Mage for beginner

Sam_D

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@VDX_360
Still lvl 9,today i havent play yet.

For equipment i use scorch wand and batrax wand sometimes.Journeyman set and a couple robes and orbs in switch.

I already finished all the quests you mention.But i dont have Hirge yet,guess i will find her later,i almost forgot about her.

I have never finished this game yet,and this still my second run since my first run 2 years ago.So i think i will play without rushing too much while enjoy the storyline
 

VDX_360

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That's a great idea.

It looks like you're going for a well rounded mage build. A little bit of everything. That's a mana intensive build but you'll always have a spell or summon ready.

If you talk to the street altar in New Garand, you'll get the in-game hint to where to start looking for Hirge. Her healing ability will help you out greatly.

Also, I encourage you to raise AWA to 2. You have the skill points. It will help with some secrets you need AWA 2 to find (or use Adaon). It will also give you a tiny damage boost, and help with traps.
 

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Level 13 check-in: Just got the bag-of-holding. Ending up doing around the map set of quests. Just following the quest leads. Next play session will try for the spider quest, and Hirge's companion quest. Expecting it to be pretty easy. Didn't mean to put it off so long, just got caught up in early quests.

Fully in the mid-game. Feel comfortable taking on mid-game challenges. Might take on an ice dragon.

Traits: STR 0, END 3, AGL 2, INT 4, AWA 2, PER 4
Skills: Mage Armor 4, Staff Mastery 4, Lessor Summoner 2, Mana Surge 2
Advanced Skills: Fire Mastery 1, Ice Mastery 1
Main Weapon: Fire Staff and Shock Staff.

Summoner Fail. Level 3 fight against the fire goblin went south when my shock imp's time expired mid-fight. He had full health so his timeout caught me off guard.

Bluerock Greeting: A level 10 mage had a fun welcome to the Bluerock castle. Took way too much health to reach main hallway. Had to flee. Will return later and will likely do much better. Was able to get Ghost Bane so Hirge is packing a decent weapon.

Summoner Fail. I got overly found of my fire elemental. Batrax Theurgist set me straight. Had to back track to learn Ice Mastery. Ended up using the Ice Elemental to knock out ice area quests. Ice Golem holds his own against Ice Warlord. Now, I have three summons. Time to party.
 

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Level 15 Check-in: Member of Wizard's Guild (joined Level 14). Completed misc. quests around Icemist.

Traits: STR 0, END 3, AGL 2, INT 5, AWA 2, PER 4
Skills: Mage Armor 4, Staff Mastery 4, Lessor Summoner 2, Mana Surge 2
Advanced Skills: Fire Mastery 1, Ice Mastery 1, Earth Mastery 2
Main Weapon: Fire Staff, Shock Staff, Ice Staff

Comment: I could have a Level 17 Iron Golem right now if I saved the skill points that were used to max out Staff Mastery and Mage Armor. Didn't want to bank that many skill points given the limitation on out-of-game knowledge. The iron golem would be overwhelming right now. Don't want to reset. It takes 3 skillpints to get Earth Mastery 3, so that will be two levels (or 1 level + 1 rare scroll of wisdom).

Completed Where is Giles and the 3 vs. 11 quest to start off this session. That triggered the alert about Hirge's dream. Followed the in-game hints to explore that. Giants were tough but doable with Ice Golem. The Forbidden Pit was a bit too hard. Could only make it about half-way to the ambush before having to turn back. Made two attempts (didn't die either time, just ran out of recoveries). Completed some of the smaller quests in that part of the world which opened the ability to go to Icemist.

Setting on about 20,000 gold after learning Earth Mastery. Eyeing the +2 INT Belt which is 30,000 gold.
Still need to do the spider quest. Got sidetracked --- it's a big world.

Killed the Lich in the icemist ruins. First Lich killed. Not a hard fight but it took some effort.
Killed the Ancient Yeti for the first black shard. Fire staff + Ice Golem + Hirge Tanking.
(

Still need to do the spider quest. It should be pretty easy. Should make it a priority next session.
Can hunt down the lich in the desert ruins, and the first few Ruby Doors to get gold, trait points and items.
 

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Level 17 Check-in: Just reached Level 17. Used skill points to get Iron Golem. To reach Level 17, I Completed Spider quest, Bluerock Castle Quests, and raided the Mercian Crypt for 2 Ruby Keys, Killed Necromancer). Completed Adaon's Companion quest. Did several fights in arena.

Traits: STR 0, END 3, AGL 3, INT 6, AWA 2, PER 4
Skills: Mage Armor 4, Staff Mastery 4, Lessor Summoner 2, Mana Surge 2
Advanced Skills: Fire Mastery 1, Ice Mastery 1, Earth Mastery 3, Summoner 2

Main Weapon: Addings the Spirit Staff from Adaon's quest so I have several different elements to choose from as needed.

Note: I opted to learn AGL 3 to help round out the build. INT 6 ( 8 with belt) gives a solid damage boost.

Spider quest was easy as I was little over the designed level. Adaon's quest was a breeze, save for a moment where I forgot Hirge wasn't in the party (and thus not healing). Having the full range of summons makes it easy to keep a summon active at all times.

Killed a Level 17 Green Dragon rumor boss at Level 16. Took a bit of effort. Had decent toxic resist, just a little low in damage output. Getting the INT 2 belt and a few other things likely have helped in that regard.

