Zerious
06-16-2012, 04:56 PM
Hello, STS forums!
I've decided to have an easy way to learn about lvl 26 pvp mages. At the cost of mountains of platinum and my decent kdr, I've studied numerous builds and tested some along the way to give you the best information I could offer on this subject. This thread is regarding to potent builds in today's metagame that includes lvl 26 mages, placing emphasis on mages vs mages, as of the date posted. The purpose of this thread is to provide tactical information for newcomers and returning veterans, as well as those who are struggling to keep up with PL pvp's ever-changing realm of competition.
What is the metagame? (if you know, skip down :D )
The metagame is basically technique and playstyle that you see all the successful pros using. These combinations are never full-proof, for there is always at least one counter to every build. These counters are either part of the metagame for this reason or are known as "anti-meta" builds, the difference being that an anti-meta build is set to counter something specific in the metagame, whereas meta-builds are meant to do well in any situation. These meta-builds make up the metagame. :) (this is for those of you who dunno anything i'm taking about)
THE BUILDS
Obviously, several pieces go into every build, but what are these pieces in the metagame? Well here they are!
Gear
sets: Most commonly used sets are SSC crystalline (int) and earthquake (int) for versatility. There are a few pallies that use onyx (str) for nuking potential
-helms: generally SSC dreamer helms are the most common for their regen, but some go for more hit% and crit with a Sniper's or JT helm.
-weapons: SSC wands for dps and regen, toyman wands and candle wands for spell damage and auto attack bursts. Onyx sword for nuke-pally, lvl 19 sniper's xbow or 25-26 JT ice xbow for reach (and extra freeze)
-armor: SSC dreamers for regen or JT for hit and crit, alchemist's for m/s, hit% and crit or sorcerer's lvl 15 for overall regen. Some use the dex crafted armor as well (artisan's or expert's)
-shields: SSC dreamers for regen or JT for hit and crit (pros use earthquake wings ;))
-rings: mostly variations of Fine Platinum Bands (+10 damage), some go Fine Golden Band (+8 armor)
-faces: tatooed elf (+1 damage), dark elf (+2 hit%), fierce elf (+1 crit), goth glamor (+1 armor).
Skill allocations
most skills reflect the purpose of a build. Depending on the objective during a fight, skills determine a consistent strategy that will lead to winning matches.
Here are some of the more typically used set-ups that are used in today's metagame:
-high lightning (rank 5+): generally used because of its low cooldown, it provides a mage with a heightened spell dps on closer opponents. The armor debuff also increases by rank:
rank 1-2: 1 armor lowered per stack
rank 3-4: 3 armor lowered per stack
rank 5-6: 3-5 armor lowered per stack
lightning can stack the debuff up to 3 times if used (and landed) constantly.
-high fire (5+): generally used for kiting, anti-kiting, or nuking. firestorm's radius ranges vary as follows:
rank 1-2: 8m
rank 3-4: 10m
rank 5-6: 12m
damage is also scaled per rank. firestorm is the second most powerful burst spell in a mage's spell pool, drain being first.
note that some mages will be content with 3 fire in order to place points in other spells.
-high drain (3+) generally used for nuking due to it being the highest scaling spell at a mage's disposal. Also the mage's primary means of survival. Note the rather long cooldown.
-low BOV (4-) points are taken from this blessing to add an advantage in offensive spells by placing them there instead. Primarily used in nuking and kiting builds.
Combos
Combos are what execute the builds themselves. In other words, you won't try to tank damage with a full kite build. Here are the basic open combos of the metagame:
-early nuke: drain-light-fire-frost-heal. This combo works well against low BOV builds that don't kite or 2h builds. Ironically those same builds (except xbow users) tend to be successful using this combo as well. countered by mid-nuke, tank combos.
-mid-nuke (or just nuke): frost-drain-light-fire-heal. Very common if not the most common not-kiting combo out there. quite versatile when timed correctly. Countered by late-nuke combos and drain-kite combos.
-late-nuke: frost-light-drain-fire-heal. somewhat underused combo that excels against nukists. This combo comes with spell dps in mind since lightning is cooled down right after this combo is finished. It leaves drain late enough so that in certain cases where the opponent survives the nuke, you'll most likely have counter-drained your opponent's drain, giving you the upper-hand in health and usually forcing mana shield. Can also destroy kiters with high fire who are unaware of your skill reach.
