starting with a dual spec and going from there.

[Sky../]

Cool. Thanks for all the info.

By the way, as for skills, same as a pure int?

[WhoIsThis]

Cool. Thanks for all the info.

By the way, as for skills, same as a pure int?

Yes, but individual damage is weaker and you'll have to budget your mana carefully ... expect your mana pot usage to go up.

[Sky../]

Gotcha. Thanks everyone

[WhoIsThis]

Gotcha. Thanks everyone

You really have to try it in order to understand what it is like. We can keep on replying, but in the end, you've got to try to see what it is like.