Staged at Fogas, preparing to enter Abbey for the first time. I have an active rumor there's a rumor boss lich in there somewhere. So that adds a level of challenge. It might take several trips into the Abby to clear out the Abbot and loot the place. Not sure if I am ready to take on the big bad demon.

I have a rumor for a black shard in Friguld, so after the Abby, I might head there (Bankd Job!).

Still trying to follow in-game leads to have a more natural experience but there are huge chunks of the world I haven't explored. It's a big world.
 

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Reached Level 19 as I returned the Broken Crown of Tol to its rightful owner.
Pretty much a power team right now. Not much hurts a Iron Golem, and Hirge is right there to heal him in case he does get hurt. Mage Armor helps serve as a safety net if something makes it past the dynamic duo.

Traits: STR 0, END 4, AGL 4, INT 6, AWA 2, PER 4
Skills: Mage Armor 4, Staff Mastery 4, Lessor Summoner 2, Mana Surge 2
Advanced Skills: Body Development 1, Arcanist 1, Fire Mastery 1, Ice Mastery 1, Earth Mastery 3, Summoner 3.
Main Weapon: swapping between the various staffs as needed. Using Staff of Force as back-up if low on mana.

Notes: 234 HP, 394 Mana, armor 37 (with mage armor active), makes for a pretty durable mage. Iron Golem + Shield Hirge makes for durable companion team.

Wrapped up Abby and Hirge's quest. That gices Hirge her upgrade and the Paladin Sword. Makes her pretty decent.
Knocked out a few arena fights, the World is a Stage, and the Broken Crown of Tol quest (gave it to Tol).

Feels like it's clean-up time. There's a lot of areas still left to explore, and various quests out there. Feel like I'm about to be over powered for the remaining shards.
 

Sam_D

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From lvl 9 to 12,i am finishing some quests,grinding townhall quests,and a lot of exploring.But still not have any improvement in equipment tough.

I am still confused in my skill path.I was thinking about lightning shield or summoning.If its summoning iam not sure to take ice or fire mastery.

I already had Hirge but i still not used to her.She is not as tanky as Griss,she also has pretty weak attack.Griss has pretty decent damage and offensive skill like whirlwind.
Maybe Hirge can heal but i think that not really necessary for me since i am not having any big guy summon yet,she often died early before her heal casted.She still had her default hammer,i still cant find better equipment for her.She also still had some skill points,i am not sure which to take.


Tbh at this point i am a having a hard time.I've try reach icemist,but i only made it to whitetower,I still cant handle thuram and ilmara beasts.Also try to finish some quest like web of terror,restoring Dartos ring in trollfens,and clearing fire pit in Tremadan Tower.All failed.

I think i will continue exploring and try to finish some completable quests while looking for some golds and better equipment.
 
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VDX_360

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Quick Summary: It sounds like you're having some basic challenges so no worries, we'll get you back on track in no time.

If you prefer Gris over Hirge, by all means stick with Gris. She's my favorite companion. Maybe after a few levels, and more experience with the game, give Hirge another try but it's totally okay to stick with Gris. Her tank and combat ability might help you out.

It sounds like you've hit the stretch in the game I call the limbo. The early game is pretty easy, but the mid-game stuff is just daunting. Stick with it through as the limbo only lasts a few levels. Some extra gear, some extra traits, and poof you're doing well again. Note: The limbo used to be a bit longer but a game rebalance helped shorten it.

So on that note, give this a try:

You have access to the fire pit in the tower so make that your focus. Get you Gris, get some fire resist stuff (rings, those goblin shoes that drop in the mine, and fire resist potions). AND CAPS FOR CLARITY: Fire damage is only reduced by fire resist. So keep an eye on it. Fire potions are helpful. Maybe pick up a few Giant Strength potions from Jabel for Gris (that +6 damage is nifty).

When you take on the fire pit, clear out one room at a time. It might be useful to tell Gris to "Wait here a moment" and than lure out or two enemies to you, and run back to Gris (ideally around a corner). That might help you survive the first few rooms.

When you reach the end of the hallway, be mindful of those pesky flames. The fires will heal fire imps, and do constant damage to you. So either bum rush them to overhwhelm them (will take heavy damage), or try to lure them out. If you leave Gris way down in the hall way, you can tell her "Wait here" and "Attack only those that are near you". Than you can lure the imps and wolves away from the fire pits.

Clearing the fire pit will net you a Fire Mace that can be used by Gris and Hirge.

Lastly, trolls can only be killed by fire damage. The killing blow must have fire damage. You can damage a troll with non fire weapons, but if the killing blow doesn't have a fire damage aspect, the troll will regenerate.
 

VDX_360

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Given where you are in the game, getting summons will help out a lot. I encourage you to get a fire golem. That will help you out with trolls, and might even help out with the fire pit. Than after a level up, get an ice golem. Keep both at Level 1 to save skill points for your spells.

Your fire golem will get healed by fire damage, making him pretty robust in the fire pit. The fire damage from the fire golem will heal fire imps so he tends to be a net zero (he does physical damage + fire damage). BUT !!!! That means the fire imps that attack him heal him. Basically that means he negates their incoming attacks, greatly reducing the damage you and your companion have to take.

When you take on ice areas, the same will be true for your ice golem.
 

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