Is magic only - i.e. 'The Mage' viable?

[Sev]

Topic.

So, as a consistent long-range caster on many ARPGS, I was curious if full Mage build is a viable option for high dps at the end-game. It seems like most builds I see are solely focused on sword/shield techniques.

If it hasn't been implemented yet or won't be, I'd appreciate someone informing me, haha. I just don't want to create a character, get him extremely high in levels and realize the path I chose is just a stop-gap measure to using one-handed/two-handed techniques.

 

[GarlicJelly]

Right now most of the mage builds don't deal as much damage as the melee builds but playing mage has its advantages in Arcade Mode where you want to avoid taking damage. Going full brute force in Story Mode doesn't have any downsides to it as long as you're fine with dying every once in a while. Fire Ball and Ice Spikes are both spells I would consider if you want to play a mage but I'm pretty sure that you will have a harder time in Story Mode than all the melee builds.

 

[Own]

If you ignore the existence of Shadowclone, yes, Mage is completely viable. I'd say most magic is on par with Dash Attack, Dodging Strike, Throw, Smash, Spirit Slash or Flurry.

Don't let one really broken skill that's likely getting nerfed stopped you from building a mage or a melee mage, they're perfectly workable.

 

[Sev]

Now, despite my length of time playing, I'm almost positive energy stacking isn't a possibility but I was curious with further updates, might it be possible to do summoner builds without taking a large hit from energy?

 

[GarlicJelly]

Now, despite my length of time playing, I'm almost positive energy stacking isn't a possibility but I was curious with further updates, might it be possible to do summoner builds without taking a large hit from energy?

You can increase your Max EP by quite a bit with gear + talents and if you spend a lot of time farming Berries to feed your pet I think you can reach around 150 EP pretty easy. Then you have the Talent that reduces the EP cost of Summons so I think it's pretty doable right now. I'm not too sure about the damage but in terms of EP wise it's very much possible IMO.

 

[Tylerthedragon]

Pixelferrets have recently tried to balance out a lot of magic with new items. There's a lot of items that increase magic attack and some weapons and accessories have special effects that increase certain aspects of magic (A flower that makes earth spells last longer and one that increases Ice damage)

 

[Honorable_D]

I don't think magic is every gonna beat or even rival melee simply because the standard melee swings are so fast and hit for so much. I have the light saber 1h and can easily hit for nearly 200 a pop and thats w/o even stacking +melee dmg gear and talents, PLUS, its free to spam whereas casting even 3-4 spells will have you out of EP. Lets not even talk about SUSTAINED damage output...

There is just no contest.

What needs to happen is 1h and 2h weapons based on Magic Attack! Wands, Staves, magic orbs and other such magical weapons need to be added so that "caster" characters can spam them while waiting for their EP to regen. Being based off of your Magic Attack means you're free to stack pure Magic Attack which will make both your magic weapon AND spells hit harder.

 

[GarlicJelly]

I don't think magic is every gonna beat or even rival melee simply because the standard melee swings are so fast and hit for so much. I have the light saber 1h and can easily hit for nearly 200 a pop and thats w/o even stacking +melee dmg gear and talents, PLUS, its free to spam whereas casting even 3-4 spells will have you out of EP. Lets not even talk about SUSTAINED damage output...

I don't think this is 100% true. Have you tried Flamethrower combined with the talent that boosts magic damage after a perfect block? I think that's my second favorite build in the game because it requires both skill to pull off and it has high sustainable damage. If I could get a little bit more EP regen so I can constantly have the spell up for longer periods of time (the spell costs around 40 EP at Silver Charge so you can only cast 3 in a row before you need to wait a little) I would actually stop using Shadow Clone and stick with my Flamethrower build. ^^

 

[Honorable_D]

No, I havn't tried Flamethrower but to be honest we shouldn't call spells "okay" just because Flamethrower is apparently the one decent spell for sustainable, high boss damage.

I'm not bent out of shape yet over balance as I realize there is still so much left to do before the game hits 1.0 release. But, we are gonna need some serious balance passes focused on Melee vs Caster effectiveness.

 

[GarlicJelly]

If you forget about Shadow Clone for a while and think of the other melee skills and compare their strength to the spells you'll probably change your mind. I mean sure, all spells are not good (Summon Plants and Chain Lightning especially), but they still deal a decent amount of damage. Going full mage might be bad but the hybrid options right now are pretty good. You can go Fire Ball with the talent that returns EP when you hit something with your melee weapon and the talent that makes your next melee attack deal bonus magical damage. That will give you decent sustained damage and the gap between that and say Blade Flurry is not that big.

I really think that the big balance issue can be solved if the Wand added some EP regen and had even lower base damage or if its damage was based on your magic damage so you can make sure that melee builds can't use it.