Avyn's Mage/Pagan Guide

Avyn’s Mage/Pagan Guide

November 27th, 2011 |

Author: admin

shaiya mage guide

Part I: Stat Guide
Part II: Skill List
Part III: Skill Recommendations
Part IV: Discussion and Further Tips

Forward:
PrincessBell, Dominions rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

Why PvP??

I have been playing Mage for 18 months now and I’m still learning new things about the class. To me Mage/ Pagan is the hardest class to build/pvp,there are so few for this reason. You have to know exactly what it is you want to be build wise and you have to know your skills. I would highly recommend that a player (even your first toon) stay in either the 15 or 30 pvp zones for a few before continue lvling.

I briefly visited both zones on my NM Mage and based my build off of what others thought was best, which didnt really work well for me. It wasn’t until I became a Canta regular that I really learned(and still learning) my class and how to build my stats. To me pvp is the best way to learn about ele’s, damage, absorption, skills, casting technique, build, linking, and all other information needed to be a good Mage.

Play with your Build

I think that this thread is another good example of a skill needed to make a well rounded toon, and that is communicate with others of your class!! Chewie was my main Magepedia, I’m sure he got/gets tired of me asking questions but there’s no better teacher then those who know from experience.

If your in party with another Mage and notice something that you may want to add to your toon ask them about their build, ask them what skills they maxed, etc. and ask them WHY they did that. Someone may max a skill and that works for them but it may not work for you, but it is good to be informed and possibly try to see if it does work for you. I used a Mage guide once during a free reskill and found that the skills they told me to max didn’t work for me, but it was a learning experience because I now knew what didn’t work. It did however introduce me to some skills I had not thought to use, so I was grateful for the new knowledge. That’s one of the more awesome/difficult things about Mage/Pagan is that there is no cookie cutter build because there are many….with every class the build is unique to the player, but I think it is more true to mage/pagan. You have to sacrifice something to have another, one of the best examples of that is our power over health or health over power.

Skills

It is extremely difficult to be a hard hitter AND survive. Unless you have uber uber gear you have to decide one or the other. There are a few things you can do to stay alive longer then your small hp allows which have already been mentioned but doesn’t hurt to repeat! =P

Health Assist (max lvl 2) + Diversion + Potential Motive = Self Heal

^– this is my fav yummy receipi for pvp

If I’m going down I’m taking someone with me (hopefully ^^) these skills allow me to stay alive longer to possibly do that. Also adding UT, Etain Pot, Arcane Pot, and dispel Pot makes for a Happy Mage. It will also allow you to get away, unless your dragged down in a big group huggle.

Another group of skills that are a very good idea to have are your instant AOE’s for around your toon (fire wall, storm, earth strike) not only are these skills useful for when being ganged but also for getting those pesky ranger/sins out of stealth mode. If you see one go poof start spamming these skills in the area they were last seen as the player who is in stealth can not move super fast. It may just save you or your priest/fellow raiders from being surprised stun locked.

Roots!!!! Are amazing it deals awesome damage and roots your target so you or another stronger DPS can spank them to spawn. Also gives you time to cast a spell that may require a charge up time or to AR/Sustain Doom your target. This is another one if my fav skill chains because it really annoys my target and helps my raid to kill them, especially useful in bringing down an ‘uber’ player.

Gear

For gear your gunna want to get as much defense as possible since Mage/Pagan naturally lack this. For me I lapis the cheaper stats (Wise and Mystic lapis) and add my base stats to REC/LUC areas since those stats are more expensive to link,however, I also make sure to have INT in my base stat build as well.

Spamming these lapis(Wise, Mystic, Mental) is the way to go imo because for the price of one op I can spam link about 8 lapis, sooner or later one has got to link. Also don’t be discouraged from pvping just because your gear isn’t the best. Work around your budget, I personally started in NPC, then Worship, and Now Heroic/Dread (mostly heroic because I wanted the extra OJ stats and all my gear matches =P). Even as your making your gears you can explore with build and learn pvp strategy, you can see what adjustments you need to make and link appropriately. You may have started out thinking you needed x amount of INT but find that you need y amount and more/less defense.

Attitude

Also, as a Mage/Pagan you are going to die ALOT. Be prepared to be spanked to spawn often and usually before the rest of your raid, especially when first beginning to acquire a rank. Just remember to have fun!! That is the most important thing. And be patient sooner or later you will find that lucky player with low resist and send them packing >=D muahahahaha o.o

Part I: Stat Guide

How this will work is I will go through each stat individually, explain how it works, and give my suggestions on how to use the stat for your caster. Veteran casters will want to ignore all of the stat descriptions and scroll down to the Int vs Luc math breakdown.

KataraOfWater, Dominions rank 1-70 Priest wrote:

Better builds by the numbers, not by the X/levels
Too long, didn’t read summary:
When you’re new to the game, gear around your build and focus on one thing.
When you have great gear, build around your gear and realize more survivability = less DPS and visa versa

Introduction
This guide will attempt to help you best manage your limited stat points and lapis slots to gain maximum survivability, maximum damage, or a modest yet robust combination of the two!

So often on these forums I hear build suggestions on how people may want to put in points each level. Here are some examples I found on the forum which I am posting as examples, and not as builds I neccesarily like or dislike.
HM Mage: 7 int ~ 3 rec/4 int ~ 7 luc ~ 3 int/2 rec/1 luck/1 wis

1 Str = 1.3 melee attack power, 1 ranged attack power

As a caster, you do not get any physical ranged attacks and there is no purpose in you using melee attacks. No Mage or Pagan should ever invest any points into this stat for any reason (no, not even that reason).

1 Dex = 5 SP, 0.2 physical attack power, accuracy, evasion

"The most important thing to know about Dex is that it lies."
-mehpwned

Though theories on Dex are still theoretical, what we do know is that it is weighed against your opponent’s Dex. What that means is that having 5 or 500 Dex means nothing unless you know how much your opponent has.

All of my research on Dex can be found here.

Dex is a stat used mostly for attack and evasion (the SP and attack power gained from it is almost negligible). Most physical class gain some sort of buff that makes their Dex more useful, whether it be accuracy or evasion. As a caster, you do not get any extra benefit from Dex. If you attempted to use it for evasion, someone else’s accuracy buff would negate your effort.

I would not recommend trying to build in Dex in order to gain evasion. You will not be able to get enough to be beneficial without sacrificing much more important stats. If you want protection, use Rec instead.

1 Rec = 5 HP, 1 defense

Rec is the most appropriate secondary stat for your caster, though keep in mind that if you have a lower budget and you’re not a tank build, your only focus should be Int. If you are an Int build, be very careful with adding Rec. Aggro is determined by defense, meaning if you have too much, you can take aggro off of the tank. Even if you have considerably less defense than the tank, you still risk taking aggro.

Obviously, the purpose of Rec is survivability. However, Rec isn’t always the best way to obtain survivability. For nuke builds, HP is often the better choice, especially in PvE. By taking the HP route instead and linking Life Lapis over Safe Lapis, you gain much more HP at the cost of defense. The difference between the two is that HP will grant you heavy protection on the first blow you receive, but leaves you completely vulnerable for all subsequent hits. Defense won’t soften that first blow as much, but it will continue to give you protection infinitely.

In other words, if your play style only has you receiving a few hits here and there (typical for nuke builds), HP is the better choice. If your play style has you receiving a steady stream of hits (typical for tank builds), defense is the better choice.

-Esmerelda-, Seraphim rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

"Nice Rec Esme"
"I have 9 rec"

This is a true conversation I had with a priest in Jungle PvP, they did not believe me of course that I have only 9 rec, but it is true. So how am I unsquishy with that low defense?
Well There are 2 ways to be "unsquishy" and be pure dps.

For further information from Esmerelda on surviving with no Rec, see Part IV: Discussion and Further Tips

Tank builds: 5+ Rec in all modes
PvE nuke builds: No Rec
PvP nuke builds: As much as possible without sacrificing attack power

Lovette., Cherubim rank 1-70 Priest wrote:

So, as amazing as a hit that a Mage/Pagan causes, what would the point be if the caster dies in 1 hit?

A usual difficulty most casters encounter, is trying to not be so "squishy". But it is quite difficult to become a hard hitter as well as a tanker, as it is fairly expensive because you almost always need…

-Decent or Higher-Ended Gear (Dreamy Medicus or Decoris) with rerolls

-Gear Linked not only with Duals, 5s, 6s, or 7s, but also with Eles

-Defense and HP enhancing lapis (Safes and Lifes)

-HP or Rec Accessories

-Absorption/Enchantments

More information on using gear to increase surivivability can be found in Part IV: Discussion and Further Tips

1 Int = 1.3 magic attack power

This is your prime requisite as a Mage or Pagan of any mode or build. While other stats tend to have a window of effectiveness, where too much or too little could be useless or damaging to your build, Int does not work that way. It gives you a linear advantage, present and growing from when you have 10 Int to when you have 1000 Int. Too little Int can only mean too many points spent in other stats and there is no such thing as too much Int.

If you are an Int build, get as much Int as possible. If you are a tank build, get as much Int as possible. If you are a hybrid Luc build, get as much Int as possible. When in doubt, add more Int. If you are nuke build, Wis is unnecessary, Rec is dangerous, and Luc has a limited window of usefulness. There is no reason not to be full Int for a nuke build.

