Birthsign Stances

[Karina]

Is Paladin birthsign better then Mage for a spell caster? Divine aura gives big boost to restoration and willpower at the cost of very minor damage vulnerability. Mage stances lower some magic skills to increase the other ones while giving rather small boost to either willpower or int. Greater Powers of a mage birthsign are very underwhelming to say the least- once per day crate instant mana potion and minor buff to mana regen for a while.

[Zsrai]

They are all fairly minor, so I wouldn't worry about it. I chose mage because having the weightless "oh ♥♥♥♥" button has been helpful, and I'm sure the Paladin's Lay on Hands would be the same. I haven't bothered to use stances yet, but I don't think the micromanagement of swapping them constantly is really necessary; they definitely seem more of a thematic choice than a "hard" (stat or role defining) choice.

[Jouchebag]

Do any of the stances even work? The Villain stances do nothing. They make no changes to stats.

[Eternie]

I've also gone with the mage birth sign and have tried the stances what I gain in offensive I lose in defensive but it's only like 5 pts each. I'd prefer having zero bonuses so that I also have zero drains.

I also find the being able to summon an extra potion of mana each day is helpful and something that I will use, rather than a power that I hang onto for the right 60 seconds ... that never arrives.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by Jouchebag:

Do any of the stances even work? The Villain stances do nothing. They make no changes to stats.

Just checked the Mage stances and they work... they also change base skills. Meaning I had 27 Destruction + 13 from gear, and after using Discipline Stance (- offense schools, + defensive schools and + Int) it shows 22 + 13. It also worked that way from raw stats, changing my 75 + 0 Int to 80 + 0.

Originally posted by Eternie:

I also find the being able to summon an extra potion of mana each day is helpful and something that I will use, rather than a power that I hang onto for the right 60 seconds ... that never arrives.

Yeah that's really why I got it. I hold on to once per day powers for the perfect moment and that moment never comes, so I functionally waste them all the time. At least the mana pots are good to have around.

[Jouchebag]

Originally posted by Zsrai:

Originally posted by Jouchebag:

Do any of the stances even work? The Villain stances do nothing. They make no changes to stats.

Just checked the Mage stances and they work... they also change base skills. Meaning I had 27 Destruction + 13 from gear, and after using Discipline Stance (- offense schools, + defensive schools and + Int) it shows 22 + 13. It also worked that way from raw stats, changing my 75 + 0 Int to 80 + 0.

I was probably expecting it to change the stat bonus and add a magic effect like normal. It could have changed the base stat and I didn't notice. I will double-check.

[Karina]

Originally posted by Eternie:

I've also gone with the mage birth sign and have tried the stances what I gain in offensive I lose in defensive but it's only like 5 pts each. I'd prefer having zero bonuses so that I also have zero drains.

I also find the being able to summon an extra potion of mana each day is helpful and something that I will use, rather than a power that I hang onto for the right 60 seconds ... that never arrives.

I dont find the ability to summon instant mana potions usefull. Just buy more potions, i always have more money then i can spend in nehrim.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by Esteban Failsmore:

Originally posted by Eternie:

I've also gone with the mage birth sign and have tried the stances what I gain in offensive I lose in defensive but it's only like 5 pts each. I'd prefer having zero bonuses so that I also have zero drains.

I also find the being able to summon an extra potion of mana each day is helpful and something that I will use, rather than a power that I hang onto for the right 60 seconds ... that never arrives.

I dont find the ability to summon instant mana potions usefull. Just buy more potions, i always have more money then i can spend in nehrim.

Yeah but the Mage sign's potions are instant and not over time. Not a huge thing, but it's pretty nice when you're desperate. Still an "oh ♥♥♥♥" button for sure.

[Karina]

Originally posted by Zsrai:

Originally posted by Esteban Failsmore:

I dont find the ability to summon instant mana potions usefull. Just buy more potions, i always have more money then i can spend in nehrim.

Yeah but the Mage sign's potions are instant and not over time. Not a huge thing, but it's pretty nice when you're desperate. Still an "oh ♥♥♥♥" button for sure.

70 mana is nothing. I think even cheap potion will give you more mana and you can chug more then one.

[Zsrai]

Originally posted by Esteban Failsmore:

Originally posted by Zsrai:

Yeah but the Mage sign's potions are instant and not over time. Not a huge thing, but it's pretty nice when you're desperate. Still an "oh ♥♥♥♥" button for sure.

70 mana is nothing. I think even cheap potion will give you more mana and you can chug more then one.

70 mana is almost half of my mana bar at 14, so it's not that bad. It's just as useful as any of the other "oh ♥♥♥♥" skills to me.

[Karina]

Originally posted by Zsrai:

Originally posted by Esteban Failsmore:

70 mana is nothing. I think even cheap potion will give you more mana and you can chug more then one.

70 mana is almost half of my mana bar at 14, so it's not that bad. It's just as useful as any of the other "oh ♥♥♥♥" skills to me.

It should be a buttong that gives you full mana bar instantly. Currently you first have to create it by spending mana and then drink it. Not worth the hussle, considering you can chug couple of potions for the same efect.

[Eternie]

Like anything in game what ever you like in your own game.
So Esteban do you use any stances?

[Karina]

Originally posted by Eternie:

Like anything in game what ever you like in your own game.
So Esteban do you use any stances?

I decided to with Mage because:
-Lay on Hands removes all mana.
-Discipline stance gives int, and int > willpower. Increased cost for destruction spells is negligable cause i will have more overall mana, mana mana regen and discount on support magic. Also i suspect having discipline active during level up will give you more overall mana permanently- game treats stat buffs from stances as YOUR stats, not temporarily buffs.
-It makes more sence thematically.

[Jouchebag]

After looking at it again, the stances do change the BASE stat, not the BONUS but they don't add any magic effects to the character which is probably related to the permanence of the effect.

Villain's Spirit Form is actually a pretty decent power. It can be used to swiftly slip through a location full of bad guys without picking a fight, or to quietly kill those badguys with lots of sneak crits, OR if your sneaking is good enough, it will help you do that thing where you can simply crouch 10 feet away from a boss and they totally lose sight of you.

[Karina]

I came to conclusion that "mage" birthsign is an ideal choice for a character that does not uses offensive magic. You turn Discipline stance and get +5 to all supportive magic schools and +5 to int with no downsides. You rely on your weapon to deal damage and support yourself with magic (healing, wards, blessings, increased carry weigth, night vision, paralysis). Get all magic schools to 25 to cast relevant buffs and focus on melee combat.

[misterbill5]

I went with the Mage birth sign, but don't see anything different other that ONE spell I didn't have before...Not much of a TA-DA...
Do I have stances now? If so, not sure how to activate them...
And when do you get to select your class???