Allods Online Forum

Outline:
i. Introduction
ii. Changes in 5.0
iii. Stats

• Offensive Stats
  
• Defensive Stats
  

iv. Build

• Talents
  
• Fire Grid Rubies
  
• Ice Grid Rubies
  
• Lightning Grid Rubies
  
• Miscellaneous Spells

v. Modifications
vi. Rotations
vii. Notes on Gear


i. INTRODUCTION
Hello mages! My name is Enfil, and I’m from the guild WarSong. My role in a party is primarily DPS (damage per second) and the main CC (crowd control).

What do I love about playing a mage? They’re so much fun to play! Mages can have huge burst damage and dominate the DPS meters. However, we are a glass cannon. We can do tons of damage, but once we start taking hits it can be hard to stay alive. It’s an interesting challenge to balance our power with survival ability. I also enjoy being the main CC in my party, since mage’s Icy Grave is arguably the best CC in the game.


ii. CHANGES IN 5.0
Mages did not undergo many changes with the 5.0 patch. The biggest change is the stats overhaul that came with the patch. I will discuss stats in more detail below.


iii. STATS
The biggest change for mages in 5.0 is the stats overhaul. Here is my advice on how to balance your stats with the new system. Note that depending on your gameplay you may want to modify this to fit your own playing style.

Offensive Stats:

Vigor is your base damage. Having it as high as possible is ideal. Vigor will increase as your gear increases, so worrying about balancing it against any other stats is unnecessary.

Ideally, you will want an equal balance of Proficiency and Brutality. Proficiency increases your damage by X%, with X being the number of points in Proficiency. Brutality increases your damage as your target’s health decreases. This means that the end of your fight will be faster than the beginning of your fight.

Alternatively, if you are a person who finds yourself with high Determination (the red bar beneath your mana pool) quite frequently, you could opt for a stat balance including determination. Determination increases your damage according to how much damage you are taking. In this case, the ideal balance would have equal parts Proficiency, Determination, and Brutality. The best way to decide if you should use Determination gear is to monitor your average Determination. You can do this by downloading the latest version of AoUMeter, which will now tell you your average Determination. Watch it for a few days of normal play, and if your average determination is greater than 40% or so, I would say you ought to put Determination into your stats.

Anger is not useful in PvE, so it should be 0 in a build such as this.


Defensive Stats:

Stamina is your base health. It scales upward as your gear improves, so worrying about balancing it against other stats is unnecessary. Having it as high as possible is ideal.

Vitality should be your biggest focus in defensive stats. It increases your health by X%, with X being the number of points put into it.

Willpower is unnecessary in PvE. Willpower gives you temporary immunity to control effects when you have been under a control effect for a certain amount of time. In PvE you don’t spend a whole lot of time under control effects, or at least not enough to make putting points into Willpower at the expense of vitality worth it to me.

Some players may want to have Bloodlust in their build. I think Bloodlust is best suited for solo play, since it heals you based on your damage. I don’t think it is necessary for endgame PvE though, since we spend most of our time in groups where we have a healer to heal us much better than Bloodlust can. However, it can have a very nice effect depending on your gameplay.

Tenacity decreases the rate at which you gain wound complexity. It is useful to put a small amount of points into Tenacity, but you don’t want to go overboard with it. However, if you don’t have it, it can have devastating consequences since just one drop of wound complexity decreases the heals your receive by half.

iv. BUILD
This is an ice and lightning PvE build. I think this is a great basic build especially for those just starting out with mage. I know when I first started out I was really confused and overwhelmed, so hopefully this can help all the new baby mages feel better equipped to start out with endgame.

Talents:



- Shocking Grasp (Rank 3): Instant cast time and deals 100% more damage when the target is below 25% health. A must-have, combined with brutality you can hit for tons once the target drops below 25%.

- Frostbolt (Rank 3): Your basic ice spell. It doesn’t cost ice force points so you can use it after you’ve used up your frost force points on Icy Meteors or Comets while waiting for the next cycle.

- Stone Barrier (Rank 2): This is just taken in order to get the upgraded version called Stone Wall. I decided to only take rank 2 of Stone Barrier and Stone Wall because you would have to spend 6 more talent points to get just one more stack of the effect. I think the cost is too high for such a small benefit.

- Icy Comet (Rank 3): A mage’s main ice spell for single target. Hits for massive damage and costs 2 frost force points. As well, it doesn’t require line of sight.

- Thunderbolt (Rank 3): The basic lightning spell. It doesn’t cost lightning force points so you can use it after you’ve used up your lightning force points on Electric Pulse or Thunderhead.

- Elemental Shield (Rank 2): A barrier that absorbs magic damage. You can use this in situations in which you expect to be taking magic damage rather than physical damage. You cannot have both Elemental Shield and Stone Wall in effect simultaneously.