KataraOfWater, Dominions rank 1-70 Priest wrote:

For new casters without great gear (YET!)
It may be tempting to listen to someone on these forums who says some build like 4 rec/3 int will make you a tough mage who can still do lots damage. In fact, these people may be right for leveling from 1-40 or so. However, later on, monsters get much tougher. Also, PVP will be VERY hard using the majority of the silly builds mentioned on these forums. In reality, trying to be a crit machine tank with uber damage will make you a critless squishy with negligible damage.

Thus, I suggest you stick with one thing and do it well. You should probably either go pure int and act as a "Glass cannon" or you go pure rec and act as a "low damage tank." Hey, at least you’re good at something!

As you adventure through Shaiya, lapis what you can and start planning your future gear and your ascension to great power. Then someday, reread this article, and realize the ultimate power of the caster classes as you subjugate the meleers under your arcane wrath!

Nuke builds: full Int every level in all modes
Tank builds: As much as you want after at least 5 Rec per level

Chewie., Astaroth rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

INT – it’s like STR for fighters( it’s amazing O_O <333), 1 INT gives you 1.3 atk power. atk power determines your overall damage. yes, INT dont determines your damage, but it influenced how much atk power you get.

*this is not accurate, just an example to show my point
what’s more important?
800 INT with 1k atk power,
or
500 INT with 1.5k atk power

i can only imagine that if you managed 800 int but still have lower atk power, can only mean you’re linking lvl 1-2-3-4-5-6 mystic’s vs linking assult 5-6 + mystic 5-6.

since your INT dont really determine your overall damage, it’s important to maximize your atk power. link whatever lapis into your gears that will increase your atk power.

link assult 7′s over mystic 6′s: it’s 50 atk power vs 39 atk power
link assult 6′s over mystic 5′s: it’s 32 atk power vs 26 atk power

find the atk power that an assult lapis give, than find a lapis that gives int, and multiple the INT by 1.3; unless it’s a dual int lvl 1, that’s (1.3×9) + (8x.3) = 14.1 atk power o_o.

1 Wis = 5 MP, 0.2 magic attack power, 1 resist

Wis may seem like your natural secondary stat, similar to a physical class needing Dex for accuracy. However, Wis works differently. Much less is needed for optimal magic accuracy. The MP and resist that Wis grants is also insignificant and would not make a noticeable difference unless you were full Wis (even then, the difference isn’t significant).

For your first 50 levels of grinding, you need no Wis at all for accuracy. It’s pointless to put it into your base build and will only needlessly diminish your attack power. Once you get into the higher levels of grinding, mobs get much stronger and you will notice a decline in accuracy. At this time, you should have the resources to put enough Wis into your gear without having to change your build.

Lv1-70: 0 Wis per level
Lv50-60: 150-200 Wis in gear
Lv60-70: 200-250 Wis in gear

Chewie., Astaroth rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

WIS – if you dont care about your defence, and have the ideology to "kill them before they reaches me" than i’ll perferr this over REC. WIS increased your magic atk power by .3 per 1 wis; i beleived this is like DEX for physical DPS class. this is why having preist buff "Prayer" is soo important to many class also explains why your magic atk power increase by a little bit when you get prayer buff.

1 Luc = 0.2% critical hit chance, 0.05% critical hit evasion, 0 – 1.5 critical damage, 0.3 ranged attack power

Note that casters do not get any ranged attacks, so the 0.3 ranged attack power isn’t important.

Luc is a complicated stat. The most important thing to know about it is that it is for casters with higher budgets only. If you attempt to put Luc into your build with a lower budget or at a lower level, the crit chance that you gain will not make up for the loss in attack power. Only when you can manage to get enough Luc to have a reliable crit rate (more than 80%) and still have enough attack power to make the crits deal high damage will Luc become a worthwhile stat. If you have a reliable crit rate but no attack power, your crit damage will be lower than a standard Int build. If you have high attack power but not enough Luc for a reliable crit rate, you will have lower and inconsistent damage than a standard Int build.

KataraOfWater, Dominions rank 1-70 Priest wrote:

For high leveled well geared casters and those with high aspirations planning ahead
When you’re level 70, the concept of these silly artificial X int/Y luc build should go out the window. Instead, you should have some goal numbers in mind and a restat stone in hand.

For example, a good goal number would be 500 luck. This will allow you to almost always critical hit on most enemies. Figure out what your gear offers first! Pretend you have 312 points from gear and lapis. That means you need 188 points from your build to get your desired luck. Now lets pretend fully buffed and with all your clothes on, you have 900 defense but really want 1000. After restatting, you should add 100 points into rec, giving you 1000 defense (and 500 luck!) You can also use this method for magic attack power, hitpoints, mana points, or any other stat that you can make a goal for.

In contrast, if you had used one of the silly builds at the beginning of this article, you would have a silly character. Using a 7 luc/level build and the gear mentioned above, you’d have 795 luck, which is more than a mage ever ought to have. Using a rec/int build, you’d end up with a 60-70% crit rate, which isn’t the 95% you wanted to have. Using my method, you’re the perfect crit machine with points left over for rec or int, as well as lapis slots left over for hp, safe, absorb, or whatever you like! Just keep in mind that whatever you add to one stat has an opportunity cost meaning you can’t add that point or fill that lapis slot with a different stat.

Casters with lower mode/level/budget: No Luc
Wealthy or high level casters: See below

EDIT: Thanks to Vafx, the data I had in a spreadsheet is now available to use easily with a program.

You can download and use this program from here: http://www.mediafire.com/casterlucthreshold

One thing that I’d like to point out about it is that it will not accept values of Luc of less than 25 or more than 475. The amount of Luc that you intend to have on initial restat should be within this range anyway. This is something that Vafx implemented on my own request, due to the limitations of the formula that I provided him with, so you can blame me for that if you wish

The following graph demonstrates the average damage output of different builds as the pool of stats grows higher. Generally speaking, a pure Int build is most effective when working with lower amounts of stat points. As your pool of stats grows higher, higher amounts of Luc become the most damaging, with effectiveness capped when you reach the maximum critical hit rate of 95%. Once 95% crit rate is achieved, damage levels off with more amounts of Luc, making Int more appropriate to build in at that point.

<note: graph is slightly inaccurate in values, but still serves to demonstrate the trend of Int/Luc eventually overtaking Int alone>

When elements come into play, the data changes. Always calculate elemental factors in your favor, as with any build, you would typically not be using an element that is weak against your opponent. Note that elements favor Int builds for longer than non ele does. If you are using an elemental weapon, you will actually need more stats to make your Int/Luc build effective.

I will not take up more space with another graph, as the purpose of the first one was simply to demonstrate that Int builds begin superior but are eventually surpassed by Int/Luc builds. As the multiplier rises, the threshold rises. Since you can never plan your build to always be achieving the maximum multiplier, it is really only necessary to know the thresholds for the best case scenario for each level of element, 1.4x for Lv1 elements and 1.6x for Lv2 elements (neutral element vs neutral element for both Lv1 and Lv2 have a multiplier of 1 and uses the same thresholds as above). At this best case scenario, any and all damage that you do with an Int/Luc will be higher than an Int build. Note that in situations with a lower multiplier, the thresholds will all once again drop.

Also note that the graph demonstrates base stat points only. It does not take into account the attack you receive outside of Int and Luc. This includes your weapon damage, the damage of the spell that you are using, Support Spell, and any weapon Power Up. When these extra attack points come into effect, they affect each build differently. With more Luc, you receive a larger benefit, due to a higher rate of that attack power being turned into critical damage. Again, this increase caps when you reach 95% crit rate.

I would recommend to always use Magic Arrow as a basis for determining extra attack power, due to it being your weakest yet one of your most often used skills. If your play style has you using Magic Arrow infrequently and focusing more on AoEs, then I would suggest to use the spell damage of your weakest AoE in the formula.

Drizzt._mage, Astaroth rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

And here is a handy equation to use =]:
(1.3 x int) + (0.0015 x luc x luc) = ur average damg

P.S if ur wondering how i got my equation:

1 int = 1.3 attack power for base (first part).

0.002 x luc = %chance of success (each luc offers 0.2% = 0.002 as decimal)
0.75 = damg added per luc from crit (ranges from 0-1.5, 0.75 is average)
(0.002 x luc) x (0.75 x luc) = (0.0015 x luc x luc) (idk how two make sqaured sign on forums) (second part)

P.P.S The equation is slightly flawed seeing as once u enter a value of luc over 500, it will calculate %s over 100, and because even at 500 luc you are not truly 100%, it caps at like 95%. But for the purpose i assigned it (calculating for ppl of modest means in 20-30) it should work just fine =].

CHOAM wrote:

Apparent conclusion is either go full int, or wait until you can do 475 Luc, anything in between requires a larger "statpool" to achieve. Consequently, if compared against 475 Luc of the same stat pool size, 475 Luc wins over all other values of 25 <= Luc < 475.

This apparent conclusion of choosing between two extremes can be subverted if some of the "noted" things were considered. It is entirely possible that a build of moderate luc will do better than either extreme, given the same stat pool size, if some of those factors were not ignored.

