The Arcanum - a Mage discussion thread!

ArchivedUser

Hey guys!

If you think you might be joining the ranks of our magical brethren as a Mage primary, secondary, or both, then this is the thread for you!

What is your ideal mage class?
1) What types of magic/spells you would love to have included in the game?
2) What talents/talent trees would you like to choose from?
3) How do you think Mage abilities should be manipulated through any of the 8 secondary class options?

Additionally, since we will be getting a Scholar's Academy as one of the Kickstarter stretch goals (I believe Steven mentioned it's like a mage's college, or something mage-related), what would you like to see from that social organization that could make the whole experience of being a mage more enjoyable/immersive?

Happy magicking!

ArchivedUser

illusion and alteration skill would be cool plus with summoner sub class conjuration magic . hopefully 

ArchivedUser

I'm just guessing that illusion spells would end up being in the mage/bard tree. Giving the spells some form of cc/debuff to them. 

ArchivedUser

My preferred class would be a warlock, or necromancer.  I'm not sure which combination of Mage, Summoner, or Cleric, it could be.  Or, if it's even possible, honestly.  

Putting that aside, I'm really excited about the Scholar's Academy.  Not sure if it's going to be "caster-centric", but I'm fairly certain caster's with a scholarly bent will find the Academy quit beneficial!  

I'm imagining quests that send you out to find long lost forgotten lore, ancient tomes, and such.

ArchivedUser

I think that mage thief would end up being an illusionist, i hope that mages has attacks that hurts alot but has a long cast time. would be interesting if you can specialize a bit so you can be a fire mage, or an ice mage or whatever rather than having all elements at the same time. however that is just me. 

ArchivedUser

Zouls said:

I think that mage thief would end up being an illusionist, i hope that mages has attacks that hurts alot but has a long cast time. would be interesting if you can specialize a bit so you can be a fire mage, or an ice mage or whatever rather than having all elements at the same time. however that is just me. 

I was thinking a mage rogue would have more shadow based/darkness tyoe magic. 

ArchivedUser

would also like for the sub classes to mod for elements like 
mage / cleric being light.
mage /summoner =dark 
mage /rogue =wind
mage /tank =ice 
mage /fighter =fire
mage/bard =nature 
mage/ranger =poison
 
 

ArchivedUser

mage /mage =lightning or fire  and change mage/fighter to lightning

ArchivedUser

Steven talked about the game having elements of vertical and horizontal progression.

Pure speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that, using the mage as an example, as you level up your class (vertical progression), you'll be able to flesh out your class with varying abilities from various branches (horizontal progression).

Ex:  Mage-A  favors ice magic, with a bit of lightning for added kick.  So, at level 2, he gets 3 points, investing two points in the ice tree, and one into the lightning tree.  

Just a rough example, on my theory crafting.

ArchivedUser

As a future fighter/mage, I would love it if the spells are more combo/finisher base ( example I do a three hit combo an the finisher is like a fireball or a glacier. 

Also would be cool to have elements as a weapon buff. 

Or maybe a spell that summons swords of lightning 0_0 

Ultimate I want the mage classes to be flashy as hell   with combos 

ArchivedUser

Illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed in some summoner sub class skills like Conjuration and so on

ArchivedUser

Illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed in some summoner sub class skills like Conjuration

ArchivedUser

illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed with summoner skills like Conjuration 

ArchivedUser

Illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed in some summoner sub class skills like Conjuration and so on

ArchivedUser

Illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed in some summoner sub class skills like Conjuration

ArchivedUser

illusion, and Alteration will be cool ,mixed with summoner skills like Conjuration 

ArchivedUser

The Mage/Cleric combo seems really appealing to me. I imagine my character'll most likely become a very religious wizard; exploring life's greater mysteries with the aid of [ insert appropriate deity here] -  still working out the details though. Anyways, I was wondering how the dual class thing will work. I would very much like to see a system in place that closely follows freespiryt's idea, but maybe having an additional flare to the actual ability's animation; so that the ice shards being cast have traces of lightning; or maybe that levitating ability looks different depending on what specializations are chosen.

freespiryt said:

Steven talked about the game having elements of vertical and horizontal progression.

Pure speculation on my part, but I'm guess that, using the mage as an example, as you level up your class (vertical progression), you'll be able to flesh out your class with varying abilities from various branches (horizontal progression).

Ex:  Mage-A  favors ice magic, with a bit of lightning for added kick.  So, at level 2, he gets 3 points, investing two points in the ice tree, and one into the lightning tree.  

Just a rough example, on my theory crafting.

