View Full Version : Care and Feeding of Mages
CanonicalKoi
09-30-2010, 05:54 PM
Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Just kidding. We, or at least, I love the bears and avians. I love them so very much I want to help, I really do. A couple of things to keep in mind, if you'd be so kind:
1. If we're in a big mob and you decide to go after some choice loot on your own, don't scream that I didn't heal/res you quickly enough. If you're waaaay over there and I'm waaaay over here, there isn't much I can do for you.
2. If you're a low level player trying to play with the big kids and keep yelling all in caps, "HEAL MEEEEE!" "RES MEEEEEE!" every 3.5 seconds, I'm going to ignore you after awhile. You're annoying and you should probably be playing in a more level-appropriate game. If you're trying to help where you can and not screaming, believe me, I'll support you all I can and try to keep you alive.
3. Please don't beg me for stuff I got in a drop. If I can't use it, I'm liable to give it to you anyway. At least ask for a trade, for crying out loud. And asking for stuff or a trade in the middle of a big fight? Not happening.
4. Once I've popped a heal, it takes a few seconds to do it again. Trust me, if I see you still need some, you'll get it as soon as I've got it available. Yelling at me doesn't make the skill happen faster. Really.
5. If I'm up to my butt in alligators in the swamp, passing me by to get to something else isn't nice. Guess who's going to be up for taking the long walk when they have to respawn instead of getting ressed?
To the 98% of the bears and the 99% of the avian nice guys out there. Thank you. Thank you for smacking things around for me and taking the heat off me. I really appreciate all you do and I'll gladly burn mana pots for you guys anytime. It's only the 2% or 1% respectively that make me want to smack them with a wet mackerel. Hey, Devs? Can the elves get a Wet Mackerel of Great Smackage +2 for such occasions? Please?
jonboy
09-30-2010, 05:58 PM
Word .......
setec
09-30-2010, 06:19 PM
Great post. Should be mandatory reading at the PL academy.
CanonicalKoi
09-30-2010, 06:27 PM
It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Now I'm dreaming of an Osirian Voodoo Mackerel of Thoth with Added Smackage Action. For the really tough cases. ;) Seriously, the majority of the fighters and avians are great! Those few, though......argh. I forgot my favorite--in the hidden ice area? Level 12 (!!!) screaming for a heal, excuse me, screaming, "HELP!" every 2 seconds, not able to use pots..... Yeah, I'm not going to have the mana to res or heal the fighter/avian that's saving my bacon? Sorry kiddo, you're an acceptable loss at that point.
jonboy
09-30-2010, 06:53 PM
It's all about triage sometimes.
KingFu
09-30-2010, 06:59 PM
The worst is when they get one shotted because they're soloing a boss they can't take on and they say you didn't heal them. Like come on. I can't heal you if you got a ine shot death! Lol
Furrawn
09-30-2010, 07:17 PM
Haha
This is great... ESP #5....
SlipperyJim
10-01-2010, 06:27 AM
Good list. We all need to be reminded of the basics from time to time....
If I might suggest #6: Elves are not bears. (Obvious, I know, but stay with me here.) When our Mana Shields are active, we can take a hit or two. Without our shields, we're about as fragile as origami. If we get swarmed by badguys, we'll die. And then who will heal you and revive you? If you do your best to keep us alive, we'll have a lot easier time keeping you alive. It's all about the teamwork.
See also: "Why You Might Not Get Healed" (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?3435-Why-You-Might-Not-Get-Healed)
CanonicalKoi
10-01-2010, 09:21 AM
Indeed, Jim. And there's some bosses that get within feet of me and I die. Bastet and Sobek come to mind--boop! Dead. If you see me running when they appear, believe me, I'm not running away. I'm trying to get to a spot of relative safety where you're still within heal/res range, I can throw a few offensive spells, but I'm (hopefully) away from their area effect spells.
Thanks for posting the link, Duke! That was an excellent summary.
If you love something - let it go! So when I see a mage on my tank because I love them oh so much I respectfully draw to distance far enough away to not draw any mobs, or I walk right by tipping my hat but giving it it's space. For these reasons you must understand that not all mages are dependent some are independent, like the ones I see still playing level 25 maps at 45. Ooooo, the sense of power they finally have, the ability to actually do some good! *HOOYAH*
RedRyder
10-01-2010, 11:33 AM
Hey, Devs? Can the elves get a Wet Mackerel of Great Smackage +2 for such occasions? Please?
sig'd
/oohlalaaaaaaaaaa
King Richie
10-01-2010, 12:31 PM
Noob figs cant triforce !!