Avyn wrote:

So it took a few days, but I think I got this thing to work. I have a formula that will determine the threshold for Int/Luc with a controlled amount of Luc and a controlled elemental modifier.

n = (0.75y^2 – 666.25yz)/(16.25z – 0.65yz) – (a+b+c+d+e/5)(0.001y – 0.025) + y

a – weapon attack power
b – support spell
c – weapon power up
d – spell damage
e – Wis
n – total stat threshold
y – Luc
z – elemental modifier

Part II: Skill List

In order to reduce clutter between skills and make the skill list more accessible for reference purposes, all of my thoughts and recommendations on skills have been organized at the end. If you’re new to the Pagan/Mage class, you may want to read through my notes for advice. If a specific skill is not mentioned in my notes, it simply means that I don’t have any comments on the skill and you as a player should decide if it’s a skill that you’ll see yourself getting good use out of.

Blue skills are available in HM and UM.
Red skills are available in UM only.
Dark blue skills are available to AoL only.
Dark red skills are available to UoF only.

Passive Skills

Available at Lv: 1 || 12 || 23 || 34 || 45 || 56 || 67
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4

Lv1: Increases MP by 110
Lv2: Increases MP by 255
Lv3: Increases MP by 448
Lv4: Increases MP by 641
Lv5: Increases MP by 834
Lv6: Increases MP by 1027
Lv7: Increases MP by 1220

Available at Lv: 5 || 16 || 27 || 38 || 49 || 60
Skills points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3

Lv1: Increases attack by 5
Lv2: Increases attack by 17
Lv3: Increases attack by 34
Lv4: Increases attack by 49
Lv5: Increases attack by 66
Lv6: Increases attack by 80

Available at Lv: 6 || 18 || 30 || 42 || 54 || 66
Skill points required: 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1

Lv1: Increases regeneration rate by 10%
Lv2: Increases regeneration rate by 15%
Lv3: Increases regeneration rate by 20%
Lv4: Increases regeneration rate by 25%
Lv5: Increases regeneration rate by 30%
Lv6: Increases regeneration rate by 35%

Available at Lv: 12 || 26 || 46
Skill points required: 1 || 2 || 2

Lv1: Increases carrying capacity to 3 inventory pages
Lv2: Increases carrying capacity to 4 inventory pages
Lv3: Increases carrying capacity to 5 inventory pages

Available at Lv: 12 || 23 || 34 || 45 || 56 || 67
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4

Lv1: Increases attack by 5
Lv2: Increases attack by 10
Lv3: Increases attack by 18
Lv4: Increases attack by 32
Lv5: Increases attack by 44
Lv6: Increases attack by 60

Available at Lv: 13 || 22 || 51
Skill points required: 1 || 2 || 2

Lv1: Interprets 30% of opposing language
Lv2: Interprets 60% of opposing language
Lv3: Interprets 100% of opposing language

Available at Lv: 25
Skill points required: 6

Lv1: Increases attack speed by 1

Basic Skills

Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 1 || 9 || 17 || 25 || 33 || 41 || 49 || 57 || 65
Skill points required: 1 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP cost: 20 || 45 || 90 || 120 || 140 || 215 || 255 || 300 || 328
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +39
Lv2: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +95
Lv3: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +161
Lv4: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +217
Lv5: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +269
Lv6: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +322
Lv7: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +387
Lv8: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +422
Lv9: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +498

Available at Lv: 1 || 20 || 40
Skill points required: 0 || 0 || 0
MP cost: N/A
Instant cooldown

Lv1: 10sec cast time
Lv2: 9sec cast time
Lv3: 8sec cast time

Available at Lv: 2 || 12 || 22 || 32 || 42 || 52 || 62
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP/SP cost: 60/60 || 250/100 || 460/150 || 600/200 || 825/250 || 1057/300 || 1305/350
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Increases defense by 12 and evasion by 2%
Lv2: Increases defense by 24 and evasion by 4%
Lv3: Increases defense by 47 and evasion by 6%
Lv4: Increases defense by 70 and evasion by 8%
Lv5: Increases defense by 93 and evasion by 10%
Lv6: Increases defense by 116 and evasion by 10%
Lv7: Increases defense by 139 and evasion by 10%

Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 3 || 12 || 21 || 29 || 37 || 45 || 53 || 61 || 69
Skill point cost: 2 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 4
MP cost: 98 || 111 || 257 || 437 || 654 || 941 || 1105 || 1324 || 1405
1.5sec cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +64
Lv2: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +122
Lv3: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +276
Lv4: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +438
Lv5: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +754
Lv6: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +1088
Lv7: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +1547
Lv8: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +2105
Lv9: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +2587

Abnormal condition: Pause
Range: 27m || 27m || 28m || 28m || 29m || 29m || 30m || 30m || 31m
Available at Lv: 2 || 12 || 21 || 29 || 37 || 45 || 53 || 61 || 69
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 4
MP cost: 98 || 111 || 257 || 437 || 654 || 941 || 1105 || 1324 || 1405
1sec cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +42
Lv2: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +80
Lv3: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +184
Lv4: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +292
Lv5: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +502
Lv6: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +724
Lv7: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1030
Lv8: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1402
Lv9: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1724

Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 2 || 12 || 21 || 29 || 37 || 45 || 53 || 61 || 69
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 4
MP cost: 98 || 111 || 257 || 437 || 654 || 941 || 1105 || 1324 || 1405
Instant cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +21
Lv2: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +40
Lv3: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +92
Lv4: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +146
Lv5: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +251
Lv6: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +362
Lv7: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +515
Lv8: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +701
Lv9: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +862

Combat Skills

Note: There is an error either in description or in performance of this skill and it does not appear to have an actual radius of 4m.

Available at Lv: 4 || 24 || 44 || 64
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 2
MP cost: 60 || 220 || 350 || 535
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: 80 damage per tick
Lv2: 250 damage per tick
Lv3: 450 damage per tick
Lv4: 650 damage per tick

Available at Lv: 8 || 19 || 30 || 41 || 52 || 63
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP cost: 82 || 197 || 401 || 848 || 1154 || 1508
Instant cast || 20sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +44 within 5m of caster
Lv2: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +173 within 5m of caster
Lv3: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +310 within 5m of caster
Lv4: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +661 within 5m of caster
Lv5: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +922 within 5m of caster
Lv6: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +1610 within 5m of caster

Available at Lv: 8 || 19 || 30 || 41 || 52 || 63
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP cost: 82 || 197 || 401 || 848 || 1154 || 1508
Instant cast || 15sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +28 within 5m of caster
Lv2: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +128 within 5m of caster
Lv3: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +232 within 5m of caster
Lv4: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +506 within 5m of caster
Lv5: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +720 within 5m of caster
Lv6: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1206 within 5m of caster

Available at Lv: 8 || 19 || 30 || 41 || 52 || 63
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP cost: 82 || 197 || 401 || 848 || 1154 || 1508
Instant cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +14 within 5m of caster
Lv2: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +64 within 5m of caster
Lv3: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +116 within 5m of caster
Lv4: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +253 within 5m of caster
Lv5: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +360 within 5m of caster
Lv6: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +603 within 5m of caster

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 11 || 25 || 39 || 53 || 67
Skill points required: 4 || 4 || 5 || 5 || 6
MP cost: 75 || 300 || 430 || 720 || 1000
Instant cast || 60sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals 277 fixed damage
Lv2: Deals 866 fixed damage
Lv3: Deals 1543 fixed damage
Lv4: Deals 2180 fixed damage
Lv5: Deals 2954 fixed damage

Range: 2m
Available at Lv: 13 || 26 || 39 || 52 || 65
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP/SP cost: 40/190 || 90/250 || 150/315 || 210/422 || 385/518
Instant cast || 30sec cooldown

Lv1: Drains 700 MP from target
Lv2: Drains 1500 MP from target
Lv3: Drains 2500 MP from target
Lv4: Drains 3800 MP from target
Lv5: Drains 4600 MP from target

Range: 2m
Available at Lv: 13 || 26 || 39 || 52 || 65
Skill points required: 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP/SP cost: 190/40 || 250/90 || 315/150 || 422/210 || 518/385
Instant cast || 30sec cooldown

Lv1: Drains 474 SP from target
Lv2: Drains 785 SP from target
Lv3: Drains 1100 SP from target
Lv4: Drains 1555 SP from target
Lv5: Drains 1970 SP from target

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 16 || 26 ||36 || 46 || 56 || 66
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 270 || 430 || 625 || 880 || 1011 || 1555
2sec cast || 25sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire damage for magic attack +105 and 46 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals fire damage for magic attack +255 and 76 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals fire damage for magic attack +575 and 114 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals fire damage for magic attack +861 and 207 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals fire damage for magic attack +1108 and 315 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 7m of target
Lv6: Deals fire damage for magic attack +1977 and 453 damage per 3 seconds for 12 seconds within 7m of target

Abnormal condition: Unconsciousness
Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 16 || 26 ||36 || 46 || 56 || 66
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 270 || 430 || 625 || 880 || 1011 || 1555
1.5sec cast || 20sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth damage for magic attack +70 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals earth damage for magic attack +150 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals earth damage for magic attack +384 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals earth damage for magic attack +574 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals earth damage for magic attack +738 within 7m of target
Lv6: Deals earth damage for magic attack +1318 within 7m of target

