How Do Mages Fare In Elite Maps?

[Azemen]

I have an endgame Rouge, but am considering switching to a Mage due to the AoE damage and crowd control.

I'm lvling the sorc now, and feel it's great at pulverizing mobs, at least in normal maps. However, in elite Tinirin/Shuyal, I'm concerned about Mages being too squishy due to the less armour and dodge. There's Arcane Sheild and the myriad of crowd control skills to compensate, but of course any class will become overwhelmed and die, eventually.

Now, ATM I have a perfect Elondrian mythic bow, so if I were to sell it, I would have enough for a perfect Elondrian gun, grand gemmed mythic gear, etc - the best gear that isn't Arcane.

So how are mages compared to rouges at endgame Elites, in regards to survivablity and mob management - overall versatility and contribution?

[Caabatric]

Overall for solo of tough maps to for rogue (Nordr +). Solo easy maps go for Mage( dead city below). Kraken is pretty same times for both classes.
Group for hard maps mages are preferred IMO.
As long as you kite effectively and time skills for Constant stun you should be fine.
Even if you spam skills a effictive war will take the primary dmg and you can handle the few mobs attacking you.
Overall health pots I use in a elite caves run is around 30-50 most of which are used on boss.

[spasmatic]

Mages are great on elite maps. Just remember to fireball the mob to stun it before you run in and drop a clock. You can also shield up just before closing the distance to take advantage of the two second invulnerability. If you get good gear, you should be able to solo most elite maps. I have level 41's in all 3 classes, but i enjoy my mage the most.

[grumpy]

Mages are great in elite as long as you are careful. It may be hard to get deathless runs though, but doable especially a player of your skill. You have to make use of timing shield appropriately and knowing how to kite and use clock defensively. A speed pet really helps like abaddon or slag because of some stun immune pets like the kimono dragons that can easily one shot you in full mythic gear. Shield is a must for dropping clock or surviving wind ups. I can solo certain maps in elite shuyal and wilds elite is not too bad. But the other tindirin maps are very difficult for me.

In terms of contribution I think they are very helpful mostly for their clock skill. Being able to group mobs in a narrow passagement like the bridges in the tindirjn caves not only makes them easier to kill but also safer. Fireball and ice is really helpful too for mobs that can be affected by them. With good timing, you can perma freeze mobs so they don't ever move or attack (make sure to charge at close range though)

[Psycthe]

I have an endgame Rouge, but am considering switching to a Mage due to the AoE damage and crowd control.

I'm lvling the sorc now, and feel it's great at pulverizing mobs, at least in normal maps. However, in elite Tinirin/Shuyal, I'm concerned about Mages being too squishy due to the less armour and dodge. There's Arcane Sheild and the myriad of crowd control skills to compensate, but of course any class will become overwhelmed and die, eventually.

Now, ATM I have a perfect Elondrian mythic bow, so if I were to sell it, I would have enough for a perfect Elondrian gun, grand gemmed mythic gear, etc - the best gear that isn't Arcane.

So how are mages compared to rouges at endgame Elites, in regards to survivablity and mob management - overall versatility and contribution?

Tough!
Im a LV 41 Sorc with legendary equips, not top of the line but decent, still can't do runs. Parties (3) which consists of mythic items, (-1) me ofcourse. Is pretty hard as it is.

Best to have full mythic gears and the best pet leveled up to 41 too.

[ilhanna]

Mages are great on elite map and fun to play. Don't buy the myth that mages are squishy. Some of the most fun elite runs I've had both as rogue and mage were with multiple mage parties. There was this time when my party had three mages and a warrior and we did elite Nordr and between clock rotation and fireball stun those frost pigs and wolves and archers could barely move an inch. And we didn't fight at a distance, we were dancing around the tanking warrior, quickly freezing any moving archer, rooting batches of wolves with clock, and fireballing any new mob wave. It was awesome, I hope your mage would experience it soon.

See to your build and skills. I believe that if your build and skills are good, you can function effectively even when you're average-geared. Two of the best elite mages in my guild are fully legendary, but they know their job well, know their skills rotations and priority enemies. My best friend's fully legendary mage can even park mobs effectively.

Follow build guides (we posted one on our guild thread, just click my sig, it's the second post from top). Don't heal on elite map, have shield, have some good speed, dmg and debuff pets, and I think you will do well on elite. Best of luck!

[ilhanna]

I just read the last part of your post. I find that in a party my mage survives mobs better than my rogue due to shield and the crowd control skills like ice. Rogues have traps, true, and it helps with crowd control, but even with Breeze I feel that mob immobilization by rogue isn't as powerful as that of mages. At boss, rogues are more effective and makes for quicker kill. Even using three dmg skills (fire, lightning, ice/clock) boss kill by pure mage party takes longer than in party with at least one rogue. This was painfully demonstrated to me when I had a mage party in elite Rockhorn. We ruled the mobs, but it took longer to kill boss. The same happened while we were fighting Sorrax in T2.

My mage is fully legendary. Maxed-geared mages may have different experience.

[Newcomx]

Good in elite maps, but still need rogue for boss

[ilhanna]

If I may add a little, I find mages play a more crucial role (and much more fun to play) in elite Shuyal than Tindirin, because the mob density is higher in Shuyal but all of them are freezable. For Overgrowth for example, having a mage in pt helps with dealing with the blue mages that spawn to heal boss. And in Undim Fields elite, mages just rock. Tindirin poses more challenge because some mobs can't be frozen.

[princesslovess]

mages die in elite maps.

[Ratiomod]

Totaly survivable,
Surviveability is even beter if a warior is present,
and with a shield mages are immortal.
I use only myth gun, rest is cheap legendary.