-tank combo: light-drain-heal-frost-fire. Another combo revolving around spell dps (despite the name, it's meant to power through a kiter's spacing attempts, not intake loads of damage). This has a rather more steady and fluid damage output but can be countered by mid-nukes depending on opponent's timing and late-nukes. There is also an anti-kite variation that switches the order of lightning and frostbite. The purpose of this is to stop a kiter from leaving your reach while the odd heal timing frees you from their frostbite in order to close in and finish them off.
-juke kiting: fire-ice(while retreating)-heal-ice-drain-light-fire-...: Meant to disrupt your opponent by pushing then locking them out of range, usually leading to them wasting half of their combo (ideally drain) on thin air. VERY effective on nukists when the user has an advanced feel for ranges.
-drain kiting: fire-drain(begin retreating as you tap)-ice(while retreating)-heal: Meant to attempt utilization of both nuking and kiting in one go. You generally retreat until drain is off of cooldown. It's ideal that neither play be able to land lightning on eachother when this combo is executed properly. Very effective against low BOV and Pallies, does well against tank combos.
-low BOV kiting: fire-ice-heal. Obviously this combo is incomplete, but generally the user is to kite the opponent until BOV wears off, (since both fighters buff simultaneously, you can time it using your own BOV armor buff icon as a reference) then move in to finish their opponent off with a nuke or a spell dps combo.
Mana shielding
I've left this out as a separate section since mana shielding isn't necessarily part of a particular combo, rather a lifeline. This section will give insight to mana shield's purposes and uses in battles.
-lifeline shielding: The most common use for mana shield. This is when you mana shield as late as possible but before your health reaches zero. A common mistake is when mana shield is cast too late, and the user dies after the cast, but before the effect actually checks.
-early shielding: The majority of those asked about early shielding said that it was a "cheap trick" or a "cowardly move". But since the metagame is all about strategy and since there's a counter to everything, I've decided to include it. The main purpose of early shielding is to block a large portion of your opponent's combo. Works all too well against mid and late-nukists, but gets heavily countered by kiters. If you happen to kite out mana shield, then be aggressive once it wears off since now your opponent has no lifeline left.
-mana shield as a buff: Opening a match with mana shield before your combo. meant to deny early drain healing effects. Can be countered by kiting and late drain combos. Ideally, you want to burst down as much of the shielder's mana as possible to allow drain to heal. Mana shield will only block drain's heal if no health is lost due to drain. If drain hit 150 and 50 of it was mana, the drain will heal for 100 damage.
Other Aspects of Battle
-The unlucky "nothing you can do" scenarios: lucky dodges, lucky crit chains (unless the opponent is using a crit build), lag. If any of this occurs. Don't be discouraged, offer a rematch! Don't forget to switch things up!
-higher levels: If you lose to a higher leveled opponent. Don't feel discouraged either. You tried. That's all that mattered :) If you win, well then you MUST be doing something right!
-rushers: Of course they are around but if you are alert and you pay attention, you can catch them when they're up to no good. When they approach you move away. If they buff, you buff too! It's the same as a regular fight at this point, don't be intimidated, because you read this guide and know what's up! :D
-bears: Most bears rely on one thing to dish out all their damage: beckon. If you can push them using firestorm as the pull occurs, you just might space yourself enough from any lethal slashes. If they land stomp, no problem, it'll never kill you unless they're 2h and landing all crits. Just make it a point that when you land the firestorm to follow up with more spells, and try to get in as much of it as possible before the hell scream hits. Generally I go fire-ice-drain-light-heal while commanding my mage to move back. The reason why i hold back is because when beckon starts, it delays for about half a second, giving me enough time to get roughly 1-2m farther from the bear. This spells kiting my freinds. Avoid bears who hang around walls. If they pin you, you're more than likely going to lose unless you break free quickly.
-birds: I'd say to give it your all as you would a Mage. They are very luck-based, but unless they're 2h, or using a toyman/candle wand, not really a threat. If they use a pickaxe or board and nail, then try to kite them. heal out of thorns root to keep moving. If you can manage to save mana shield until after the first blast shot, then your chances of winning the fight are very high.
That's all for now!
Thanks for reading, I hope this opens up a lot of people's understanding of the metagame, and possibly brings in more competition! If you need help with builds or don't know where to start, pm me and I'll give you some pointers. Thanks to all of you out there who have done testing with me in the past till present; I would not have this information if you weren't there for me: Zapoke, Fliabalith, Blitz, Finneri, JoeyChandler, Apollo, Salutee, LadyHadassa, Onemanwarcrew, and Gracious :D Love you guys!