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 16 || 26 || 36 || 46 || 56 || 66
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 270 || 430 || 625 || 880 || 1011 || 1555
1sec cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind damage for magic attack +35 and slows speed by 1 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals wind damage for magic attack +75 and slows speed by 1 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals wind damage for magic attack +192 and slows speed by 2 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals wind damage for magic attack +287 and slows speed by 2 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals wind damage for magic attack +369 and slows speed by 3 within 7m of target
Lv6: Deals wind damage for magic attack +659 and slows speed by 3 within 7m of target

Abnormal condition: Dying
Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 19 || 31 || 43 || 55 || 67
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP cost: 315 || 645 || 826 || 1050 || 1354
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Deals 180 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds
Lv2: Deals 270 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds
Lv3: Deals 401 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds
Lv4: Deals 555 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds
Lv5: Deals 724 damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 28 || 37 || 46 || 55 || 64
Skill point cost: 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 5
MP cost: 585 || 854 || 1041 || 1248 || 1499
1sec cast || 30sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +304 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +587 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +811 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +1175 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +1874 within 7m of target

Range: 11m
Available at Lv: 32 || 42 || 52 || 62
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 450 || 654 || 830 || 1050
Instant cast || 60sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +684 and 255 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds
Lv2: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +950 and 405 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds
Lv3: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +1225 and 521 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds
Lv4: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack power +1508 and 670 every 3 seconds for 21 seconds

Abnormal condition: Slow
Range: 11m
Available at Lv: 32 || 42 || 52 || 62
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 450 || 654 || 830 || 1050
Instant cast || 60sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +250 and slows for 15 seconds
Lv2: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +354 and slows for 20 seconds
Lv3: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +554 and slows for 25 seconds
Lv4: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +828 and slows for 30 seconds

Abnormal condition: Unconscious
Range: 11m
Available at Lv: 32 || 42 || 52 || 62
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 450 || 654 || 830 || 1050
Instant cast || 60sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +265 and stuns for 2 seconds
Lv2: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +685 and stuns for 3 seconds
Lv3: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +922 and stuns for 4 seconds
Lv4: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1277 and stuns for 5 seconds

Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 38 || 48 || 58 || 68
Skill points required: 4 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 800 || 950 || 1150 || 1400
Cast time: 3.5sec || 3sec || 2.5sec || 2sec
Instant cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +600
Lv2: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +950
Lv3: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +1850
Lv4: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +2205

Range: 29m || 30m || 31m || 32m
Available at Lv: 38 || 48 || 58 || 68
Skill points required: 4 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 800 || 950 || 1150 || 1400
Cast time: 3sec || 2.5sec || 2sec || 1.5sec
10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +455
Lv2: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +700
Lv3: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1170
Lv4: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1550

Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 38 || 48 || 58 || 68
Skill points required: 4 || 4 || 4 || 4
MP cost: 800 || 950 || 1150 || 1400
Instant cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +240
Lv2: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +320
Lv3: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +490
Lv4: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +810

Special Skills

Available at Lv: 1 || 20 || 40
Skill points required: 0 || 0 || 0
MP/SP cost: All/All
Instant cast || 180sec cooldown

Lv1: Increases evasion by 90% for 10 seconds
Lv2: Increases evasion by 180% for 20 seconds
Lv3: Increases evasion by 240% for 30 seconds

Available at Lv: 1 || 20 || 40
Skill points required: 0 || 0 || 0
Instant cast || 180sec cooldown

Lv1: Decreases max HP by 60 and increases attack power by 15 for 20 seconds
Lv2: Decreases max HP by 204 and increases attack power by 52 for 40 seconds
Lv3: Decreases max HP by 458 and increases attack power by 108 for 60 seconds

Radius: 50m
Available at Lv: 7 || 19 || 31 || 43 || 55 || 67
Skill point cost: 1 || 2 || 2 || 3 || 3 || 3
MP/SP cost: 110/70 || 580/170 || 760/225 || 950/290 || 1180/354 || 1420/412
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Increases party’s magic damage by 15 and max MP by 150 for 15 minutes
Lv2: Increases party’s magic damage by 40 and max MP by 310 for 15 minutes
Lv3: Increases party’s magic damage by 80 and max MP by 650 for 15 minutes
Lv4: Increases party’s magic damage by 150 and max MP by 1080 for 15 minutes
Lv5: Increases party’s magic damage by 205 and max MP by 1200 for 15 minutes
Lv6: Increases party’s magic damage by 250 and max MP by 1500 for 15 minutes

Range: 24
Available at Lv: 10 || 39 || 68
Skill points required: 3 || 4 || 5
MP/SP cost: 50/10 || 280/45 || 400/90
Instant cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: 60% success rate on target
Lv2: 80% success rate within 5m of target
Lv3: 100% success rate within 5m of target

Available at Lv: 17 || 29 || 50
Skill points required: 1 || 2 || 3
180sec cooldown

Lv1: Automatically activates when HP falls below 10%
Lv2: Automatically activates when HP falls below 17%
Lv3: Automatically activates when HP falls below 25%

Available at Lv: 18 || 29 || 40 || 51 || 62
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 3 || 3 || 3
SP cost: 45 || 93 || 125 || 222 || 324
Instant cast || 300sec cooldown

Lv1: Restores 815 MP
Lv2: Restores 1829 MP
Lv3: Restores 2782 MP
Lv4: Restores 3945 MP
Lv5: Restores 5508 MP

Available at Lv: 18 || 29 || 47
Skill points required: 4 || 5 || 6
MP/SP cost: 30/80 || 70/120 || 120/170
Instant cast || 180sec cooldown

Lv1: Damage taken consumes SP first before HP
Lv2: Damage taken consumes MP first before HP
Lv3: Damage taken consumes SP, then MP, then HP

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 28 || 37 || 46 || 55 || 64
Skill point cost: 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 5
MP cost: 585 || 854 || 1041 || 1248 || 1499
1sec cast || 20sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +250 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +450 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +662 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +950 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals earth elemental damage for magic attack +1522 within 7m of target

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 28 || 37 || 46 || 55 || 64
Skill point cost: 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 5
MP cost: 585 || 854 || 1041 || 1248 || 1499
1sec cast || 10sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +125 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +225 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +331 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +475 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals wind elemental damage for magic attack +761 within 7m of target

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 28 || 37 || 46 || 55 || 64
Skill point cost: 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 5
MP cost: 585 || 854 || 1041 || 1248 || 1499
1sec cast || 40sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +388 within 5m of target
Lv2: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +559 within 6m of target
Lv3: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +950 within 7m of target
Lv4: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +1392 within 7m of target
Lv5: Deals fire elemental damage for magic attack +2221 within 7m of target

Available at Lv: 31 || 47 || 63
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4
MP/SP cost: 440/117 || 540/295 || 0/0
Instant cast
Cooldown: 300 || 0 || 0

Lv:1 Grants elemental protection for 300 seconds
Lv:2 Grants elemental protection for 600 seconds
Lv:3 Grants elemental protection for 900 seconds

Available at Lv: 31 || 47 || 63
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4
MP/SP cost: 440/117 || 540/295 || 0/0
Instant cast
Cooldown: 300 || 0 || 0

Lv:1 Grants elemental protection for 300 seconds
Lv:2 Grants elemental protection for 600 seconds
Lv:3 Grants elemental protection for 900 seconds

Available at Lv: 31 || 47 || 63
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4
MP/SP cost: 440/117 || 540/295 || 0/0
Instant cast
Cooldown: 300 || 0 || 0

Lv:1 Grants elemental protection for 300 seconds
Lv:2 Grants elemental protection for 600 seconds
Lv:3 Grants elemental protection for 900 seconds

Available at Lv: 31 || 47 || 63
Skill points required: 3 || 3 || 4
MP/SP cost: 440/117 || 540/295 || 0/0
Instant cast
Cooldown: 300 || 0 || 0

Lv:1 Grants elemental protection for 300 seconds
Lv:2 Grants elemental protection for 600 seconds
Lv:3 Grants elemental protection for 900 seconds

Abnormal condition: Death
Range: 27m
Available at Lv: 36 || 47 || 57
Skill point cost: 5 || 6 || 6
MP cost: 630 || 900 || 1200
3sec cast
Cooldown: 1800sec || 1200sec || 600sec

Lv1: Kills target after 5 minutes
Lv2: Kills target after 3 minutes
Lv3: Kills target after 1 minute

Available at Lv: 36 || 45 || 54 || 63
Skill point cost: 6 || 6 || 7 || 7
MP cost: 675 || 1100 || 1425 || 1680
Instant cast || 300sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +305 and reduces STR/REC/INT by 150 within 6m of caster
Lv2: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +546 and reduces STR/REC/INT by 200 within 7m of caster
Lv3: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +735 and reduces STR/REC/INT by 250 within 8m of caster
Lv4: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack +1012 and reduces STR/REC/INT by 300 within 9m of caster

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 49 || 59 || 69
Skill points required: 7 || 8 || 9
MP/SP cost: All/220 || All/360 || All/500
3.5sec cast || 900sec cooldown

Lv1: Deals non elemental damage for 3 times magic attack power
Lv2: Deals non elemental damage for 4 times magic attack power
Lv3: Deals non elemental damage for 5 times magic attack power

Range: 24m
Available at Lv: 50 || 60 || 70
Skill points required: 7 || 8 || 9
MP cost: 3400
Instant cast
Cooldown: 1500sec || 1200sec || 900sec

Lv1: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack power +4000 within 8m of target
Lv2: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack power +8140 within 15m of target
Lv3: Deals non elemental damage for magic attack power +9950 within 15m of target

Radius: 15m
Available at Lv: 60
Skill points required: 6
MP/SP cost: 1680/555
2sec cast || Instant cooldown

Lv1: Renders all party members except caster within 15m invisible. Any movement or action taken will cancel the buff for that individual. Mass Ambush will also override any current status of the character, such as mounted, sitting, or in Stealth mode for Rangers/Assassins.

