So, recently I've been playing a bit of Dragon Age 2, and while not playing a Mage most of my tactics did revolve around Bethany and her Magi-ness. So I decided to compile a list of tips that I found useful while playing my Force Mage, and my current character.
Offence:
- Always take an Offensive Spell (Fireball or Winter's Grasp mainly) as your first Talent. Even if you're playing a buffing, healing or support Mage, taking an Offensive Spell at level 2 is incredibly useful. It makes every fight against low level opponents much easier. Personally I'd recommend Winter's Grasp if your playing a more defensive Mage, it deals more quick damage against a single target.
Defence:
- Mind Blast is your best friend. I'm not exaggerating (well I am if you run a Force Mage). It has a good knockback effect, a nice Stun effect at level 3, reduces threat (to various extents) a pretty decent area of effect and a 10 second cooldown. Making it reliable, strong and available very early.
- Arcane Shield is your friend (I'm sensing a pattern). While the initial spell is fairly useful for the Mage casting it, the two upgrades are what makes it really special. It means the caster has an incredibly useful protection, and gives a moderate bonus to all party members.
- Elemental Weapons are kind of your friend. While this isn't the greatest buff around, it is a very handy one, especially at lower levels. Having a bit of a buff to damage, and an Elemental buff at that is fairly useful, but nothing to write home about.
- Creation Magic is amazing. Personally I'd say that Heroic Aura and Haste are just amazing buffs to have, but obviously Heal is excellent. Can't speak for the Glyphs much. Heroic Aura can increase Attack, Damage, Critical Chance and Defence for an entire party, which is pretty damn useful for any character. Haste is just ridiculous when applied to Two-Handed Warriors and Archers.
Force Mage:
Force Mage is in my opinion the best of all the Specializations. It doesn't have the weaknesses of Spirit Healer and Blood Mage (lack of Damaging Spells and Health Reduction) and is amazing at giving you a tonne of room to manipulate the field.
- Fist of the Maker is a moderately powerful AoE attack, that can be used to Stun most enemies, it also has a 10 second cooldown (when fully upgraded) which makes it a very quick spell.
- Unshakeable is ridiculous. Having 50 extra Fortitude is literally life or death for a Mage, it makes being attacked up close much easier to handle (which makes escaping easier) and reduces the chance of all status affecting you.
- Telekinetic Burst is a powerful field changer, flinging targets away from your harder than any other spell.
- Pull of the Abyss is perfect for setting enemies up to be totally destroyed by Archers or Mages. It pulls them into a single area and slows them down significantly. It can be a total game changed against minor enemies, and also assists in keeping enemies far away from you.
- Gravitic Ring is amazing when paired with Pull of the Abyss, slowing enemies down even more.
So these are my little Tips. I'll probably end up expanding this as I play with Mages some more. Keep in mind that these are the personal opinions of a player who's only had 2 serious characters. And if you want, do suggest your own so I can add to the list.
So, recently I've been playing a bit of Dragon Age 2, and while not playing a Mage most of my tactics did revolve around Bethany and her Magi-ness. So I decided to compile a list of tips that I found useful while playing my Force Mage, and my current character.
Offence:
- Always take an Offensive Spell (Fireball or Winter's Grasp mainly) as your first Talent. Even if you're playing a buffing, healing or support Mage, taking an Offensive Spell at level 2 is incredibly useful. It makes every fight against low level opponents much easier. Personally I'd recommend Winter's Grasp if your playing a more defensive Mage, it deals more quick damage against a single target.
Defence:
- Mind Blast is your best friend. I'm not exaggerating (well I am if you run a Force Mage). It has a good knockback effect, a nice Stun effect at level 3, reduces threat (to various extents) a pretty decent area of effect and a 10 second cooldown. Making it reliable, strong and available very early.
- Arcane Shield is your friend (I'm sensing a pattern). While the initial spell is fairly useful for the Mage casting it, the two upgrades are what makes it really special. It means the caster has an incredibly useful protection, and gives a moderate bonus to all party members.
- Elemental Weapons are kind of your friend. While this isn't the greatest buff around, it is a very handy one, especially at lower levels. Having a bit of a buff to damage, and an Elemental buff at that is fairly useful, but nothing to write home about.
- Creation Magic is amazing. Personally I'd say that Heroic Aura and Haste are just amazing buffs to have, but obviously Heal is excellent. Can't speak for the Glyphs much. Heroic Aura can increase Attack, Damage, Critical Chance and Defence for an entire party, which is pretty damn useful for any character. Haste is just ridiculous when applied to Two-Handed Warriors and Archers.
Force Mage:
Force Mage is in my opinion the best of all the Specializations. It doesn't have the weaknesses of Spirit Healer and Blood Mage (lack of Damaging Spells and Health Reduction) and is amazing at giving you a tonne of room to manipulate the field.
- Fist of the Maker is a moderately powerful AoE attack, that can be used to Stun most enemies, it also has a 10 second cooldown (when fully upgraded) which makes it a very quick spell.
- Unshakeable is ridiculous. Having 50 extra Fortitude is literally life or death for a Mage, it makes being attacked up close much easier to handle (which makes escaping easier) and reduces the chance of all status affecting you.
- Telekinetic Burst is a powerful field changer, flinging targets away from your harder than any other spell.
- Pull of the Abyss is perfect for setting enemies up to be totally destroyed by Archers or Mages. It pulls them into a single area and slows them down significantly. It can be a total game changed against minor enemies, and also assists in keeping enemies far away from you.
- Gravitic Ring is amazing when paired with Pull of the Abyss, slowing enemies down even more.
So these are my little Tips. I'll probably end up expanding this as I play with Mages some more. Keep in mind that these are the personal opinions of a player who's only had 2 serious characters. And if you want, do suggest your own so I can add to the list.
