The thunderdome spec.

[Fairwind]

Alright, go light on the criticism, as this is my first posting of a custom build. IF this has been done, I was unaware of such previous creation.

Now, to the build....

I never liked mages in this game... Until I pvp with one. I tried many different builds, making use of the free respecs up until today. I decided to cap my mage at 12 (currently). But this build could definitely be improved, with more skill points.

This build has many advantages, and a few disadvantages.
PROS: Easy, easy easy 1 shots. High survivability. Good for killing any and all classes. Very high mana conservation. Good for multi-kills.
CONS: It's hit or miss. You have roughly a 3 second timeframe to strike for maximum efficiency. Although the damage is high at first, its made for bursting, NOT DPS. This will be discussed in skills.

GEAR: Kinda low, junk gear. Can definitely be improved.
Go for int>crit>raw damge>health.

Frozen Blaster of Brutality (12)
-Nice for the freeze proc, and handling those pesky rogues.

Permapress Hood of Fitness (12)

Deep Sea Woven Vestment of Security (12)

Charged Circuit of Brutality (12)

Ornate Pendant of Fatality (12)

Onto the Skill section!

SKILLS: This build is built around the 250% damage dealt b Lightning Strike crits. Time Shift is nice because of the impact, plus the small dot damage, OR snare to kite around. Time Shift also has a delay before striking, allowing for a nifty little trick I'm your rotation. But that comes later..

LIGHTNING STRIKE (LS) 3/5
-Initial point
- +15% damage
- +250% on crit. (Duh.)

ARCANE SHIELD (AS) 2/5
-Initial point
-Extended Shield (Yes, you read that right. I don't need invincibility, and neither do you.)

TIME SHIFT (TS) 2/5
-Initial point
- D.O.T OR Snare. Either one will play out nicely.

LIFEGIVER (LG) 2/5
-Initial point
- Mna restore for free heals! Yay!

INT PASSIVE 2/5
-This is based solely on preference and level. More = better, personally.

Now... You ask "I tried it, and it sounds good on paper... HOW DO I GET CRIT FOR MY MAGE?!" My initial thought was halfing my points for dex/int on reason that mages receive bigger bonuses from dex/str now. But, each point in dex gives .17 percent chance to crit. No go. Crit and dex passives are a waste of precious skill points. Your solution lies in the next section...

YOUR PET, AND YOU: This build literally revolves around your best friend, companion, and stress relief in times of rage. Your pet. Strange, right? With the introduction of pets in PvP, a whole mess of options, specs, and general money wasting entered our day.
But which pet? There can only be one...

RIBBIT!
I like keeping him at level 1 for reason that the damage pets do is minimal compared to yours, it costs 25g to feed em (nice.).

BONUSES:
- +25 STR, (a nice health bonus for us mages, further increasing your survivability.),
- + 5 (?) Health regen.
- And the best Arcane Ability to ever exist...
+40% CRIT

ROTATION: Now, you have your build all that is left, is to apply it to the tops of some noobs heads. This spec has multiple branches of possibility, and can be used in various ways. I have 2 examples, of what I prefer.

1- Charged TS, RIBBIT arcane ability, (using the delay of TS, giving you the chance for another nice crit, on top of your LS), LS, normal weapon attacks, shield and heal as needed, wait for cooldown of LS/RIBBIT which is roughly equivalent. Rinse, repeat, zap.

2- Charged TS (With snare), Ribbit arcane ability, LS, kite back, enjoy your snare, normal weapon attacks, wait for CDs, heal and shield as needed, apply lightning bolts vigorously to all areas of body.

And there you have it! This was created and tested with love and care on my mage Bleuballs. Again, if this idea had been previously considered, I DID NOT KNOW.
Please feel free to add recommendations, build tweaks, rotations, anything ON THIS THREAD. All constructive criticism is welcomed.

With love, Fairwind.
O-¦-)

[Fairwind]

Experimenting with 14, 15, and 16 builds, going nicely, ill keep you posted. (:

[Lady_Pebbles]

I've had this type of build (although different and tweaked) with my Mage for a long while. Its great for kiting and CC in PvE, but only some-what in PvP. I've since respeced a loooot and tried many, many respecs over the week. Found a few good ones with and without TS.

The best one with TS I've come up with was Shield, Fire, TS, and Frost (which apparently is somehow slightly popular lol). Problem is, TS can be easly avoided and players can easily heal within TS (especially Tanks w/HOR & shield upgrade)... Plus it has a casting delay. Also, note that TS snares instead of roots in PvP even without the Root upgrade. However in PvE it Roots when that upgrade is selected. Thats why that extra point would be a waste if you're doing a PvP/PvE hybrid build. Oh & the CD on it isn't all that great either for PvP.

You get hella high #of crits with Ribbit's arcane when used at the right moment but each crit varies depending on your stat build. Still, even if you're a full crit Mage that skill is better used in PvE than PvP.