Part III: Skill Recommendations

This section will attempt to cover a lot of the gray areas when it comes to making good decisions in skill selection. As a Mage/Pagan, you have a lot to choose from and it’s very easy to take skills that you regret soon after or skip skills that you soon miss. If a specific skill is not mentioned in my notes, it simply means that I don’t have any comments on the skill and you as a player should decide if it’s a skill that you’ll see yourself getting good use out of. Also in each section, there will be a quote by Zzz…, one of the best Pagans to play the game, giving personal recommendations on each skill.

Passive Skills

Passive skills are permanent upgrades to your character. These skills are in effect at all times unless otherwise stated in the description.

Staff or Dagger?

It’s up to you, both have benefits, but choose one. It costs far too many skill points to have points invested into both. Consider that daggers will cost you 18 points to upgrade and staffs will cost you 21. Another point to consider that while the upgrades sound good, the bonuses that they grant are really not very significant, especially at higher levels. You can get by without getting either Dagger or Staff Power Up. If you find yourself worried about skill points, skip them both. You’ll be fine without them. Make sure you plan ahead so that you have enough points for the skills you want.

Mana Training and Relax Body

Mana Training is not a skill that I recommend at all. The MP that it grants is not even enough to cast an extra spell in most cases and as you get to higher levels, the bonus gained is even less. It’s rather expensive in skill points. You’ll also see that Support Spell gives more MP and you need to get that anyway. Your points are better spent there instead. Also note that the effects are not cumulative. Lv7 increases your MP by what Lv7 says, not Lv1-7.

As for Relax Body, it’s convenient to have, but note that it only works when you’re resting. Depending on your party or situation, that may be almost never, especially with favorable bless. You need to decide if you really want to invest points into a skill that you will gain limited use from. Are the skill points worth having to sit for a few less seconds to you? Take Relax Body at your own discretion.

Recommendations from Loiske

Zzz…, Cherubim rank 1-70 Pagan wrote:

Mana Training.. – skip, 1k MP aint gonna save you, maybe for grinding.. but definetly not for PvP
Staff Power Up.. – I MAXed it, 80 extra damage to every skill you use really helps.
Relax Body.. – MAX it..kite kite kite, it sucks if your HP wont regen.
Backpack Upgrade.. – MAX.. you dont wanna go PvP without enough pots, it really sucks lol.
Interpretation… – LOL TAKE UR TRASH TALK KILLS, well mine does atleast, even tho I dont have it (Dont take, waste of skill points, and as I said, you are really limited with them)
Dagger Weapon Power up… – skip.. in EP5.. theres really no reason to go Daggers, unless your a PURE debuffer (because it has faster attack speed, meaning you have no INT at all.. lol, pretty much like rec guard/def)
Staff Mastery.. – MAX, +1 attack speed helps.
Every Mage/Pagan should go STAFFS, you get so much more attack power that wise, dagger even for hybrid would just suck. In lower lvl zones, where its harder to achieve attack speed, and where the 10-20 attack difference doesnt matter, should definetly go daggers.

Basic Skills

Basic skills with basic effects. For the most part, useful skills for all types of builds.

Grinding With Magic Arrow

Magic Arrow is your only instant cast/recharge damage spell. It goes without saying that you need to get it. It’s basically your auto-attack. However, there are certain considerations. It may not be in your best interest to max it as soon as possible. Once you get to Lv60+, you’ll have plenty of MP and the cost of the skill will not be important, but for Lv1-60 grinding, you may find the skill to be rather MP intensive. It’s used much more often in PvP than PvE anyway, so you can safely leave it at a lower level for most of your grinding. Feel free to max it when you reach or near your endgame (whether your endgame be 1-15, 20-30, or 1-70).

Gondolph, Balrog rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

I always liked to pve too and loved to do it in parties. Perfect parties seeemed to me a perfect game rule to encourage party play. Since I decided to level my 57 to 60 up, I’ll find myself mostly in solo playing, taking mob in Pando, jungle, dd-2 one by one. So magic missile is the main skill to me, supported by elemental staffs.
Ele’s level 1 are so cheap atm, you can effort to make linke attempts even without hammers (although I still use linking hammers for that purpose)
And with Ele staffs, mm is the ruling skill.

Of Fire Ball, Magic Roots, and Sonic Bolt

Magic Roots is a great skill to have for absolutely any build and any focus. However, the main selling point of it is its pause effect, not its damage. You’ll notice that it receives its full pause effect at Lv1, so a good way to save on skill points is to leave it there. However, also important is that when maxed the range is 31m, making it the longest range spell available. If you want a more competitive edge, feel free to max it once you get to PvP, but there should be no reason to move it past Lv1 for PvE purposes.

Fire Ball has incredible base damage. Its cast time limits its overall damage output, but for a first strike, this skill can be one of your hardest hitters on a single target. It’s also a good skill for players who have limited or no access to elemental weapons. The reason that I consider it optional is that its effectiveness drops off considerably after the first hit. Once you are targeted by either mob or player, cast times drag you down and you’re better off switching to Magic Arrow. It costs 24 skill points to max, so consider whether or not you find that worthwhile for a skill that you won’t use nearly as often as Magic Arrow before you invest any points into it.

Sonic Bolt is a useless skill, plain and simple. Its damage is weak and it being instant cast doesn’t make up for that. Magic Arrow is instant cast too. Get that instead.

Gondolph, Balrog rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

maxing MR for pvp is good without doubt.
For Pve, especially if you low on skill points (like a NM), leveling to level 2 and not more has one big advantage: it still has the same range like mm. my most activity in pve is to try MR, prevent momement and then unleash mm as much as possible. With MR above 2, you always need to do some steps before mm is possible, this makes you loose time and thus DoT.

Recommendations from Loiske

Zzz…, Cherubim rank 1-70 Pagan wrote:

Magic arrow.. – MAX it.. its your main skill
Town portal.. – UT + town is always good.. oh wait this isnt a def/guard thread.
Body Protector.. – MAX it, just for the def purpose (10% evasion.. bs, I wanna see that actually happen)
Fire ball.. – skip, its cool to make high crits on Wind I tops, but 1,5 sec cast time is too long (missile is more DPS, but ofc it can be better option to use Fire Ball / EE if you only have the time to use 1 skill). Even tho your a "master of elements" you do need alot of Ele weps.
Magic Roots.. – I took it just to Lv1, to stop runners. I rarely use it in PvP, only when someone has alot of people chasing him/her (nice mass gang). Its pot able, so against good potter thats running, it can be useless, if your running alone. But even if it took 0,1 sec for him/her to pot it, he/shes one step closer to the warrior thats chasing him/her.. and stinger isnt pot able.
Sonic Bolt.. – skip.. Wind II weapon and Magic Missile does more damage than this. You dont have enough wind skills to really DD someone with earth top, so its just better to stick with ARing.

Combat Skills

Combat skills are destructive, yet very MP-intensive skills. Any skills maxed here should be done with caution, as power vs cost is an important measure.

Fire Thorns and Self Target AoE

This skill is mostly useful for tanks and PvPers only. If you are a PvE Int build, this skill can even harm you by picking up accidental stray aggro. Note that this skill also does not have an abnormal condition, meaning that it works on all bosses, making it a super magnet for boss aggro for caster tanks. Definitely max this if you’re tanking and consider it if you PvP often. You never know. It could pop a Ranger or an Assassin out of Stealth 0.1 seconds before they’re able to use their devastating Stealth skills.

Fire Wall, Storm, and Earth Strike have no range, again making them ideal for tanks and PvPers. If you are a PvE int build, skip all of these skills without thought. Tanks can feel free to get Lv1 of all of them for increased aggro capability, or higher levels if they wish to deal more damage. Just be sure to measure in MP and skill point cost before recklessly learning higher levels of the skills. Also note the cast times. While Storm appears to be the weakest, it will actually inflict the most damage of all three of the skills in a one minute cycle, making it the most useful of the skills over time, while Fire Wall remains the most effective in bursts. Also consider how effective these skills can be on Potential Motive.

Nemesis

Consider this. In just thirty seconds, a single Mage or Pagan is capable of inflicting about 60-70,000 damage against an endgame boss, regardless of that boss’s resist or the caster’s magic attack. While on Potential Motive, spamming this skill is truly devastating on high resist enemies. For those who PvP or kill bosses, this skill is highly recommended. However, it will not be very useful in all other areas of PvE.

Mana and Stamina Slug

If you’re a Rec-heavy build, you may find use for Mana Slug. It never misses, so it is guaranteed MP every 30 seconds and more than any regular potion bought from an NPC. As with anything though, consider whether or not you can picture yourself in scenarios in which you’ll use it before investing into it. If you’re a pure damage build, you’ll rarely have an opportunity to use it.

Stamina Slug is useless. Spending MP to gain SP is a step backwards. You’re a caster.

