"I used to play a mage"

[SoundsOfNight]

And then I got wise and switched to Unga Bunga.

Anyone else make the switch from squishy, twitchy mage to something else?!

[vamirez]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von vamirez:

It's a common over-simplification that assumes that enemies will not come at you and you have unlimited FP.

Oh, but you will die, a lot... and you will go around begging that there is a group of enemies that will replenish your flasks, and you will be running around with only 1 red flask because you need all the FP ones.
It's easy mode because you won't get stuck on bosses too much, but the overwold enemies will always be a pain

Yes.
But also consider that "spirit + spells" in boss fights can be replaced with "spirit + weapon art" (or other tools - I once got into that boss-fight with the two abuctors when I was out of flasks and used a spirit plus volcano pots to just destroy them).

[Sc0rpiTr0n]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

they are easy because you literally don't have to learn anything, not parries, not guarding, not even rolling.
Summon a spirit ash, and spam magic at the distance.

Fairly accurate description but I would like to add few things.

You still need to know basics of combat because melee weapon (Cold preferably)
is very helpful in some situations and as a way to preserve Focus Points for tough enemies.

You don't need Spirit Ash.
Mage can easily kill any enemy in the game solo.

Smarag and Rennala are problematic because early in the game
you still don't have access to magma sorceries, Night Maiden's Mist or Shard Spiral
but you can still kill them easy with physical melee weapon and poison.

[Dirak2012]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Sc0rpiTr0n:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

they are easy because you literally don't have to learn anything, not parries, not guarding, not even rolling.
Summon a spirit ash, and spam magic at the distance.

Fairly accurate description but I would like to add few things.

You still need to know basics of combat because melee weapon (Cold preferably)
is very helpful in some situations and as a way to preserve Focus Points for tough enemies.

You don't need Spirit Ash.
Mage can easily kill any enemy in the game solo.

Smarag and Rennala are problematic because early in the game
you still don't have access to magma sorceries, Night Maiden's Mist or Shard Spiral
but you can still kill them easy with physical melee weapon and poison.

In my mage playthrough I didn't use melee even a single time. Not even those carian sword sorceries.
Why? Because, I couldn't figure out how to get close range without getting killed.
I went through the whole game without knowing how to avoid any attacks. People told me that a the moonveil thing was OP, and that was a filthy lie because you have to get close to use it.

Now with the strength build I can't still evade many attacks, but I'm tanky enough to brute force my way through the fight (still using spirit ashes by the way).
I'm never going to "git gud" but I still have fun.

[vamirez]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

I'm never going to "git gud" but I still have fun.

That's the main thing. And you will be surprised in some time... how gud you actually git ;) I never think of myself as a good player. But when ER came out and some streamers started to play it blind as their first souls-like... I saw that I had become a gamer god in comparison lol...

[Bug Guy]

I have played almost everything kind of build from unga bunga, to archer, to 4 different kinds of sorcerers and 7 different kind of faith casters. Loved em all. One of this games strengths imo is its replayability. The openness of the world allows you to (aside from hard walls that must be progressed past) take things in whichever order you like and obtain lots of items quite early for your level. Meaning I can try out all sorts of "builds" and weapons and spells without having to constantly respec

[Spacesuit Spiff]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Senki:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von vamirez:

I started with mage, died a lot, still got super powerful in the end. Then switched to unga bunga - and was amazed at how easy it was. Made a point to have fun killing all the big things everyone hates, such as rune bears, abductors, and ulcerated spitits by staggering the **** out of them. Since then regularly arguing with the "mage is eazy mode" crowd who are always going on about "but if you collect these 23 items first..." and similar nonsense... ^^

it's easy mode for people that replay the game and hard for new ones that don't use guides cause they're harder to build

people have this misconception that int builds can't have access to stagger, melee or need to be squishy which are all dumb ideas. This game doesn't use classes, you build them how you want to so if an int build is struggling in those areas that's because the people that made the build did it that way not because the game forces it on you.

The way I build int is basically getting all the benefits of melee builds while also having ranged options. Magic zweihander in early, dark moon greatsword when I get it. Both have great stagger and melee dmg.

This. INT was my highest stat in my first pt but without guides it was so much work to get any value out of it, I ended up just using it for magic weapon on a bonk stick for the final bosses.

[Ω Arkandor]

went from samurai, to mini-mogh to grim reaper with a blood grave scythe.

[Marmarmar34]

I went from strength to faith bc I got sick of playing bonk for the trillionth time.

[Koala 4peace]

Wasted opportunity for a knee comment. I know, the cadaver has been beaten to pulp already, but you gotta respect the classics.

[Dirak2012]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Spacesuit Spiff:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Senki:

it's easy mode for people that replay the game and hard for new ones that don't use guides cause they're harder to build

people have this misconception that int builds can't have access to stagger, melee or need to be squishy which are all dumb ideas. This game doesn't use classes, you build them how you want to so if an int build is struggling in those areas that's because the people that made the build did it that way not because the game forces it on you.

The way I build int is basically getting all the benefits of melee builds while also having ranged options. Magic zweihander in early, dark moon greatsword when I get it. Both have great stagger and melee dmg.

This. INT was my highest stat in my first pt but without guides it was so much work to get any value out of it, I ended up just using it for magic weapon on a bonk stick for the final bosses.

For me, the whole point for going pure INT is because to me, bosses are just a whirlwind of nonsense, and I want nothing to do with that.
What is the best way to stay as far away from bosses as possible? Going full INT.
Getting a melee weapon defeats the whole point, for me.

[DELAMAIN]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von vamirez:

I started with mage, died a lot, still got super powerful in the end. Then switched to unga bunga - and was amazed at how easy it was. Made a point to have fun killing all the big things everyone hates, such as rune bears, abductors, and ulcerated spitits by staggering the **** out of them. Since then regularly arguing with the "mage is eazy mode" crowd who are always going on about "but if you collect these 23 items first..." and similar nonsense... ^^

Mages are "easy but slow" mode. And they are easy because you literally don't have to learn anything, not parries, not guarding, not even rolling.
Summon a spirit ash, and spam magic at the distance.

wrong

[Dragonirian]

Take the Low Level Pill.
The true variety is located below level 30.
Classes actually matter.
For example:

17+0 all FTH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kNSltoos8M

30+0 all INT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oe8oWq9qb4

20+0 all VIG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V56NWLO46Q

[Dirak2012]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von DELAMAIN:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Dirak2012:

Mages are "easy but slow" mode. And they are easy because you literally don't have to learn anything, not parries, not guarding, not even rolling.
Summon a spirit ash, and spam magic at the distance.

wrong

I can only talk about my perspective as someone that has very poor reflexes, haven't played a dark souls before, and went blind playing for the first time.
For a experienced player, I'm probably wrong, but my squishy mage was the only thing that made me finish the game.
If I had to deal with dodging and learning patterns dying two million times, I would have dropped the game after trying to enter stormveil castle.

[ebolaisamongus]

I got greedy and was both melee and magic cuz I wanted to shift between close and long range combat to expand my combat options. Right hand Bolt of Gransax and Hoarfrost Clay Harpoon and Left haand Meteorite or Renala's Staff.

The main issue was needing a lot of runes to be viable at both. A guide with a 150 build was like 185 for me just to get my spells and melee to do around the same damage/

[SoundsOfNight]

I'm trying a high level Lionel cosplay and it's too complicated with heavy armor + Death Sorcery build. Probably go back to Unga Bunga.