Zerious
I've decided to have an easy way to learn about lvl 26 pvp mages. At the cost of mountains of platinum and my decent kdr, I've studied numerous builds and tested some along the way to give you the best information I could offer on this subject. This thread is regarding to potent builds in today's metagame that includes lvl 26 mages, placing emphasis on mages vs mages, as of the date posted. The purpose of this thread is to provide tactical information for newcomers and returning veterans, as well as those who are struggling to keep up with PL pvp's ever-changing realm of competition.
What is the metagame? (if you know, skip down :D )
The metagame is basically technique and playstyle that you see all the successful pros using. These combinations are never full-proof, for there is always at least one counter to every build. These counters are either part of the metagame for this reason or are known as "anti-meta" builds, the difference being that an anti-meta build is set to counter something specific in the metagame, whereas meta-builds are meant to do well in any situation. These meta-builds make up the metagame. :) (this is for those of you who dunno anything i'm taking about)
THE BUILDS
Obviously, several pieces go into every build, but what are these pieces in the metagame? Well here they are!
Gear
sets: Most commonly used sets are SSC crystalline (int) and earthquake (int) for versatility. There are a few pallies that use onyx (str) for nuking potential
-helms: generally SSC dreamer helms are the most common for their regen, but some go for more hit% and crit with a Sniper's or JT helm.
-weapons: SSC wands for dps and regen, toyman wands and candle wands for spell damage and auto attack bursts. Onyx sword for nuke-pally, lvl 19 sniper's xbow or 25-26 JT ice xbow for reach (and extra freeze)
-armor: SSC dreamers for regen or JT for hit and crit, alchemist's for m/s, hit% and crit or sorcerer's lvl 15 for overall regen. Some use the dex crafted armor as well (artisan's or expert's)
-shields: SSC dreamers for regen or JT for hit and crit (pros use earthquake wings ;))
-rings: mostly variations of Fine Platinum Bands (+10 damage), some go Fine Golden Band (+8 armor)
-faces: tatooed elf (+1 damage), dark elf (+2 hit%), fierce elf (+1 crit), goth glamor (+1 armor).
Skill allocations
most skills reflect the purpose of a build. Depending on the objective during a fight, skills determine a consistent strategy that will lead to winning matches.
Here are some of the more typically used set-ups that are used in today's metagame:
-high lightning (rank 5+): generally used because of its low cooldown, it provides a mage with a heightened spell dps on closer opponents. The armor debuff also increases by rank:
rank 1-2: 1 armor lowered per stack
rank 3-4: 3 armor lowered per stack
rank 5-6: 3-5 armor lowered per stack
lightning can stack the debuff up to 3 times if used (and landed) constantly.
-high fire (5+): generally used for kiting, anti-kiting, or nuking. firestorm's radius ranges vary as follows:
rank 1-2: 8m
rank 3-4: 10m
rank 5-6: 12m
damage is also scaled per rank. firestorm is the second most powerful burst spell in a mage's spell pool, drain being first.
note that some mages will be content with 3 fire in order to place points in other spells.
-high drain (3+) generally used for nuking due to it being the highest scaling spell at a mage's disposal. Also the mage's primary means of survival. Note the rather long cooldown.
-low BOV (4-) points are taken from this blessing to add an advantage in offensive spells by placing them there instead. Primarily used in nuking and kiting builds.
Combos
Combos are what execute the builds themselves. In other words, you won't try to tank damage with a full kite build. Here are the basic open combos of the metagame:
-early nuke: drain-light-fire-frost-heal. This combo works well against low BOV builds that don't kite or 2h builds. Ironically those same builds (except xbow users) tend to be successful using this combo as well. countered by mid-nuke, tank combos.
-mid-nuke (or just nuke): frost-drain-light-fire-heal. Very common if not the most common not-kiting combo out there. quite versatile when timed correctly. Countered by late-nuke combos and drain-kite combos.
-late-nuke: frost-light-drain-fire-heal. somewhat underused combo that excels against nukists. This combo comes with spell dps in mind since lightning is cooled down right after this combo is finished. It leaves drain late enough so that in certain cases where the opponent survives the nuke, you'll most likely have counter-drained your opponent's drain, giving you the upper-hand in health and usually forcing mana shield. Can also destroy kiters with high fire who are unaware of your skill reach.