Gondolph, Balrog rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

Recommeded by Esmerise, I invested after my recently reskill of my 58 NM into Mana Slug.
that was a great investment, even if I’m not a tank build. It makes seameless grinding possible. When I fall low on mana, I fire on a mob till a damage level were one mm can kill the mob and insert the mana slug. I might get at worst case one hit but my mana bar is full recovert.

Ranged AoE

Meteor Strike, Earthquake, and Chain Lightning are your first ranged AoEs. One of the first things that I look for when considering a skill is the cast time. In my opinion, anything with more than a 1.5sec cast time isn’t effective in any scenario, especially PvP. This makes Meteor Strike an ineffective skill. It takes too long to cast. If you cycle your AoEs, you will not have need for this one anyway. If you really want it, I strongly recommend to leave it at Lv3, just to max the AoE radius of it. You may actually prefer to keep the other two at Lv3 as well for the same reason. These skills are costly in MP and skill points and you have a lot of other AoEs to consider. Earthquake is your only AoE stun and Chain Lightning is one of your two fastest cooldowns on ranged AoE. Both of these skills are recommended. Take them to Lv3 for a conservative skill build and max them if you have extra points.

As for Missile Rage, it’s a quick casting AoE, but note that it is non elemental and therefore may do considerably less damage than other skills. To save skill points, I would recommend to skip this skill until you have access to elemental weapons. At that point, take it to Lv3 for max AoE range or max it for the extra damage if you have spare points.

Sustain doom

You won’t find much use for this skill in PvE, but it’s useful in PvP for one or two purposes. In 20-30 PvP and beyond, it allows you to prevent a Ranger/Assassin from utilizing Stealth. Keep in mind that some devastating Ranger/Assassin skills such as Shadow Attack and Stunning Disruption require Stealth only to be on cooldown to use and does not require Stealth to be active. Sustain Doom will not protect you from these skills, but it will prevent a Ranger/Assassin from making a safe exit via Stealth.

In 20-30, it is also useful for stacking up with other various damage over time skills to chip away at targets with incredibly high defense, resist, and/or absorb. It won’t do much alone, but once you get a few DoTs on someone, you’ll notice their HP being eaten away.

In all other scenarios, Magic Arrow should do more damage (and at a lower cost) than Sustain Doom.

Gondolph, Balrog rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

I was always a fan of sustain doom. And I still highly recommend this for pvp toons in Canta, since it is the ultimate weapon against sins/ranger, preventing stealth and dealing 1440 damage regardless of defence/absorbtion at level 1. The ultimate weapon to hurt ubers if nothing else will work.
At higher levels, its still nice. It works against upper fire mob in Pando, and help you if you get stunned or so. But it’s mana costs are higher than magic missile, and on average mm does more damage over time, since mob hopefully dies before the full sustain doom-damage has been done. So I skipped it for my uppert toon.

Shocks and Choirs

From my experience, Potential Motive most often activates when a Fighter or Warrior uses Stinger to quickly get within melee range of you. These Shocks are all totally devastating on Potential Motive, with Earth Shock’s stun being life saving. Get the Earth one if nothing else, but also consider both of the other ones for stacking debuffs and damage. All of these are instant and more powerful than Magic Arrow. Also note that Flame Shock has no abnormal condition, making the strong damage over time effect work on bosses.

The selling point of the Choirs is that they are Ele II. If you have Ele II weapons, don’t even bother. Even if you don’t, I would still recommend to skip all three of these skills as they are very costly in both MP and skill points and won’t do much more damage than Magic Arrow in the same time frame. The only one that I would consider is Flame Choir, due to being spammable, but even then, I would only take it if I really had nothing else to spend the points on.

Recommendations from Loiske

Zzz…, Cherubim rank 1-70 Pagan wrote:

Fire Thorn… – I skipped it, it might be good for bosses if your a tank mage/pagan, or if you really wanna detect rangers/assassins that bad, but I really never had use for it.
Fire Wall.. – MAX it, one of the only instant AoEs you will have, nice to trigger debuffs aswell. Run in people when you see them use their Deadly Strikes, BRs etc on someone else, cast Fire Wall with other AoEs for nice damage, hopefully other people will go AoE aswell, and you will see people fall down
Earth Strike.. – MAX it, damage slightly lower than Fire Wall, but I wouldnt take it for the same purpose..
Storm.. – I took just Lv1, nice to trigger debuffs, BUT the damage is way too low, even if you maxed it. I was thinking of restatting it off if I had more use for the 2 skill points. Might be nice if you like to tank people..
Nemesis.. – skip, didnt have any use after EP3, maybe the first week EP5 came when you were killing gray bosses. I wish it had some use when ROTCO comes, but I doubt it when the bosses have so much HP..
Mana Slug – skip
Stamina Slug – skip
Meteor Strike – skip, Hellfire is way better, and shorter cast time. Long cast times suck.
Earthquake – MAX it, really annoying in PvP. Damage is decent, 1 sec cast time works.
Chain Lightning – this really depends on you. I have it maxed, just for the debuff, which is really annoying. However, I prefer damage, and this skill doesnt do alot of it. Its good for rec pagans/mages, the debuff is unpotable. (I have it atm, going to reskill it off)
Sustain Doom – skip, I took it to Lv1 because I found it more useful than 200 MP had 3 extra skill points, nice to cast on rangers/assassins but really shouldnt take.
Missile Rage – max it, one of your strongest AoEs with Hellfire, its also one of your only non-ele AoEs so better have Ele weps with you. Earthquake + AR + Missile Rage + KB = kill.
All Shocks – max them. Earth Shock is really really useful, you get stingered, wait a short while before fighter/warrior gets to attack, use it, and you can fall back a bit and start attacking. Storm Shock.. depends how often you use it, ccan be smart to leave it at Lv1-3 as only the duration of debuff increases at later lvls, and this debuff is potable. Flame Shock also does its work to keep rangers/assassins from stealthing.
Choirs – I skipped them all. They take alot of MP, long cast times. Storm Choir is the only choir you could even think of taking, but they take alot of skill points, and Wind II wep + Magic Missile is just slightly less damage so I would just skip them all.

Special Skills

Special skills are essentially your most powerful skills, typically costing both MP and SP. While powerful, a lot of these skills are actually less useful than they may appear.

Support Spell

This should be maxed without question. Even for non magic classes in your party, the extra MP helps a lot. Even physical classes have skills that use MP. Of course for yourself, the extra damage and MP are both extremely helpful to you. This is one of the few skills that you can safely max as soon as possible without worry.

Attribute Remove

Since a large number of your skills have a pre-determined element, being able to remove the elemental defense of your opponent is a key factor in both PvE and PvP. It may not look like Lv3 grants much of an advantage over Lv2, but it is more likely to save you MP due to having 100% accuracy. It’s not too many skill points out of your reserve, so you have little to lose by maxing it, yet much to gain.

Potential Motive

The possibilities of this skill is endless. Pick any one of your instant cast spells that normally have a cooldown (self target AoEs, Shocks, Storm Choir, Nemesis, etc…) and just imagine how much destructive power you can get out by spamming them for 30 seconds straight. This skill is what makes casters one of the best classes for endgame boss damage and one of the most dangerous classes to wound in PvP. Max this skill and start thinking of insane combos to use with it.

Health Assist and Diversion

There is a combo involving these two skills and Potential Motive that allows casters to constantly "heal" themselves for 30 seconds. By using Health Assist, your MP essentially becomes your health and on Potential Motive, you can spam Diversion so long as you have at enough SP (Continuous Stamina Potions are cheap). The problem is that this combo is unreliable in that it can only be done once every three minutes and it requires you to take Diversion, which is otherwise a fairly useless skill (Mana Potions are even cheaper).

However, I do recommend taking Health Assist Lv2. It will save you in emergencies. The reason why it should not be maxed is because your SP is precious and should not be given away freely. Many of your survival tactics rely on you having SP.

The AoEs

These three AoEs are, generally speaking, your strongest and quickest casting ranged AoEs. All three of them are great to have. The problem with them is that they cost an enormous amount of skill points to max. I do recommend taking all three so that you can cycle AoEs more effectively and use elements according to a situation, but I would suggest leaving them at Lv3 unless you’re absolutely certain that you will have enough skill points left over. Lv3 maxes their AoE range. That is enough for a conservative skill build.

The Elemental Skins

Not recommended for PvP use at all. The buff is visible in your opponent’s UI, making any advantage gained from elemental defense completely nullified (or worse – countered). Tank builds should consider taking two of them for PvE purposes if they do not have elemental armor, but no other build or gameplay aspect will make use of them. Since Lv1 has 300sec duration and cooldown and it is thus possible to be constantly buffed, Lv2-3 isn’t even necessary for PvE tank builds. In other words, no caster should ever need more than 6 skill points invested into all four of these skills combined.

Confusion

I don’t have much personal experience with this skill.

