support

[Ambroas]

Looking for anyone who has tried a purely support sorc in PVE and PVP. I was thinking of heal or shield, fire, curse, and time. That way I could use time/fire for damage and DoT with a curse on bosses or other players in PVE and heal my team. Any opinions? I tried PvP as a pure offensive fire, light and gale I switch, time, frost and it was great in pve but in PvP I just couldn't get anyone grouped together to take advantage of the aoe. So what is the playerbase's opinion of supports are they considered worthless Space fillers to be replaced by anything else?

[Cero]

fire 4/5(no 4th up.)
ice 5/5( arctic shatter is only good for tombs, both 1st & 4th ups are optional)
shield 4/5( no knock back up.)
heal 2/5 (just get the mana replenish if charge)

passive is optional, once that are good are

int
str
dex
dmg

[Pyromagnium]

I've actually given the support mage some thought and a build I would try out would be :
Fireball 5/5
Frost Bolt 3/5
Curse 5/5 (I just don't see it as viable without all of the upgrades)
Heal 2/5

So you lead with fireball and get everyone stunned and apply hit debuff, run in and freeze them with a charged frost bolt, apply curse, and refill your party's mana. Then continue to crowd control from there.

For passives I'd go 5/5 INT 5/5 Damage and 5/5 Strength (for survivability)

Imo, I can see the usefulness of this build while leveling, but don't know about taking on Nordr without shield. PvP would not be viable with this option either.

[Yakiniku]

I've tried the "support mage" several times during free respec periods. I always come away with the idea that supporting through crowd control and damage is better.

Curse is just a wasted slot. The meager damage boost you give to teammates for a whopping 4 seconds (that's with the upgrade!) every 15 seconds is a waste compared what you can do with say Frost, Time Shift or even Gale in the same skill slot.

For support, you definitely want Lifegiver with the mana upgrade.

Also don't sleep on Shield. It's vastly improved now. It's not just a pvp skill anymore.

That didn't make your choices any easier, did it? :p

My point is, don't bother with curse for now. Unless STS drastically changes it, other skills will be more beneficial in the long run.

[swexcist]

Sup sorc in pvp is acctuaally real fun..

[Yakiniku]

Sup sorc in pvp is acctuaally real fun..

Yes it is! I do get my kills, but support is my primary role in pvp. A good team will roll if you can provide well timed stuns, back line sniping and a nearly endless supply of mana.

But you won't catch me trying to drop a curse on anybody. That's just asking for a dirt nap.

[ryantat]

I've actually given the support mage some thought and a build I would try out would be :
Fireball 5/5
Frost Bolt 3/5
Curse 5/5 (I just don't see it as viable without all of the upgrades)
Heal 2/5

So you lead with fireball and get everyone stunned and apply hit debuff, run in and freeze them with a charged frost bolt, apply curse, and refill your party's mana. Then continue to crowd control from there.

For passives I'd go 5/5 INT 5/5 Damage and 5/5 Strength (for survivability)

Imo, I can see the usefulness of this build while leveling, but don't know about taking on Nordr without shield. PvP would not be viable with this option either.

You used Curse, why do you use Ice? Why do you use knockback from fire? do you scare of death?

I will not post my build. let's you think about my questions!

[Revealing]

I've actually given the support mage some thought and a build I would try out would be :
Fireball 5/5
Frost Bolt 3/5
Curse 5/5 (I just don't see it as viable without all of the upgrades)
Heal 2/5

So you lead with fireball and get everyone stunned and apply hit debuff, run in and freeze them with a charged frost bolt, apply curse, and refill your party's mana. Then continue to crowd control from there.

For passives I'd go 5/5 INT 5/5 Damage and 5/5 Strength (for survivability)

Imo, I can see the usefulness of this build while leveling, but don't know about taking on Nordr without shield. PvP would not be viable with this option either.

You used Curse, why do you use Ice? Why do you use knockback from fire? do you scare of death?

I will not post my build. let's you think about my questions!

I'm sure u try not to die....

[ryantat]

I'm sure u try not to die....

you didn't understand. think more! cheers

[zwapper]

best combo for curse is shield. you will benefit more on curse if you allow mobs to hit you, and for you to stand those damages you need to have shield. curse is not effective if they are frozen or stunned, no damage will reflect.

that is what ryantat trying to say.

[ryantat]

best combo for curse is shield. you will benefit more on curse if you allow mobs to hit you, and for you to stand those damages you need to have shield. curse is not effective if they are frozen or stunned, no damage will reflect.

that is what ryantat trying to say.

Great! that's everything i want to say :)

Curse will not only 10% damage reduce but also reflect damage and + 15% damage when mobs fight, Ann in Dead city is an boss very active and always fight you with hard hit, you will see.

Actually, if you run with Warriors, they're a standing one every time, and shield will help you a lot, when the shield is active, you will not worry about health, run away if it's inactive :)

If you use Curse with Ice, mobs is freeze and we lost benefits from Curse, knock back is the same :)

So, at last. What is the playstyle for this build?
Cast shield -> cast charged Time Shift(damage all the time) first -> cast no charged Fire(5s burning) -> cast charged Curse(4s reflect damage) = enough time if no lagging :d

Hopefully, every one can run with this build!