- Flash (Rank 1): Teleports you 20 yards away. This spell can help you survive during those times when the tank has lost aggro or when a monster is hitting you for whatever reason. It is also a handy convenience for when you are forced to run somewhere on foot.

- Icy Grave (Rank 1): Our main crowd control spell. It freezes the target for 30 seconds as long as it is not taking damage. A great spell for times when your group can’t handle all the mobs in a pull.

- Reflections (Rank 2): A survival spell that mitigates damage for each stack. This spell is great whenever you are taking a lot of hits, particularly when you’ve lost your barriers.

- Seal of Health III (Rank 3): Increases the health, mana, and energy of your group members by 30%. This is a necessary party buff for anyone who wants to participate in astral runs, raiding, etc.

- Electric Pulse (Rank 3): A mage’s main lightning spell for single target. Hits for tons of damage and costs 2 lightning force points.

- Icy Meteor (Rank 3): Our AoE ice spell—hits several mobs in an area for quite a lot of damage. It’s also great because it doesn’t require line of sight. It costs 3 frost force points.

- Thunderhead (Rank 3): Our AoE lightning spell—hits several mobs in the vicinity of your target for a large amount of damage. It costs 3 lightning force points.

- Stone Wall (Rank 2): The upgraded version of Stone Barrier. Each stack absorbs physical damage. This spell is necessary to make us a little less squishy.

- Elemental Surge (Rank 2): A dragon tear spell that casts for 8 seconds. Once finished casting, it deals damage to your target and nearby monsters for each second of cast time. This is a great spell that deals quite a lot of damage.

- Magic Tactics (Rank 1): A dragon tear spell that allows you to have 21 seconds of uninterrupted casting, regardless of incoming damage or even movement. A great spell for situations in which you can’t stand still for very long.

Fire Grid Rubies:



- Propitious Magic (Rank 3): Increases your luck by 9%. More luck means more crits, which means more damage output.


Ice Grid Rubies:



- Sleet (Rank 3): Decreases the cooldown of your Icy Comet/Meteor by 50%.

- Icy Avalanche (Rank 3): Decreases the mana cost of your comet/meteors by 30%.

- Ice Tomb (Rank 3): Allows you to include a second mob in your Icy Grave, and increases frost damage by 3%. Double Icy Grave is a necessity at endgame for astral and raiding.

- Master of Intuition (Rank 3): Increases Proficiency by 9.

- Hailstorm (Rank 3): Sends a second comet when you cast Icy Comet/Meteor that deals 30% of normal damage.

- Frosty Advantage (Rank 3): Increases the non-critical damage of frost spells by 15%. As well, it allows your Icy Grave to hold even when the target takes damage, as long as it stays above 90% health.

- Adherent’s Determination (Rank 3): Increases Brutality by 9.

- Intense Cold (Rank 3): Increases frost damage dealt by 12%.

- Northern Lights (Rank 3): Allows you to gain a stackable effect during combat every 6 seconds that decreases the cast time and mana cost of Frostbolt by 50%.

- War of Elements: Icy Lightning (Rank 4): Allows you to receive an additional frost point and lightning point in each cycle, but you stop receiving fire points.


Lightning Grid Rubies:



- Lightning Jolt (Rank 3): Allows you to receive a Lightning Jolt effect at the beginning of each elemental cycle that increases your next Shocking Grasp’s damage by 600% and its range by 100%.

- Unstable Energy (Rank 4): Increases lightning damage dealt by 15%.

- War of Elements: Icy Lightning (Rank 4): Allows you to receive an additional frost point and lightning point in each cycle, but you stop receiving fire points.

- Cascade (Rank 3): Each tick of Thunderhead/Electric pulse deals 15% more damage than the last tick.

- Positive Feedback (Rank 3): Increases critical damage of lightning spells by 15% and decreases the cooldown of Elemental Shield.

- Lethal Shock (Rank 3): Increases damage of Lightning Grasp by 30% against targets with 25% health or less.

- Sage’s Intelligence (Rank 3): Increases Vigor by 9.

- Elemental Wrath: Allows you to receive 5 elemental points if you have less than 2 points of each element. This is a great spell to use when you’ve used up all your elemental points in the middle of your cycle and it would be useful to throw out some more big spells.

- Dynamo Effect (Rank 3): Decreases cast time/mana cost of Thunderhead/Electric Pulse by 30%.

- Thundering Advantage (Rank 3): Allows you to gain a stackable effect during combat every 6 seconds that decreases the cast time and mana cost of Thunderbolt by 50%.

Miscellaneous Spells:

Racials: (These 2 are the ones I think are most useful. There are 2 others but I do not think those are particularly useful, or are used very rarely. If you do not have these spells they can be obtained with the cash shop item “Page from the Book of Secrets.”)

- Arcane Mastery: Increases Vigor by 30% for your next spell. This is a great spell to use in conjunction with your hardest hitting spells, such as Elemental Surge or Icy Meteor.