-Esmerelda-, Cherubim rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

Confusion is one of the few skills that mages have that are useful in many situations, first of all it is a non-ele, instant cast aoe. The non-ele part is important for advanced PvP situations because it means you can use the correct ele2 against your oponent for maximum damage. Being instant cast means you do not have to worry about kiting and therefore it can be used in a pinch at any time.
Now for the fun and best part of this skill, the debuff. It reduces 300 STR!! It is also unpottable meaning a priest/orc will have to dispel it. Why is 300 STR removed important you ask? Well imagine an uber warrior/fighter stingers you (you cannot run away), the next skill they use will be deadly strike followed by Windspin, this is going to hurt, unless you instant cast Confusion debuffing them, 300 STR less will mean around 1k less per hit (assuming strong ele and crit) and because DS and WS are multi-hit, you have probably protected yourself from 4k damage!
Furthermore It has a massive radius of effect, If you are on DF/POG (or a REC build) you can run into a raid and cast this, it will most likely hit everyone, causing a massive amount of cumulative damage and reducing an entire raids STR/REC/INT by 300 for 1 push.
AND It is spammable on Potential Motive!
I can strongly reccommend this skill, especially if you have ele2 weapons, I would however max it to level 4 or skip it, the lower levels are weaker and reduce the effectiveness/damage/ranger significantly.
This is a PvP only skill, its long recharge and high skill point cost make it ineffective for grinding/leveling.

Death’s Touch

Can be dispelled by a healer or with a potion. That makes the purpose of this skill completely unfulfilled. If you manage to actually kill an opponent with this in PvP, screen shot it and show me. I like being surprised.

Equivalent Exchange and Kamain’s Breath

Equivalent exchange has a brutally long cast time. So long, in fact, that spamming Magic Arrow will do comparable damage in the same time frame. The skill also spends your entire MP reserve and takes forever to recharge. The skill points that this skill demands are also extremely steep. However, when maxed, this skill is capable of dealing over 30,000 damage, which is incredibly high burst damage. It’s not going to be useful in prolonged struggles, but for pushing, ambushing, and catching someone running away, this skill packs a huge punch. I would recommend to skip it until you can max it at Lv69, as Lv1 and Lv2 of this skill aren’t worth it, in my opinion.

However, Kamain’s Breath is a nightmarish skill (for your opponents). Depending on your magic attack, this skill is capable of dealing tens of thousands of damage to every single opponent within 15m of your target. This is the single most devastating damage skill in the game. Even HMs, who can only get Lv1, the +4000 damage is still insane. I would recommend this skill to anyone. However, keep in mind that most high level PvE mobs are immune to this. If you never PvP, you don’t really have a need for this (even though it’s still fun to have).

Recommendations from Loiske

Zzz…, Cherubim rank 1-70 Pagan wrote:

Bloody Karma – MAX it, free skill, 108 attack power > 500 HP. Im really lazy to use it tho.
Support Spell – MAX it, 250 more magic when maxed, and priests/oracles like the extra MP it gives.
Attribute Remove – MAX it. Just do it. 80% and 100% is "just" 20% difference, but it does make a difference. If you miss it, you just wasted your time. You dont want it to miss.
Potential Motive – MAX it, PM + Earth Shock spam = Win. Using HA during PM is good aswell, you can cast next one without waiting 5mins.
Diversion – I skipped it. However after reading other peoples comments, and realizing how many times Im on PM, I think I would reskill Chain Lightning/Earthspikes for this. Going to do these fixes when Im done with 70 gears and no need to farm anymore
Health Assistant – Take it to Lv2, as everyone else said. Lv1 is dumb, Lv3 is dumb. I doubt you really have that much SP to make it worth it, it just keeps you away from buffing / Diversioning etc.
Hellfire – I MAXed it. Does slightly more damage than Missile Rage, and is an AoE. AoEs are always good, to trigger debuffs and cause damage to many people.
Earthspikes – Skip / MAX it, depends if you wanna focus on AoE skills or not. Many AoEs are needed for farming etc, for PvP maybe skip for Confusion/Diversion
Turbulence – Skip, became useless in EP5. Damage is way too low, and 1 sec cast time with weak damage just sucks.
Skins – you really have to skip them all lol. You dont have skill points for them. Lv1 Ele Lapises are cheap enough, just link one on a crappy top.
Equivalent Exchange (known as Sow and Reap) – MAX it. It’s really awesome skill, works well on runners, 1 hits people, and if you really wanna get rid of someone, EE + pot quick + KB, kills 95% of people.
Confusion – I dont have it atm, but I decided Im going to take it instead of Chain Lightning/Earthspikes. The debuff is nice, base damage good enough and its a non-ele skill so your Ele II boosts its damage. 5min cooldown sucks tho, but I dont really use those 2 kills more than once a 5mins either.
Kamain Breath – MAX it… the strongest Lv70 skill of all. This skill really likes to hit on DF tho.. hit it on 2 people.. and you are dead. Need to be extremly careful. But hey, it happens to all of us when you try to aim for as many people as possible.
Mass Ambush – cool skill, I skipped it, but it depends on raid leader, if he really sees it can be used for ambushing or hiding parties at bosses etc.

Part IV: Discussion and Further Tips

Understanding Damage

-Esmerelda-, Seraphim rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

Contrary to popular belief, mages CAN be good dps, and CAN ks bosses.
Here are a few of the kills I have had in the past 10months.

(I put the drops from Dios in view to stop anyone saying "you killed a fake")

I will not say exactly how I get these bosses, as I am commited to a guild that would not be happy if mages everywhere started to ks us.

I will however underline some things that will help any aspiring dps mages:

—Attack Speed—
The most important thing is having "Extremely Fast" attack speed, this is incredibly important, you cannot ks a boss with "Very Fast"

—Lag—
You must have a decent fps to suceed in boss killing, anything under 30fps and you may as well not even try.

—Learn to magic arrow—
Imagine that the magic arrow icon is a clockface, and that the cooldown line is the hand, press magic arrow at 11o’clock and the next magic arrow will be cast at extremely fast, rather than a lag occuring, this requires really good timing, and you will not be able to do it straight away. Experiment, you will know it worked when it happens.

—Use range to your advantage—
The ONLY thing mage dpsers have going for them is range, this puts them above fighters in the fact that mostly they do not require constant dispels. In fact this benefit is so pronounced, that I have had the kill on over half the Lumen/Ales I have attended this year.

Survival Guide

-Esmerelda-, Seraphim rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

Ele tops.

If I had to say what I think is the most important part of survival in PvP is, I would say without hesitation, Ele tops. Think about this, some uber linked players can hit over 8k with standard hits, such as Deadly Strike/Rapid Shot/Slasher etc. With 1 lapis you can reduce that damage to 2k. Just think how much rec you would need to obtain that high damage reduction.
Now you may say, but that will only work on 25% of the people and the other 75% are going to hit me harder…. This is true, which is why I say, you need TWO Ele Tops.

I am shocked at how many people STILL use only one ele top and never switch, ele1 lapis are like 500m on AH. Which means you can link an ele top with just one days farm. There is NO EXCUSE apart from your laziness.

Remember as a dps mage you are not supposed to be able to tank hordes of fury, no class can be uber dps and uber tank, however you can easily be an uber tank against one target. The trick is knowing when to switch between the two ele tops.

—Using your 2 tops to the best effect—
I strongly advise making your two tops IDENTICAL (apart from the opposing ele obviously) I would make one fire and one earth OR one wind and one water.
Equip one top, and put the other one in your HOTKEYS, my top is on Key "2" (above "W") this is in a really good location for easy pressing and means you can switch tops without faffing through your inventory.

Now go out and PvP, if someone hits you hard, press that top change key, and all of a sudden that uber opponent hits you for almost nothing. Simple.
They will undoubtedly change to the correct ele weapon to regain there strong damage multiplier, press that top change key again, wham, they still hit low.
Knowing when and where to change tops is, in my opinion where the true skill of Shaiya PvP comes into play, a weaker player with lesser stats can easily walk all over an uber geared player that does not switch tops or weapons.
Remember Brain > Braun.

—Using ele buffs—
Ele buffs are not as useless as some make them out to be, however they should be used with caution, as a hunter/archer may see your buff and Nuke + PV guaranteed right ele…
I have found 2 ways in which they can be useful, although I would still advise getting 2 proper tops.

–The Deactivation gambit.
Lets say you inherited a Fire 2 top and cannot afford to make an Earth 2 top.
Well I have a nifty solution for you.
Take Earth Skin, and activate it with the fire top on, (your stat screen will show Earth 1, and that is what is in effect). Your opponents will see the Earth skin buff when they target you, they will think "MMMM squishy nub mage who use ele buff, I kill, yummy" they will undoubtedly equip their wind weapon to kill you on earth buff, and stinger in.
Quickly deactivate the buff, this way your top ele becomes Fire 2 once more, and their Deadly Strike or whatever will be the wrong ele, and will hit really low, hopefully they wont notice this whilst you lay down some hurt on them.

This method, works, for a while, it does not work in reverse very well, that is activating earth skin whilst in PvP is a hassle esp. with all the stuns. Your opponents will also quickly get wise to this technique.

–The ele-rainbow discombobulatory manoeuvre
Take every ele buff and put them in your revolver bar, something like this.

Now run around PvPing spamming the R key, hopefully this will dazzle your opponents and they will die of seizures whilst trying to out-ele you.
This technique does not really work very well as it consumes time having to cast each buff, however as a rec build on a low budget this is better than no ele top, and is also very fun as you will get comments like "Esme STOP CHANGING ELE".

—Using 4 tops to the best effect—

–The unseen ele-rainbow discombobulatory manoeuvre
This is exactly the same as above with the buffs, however use 4 identical ele tops (note: you cannot place tops into the revolver bar {sadly}), this will make sure that nobody knows your ele top, because you will use all 4 equally, the downside of this is that you can confuse yourself just as easily as the opponents. I would advise using 2 tops, and if you want to upgrade to 4, do alternate days, first day fire/earth, second day wind/water. Mix it up occasionally to (such as wind/earth), making yourself unpredictable is a GOOD THING, as it will give no opportunities for fury to predict your actions.