[Fairwind]

Well, this is intended for PvP. And its actually quite effective. True, I didn't know the root didn't work, but using the delay of TS, Ribbit, then LS adds for a nice 700-800 in the matter of seconds, comparable to a rogue. Like I said, its a burst mage build, that can handle being. strung out. Thank you for the input though. (:

EDIT: I forgot to mention, IF your initial TS/LS Crits don't kill your target, the constant critting from the dot might. This is definitely NOT a PvE spec on reason that the majority of your damage is focuses on a single target.

EDIT2: Rereading what you said... The whole point of using TS is for the delay, cause it allows you cast it, Ribbit, then ls/ts strikes at the same time, and ideally both crit. Read slower next time, Madam Pebbles. :P

[Lady_Pebbles]

Its actually an AOE that does DOT on multiple targets so the build is awesome for CC on PvE. Especially rotated with Fire and Frost...

I like the build for PvE more cuz in PvP you're dealing with all types of other players with hella dmg, crits, etc. While kiting and the skill duration.. Plus placements (easier w/practice but still a pain)... Plus getting players to go in to begin with or trying to keep them there long enough before another player comes to help their team mate.... Plus in group fights by the time you place TS down an enemy can kill you with one hit or heal within it... Or able to escape it... Or... UGH.. Well you get the idea... Lol xD

EDIT: I understand it completely so relax. -.-

EDIT;: & Ik about the delays and that strategy.. I been using it lol. Stopped using it cuz I found one that suits me better. Just letting you know why its not a build I like for me in PVP. *thwaps* lol

[Fairwind]

Dont thwap me, you numbskull! :P I'm relaxed as can be, trust me. 60mgs of morphine will do that to you. Anyway, its not about the TS. I could go and replace with gust, fireball (which I hate.)... TS is just a convince because of the delay usage, and ease of use. Or heck, I could 3 skill, and overload my current skills. This is intended for PvP, not hybridization. I prefer not to PvE, actually, that is for my rogue. (: as long as I focus my damage on a single target. I'm happy. Originally, I used curse in place of TS for the extra 20% damage, but it seemed like TS covered that 20%, and more. Fireball sucks because you have to aim it, and that's a pain in this game already. I don't need frost because of my gun (more convenience! Yay!) So it all balances out nicely. It all depends on the person, and their style of play. This suits me quite well.

[Lady_Pebbles]

If it works for you then awesome! *thwaps* Im just iffy about it for my play style in PvP since I use that toon for both PvP & PvE. :P

[Fairwind]

Oh aye. Unfortunately, it seems very difficult to strike a correct balance between PvP and PvE, and be highly efficient at both.

[Fairwind]

Oh aye. Unfortunately, it seems very difficult to strike a correct balance between PvP and PvE, and be highly efficient at both.

I lied. Soloing wt4 at 12, no deaths, 3+ group pulls. Great for lvling, PvP, and a solid PvE.

[Ryg]

Love this guy :worked_till_5am: great build bro...i tried it on my lvl 10 twink...bahahah ROMPED

[Fairwind]

Thank ya thank ya.

[swexcist]

What you mean by fireball sucks bcs u have to aim it?? =)

[SkullCrusher]

All attacks are auto-aimed, meaning they will hit the opposing enemy, unless you are running towards the opposite direction of the target and use the regular auto-attack.

[Lady_Pebbles]

All attacks are auto-aimed, meaning they will hit the opposing enemy, unless you are running towards the opposite direction of the target and use the regular auto-attack.
I think what he/she meant was that there are currently a lot of Skill Bugs. Fireball for example, misses its target a lot even when facing the enemy (both pve and pvp). Some skills don't even go-off either; heal doesn't heal sometimes, skills sometimes don't work when released after charged or being tapped, etc.

EDIT: oh & its not just a Mage problem. Some players with the other two classes have this issue also. Im one of them.. Heal on Rogue doesn't always work, HOR doesn't always have the shield or even goes through on my Warrior... ETc.

[Fairwind]

Right, so if kiting, and fireballing, you gotta turn and face the opponent wasting room. I'll take my 25% chance to stun with lb in my 14 spec. Also, push proc negates the need for fireball, in my opinion.

[Fairwind]

Yes. Countless deaths from skill failures, in ALL classes. Although I believe the fire all thing is a mechanic of the skill, rather than a bug. Also, fix death on heals, and death ontop of health packs. Please/thank you.xD

[swexcist]

I dont have to face an enemy thats chasing me for fb to hit. Maybe you talkiing about another thing i dont understand lol

[Xshadowar]

Nice build.

[Fairwind]

For me the push proc doesn't actually proc often enough to replace fireball because rogues and warriors will just dash to me, and other mages have plenty of long-ranged attacks.

It procd plenty for me. :P
But, the push proc is awesome for preventing kill stealing. I dont sweat rogues and mages, because they drop quickly. Warriors take 4 seconds more. :P