Dex mage vs int mage? Feedback wanted

[Agent]

I like Int mages better..

[JackDonkey]

I would have to disagree with that. I find myself having to get closer for the auto attack to hit, with the staff. The bow also shoots a lot faster. Lol

[WhoIsThis]

I would have to disagree with that. I find myself having to get closer for the auto attack to hit, with the staff. The bow also shoots a lot faster. Lol

With int mages, your staff isn't going to be the main damage source - the spells are going to be. Dex and strength mages on the other hand, you are going to shot with a bow or get in close to do damage.

Edit: I'm gonna try to get my mage build to 50 and respec around with different dex, strength, and int configs to experiment. I suspect that the best configuration will depend entirely on a person's play style.

[Arterra]

FYI, I'm fairly certain staff range is the same as bow range, so you dont really gain a range advantage with dex. Wand range (like talon) is shorter.

Blasters are the rage for this. Definetly longer than bows and staffs.

And lol @ someone directly contradicting Royce.
Why do you think leeching noobs keep stealing our loot? I doubt they and the finishing blow.

[Royce]

I would have to disagree with that. I find myself having to get closer for the auto attack to hit, with the staff. The bow also shoots a lot faster. Lol

I just tested it. Staff range = bow range, at least for the ones I tried. Some bows are faster, some are not. Bow and staff speeds are fairly comparable. I'm sorry but it really doesn't depend on play style. There is just no advantage to Dex any more. It's fine to build a Dex mage, and they can be fun, but there is no advantage over int. Same range, similar survivability, less damage with Dex. I suppose if you are going to use the blaster for range at 50, but honestly why? You only have two skills that can reach close to that far, and if you want to use your debuffs or AOE you're going to have to move in much closer anyway. The only real advantages as far as I can see for a Dex mage are the range of the blaster (a procless weapon that exceeds you skill range), the proc of the sunblessed bow (for pvp this would be the only reason IMO to play a Dex mage), and the fact that by doing less damage, you will draw less aggro and possibly survive a little better (by helping your group less lol).

[FluffNStuff]

I would have to disagree with that. I find myself having to get closer for the auto attack to hit, with the staff. The bow also shoots a lot faster. Lol

Aren't you in the 20s? Completely different then at 50. And seriously, good luck leveling a dex mage till 35, your pot burn is gonna be off the charts.

[WhoIsThis]

Aren't you in the 20s? Completely different then at 50. And seriously, good luck leveling a dex mage till 35, your pot burn is gonna be off the charts.

I'm forced to agree with that one - if you want to try dex-mage, don't respec until 35 and put some skills into int.

[WhoIsThis]

Update: I've leveled to 50. After a bit of trying, the best compromise is probably what might be called a dex-pally, that is, everything in dex instead of strength. It gives the flexibility of dual wielding both types of weapons, dex and int. I've gone for dex 126 (the rest is due to bonus from void set), int 128, strength unchanged at 1. Below you see my build.



Your gun is about 75% as powerful as a pure dex (more misses, slightly less damage when hit), although the blessings increase critical hits significantly when used. Gonna be comparing it with pure int.

[Ellyidol]

Yup, thats the ideal build if you want to go dex mage. Since there is no point in more dex than what you need for gear, int should be the rest. And, to me, dex mages still mean you only want to use the gun :P

[WhoIsThis]

I'm also not sure that this is the best PVP config - it doesn't have the stopping power of a bird or a pure int. Still, after testing it, I still feel that it is a viable build for PvE and arguably (depending on play style and other factors) a more effective build than strength pally in certain situations.

Once I get my hands on shadow armor, I will test against pure int.

[WhoIsThis]

Here is my build with int weaponry:



As I said earlier, I am going to respeccing to pure int for testing and comparison.

Edit: I'm not sure this is Apples to Apples, as perhaps I should be using the Crystal Staff (and I should be comparing to dex Sentinel), but I think that glow stick and creepy doll is overall better.

[WhoIsThis]

Yup, thats the ideal build if you want to go dex mage. Since there is no point in more dex than what you need for gear, int should be the rest. And, to me, dex mages still mean you only want to use the gun :P

For that, I've got my pure-dex bird. Lol.

[BlazeMystic]

I now have full shadow armour and use a hybrid str/int mage. I've been experimenting with different strength ratings and currently using strength 70 (was 95 and only 1 point drop in armour since going down to 70), with int bonuses added from the shadow armour her int is 231. She has a fairly good survivability with armour of 105. I haven't tried a pure int mage with the shadow armour. I cannot see any benefit from using dexmage now that shadow armour is available; other than not been able to use the gun. I switch to the cosmos/keepers staff to get the bonus when I'm not worried about my character dying. So far, it appears that this build is working quite well for me - because I am fundamentally after more int but with improved survivability. I never have to use mana potions except for when I've used the mana shield ability.

[WhoIsThis]

Pure int mode:



The more I play it, I'm actually starting to like being pure int. Agreed, no mana shields = no mana pot used. Survivability will depend on skill - don't be in front charging all the time, but I think that Royce was right about pure int being the most potent in overall damage output at level 50.

Royce - sorry I ever doubted you on this one.

[BlazeMystic]

Those stats look pretty good - perhaps I'll try pure int mage now...

[WhoIsThis]

Those stats look pretty good - perhaps I'll try pure int mage now...

Remember though, sudden death is a serious drawback - a level 1 bird has 32% more hp and a level 1 bear has 51% more.

[MoonYeol]

For PvE I'd say there's really just three alternatives, pure int for spell dmg, dual int/str to be able to survive in tight situations where your ability to res is the only thing keeping the party going and int/str hybrid. I actually never really cared for the hybrids, I've played pure int, int/dex, pally and int/str. I've currently settled for int/str just because I want to be able to survive if the party sucks.

There isn't any obvious gain in using dex gear, the dmg is about the same if you're using a blaster or a staff (not noticable) maybe it feels a bit better to be able to start attacking before you get within range of mob attacks. Though blaster/staff and talon/wand are quite similar in dmg and armor so besides having a better hit % and crit % there are few real advantages using dex.

I honestly can't understand why you would sacrifice all your int just to get a few points extra in armor and a little bit more h/s. So if you're going to tank, I suggest putting as little str as possible to still be able to do some dmg. Dual spec actually really nice and flexible. If you know that you're NEVER going to use str gear, go hybrid but mages benefit from having a high h/s and m/s. (Int gear has the highest in both.)

So I find myself wondering why I'm even int/str, maybe pure int is the way to go. With shadow set glow stick/creepy doll, you can survive pretty well. However, 400 hp feels a bit tight.

[BlazeMystic]

It will be interesting to see how PL develops the concept of rings and crafting items when the new update arrives. It might be that there will be items for a pure int mage that could make this build far more appealing and dual spec characters could lose it's popularity. After all, since the arrival of shadow items, a pure int mage appears a more worthwhile contender now. My hybrid mage has full shadow armour and is certainly better than the dual spec mage and I find that I don't miss switching to the str equivalent spec during difficult times in a game. But then again when I changed stats and opted for more int, my game style has had to change and I am far less careless and I believe I play a lot better as a result.

[Dranby]

Maybe I hope so

[Ellyidol]

I really hope 1.7 brings back the pure int mages. I like my dual specs, but I'd just prefer pure ones, really. And I'd have to make separate characters to try hybrids, which would give me something else to do.