-tank combo: light-drain-heal-frost-fire. Another combo revolving around spell dps (despite the name, it's meant to power through a kiter's spacing attempts, not intake loads of damage). This has a rather more steady and fluid damage output but can be countered by mid-nukes depending on opponent's timing and late-nukes. There is also an anti-kite variation that switches the order of lightning and frostbite. The purpose of this is to stop a kiter from leaving your reach while the odd heal timing frees you from their frostbite in order to close in and finish them off.
-juke kiting: fire-ice(while retreating)-heal-ice-drain-light-fire-...: Meant to disrupt your opponent by pushing then locking them out of range, usually leading to them wasting half of their combo (ideally drain) on thin air. VERY effective on nukists when the user has an advanced feel for ranges.
-drain kiting: fire-drain(begin retreating as you tap)-ice(while retreating)-heal: Meant to attempt utilization of both nuking and kiting in one go. You generally retreat until drain is off of cooldown. It's ideal that neither play be able to land lightning on eachother when this combo is executed properly. Very effective against low BOV and Pallies, does well against tank combos.
-low BOV kiting: fire-ice-heal. Obviously this combo is incomplete, but generally the user is to kite the opponent until BOV wears off, (since both fighters buff simultaneously, you can time it using your own BOV armor buff icon as a reference) then move in to finish their opponent off with a nuke or a spell dps combo.
Mana shielding
I've left this out as a separate section since mana shielding isn't necessarily part of a particular combo, rather a lifeline. This section will give insight to mana shield's purposes and uses in battles.
-lifeline shielding: The most common use for mana shield. This is when you mana shield as late as possible but before your health reaches zero. A common mistake is when mana shield is cast too late, and the user dies after the cast, but before the effect actually checks.
-early shielding: The majority of those asked about early shielding said that it was a "cheap trick" or a "cowardly move". But since the metagame is all about strategy and since there's a counter to everything, I've decided to include it. The main purpose of early shielding is to block a large portion of your opponent's combo. Works all too well against mid and late-nukists, but gets heavily countered by kiters. If you happen to kite out mana shield, then be aggressive once it wears off since now your opponent has no lifeline left.
-mana shield as a buff: Opening a match with mana shield before your combo. meant to deny early drain healing effects. Can be countered by kiting and late drain combos. Ideally, you want to burst down as much of the shielder's mana as possible to allow drain to heal. Mana shield will only block drain's heal if no health is lost due to drain. If drain hit 150 and 50 of it was mana, the drain will heal for 100 damage.
Other Aspects of Battle
-The unlucky "nothing you can do" scenarios: lucky dodges, lucky crit chains (unless the opponent is using a crit build), lag. If any of this occurs. Don't be discouraged, offer a rematch! Don't forget to switch things up!
-higher levels: If you lose to a higher leveled opponent. Don't feel discouraged either. You tried. That's all that mattered :) If you win, well then you MUST be doing something right!
-rushers: Of course they are around but if you are alert and you pay attention, you can catch them when they're up to no good. When they approach you move away. If they buff, you buff too! It's the same as a regular fight at this point, don't be intimidated, because you read this guide and know what's up! :D
-bears: Most bears rely on one thing to dish out all their damage: beckon. If you can push them using firestorm as the pull occurs, you just might space yourself enough from any lethal slashes. If they land stomp, no problem, it'll never kill you unless they're 2h and landing all crits. Just make it a point that when you land the firestorm to follow up with more spells, and try to get in as much of it as possible before the hell scream hits. Generally I go fire-ice-drain-light-heal while commanding my mage to move back. The reason why i hold back is because when beckon starts, it delays for about half a second, giving me enough time to get roughly 1-2m farther from the bear. This spells kiting my freinds. Avoid bears who hang around walls. If they pin you, you're more than likely going to lose unless you break free quickly.
-birds: I'd say to give it your all as you would a Mage. They are very luck-based, but unless they're 2h, or using a toyman/candle wand, not really a threat. If they use a pickaxe or board and nail, then try to kite them. heal out of thorns root to keep moving. If you can manage to save mana shield until after the first blast shot, then your chances of winning the fight are very high.
That's all for now!
Thanks for reading, I hope this opens up a lot of people's understanding of the metagame, and possibly brings in more competition! If you need help with builds or don't know where to start, pm me and I'll give you some pointers. Thanks to all of you out there who have done testing with me in the past till present; I would not have this information if you weren't there for me: Zapoke, Fliabalith, Blitz, Finneri, JoeyChandler, Apollo, Salutee, LadyHadassa, Onemanwarcrew, and Gracious :D Love you guys!
Zerious