I'm currently playing the game as a mage character for the first time, and I'm having trouble deciding what route to go.
1) "Spellsword" build: mages can't actually use swords, however, there are several daggers that I could/can use as a mage. For this build my character would obviously use a dagger as a main weapon, and for skills she could use Mage armor, mage barrier, fireball, ice storm, and/or lightning bolt. The idea behind this build would be to weaken enemies with any/all combinations of fireball, ice storm, and lightning bolt, then finish them off with a dagger and the damage from mage barrier. The problem with this build is that I don't know if the "Disintegrate" advanced skill works for melee weapons or if it only works for staves/wands. If Disintegrate doesn't work with daggers, I'm not sure If I could do enough damage with the dagger(s) to make this build worthwhile.
2) ranged build. If I were to go this route, I would focus on using either a wand or a staff (probably a staff because I like doing as much damage as possible). Disintegrate would certainly work for this build, but the question here is: would It still be worth it to put points into mage armor/barrier or would it be better to focus on fireball, ice storm, and lightning bolt and use those in conjunction with a wand/staff and try to kill all my enemies before they get to me?
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is: does the Disintegrate skill work with melee weapons, or does it only affect staves/wands?
1) "Spellsword" build: mages can't actually use swords, however, there are several daggers that I could/can use as a mage. For this build my character would obviously use a dagger as a main weapon, and for skills she could use Mage armor, mage barrier, fireball, ice storm, and/or lightning bolt. The idea behind this build would be to weaken enemies with any/all combinations of fireball, ice storm, and lightning bolt, then finish them off with a dagger and the damage from mage barrier. The problem with this build is that I don't know if the "Disintegrate" advanced skill works for melee weapons or if it only works for staves/wands. If Disintegrate doesn't work with daggers, I'm not sure If I could do enough damage with the dagger(s) to make this build worthwhile.
2) ranged build. If I were to go this route, I would focus on using either a wand or a staff (probably a staff because I like doing as much damage as possible). Disintegrate would certainly work for this build, but the question here is: would It still be worth it to put points into mage armor/barrier or would it be better to focus on fireball, ice storm, and lightning bolt and use those in conjunction with a wand/staff and try to kill all my enemies before they get to me?
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is: does the Disintegrate skill work with melee weapons, or does it only affect staves/wands?