I'm also very much looking forward to the Scholar's Academy, it's giving me a raging nerder. I seem to recall it being mentioned that player influence will impact the node, not only in terms of expansion, but also aesthetic. Wouldn't it be interesting if the Scholar's Academy was advanced far enough in a node to where the city would have magical defense, floating crystals, and other cool magical stuff. I'm also interested to see how it will operate: will it be more transparent with its findings, offering the knowledge to everyone, or a select few; will it have a more benevolent philosophy or will it be a more pragmatic organization, and will it be able to be determined by player influence? 

Finally, teleportation! I know it's been said that travel will be a lot more meaningful in this game than other MMOs, that it will have its importance in terms of exploration, but damn it I'm lazy. Now, I don't expect there to be a universal travel system, but what if mages had the ability to teleport. A mage can't be bothered with securing passage to the neighboring city, they've got things to do, books to read -- so what if we were able to learn a spell that would allow us, and maybe even our party, to travel vast distances in a blink of an eye? Maybe it could be tied to the Scholar's academy! An expedition mounted by the academy discovers an ancient network of magical gobbledygook and it allows all sensitive to magic in the region to travel to cities or towns or maybe just landmarks. 

ArchivedUser

I'd like to think of a Mage/Mage being a glass cannon. I picture a Gandalfian figure standing defiantly on a hilltop, casting down lightning bolts into the enemy ranks, while the melee stalwartly advance into the siege below.



That is until he trips over a pebble and tragically stubs his toe.

ArchivedUser

I would love for there to be an actual necromancer class or tree to follow. Even lichdom would be....amazing. I will most likely go mage mage, but we will see how it all works out in the end

ArchivedUser

Hoping to play an enchanter like my character from eq. I'm hoping to see the range of mezzes and stuns that'll be available to the mage class. 

ArchivedUser

I'm chewing nails waiting for more info on this myself.

@Ezenkrul87 I think Summoner/Rogue may be the Necromancer archetype.

@Talismanian I'm guessing that Mage/Bard will be the Spellweaver.

ArchivedUser

Mage is the way to go for me. I hope they have a spell like mana burn from EQ. Where you can channel all you magic into one big blast.

ArchivedUser

sorry about the spam think discord messed up while i was posting comment

ArchivedUser

don't know what or if the devs said about it, but I'm kind of hoping that you'll be able to choose and craft which kind of armour or weapon you're going to use.

I'm quite attracted to the prospective of some mage, maybe double classed tank or fighter, that can wield swords, instead of the usual staff, and wear heavy armour. With all the downsides, of course, about encumberance and movement speed.

ArchivedUser

I would love if there was a necromancer type of tree as well or a Demonisher similar to the class in C9 although I'm not sure what combination would give that. Perhaps a mage/fighter that would be like a Swordmage from Revelation Online. These all sound pretty interesting to me.

ArchivedUser

@lexmax or an illusionist. 

ArchivedUser

lexmax said:

I'm chewing nails waiting for more info on this myself.

@Ezenkrul87 I think Summoner/Rogue may be the Necromancer archetype.

@Talismanian I'm guessing that Mage/Bard will be the Spellweaver.

I want an actual Necromancer though, undead spells, raising the dead, etc. I want to be a lich, that is all

ArchivedUser

Id like a CC mage build

ArchivedUser

The main thing I like about mages is diversity. Most of the time they're glass cannons, but cannons nonetheless. I also like having classic stuff like elemental magic (fire/ice, etc), but enjoy having less obvious choices (like arcane in WoW, for example).

I never really enjoyed the magic system in Elder Scrolls world that much, because there's just too much division, but having distinct playstyles that differ between each other is always a good thing.

Generally I want a certain amount of unpredictability. Like, you see a mage and you don't go "oh, fireballs/ice lances incoming". It's really interesting when you have have to guess what kind of mage is in front of you.

ArchivedUser

What I really hope for when playing a mage in every game is 1. Flashy animations and 2. crazy utility. In WoW I loved being able to feather fall, summon food, teleport, party teleport, blink, crowd control, nuke something, dispel, and so on. Some people can think that there can be a bunch of trash skills that just take up space, but its that utility and diversity of abilities that really makes me feel like I'm using magic instead of just a flamethrower.

I was really excited and interested when in the alpha videos you could see the mage floating around from rock to rock in a giant levitation bubble and summoning a bright light for the caves.

ArchivedUser

Can we be the first MMO to address the Mage attire? 

I'm tired of calling the clothes my mage wears a robe. I want to call it what it really is, a dress. A man dress. 

#notashamed