Chickdigcookies
10-01-2010, 12:57 PM
i woudl edit your post richie...
Haikus
10-01-2010, 01:13 PM
I WOULD edit your post holy;)
CanonicalKoi
10-01-2010, 04:27 PM
sig'd
/oohlalaaaaaaaaaa
I'm honored! The mackerel would be too, but he's busy watching "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" for the 47th time. He promises to be ready when needed.
TwinkTastical
10-02-2010, 03:18 AM
Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. Just kidding. We, or at least, I love the bears and avians. I love them so very much I want to help, I really do. A couple of things to keep in mind, if you'd be so kind:
1. If we're in a big mob and you decide to go after some choice loot on your own, don't scream that I didn't heal/res you quickly enough. If you're waaaay over there and I'm waaaay over here, there isn't much I can do for you.
2. If you're a low level player trying to play with the big kids and keep yelling all in caps, "HEAL MEEEEE!" "RES MEEEEEE!" every 3.5 seconds, I'm going to ignore you after awhile. You're annoying and you should probably be playing in a more level-appropriate game. If you're trying to help where you can and not screaming, believe me, I'll support you all I can and try to keep you alive.
3. Please don't beg me for stuff I got in a drop. If I can't use it, I'm liable to give it to you anyway. At least ask for a trade, for crying out loud. And asking for stuff or a trade in the middle of a big fight? Not happening.
4. Once I've popped a heal, it takes a few seconds to do it again. Trust me, if I see you still need some, you'll get it as soon as I've got it available. Yelling at me doesn't make the skill happen faster. Really.
5. If I'm up to my butt in alligators in the swamp, passing me by to get to something else isn't nice. Guess who's going to be up for taking the long walk when they have to respawn instead of getting ressed?
To the 98% of the bears and the 99% of the avian nice guys out there. Thank you. Thank you for smacking things around for me and taking the heat off me. I really appreciate all you do and I'll gladly burn mana pots for you guys anytime. It's only the 2% or 1% respectively that make me want to smack them with a wet mackerel. Hey, Devs? Can the elves get a Wet Mackerel of Great Smackage +2 for such occasions? Please?
Amen! So, Ask for heals, Rush bosses without you,And scream HEAL MEEEEE!, Got it.
TwinkTastical
10-02-2010, 03:21 AM
http://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab330/instinctiveko/819fce79.jpg
Xviperr
10-02-2010, 03:49 AM
Haha, On times when I'm playing my 30s Mage, I would often have some 19 tagging and screaming heal heal heal and Rez Rez Rez, the point here is, we mages at 30s might not have that mana reg or the skill aren't cooldown yet, while for the 19s, we mages pot mana just to give u that heal while u could just pot a health and our mana better else spent. It isn't smart to run into pack mobs and just die that, often being plain ignored by me
CanonicalKoi
10-02-2010, 09:47 AM
Love the pic, Twink, but the mackerel needs to look more menacing. I don't know...spikes or flames? Maybe a Mr. Yuk sticker?
I think things will change a bit with AO3. Bigger, badder nasties will remind those that need it that teamwork can be a beautiful thing.
TwinkTastical
10-02-2010, 11:25 PM
http://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab330/instinctiveko/28eb751e.jpg
Fyrce
10-04-2010, 02:10 PM
Canon, hilarious post! I would really, really love a mackerel.
I still remember the lower level mage that annoyed the higher-level mage in the group by not rez'ing her and then asked for a rez later, after making the high level walk back to group. Guess who did not get rez'ed? LOL.
And what's the deal with these bears that hang back ... um, hello, the MAGE is tanking ... ? Which reminds me of the bear who asked me what pulling mobs was. LOL. Oh yeah, and then he didn't have beckon. OMG, that made me ROFL. He said he had taunt, which made me ROFL some more. Do they NOT know how much faster the group could be going ... ?
I think most players can learn and become good teammates but... (more stories, LOL) ...