[zwapper]

ahmmm but i suggest to charge fire (stun), charge clock, activate ribbit (this is the best buddy of clock), shield (no need to charge shield) and cast curse (charge curse).... then pew pew pew.... this is good for elite mobs...

[ryantat]

Great to hear that except I don't have ribbit. But your play style look like more effective

[vholt]

Well.... I'm still "experimenting" for the perfect support build, but from what I've observed (from playing support in other games), the most ideal build right now would be:

Fireball, Timeshift, Curse, Lifegiver.

Keep in mind, playing as support means not leading the group and staying well behind your teammates. Being support does not mean taking damage for your teammates (unless it's a well-planned sacrifice that results in your teammates ending on top.) Let tanks do their jobs. Shield does not benefit your teammates except for keeping you alive but if you play strategically you won't need it. Also, support is not the damage type. Sure, they can weaken, but they are definitely not offensive. Therefore, damage will not be a major issue (except for lifegiver) and building up survivability through Strength and Armor is recommended.

For PvE:

Fireball is your "stun" skill. As a support it's important to have a stun to give your teammates an advantage. Do not lead with this skill. For fast, effective runs, your teammates want to "round up" mobs before killing them. Stunning them firsthand will prevent this. Wait for them to be round up, then use your stun to give your teammates a breather from getting attacked.

Timeshift is "crowd-control". Crowd-control is also an important skill for supports to possess. Keeping mobs from getting out of hand, can keep your teammates from panicking and help them focus their attacks. Again, use this once all mobs are round up. The snare is extremely effective in this case, allowing teammates to remain out of range of close-ranged attacks.

Curse is your "debuff". Unfortunately, the Sorc does not have an amazing buff unlike the warrior class. Buffs are also a great asset for supports. Similarily, debuffs are just as great. Pop in to cast a curse on your enemies, and make it easier for your teammates to kill them. I won't go anymore indept, curse is clearly a support skill.

Lifegiver is your "heal". Of course, every support needs a heal. In this case, Sorcs get a very special "mana heal". Although they can provide HP, the warrior's Horn Of Renew is indefinitely, more effective for healing HP. Thus, the main focus is providing mana support. This allows you to sacrifice damage for a little more HP, as not a lot of damage is required to replenish any warrior's mana pool back to full. Some rogues require more mana, so tweak the numbers to your liking.



For PvP:

Fireball - Stun FIRST. A lot of the times, being able to strike first gives a big advantage and helping teammates not only strike first but also give them a few seconds of "immunity" is just great.

Timeshift - Yes, you still need crowd-control. Although it does not snare, it does slowdown, and it helps more than you think. It prevents kiting and any evasive running tactics. Also great for kiting yourself. DoT might help too.

Curse - 1 on 1, people can get around curse, but your support remember? You have teammates. And curse is one of the most deadly skills in team fights. Just ask anyone who complains about curse d:

Lifegiver - Mana heal after a big fight can keep your teammates ready for more. :D

Thanks for reading!

[ryantat]

Curse is your "debuff". Unfortunately, the Sorc does not have an amazing buff unlike the warrior class. Buffs are also a great asset for supports. Similarily, debuffs are just as great. Pop in to cast a curse on your enemies, and make it easier for your teammates to kill them. I won't go anymore indept, curse is clearly a support skill.

I don't understand what you mean here? Why does curse make teammates kills mobs faster? Which upgrades talk about this?

[vholt]

I don't understand what you mean here? Why does curse make teammates kills mobs faster? Which upgrades talk about this?

Because of the damage it does to them, it makes their hp lower, meaning less hp for your teammates to deal with. Sorry for the misunderstanding, you might be thinking there is a armor debuff or something, but i mean doing damage to mobs technically makes it faster to kill them.

[ryantat]

i understand that with Curse mobs is damaged by themselves when they attack us, not debuff anything.

This mean after cast Curse, mobs must be active to fight, the best is attacking to Warriors :D, and we have 2 damages done here: 1 is from reflection of mobs are attacking, 2 from Warriors. These will make mobs die faster.

I was worry about your misunderstanding this skill:)

[fumolamota]

Curse also reduces mobs dmg output by 10% - see 1st upgrade: Words of Weakening

[fumolamota]

With the cap being extended to 36, I have adopted a 5 skill build, mainly pve build.
4/5 fire- forget the last upgrade, scorch. what's the point of a hit debuff for 5 sec if the mobs are stunned for half the time?
3/5 Light- Empowered bolt: 15% dmg + positive surge: 250% crit dmg
4/5 Ice- forget Artic Shatter
3/5 TS- Countdown of Pain: dot + Freeze time: root
2/5 Lifegiver- Empowered: mana - no mana cost heals

Passives
5/5 int, str, dex
4/5 dmg or crit

I swap TS out for Light on most boss battles, unless there are a lot of mobs, or bosses can be rooted

For PVP - I'd swap TS for Shield & put 4/5 into crit

I desperately hope a free respec weekend is imminent. I have 5/5 in fire & its giving me nightmares!