- Focused Mind: Prevents spell casting interruption for 20 seconds. This can be a great spell to use if you really need to get a spell off that is easily interrupted, such as Elemental Surge or Thunderhead.

Class Spells/WM Spells:

- Invisibility: Makes you invisible for 10 seconds. This is a great survival skill in tight situations.

- Sanctuary: Teleports your group to a safe area. This is an absolute life saver in astral when things go sour, saving lives from your countdown.


v. MODIFICATIONS
Maybe you have extra talents or rubies to spend? Here are some thoughts and suggestions of where you might spend them.

Talent Points:

Rank 2 Icy Grave would be the most useful in my opinion, since it increases the duration of the effect to 50 seconds. That means more time DPSing and less time recasting Icy Grave. This is great for those of us who tend to be the designated crowd controller for the group or for those of us who raid.

Rank 2 Flash would be somewhat useful since it halves the cooldown to only 25 seconds. As well, it teleports you 30 yards away, rather than 20. This is great if you love to use Flash a lot.

Rubies:

- Snow Dam: These rubies increase the duration of Reflections and give you 1 extra stack for every rank you invest in. This is great to increase survivability. Additionally, it restores mana for each stack consumed. The mana effect isn’t quite as useful, since mages don’t tend to have very many problems with their mana pool, but in some situations it can have quite a nice effect.

- Aura of Astral Power: This is a great party buff to get if you have 3 rubies to spare. Having an extra party buff available just makes you all the more versatile and valuable in a party.


vi. ROTATIONS
Mages do not have a set rotation because the amount of elemental points we have in any given cycle is variable:

As well, the timing in your cycle can affect how you would choose to go about the fight. However, some general guidelines follow.

Single Target:
First, throw out a Thunderbolt or Frostbolt or two to allow the tank to get aggro. Then, send out an Icy Comet followed by Electric Pulse. Repeat until you have used up your elemental points. If there is still quite some time before the beginning of the next cycle you could then use Elemental Wrath, then send out more Icy Comets or Electric Pulses. If your cycle is close to ending you could just throw some Thunderbolts or Frostbolts. At the end of each cycle, or once the mob is under 25% health, use Shocking Grasp. Repeat during each elemental cycle.

Multitarget:
First, if CC is required, use your Icy Grave. Remember to recast this throughout the fight so it doesn’t fade. Throw out a Thunderbolt or Frostbolt or two to allow the tank to get aggro. Then, send out an Icy Meteor followed by Thunderhead. If you still have elemental points send out an Icy Comet and/or Electric Pulse. If there is still quite some time before the beginning of the next cycle you could then use Elemental Wrath, then send out more Icy Meteors and/or Thunderhead. If your cycle is close to ending you could just send out some Thunderbolts or Frostbolts. Alternatively, you could use Arcane Mastery and then Elemental Surge. At the end of each cycle, or once the mob is under 25% health, use Shocking Grasp. Repeat during each elemental cycle.


vii. NOTES ON GEAR

Gear is divided between offensive gear and defensive gear. All gear has both offensive and defensive stats on it, but the name will be named after either an offensive stat or defensive stat (ex: Crown of Brutality is a piece of offensive gear). When gearing it is important to not just upgrade whatever gear drops first. It can be easy to think of gearing as a race, but gearing fast is pointless if it’s the wrong gear for your character. It is much easier to gear well in the first place than to have to go back when you are in full legends or myths and replace pieces you made mistakes in upgrading.

When gearing I advise to upgrade half your offensive gear in Brutality and half in Proficiency. For defensive gear I advise to upgrade pretty much everything in Vitality. The only pieces I would not upgrade as Vitality is your second earring and one of your rings. I would suggest those pieces to be in Tenacity.

As you improve gear, new stats appear on them. Some of the new stats are bound to be ones that aren’t very useful to your character, such as Anger or Willpower. When this happens you can use the crafting insignias (ex: Rare Insignia of Brutality) to change those stats into more desirable ones. Note that you cannot change the stat that the item is named after (ex: you cannot change the Brutality on Crown of Brutality). I would suggest doing this when your gear is still rare, as the insignias for that quality of gear will be easier and cheaper to obtain.

Lastly, I would suggest upgrading a dagger and offhand rather than a staff. Mages do not have many problems with mana, so the extra faith should be unnecessary. The offhand will also provide more resistances than a staff would.



Thanks and happy hunting!

Well this guide was primarily aimed at new players who maybe don't have all possible rubies/talents, so I was trying to minimize what was needed to what I think is an average amount of talents/rubies for beginners at endgame. If the player has extra talents/rubies I would highly recommend both Snow Dam and R2 Icy Grave as the biggest necessities. You're definitely right, R2 Icy Grave is a huge boon and would be great to have with 2 extra talent points. And if the player doesn't have the extra rubies to put in Snow Dam, there are always mana pots if necessary.