It does remind me of yesterday when rushing in Ao2: A level 30s mage comes in, says to not boot, but he doesn't know much about mage skills (easy to tell after a couple fights). So I try to give advice about following/rushing, ice, etc. and he rushes past the group-D'Jinn fight into a bunch of minions and dies. LoL. Of course, he leaves the group. And here we were, trying to tell him to not go in front of the bears. LoL.
I admit to a LOT of laughter and a little annoyance when I see a bunch of mages wait out being frozen ... tick-tock. tick-tock. It's good to see them wait for the (LONGER) bird/bear cool-downs on stomp/scream. Good thing there're birds/bears to save them (!!) ... OMG, LMAO. (Which reminds me, from the update, it sounds like both birdie screams ought to unfreeze ... ? )
Also reminds me of all those times I tell birdies to scream/root, and (imagine wide blank-eyed stare back) they ask why or they say they will but then still don't use their skills (easy to tell from their perfect blue bars). Some of the best skills in the game, some of the best combos and they don't know. LOL. Which reminds me of the bird a few days ago in Ao2 who did not have the scream skills ...
From the tank side, of course I get annoyed when there're 3 mages in the group and I'm watching my health and there're no heals at all being thrown. (More perfect blue bars. From mages!!) Um, hello, mages ... and of course, nightmare, weakness would be useful. It's a good thing there're so many darkness staves/wands ... And lots of laughter when they ask me what a buff is ... or what skills they have that buff ... or what debuffs are ... or what skills they have that debuff ... OMG. At this point, I remind myself that not everyone reads (blank stare). Oh yeah, since I'm usually not a mage when I'm "guiding" them, I'm also laughing because they, mages, are asking a non-mage about MAGE skills. LOL.
From the birdie perspective, at least almost all mages throw lightning, thank goodness. I just have to be fast on my thorn wall. LOL.
Oops. This became a "rant" on the Mynas Generation. LOL.
Paweindel
03-06-2011, 12:11 PM
Well Said!
Sky../
03-06-2011, 01:28 PM
Lol. Fun read.
To mages though, from a bear:
If you see a bear beckon a nice big mob to a corner/wall, please don't auto attack the stragglers. Just unload everything you have on the mob. Heals would be nice too.
Also, if you (the mage) want us (the bear) to tank for you, don't go running ahead of us. Give us a sec or two to run ahead of you and set everything up.
CanonicalKoi
03-06-2011, 02:45 PM
Lol. A walk down memory lane. Stopped playing my Mage during the dark days of the pre-nerf AO3 where mages were auto-targeted and one-shot just for walking into a room. Someday, Yosinabe will come out of level 50 dry-dock, get dusted off and played. In the meantime.....birds have more fun. ;)
Lol. Fun read.
To mages though, from a bear:
If you see a bear beckon a nice big mob to a corner/wall, please don't auto attack the stragglers. Just unload everything you have on the mob. Heals would be nice too.
Also, if you (the mage) want us (the bear) to tank for you, don't go running ahead of us. Give us a sec or two to run ahead of you and set everything up.
From point of view with from me with bear, mage and bird. I will rush ahead of the bear if i find the bear diddy daddy. As a bear, he shd not be chasing individual lose target. Taunt and beckon, pause then sceam, usually mage will cast nightmare and weakness, this will trigger the terror combo. i find a lot of bears scream before they beckon. Dun worry, u wont die, and do not stomp unnessary and scatter the mobs.
Pharcyde
03-06-2011, 03:07 PM
once i've popped a heal, it takes a few seconds to do it again. Trust me, if i see you still need some, you'll get it as soon as i've got it available. Yelling at me doesn't make the skill happen faster. Really.
mega freakin emphasis on this one.
davidis57
03-06-2011, 04:27 PM
I am a bird I always carry extra pots to help heal myself in sticky situations. Its been my habit since day one. I know how long it takes to heal and if there is any lag you might be toast anyway. Death is part of the game if you work together many times you can come through fine.
CanonicalKoi
03-06-2011, 04:48 PM
I dunno, David. I *always* start runs with a ton of pots and I don't expect mages to cast heal constantly. When they do, though, it is a huge help. Not so much that it keeps me from using heal pots, but some bosses do damage so quickly that a well-timed heal is the difference between live-bird-doing-high-DPS and dead-bird-that-got smacked-between-heal-pot-taps.