Primate Murder
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Welcome back!
First of all, I'd like to mention that the stat cap has been raised to 250. Pure mages generally go for 250 Int/Dex/Luck.
The modern meta focuses on stun-locking the monster, then killing them with extreme prejudice using elelocked armor skills/spells. Checkout Commonly Used Strategies is you want more information or ideas.
Several subraces have been revamped over the last few years. FO mages generally go for Vampire. It has Int/Cha drives, an Evolved Form with high damage and lifesteal, and a quickcast (doesn't cost a turn) Mesmerize skill, which can control the monster.
There are no top-level classesm though we're currently in the middle of a paladin revamp.
Farming advice has its own thread.
Your first priority would be to get Essence Orb. This misc can convert your hp into sp without consting a turn, which means you can spam you skills pretty much every turn!
Now without further ado:
Weapons
Set your no-drop to darkness. It's not that it has no nifty stuff - it's just that other elements have something even better.
Bloodblades and Bloodzerker Blades are easily among the best weapons the staff have ever released. They pay a small hp cost to deal bonus damage with both weapon attacks and spells of their respective elements. There are variants for most elements, but I'd suggest grabbing Pyromancer's Bloodblade (current Void Challenge), Terra Bloodzerker Sword and Dynamancer's Bloodblade (Rare GGBs).
Torrential Pen gives a multiplicative damage boost to your water spells - great synergy with Hydromancer Bloodmage.
Airenal's Lance is a premium weapon. The lance itself is unexceptional, but it compresses a Wind armor with the strongest Wind nuke in the game.
Arctic Athame gives +18.75% damage bonus to your ice spells, with the bonus doubled against enemies with Int.
For light you have to make a choice between Lumenomancer Bloodblade (+spell damage) and Morningstar Cross (clickable skill that has great synergy with Bloodzerkers).
Armors
Once you complete the advanced subrace quest, you'll get a 9th slot no-drop armor in the form of your Vampire transformation. It should work as your darkness armor.
The strongest nukes for mages are compressed in Bloodmage armors. There are currently Pyro- (Void), Hydro-, Cryo-, Dyna- and Lumeno- mancer Bloodmages (UR GGBs).
Terra Bloodzerker pays a small hp cost for 20% bonus damage and has a toggle to lock you to armor element 2x damage. This gives you a powerful earth nuke, especially when combined with Morningstar Cross' skill.
For utility slots, you should either keep one of the Wizard Robes or get Whispering Raiment (+105 initiative once you reach lvl 5 Assassin).
Shields
Fire doesn't really have anything exceptional. Shield of Agony's Blood or even the Overlord set shield would wok just fine.
Celtic Wheel series are an unmatched boon for mages with their Int drive.
Fujin set shield has a Dex drive to boost your accuracy.
Pies has a Cha drive to enhance your chances of inflicting Vamp's Mesmerize and boost your damage via Poelala pet/guest.
Golem Guard has a toggle to reduce the damage you take.
Taladosian shield has a passive chance to reduce the damage you take from any hit by 50%.
Golden Dragon Head gives a boost to your LS rate. If you don't want to spend a UR, Scarab Shell has a toggle to lower monster MRM, boosting the accuracy of all your attacks.
Spells
The current meta means that all your strongest nukes are compressed into armors - meaning you don't actually need any direct damage spells! There are two exceptions, mostly for their utility:
- Sizzler 'Splosion sacrifices some damage, but autohits. Useful, considering that wind has a lot of high-MRM mobs.
- Archmage Research or Runic Binding give you a sourceof Harm damage against low-resist mobs.
Summon Poelala gives you a guest that boosts the damage of all your magic attacks.
Purple Rain is one of the most useful meta spells, to the point where there's an entire strategy build around it (see Purple Rain Loop in Commonly Used Strategies linked above). It acts as a save point - cast it once to save your current sp/mp/hp, then cast all your buffs (like Moonwalker's Grace and SFP) and debuffs (like Mesmerize), then cast Purple Rain again to return your sp/mp/hp back.
Some of the spells that could be cast inside the PR loop:
- Moonwalker's Grace. Qc Dex booster, costs mp.
- Edoc Imanok. Qc MRM boost, enhances your blocking.
- Arms of the Dragonguard. Make your next attack an automatic Lucky Strike. Not qc.
- Angry Trobble. Accuracy boost for several turns. Not qc.
- Imbues (token) are some of the most useful spells in the game. They change the element of your next weapon-based attack/skill (not spell or spell-based skill!) to another element and often have other nifty benefits. Horo Show + Fire Dragon Talon = fire nuke with 50% bonus damage. WKZ + Terror Fist = dark nuke with Fear infliction. Dragonslayer Aura = void damage against dragons.
- Arcane Amplification. Premium, a qc Int boost.
Pets
There's no real reason to use anything except Poelala.
Miscs
As mentioned above, Essence Orb is your first priority.
Rejuvenating Necklace restores mp based on damage dealt.
Shadowfeeder Pendant is one of the best meta enablers - by clicking on it, you can get qc celerity; great synergy with Purple Rain and any elecomped nukes.
Goggernaut Helm is a cheap accuracy misc that boosts the accuracy of every attack on the fiels without the usual /2 for spells.
Blood Contract (premium) is generally seen as the best damage booster, as it is multiplicative, applies to all your attacks and has no sp/mp upkeep. It is /2 for spells though, so you may want to check out Grakma Warhorn as a viable alternative. Its Berserk toggle gives a high multiplicative damage bonus and is not /2 for spells, but it does pay for that with a hefty accuracy penalty.
Taladosian Pendant. Its Mental Potency increases your chances of inflicting Mesmerize.
Bell Shell heals a bit of your hp based on damage dealt. The heal is less than CoRS', but it also doesn't reduce your damage, making it an overall better choice for FO builds.
Morningstar Helm gives immunity to paralysis. If you want something a little more sp-efficient, Blood Ruby and Liquid Courage give resistances to paralysis and fear respectively.
Hope the info's useful and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!
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