Mage seems to be the weaker class comparing to the other two

[Macro Tofu]

6 hours so far and tried every class. Mage's power appears to be just a "help me solve" button with a cost. Scholar can solve puzzles by itself and also can solve some encounters using alchemy without cost, and fighter simply chops through. Mage can cheese some encounters early when you know where exactly to go, but it seems that's it. Its resource should be made more easy to gain and regardless of the resting conditions.

[Fringehunter7719]

I felt fighter was the weakest, the extra gear really just allows you to win fights without losing health slightly more often. The mage's ability to restore 1 health per night for no cost is incredibly useful, especially in the first 10-15 days and when doing the Beholder tree. Scholar seems the clear winner overall though.

Winning fights with just the basic axe and combat skill works out for any class pretty well everywhere.

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

I felt fighter was the weakest, the extra gear really just allows you to win fights without losing health slightly more often. The mage's ability to restore 1 health per night for no cost is incredibly useful, especially in the first 10-15 days and when doing the Beholder tree. Scholar seems the clear winner overall though.

Winning fights with just the basic axe and combat skill works out for any class pretty well everywhere.

Only when making the proper choice, fighter make making non-optimal choices less punishing like magic, but without cost.

[Fringehunter7719]

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Only when making the proper choice, fighter make making non-optimal choices less punishing like magic, but without cost.

There are really, really few places where the cost of non-optimal combat choices is more than losing a point of vitality. In a majority of situations it has no cost. Most of the time your journal contains the information required to choose optimally anyway, which is part of the fun of the game, both combat wise and in other situations.

I'd prefer the mage to the fighter every time, I didn't find a single interesting interaction with the fighter in the bit of time I spent poking around with the class. Scholar is still better though.

Different strokes I guess.

[carandiro]

Mage is literally "easy mode". You trade away starting crossbow (which you can then buy anyway) for having handy magic (multiple applications for many events and encounters, along with easy healing) and many early encounters are actually easier if you use magic rather than face them in straight combat.

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Only when making the proper choice, fighter make making non-optimal choices less punishing like magic, but without cost.

There are really, really few places where the cost of non-optimal combat choices is more than losing a point of vitality. In a majority of situations it has no cost. Most of the time your journal contains the information required to choose optimally anyway, which is part of the fun of the game, both combat wise and in other situations.

I'd prefer the mage to the fighter every time, I didn't find a single interesting interaction with the fighter in the bit of time I spent poking around with the class. Scholar is still better though.

Different strokes I guess.

The thing is since you can avoid from losing vitality then there's no need to restore it anyways. Fighter might be dull but solid. Mage is in the middle and not good at either.

[Fringehunter7719]

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

The thing is since you can avoid from losing vitality then there's no need to restore it anyways. Fighter might be dull but solid. Mage is in the middle and not good at either.

I lost more vitality to the Beholder tree than everything else. You don't get around that by being a fighter. You do recover it, or substitute it if you're a mage though.

If you're being reckless the other big loss of vitality is from staying out past bedtime, which still happens to fighters.

I guess we just disagree! No big deal.

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

The thing is since you can avoid from losing vitality then there's no need to restore it anyways. Fighter might be dull but solid. Mage is in the middle and not good at either.

I lost more vitality to the Beholder tree than everything else. You don't get around that by being a fighter. You do recover it, or substitute it if you're a mage though.

If you're being reckless the other big loss of vitality is from staying out past bedtime, which still happens to fighters.

I guess we just disagree! No big deal.

Sure there's disagreement. Making a single quest easier isn't something I would count as being good as whole.

[Fringehunter7719]

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Sure there's disagreement. Making a single quest easier isn't something I would count as being good as whole.

I could be equally flippant about having a mere chance of avoiding the loss of a vitality point a dozen or so times through the whole game.

Perhaps that's because the choice of class doesn't make a massive difference overall. Or perhaps it's because that isn't the only benefit the mage gets anyway.

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Sure there's disagreement. Making a single quest easier isn't something I would count as being good as whole.

I could be equally flippant about having a mere chance of avoiding the loss of a vitality point a dozen or so times through the whole game.

Perhaps that's because the choice of class doesn't make a massive difference overall. Or perhaps it's because that isn't the only benefit the mage gets anyway.

Chancy or not it is constant, the greatest part of fighter and scholar, you can always use fighter or scholar's specialty when allowed, unlike mage's, which only has a very limited pool that requires rest or bones to replenish.

The choice of classes doesn't make a huge difference but mage is certainly the hardest to manage. Like I said, you have to know the game well enough to spend mage's mana properly, and the other two classes have no such concerns on this same aspect.

[carandiro]

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Chancy or not it is constant, the greatest part of fighter and scholar, you can always use fighter or scholar's specialty when allowed, unlike mage's, which only has a very limited pool that requires rest or bones to replenish.

The choice of classes doesn't make a huge difference but mage is certainly the hardest to manage. Like I said, you have to know the game well enough to spend mage's mana properly, and the other two classes have no such concerns on this same aspect.

... have you actually PLAYED as a mage? Or just talking about assumed issues? It's literally fighter, but even easier. You can constantly bolster your combat encounters, gain bunch of alternatives in non-combat situations, get extra healing for FREE (unlike scholar, which requires bunch of extras)... where is the alleged downside of mage? Actual, real, tangible downside, not assumed or claimed one.

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by carandiro:

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Chancy or not it is constant, the greatest part of fighter and scholar, you can always use fighter or scholar's specialty when allowed, unlike mage's, which only has a very limited pool that requires rest or bones to replenish.

The choice of classes doesn't make a huge difference but mage is certainly the hardest to manage. Like I said, you have to know the game well enough to spend mage's mana properly, and the other two classes have no such concerns on this same aspect.

... have you actually PLAYED as a mage? Or just talking about assumed issues? It's literally fighter, but even easier. You can constantly bolster your combat encounters, gain bunch of alternatives in non-combat situations, get extra healing for FREE (unlike scholar, which requires bunch of extras)... where is the alleged downside of mage? Actual, real, tangible downside, not assumed or claimed one.

Of course I did. Have you played other classes like fighter? Mage's most obvious issue is that, even if you played the game, after early stage magic becomes an icing on the cake. Many encounters have consecutive checks that require 3+ mana. I either didn't use it at all except for healing or the 5 mana limit makes me only able to cast 1 or 2 magic in a single day. "Alternatives in non-combat situations?" Information wise many of them are downright negligible compared to scholar and cost you mana. The only significance of magic is you can ignore getting a crossbow. Period. It's not the downside I'm talking about. It's its "upside" that I find not as useful as others'.

[Fringehunter7719]

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Many encounters have consecutive checks that require 3+ mana.

Many?

[Macro Tofu]

Originally posted by Fringehunter7719:

Originally posted by Macro Tofu:

Many encounters have consecutive checks that require 3+ mana.

Many?

Many that I must spend mana to go through as a mage, like the heart of the wood and the howler one next to foggy's. I'm playing two classes simultaneously, and I found magic not needed in many battles. There were places magic could cheese through but played as fighter I waaaaaghed through those places later on nonetheless.

[Fringehunter7719]

Ok, so it's one situation. But you don't need magic, fighting skill or any of the scholar class features to pass anyway.

[Og-the-Trog]

I haven't played mage.
How effective are those spirit stones from Eudocia?
Can get ahold of them for 4 dragons/pop at the end of her questchain..