Mage

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The Mage archetype represents the common elements of all the intelligence based spell casters (as opposed to wisdom based Priests).

Contents 1 Classes 1.1 Sorcerer 1.2 Summoner 1.3 Enchanter 2 Skills 3 Equipment 3.1 Types 3.2 Choosing Equipment

Classes

The Mage classes are grouped into three pairs; the classes in each pair have a lot in common, but approach their roles with different a different approach.

Sorcerer

The Sorcerer classes specialize in high damage attacks; however, they take their powers from different aspects of nature. Both are neutral and may be citizens of either Qeynos or Freeport.

• The Wizard class specializes in elemental damage (heat and cold).
• The Warlock class specializes in noxious damage (disease and poison).

Summoner

The Summoner classes specialize in summoning entities to fight for them.

• The Conjuror class summons creatures of nature and elementals; like Wizards they use elemental attacks. They are good and must citizens of Qeynos.
• The Necromancer class summons the undead; like Warlocks, they use noxious attacks. They are evil and must be citizens of Freeport.

Enchanter

The Enchanter classes specialize in controlling all aspects of the battle. They are masters of controling the flow of battle through stuns and enhancing their allies while making their enemies less effective.

• The Illusionist class can force the enemy to believe in the efficacy of a duplicate of themselves, which can fight for them. They are good and must citizens of Qeynos.
• The Coercer class can charm an enemy to force it to fight for them. They are evil and must be citizens of Freeport.

Skills

All mages use the same underlying adventure skills.

Crushing and Piercing

These skills are used in melee combat: crushing is used for one and two hand staffs and wands; piercing is used for daggers. You raise these skills by using weapons, the higher they are, the more likely you are to actually hit something.

Defense

The higher your defense skill, the more likely you are to avoid an attack; this is mostly useful to help you survive until the tank can peel your tormentor off you or until you realize its time to run away. The only way to raise defense is to be hit in combat, this is best done in controlled circumstances with weak opponents.

Focus

The focus skill determines your ability to continue casting a spell after taking damage. As with defense, the only way to raise this skill is to be hit in combat, in this case while casting a spell.

Disruption

The disruption sill is used for most damage dealing spells (unless they have another significant component, such as a stun). You raise this skill by casting damage spells; it is generally the easiest skill to keep maxed.

Ministration

The ministration skill is used for healing and curative spells. Summoners use it to heal their pets and all mages use it to cure arcane ailments. Since you don't use those a lot, it may be difficult to raise this skill.

Ordination

The ordination skill is used for buffs and debuffs. You will want to raise it for Dispel Magic to work well and can practice any low cost, fast casting buff on yourself when not otherwise engaged.

Subjugation

The subjugation skill is used for spells that control others; this includes roots and stuns. Unless you use these spells a lot in combat, you will need to spend time practicing them (either summoning pets or things or using them over and over again in simple combat).

One suggestion is to spend time fighting greens, standing in melee range with auto-attack on, chain casting root. This allows you to raise a melee skill, focus, defense, and subjugation.

Equipment

All mages can use the same equipment and need to make very similar choices about what equipment to use.

Types

A mage can equip all of the following:

Armor

Mages are restricted to wearing Very Light Armor, which is made of cloth and provides very little protection. Most self respecting mages wear robes, both as symbol of their status as mages and for the mage oriented, magical properties generally woven into them; however, some mavericks favor tunics for the supposed freedom of movement they provide.

A complete outfit is a robe or tunic, sleeves, forearm protectors, gloves, pants, boots, and a helmet or hat.

Jewelry

Mages can wear the same jewelry as everyone else. This includes a necklace, earring, two rings, two bracelets, and a belt.

Symbols

Mages are not able to carry a shield or use any form of ranged weapon; however, they are able to carry magical items (symbols, icons, censors, orbs, etc.), which are imbued with magic properties. They can carry one in their off hand (if free) and strapped to their person where another might carry a bow or knife sheath; they can also carry one in their primary hand in place of a weapon.

Weapons

Mages are restricted to daggers and a few blunt weapons: wands, batons, and one- and two-handed staffs. If carrying a two-handed staff, their off hand is not free for a symbol.

Choosing Equipment

Most of the equipment available in Norrath has been imbued with magical properties during its creation. This may include enhancements to your personal stats, your skills, or other properties (such as enchantments to increase combat speed). Mages tend to emphasize the following properties in approximately this order:

• Intelligence increases your maximum power and the amount of damage your spells do.
• Power directly increases your maximum power.
• Stamina increases your maximum health and has other minor benefits.
• Health directly increases your maximum health.
• Wisdom increases your ability to resist hostile spells.
• Arcane Mitigation (e.g., vs Heat or vs Poison) lowers the amount of damage you take from magical attacks.

Advance properties, such as power or health regeneration, run speed, or inherent spells are useful when you can find them and need to be balanced against these main properties.

In general, your armor is so flimsy that it isn't worth worrying about its armor class; you might be able to change your mitigation from 5% to 15%, which means you die only slightly less quickly when being pounded on. In a similar vein, although nice (especially when soloing), the damage rating of a weapon should not be your first concern, rather, look at what enhancements it offers you.

Again, whether you use a dagger, wand, or staff should have more to do with the stats they give you than the type of damage they generate. You are never going to be very effective in melee; you might consider yourself a small DoT. Many mages forgo a weapon all together and carry another symbol in their primary hand.