Lovette., Cherubim rank 1-70 Priest wrote:

Gear
It’s a wise decision to invest in gear with higher base defense, resistance, and HP such as Dreamy Medicus or Decoris (and soon "Brilliant" gear when the new Dungeon arrives), as they help improve your livability in PvP.

Here are the stats of Goddess Anor Armor compared to Dreamy Medicus Armor and Decoris Armor. *All gears are clean.
Goddess Anor Armor Lv. 53
Defense Power – 14
Resistance – 31
HP – 225

Dreamy Medicus Armor Lv. 64
Defense Power – 51
Resistance – 105
HP – 600

Decoris Armor Lv. 69
Defense Power – 85
Resistance – 175
HP – 900

There’s a significant difference between each piece of gear the higher in level they are. These gears are also rerollable, meaning you can use recreation runes to give additional stats to the gear, it’s advised to reroll your gear to obtain more HP, and if possible, more Rec, Int, Luc, or what have you. These stats help you in survivability.

Elemental lapises also help you survive, and sometimes even help you die quicker. Ele lapises can cut the amount of damage taken or even increase it.
Take a look at this. Here you will understand what a particular element’s weakness and strength is. Looking at the 3rd chart, you will understand the defensive element vs. the offensive element.

Chewie., Astaroth rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

REC builders – i say this is the most fun class because you die less and actually rank up faster. if you have the money, i’ll say link yourself a debuff weapon and spam AR on enemy healers.

debuff lapis i’ll recomend are:
Pain 7
slumber 7
blindside 6
silence 6

Attribute remove not only removes the ele off your enemies (makes it alot easier to kill) but it’s 100% hit and also an instant AOE. you can spam it as many time as you want and the best thing is it cost little to no MP to cast. surely with all those debug lapis in your weapon, at least 1 of them is sure to go off, they cant focus on pvp if they are too busy trying to dispel; another thing is AR inturupts healers from healing so as long as you keep spamming it, they wont be able to heal.

Nuker – during your entire playing time, you’ll be one of the first to die! it’s harsh but a true fact. why is this a threat that you must die? because you are a threat to not only the main dps, but the healers as well. you need to know that most fighter / warriors / hunters / archers / ranger / sins / guard / defenders dont have over 1000 resist; this means they are really sensitive to magic.
most healers became full rec in ep5 with the upgraded healing spells so they have lower magic resist vs the standard full wis healer. if they are ignorant and went full wis, well just look around you. how many fighter / warriors / hunter / archers are there compared to mage/pagans?
one last thing i like to add is, if any of the above (besides healers) have over 1k resist, that means they add wis to their build.

*no matter how uber they are, any of the above class will never have more than 800 resist (ep5).

the saying goes, kill who’s most threathening to you. in this case, the best method is to stay far behind the reach of your enemies (next to a healer or something) and dps from there. if someone noticed you and starts hitting, just run away the opposite direction. i’ve played many calss and one of the hardest thing to kill is someone that knows how to run away/around in circles.

when you "kite" it makes it hard to kill because most class have this "insufficient range" problem that prevents them from hitting you as long as you are always moving, no sin / fighter / def will be able to hit you because there’s a range problem. on their screen they may see you right in front of them, but really you’re 8m from them ( it’s lag that’s doing this, and i dont want to get too detailed about it). hit-and-run…. lol

-Esmerelda-, Seraphim rank 1-70 Mage wrote:

High HP.

If you have a high budget, the next best thing for survival, is high hp. Link Life 7 into EVERY piece of armor, With EB3/AoP/Prayer my mage has 40.3k hp, that is with practically 0 rec.
This gives a massive boost to your survivability, not only will it give scope for priests/orcs to heal you, but it gives you chance to change ele tops after a rush attack or an ulti (without being dead). It makes you immune to Stinger/Eraser nubs, it deters people from using DT/PV against you as it effectively will be wasted. 24k damage is not so bad if you still have 16k hp afterwards.

I understand that Life 7′s are expensive, but I truly believe it is the best option for a PvP mage, it is also a very good compromise. Linking Life 7 only takes up 1/6 slots in each piece of gear, which leaves you 5 slots to focus on maxing your damage output (what mages were meant for)

Finally

I hope this has been useful to some, one final note: If you want to be healed lots, be nice to your healers. Shouting DISPEL ME, HEAL ME, will result in your death and will lead to 0 heals. Thank your priests, and they will be more likely to heal you in future.
This will increase your survivability beyond anything else.

PvP Technique

Drizzt._mage, Astaroth rank 20-30 Mage wrote:

Often times in pvp one must face un-favorable odds that require more than just brute force to beat, and instead perhaps require a little creative thinking, here is one tactic that has often worked well for me in the 20-30 zone of which i am a 3yr (in a month or so) vet. called the pincer =]: Now in real life a pincer tactic can, and historically has been, used with any type of forces to force your enemy to face two fronts, however within the constraints of the game, it is not practical unless one ‘pincer’ is made up of casters. To execute a pincer you need one side of mele ppls/archers to distract the fire of your enemy, and another made up of casters to cast. The advantage of this pincer is that it allows us casters to cast uniterrupted, which allows us to use many of our more powerfull skills. Once the attention of the force you are facing is locked upon your mele forces, mages/pagans can apporach and cast. The first thing to organize is a staggering of ‘eathquakes’, this continually stuns the enemy as your side attacks, usually there is only time for a couple of skills to be cast before the casters are turned on, but if you can keep the enemy stunned with a stagger, all the casters can potenitally have time to use all of their aoes to maximum destructive force, and often the defeat of your enemy, or at least more kills =]. This tactic may sound hard to implement and organize, and often does not work, but can actually be used far more often than you may think, even if you are alone against odds. If you are alone out in the field, your enemy will still probably be grouped, and facing the direction they expect you to come from, if you can manage to sneak around behind them, chances are you can get close enough to cast quake, one other casting aoe, then run in an do your 3 insta-aoes for a few kills without even needing other ppl to be the other arm of the pincer, ur opponents expectations often do that for you =].

P.S if anyone is confused as to what i mean by stagger let me break it down for ya =]: lets say you have 3 mages, here is what you do as you all arrive at scene:

1st volley:
mage1 casts quake (enemys are sunned now for duration of volley untill 2nd volley is cast)
mage2 casts hellfire
mage3 casts hellfire

2nd volley:
mage1 casts hellfire
mage2 casts quake (same effect as above step untill 3rd volley has been cast)
mage3 casts missile rage/earth spikes

3rd volley:
mage1 casts missile rage/earth spikes
mage2 casts missile rage/earth spikes
mage3 casts quake (enemy is stunned as you run in 2 cast ur insta-aoes or start using ur magic arrow)

Zzz…, Cherubim rank 1-70 Pagan wrote:

First of all. All stats/lapises/skill choices depends on if you want to be a killer or a debuffer. People usually want to play it safe by going high REC/DEF/Abs, however I prefer high INT and defending myself by kiting / playing smart (know when to pot / pop HA / UT / fall back etc and not getting into situations where you are risking your life (even a dumb person knows its not smart to go auto-follow the REC guard/defender that is tanking 20 lights/darks just to debuff them).

If you are going debuff build (some people say you can still damage people well… bs… you can damage the squishies but your not a threat to the ubers (damagewise)) max as many AoEs as possible, especially all the instant ones, maybe not necessary even to max them, as you dont go for damage. As people have mentioned, AR will be your favourite skill (I dont use it too often tho, as I go for the killers that gets dispelled, and Imo I can switch my weps well enough, non ele top =/= Ele II on right Ele II, right ele is slightly more damage). Anyway, AR is the best skill to land debuffs with, and it still has its uses, especially when you are AoEing / KBing / not playing with 10 priests or orcs or just with people that actually knows how to change tops (too bad AR bugs, many people dont know it tho).

Pure INT/High INT build… lets just say, you need to be extremly careful.. people will learn quick who to run from / kite alot etc. Mages/Pagans biggest danger has always and I guess will always be hunters/archers. Only the annoying HP/MP/SP leech debuffs can make you useless unless you have someone to dispel you, but its also hard to watch where the arrows come from, and if your getting auto-attacked, they break all your casts, basically all AoEs. Im lucky theres only one archer on Teos that can deal massive amount of damage, but hey..he deals the same damage to everyone and is one of the first ones to get eliminated.
You will learn what the opposite factions people usually do, do they come to just DT / Eraser you, how the switch eles, Lure if they see you and etc. Being high INT (and low DEF) takes alot of practice and you always need to keep your eyes open and be on the move. Timing on pots.. skills is extremly important, for all classes, but especially for the squishy ones.
Everyone will die in the end, even the high REC ones, but dying in the first wave is useless aswell, especially in boss PvP if your not able to move back (CS etc).
Casting AoEs on a high INT build can be challenging, but theres always a time and place for them aswell. Remember.. even tho your chased by 2+ ubers from other faction, and you feel useless just by running there, your not actually useless, having 2+ ubers away from the action really helps other people, its easy to pick on the squishies.

Credits go to Avyn.

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Avyn’s Mage/Pagan Guide

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