Dying way too much!

[Energizeric]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I keep dying. I was doing pretty decent with the K/D ratio up until I reached Kraag and started doing the Hauntlet and the Tombs. In the Hauntlet especially I can't finish it without dying at least 4-5 times. I figured maybe I'm not using potions fast enough but the interface just won't allow them to be used any faster. I tried keeping my left thumb on the health potion button and just continually pressing it the whole time. The result was 30 pots used in about a minute and then I died anyway.

I'm just wondering if other Mages are having the same issues. Perhaps being a mage was just a bad idea. I'm not sure. All I know is I can die from getting one hit pretty easy, or whenever there is a mob and I can't get in back of it, they kill me. As is the case in Hauntlet, I try to stay in the back and keep myself shielded but then the mob spawns behind me and I'm dead instantly.

I have pretty decent gear, but of course I can't afford the top of the line gear. My armor is around 300 and my health around 600, and my damage around 80. I was building my character for pvp eventually, so I figured for that purpose I would want to be pure INT with just a little bit of STR & DEX thrown in, but it seems for pve it's just a big problem that the mobs always come after me as soon as I enter the room and the warriors cannot keep aggro. I can't even imagine how bad it would be if I actually had a top of the line weapon as my damage would most certainly be in the 130-140 range.

What are other mages doing as far as stat specs? I was doing 1-1-7 (STR-DEX-INT) but I'm thinking maybe I need to lower that to 1-1-5. I don't want to be a tank, if I did I would be a warrior. I want to be the big damage dealer to the mobs. Just not sure exactly how that is accomplished.

Also, I cannot find how to respec my character stats. I don't want to respec the skills, only the stats. I see the button to respec the skills on the skills page, but can't find the button to respec the stats. Anyone know how to do that?

[Deadbite]

Buy a pet with armour and str or go 3:3 str int its a good build for surviving.

[Rare]

Do you mean you are soloing?

I can solo Kraag Tomb L3 pretty easily without dying. Hauntlet, I die even when I'm not soloing. Here's my build:

Str: 33
Dex: 6
Int: 65

Geared up:

Str: 70
Dex: 13
Int: 142
Health: 800
Dodge: 3.03%
Crit: 2.6%
Damang: 88.7
Armor: 247

Skills:

Fireball - 4/5
L. Strike - 3/5
G. Force - 3/5
Lifegiver - 4/5

Currently, if you respec, its the whole deal. Skills + Attributes.

[Deadbite]

And I can solo kraag tombs and watchers easy... I don't see what could be troubling you.. I am also pure int.

[Energizeric]

Ok, I just did a respec but I think this was just to experiment and may respec once more after a few hours of trying some things out.

Perhaps other sorcerers can share their specs, both stats and skills.

My skill setup was Flame, Lightning, Time Shift and Lifegiver, but I realize that I got no defense there, all attack. So I was thinking maybe to give up Time Shift and instead use Arcane Shield. That way I got some sort of defense in the mix. But I don't know, Time Shift seems like it would be good later on in pvp.

[Lovee]

You could get a decent warrior to be your tank if you wanna concentrate on damage and don't wanna sacrifice it for health and stuff.

[Lightningspeed]

I play a pure INT mage, and don't face constant death issues. You should be able to solo all normal maps with ease, apart from Hauntlet runs. For Hauntlet runs, I suggest you get a team with a good warrior who can hold aggro (most can't), then you'll be set.

[Ark]

Got to put some skill points into str if you dont wanna die so many times, unless you do pure int and buy armor/weapon with good armor+

[Chickenrunnn]

Yeah, mage dies very easy.

Get some str points, use Cerella pet, and security ring and necklace :)

You'll live longer :)

[Deadbite]

Check this out it might help:
http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?78294-Guide-How-to-not-die-as-a-rogue-or-mage!&p=882602#post882602

[McBain]

I personally don't find it too difficult to survive as a mage. I do often find myself spamming pots in the Hauntlet though. I pretty much have a 1-1-4 ratio for stats. Not exact, as I tweaked a few points here and there. I actually took a few points out of STR recently and put them into INT because I found myself not needing the extra health that much. For skills, I don't remember the exact upgrades off the top of my head but I'm using fireball, shield, time shift, and the wind one (gust...or something?). Flap Jack as a pet. Typical approach is:

1) Charge fireball as I'm coming up to the mobs.
2) Let it go, which knocks them down, giving you time to
3) Hit time shift to keep them all in place.
4) Hit shield, sometimes charged, sometimes not, depending on the map. There's an upgrade where charging shield makes you invincible for a couple seconds. Sometimes is pretty clutch.
5) Hit gust
6) Clean up any stragglers, or rinse and repeat in a map like the Hauntlet, where mobs in each area respawn a few times.

I should mention that while all this is happening, I'm running right through the middle of the group of enemies to get behind them (which is why the invincible shield is sometimes awesome), so that by the time I hit gust, I'm knocking the enemies back toward the other players. I don't wait for a warrior, I usually try to be the first one to engage the enemies, and don't worry much about aggro. Due to the knockdown from fireball, followed by shield, followed by another knockdown from gust, the enemies don't ever really have a chance to hit you before they're wiped out. On elite maps though, I play it a lot more conservatively.

[Suentous PO]

Coming from pl like you I grabbed shield like it was required for mages. Being that I didn't max it, like Mcbain did, I didn't find it usefull. Swapped it for three attacks and the heal, now I find I kill fast enough that a shield doesn't matter. If I had maxed it I would prolly love the temp invulnerabity. My m.o. Now is kill with aoe's. I'm happy at the moment with near max fire, ice upgraded to get the splash damage, time near max, and heal.
These mechanics are different enough from pl that respec'ing a couple time helped me.

[McBain]

I don't have any skills maxed. I think my points are fireball-4, shield-3 or 4, time shift-3, gust-3 or 4. Unsure off the top of my head what I put 4 in with shield and gust. Damage is pretty good, I think. I find fireball and gust alone are enough to kill any normal mobs. Shield tends to shine more in the boss fights, Hauntlet runs, and elite maps. For normal maps, it isn't all that necessary I guess. It's all a matter of preference. It's kinda cool to think about what specific skills you want to pick, rather than just having them all at your disposal. Everyone's build is probably different.

[limitbreak]

Put +4 on int and +2 str( more HP no more squishy)

And please if you gonna rush to mobs, keep running around, dnt stay in 1 spot while using all the skills,since most of the mobs are close range mobs, youll be a sitting duck so keep moving.

Preferred Pets

FLAPPYJACK
MALLISON
BLIGHT
COLTON

[Deadbite]

And another one who forgets the mages best friend besides mallison.. RIBBIT 25 STR it's huge!!

[Limsi]

Make sure to get geared up and have a pet that would add to your STR ;)

[Energizeric]

Ok, I did a final respec tonight and I think I may have everything right now...

STR-DEX-INT is now 3-1-6 (for every 10 stat points)

My skills are as follows:

Fireball (4)
Lightning (3)
Wind (3)
Heal (4)

I'm finding the wind more useful than the shield as it knocks the mobs away from me when they get too close.

[Delirium]

there is no point in adding to dex if you are adding such a low amount.. do 4int 2str each level and you'll be fine. spreading yourself out that much will hurt you.