Mage level cap. Is it 18 or 25?

[kalendisnovembrinus]

Well, I have been leveling up my mages to 18 through the use of trials I > wand II, trials II, wand III, trial III, apprenticeship, and finally being a staff member. That gives you level 18. However, in the second infinite halls the battle display says that the "recommended mage level" for this battle is 25? How do your mages progress beyond 18? I'm really confused.

I found level 25 relics in the infinite halls, and in the Atheneum room your mages can attune to relics 7 levels higher than their own level. So this does not concern relic levels, which is obviously different.

edit: Thnx for the responses about the order of wands/trials. I've been delaying the wands unnecessarily just because I skipped the apprenticeship cap on a couple of mages and mistook it for the trials. Still, the question stands : "Infinite halls 2 battle screen message: recommended mage level 25." Why? How? [There was only one person answering this, claiming that it only shows that it's challenging.]

[Manxome]

Do you mean that you're completing your trials before upgrading your wand? Why?

I'm reasonably sure that 18 is the absolute level cap, because if you create a custom group with a rule based on the mage's level, it won't let you specify a level range that goes higher than 18. (Conceivably they could increase this when you actually get a mage that's above 18, but it hasn't been gradually increasing based on my actual highest-attained level so far, so that would be inconsistent behavior.)

My guess regarding the recommended level is that it's just a way of saying that it's intended to be hard, even for max-level mages. (But I haven't gotten there yet.)

[kalendisnovembrinus]

I thought if you do not complete them before upgrading, you get stuck and do not get to see the next level of trials?

[seraphim_hunter]

Students lose ability to complete trials only upon becoming Staff. You can upgrade their wand and/or promote them to Apprentice and you can still complete them.

[Manxome]

If by "the next level of trials" you mean the gold/platinum trials that are added when you upgrade a wand to tier 2/3, you get those whether your current trials are complete or not. Also, your current trials are not removed and can still be completed after the upgrade.

Making someone an apprentice does not prevent them from finishing their ongoing trials, either, although the relic that they manifest when they become an apprentice will have a max level based on the trials they've completed at that time, so you can get better relics by completing the trials first.

The only thing I know of that removes trials is if the mage is hired as staff.

[ulzgoroth]

I can only attune 7 levels higher than my mage level in the Athenaeum...

[kalendisnovembrinus]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

I can only attune 7 levels higher than my mage level in the Athenaeum...

sorry my bad. correcting it right now

[kalendisnovembrinus]

Originally posted by Manxome:

If by "the next level of trials" you mean the gold/platinum trials that are added when you upgrade a wand to tier 2/3, you get those whether your current trials are complete or not. Also, your current trials are not removed and can still be completed after the upgrade.

Making someone an apprentice does not prevent them from finishing their ongoing trials, either, although the relic that they manifest when they become an apprentice will have a max level based on the trials they've completed at that time, so you can get better relics by completing the trials first.

The only thing I know of that removes trials is if the mage is hired as staff.

Thnx for the explanation. So it is better to upgrade the wand once they reach their level cap, so that they level up with the xp of the trials that have not been completed yet... and you are right about the relic level.

[gussmed]

The level cap is 18.

Base cap = 3.
Wand II cap = 5.
Wand III cap = 6.

Staff double the cap.
Promoting a student to Apprentice doubles the cap.
Hiring an apprentice triples the cap.

Wand III + Apprentice + Hired as staff = 6 x 3 = 18.

Trails have no relevance to level cap, only to the level of relics you get on transitions.

[gussmed]

Originally posted by kalendisnovembrinus:

So it is better to upgrade the wand once they reach their level cap, so that they level up with the xp of the trials that have not been completed yet...

You want to upgrade your wand right away. There's no benefit to waiting in 90% of the cases. The sole exception is that upgrading a student's wand is a Ritual, and thus it's worth waiting until Full or Rested for trials that require being Full or Rested while doing a ritual.

Normally, though, you want to unlock the trials you get for upgrading your wand immediately, so you can start making progress toward them.

[Manxome]

Also, conceivably you might wait to upgrade the wand if you're worried about managing the new need that the wand gives them.

But your default timing choice for when you should tell them to upgrade their wand should probably be "literally the moment they arrive at the school".

[Blahramewe]

Originally posted by Manxome:

Also, conceivably you might wait to upgrade the wand if you're worried about managing the new need that the wand gives them.

But your default timing choice for when you should tell them to upgrade their wand should probably be "literally the moment they arrive at the school".

The only reason you should wait is if one of their trials is performing a ritual while full/rested/tranquil.

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by Blahramewe:

Originally posted by Manxome:

Also, conceivably you might wait to upgrade the wand if you're worried about managing the new need that the wand gives them.

But your default timing choice for when you should tell them to upgrade their wand should probably be "literally the moment they arrive at the school".

The only reason you should wait is if one of their trials is performing a ritual while full/rested/tranquil.

Fire and to a lesser extent lightning wand specialty needs can be annoying for apprentices to satisfy. Upgrading a couple levels later reduces the time when you have to deal with it, at nearly no cost.

[kalendisnovembrinus]

Originally posted by gussmed:

The level cap is 18.

Base cap = 3.
Wand II cap = 5.
Wand III cap = 6.

Staff double the cap.
Promoting a student to Apprentice doubles the cap.
Hiring an apprentice triples the cap.

Wand III + Apprentice + Hired as staff = 6 x 3 = 18.

Trails have no relevance to level cap, only to the level of relics you get on transitions.

Clear explanation. Thnx. Any idea about the level 25 warning in the 2nd infinite halls?

[gussmed]

Battle level suggestions indicate the rough power level of the monsters. "level 25 suggested" means it's hard even for level 18 mages, not a strict level requirement to enter.

You can see what you're facing by choosing Start Battle. You can back out without penalty from the setup screen, and you can see what types they have, damage output, and terrain.

[Drakmour]

A little offtop but is 8 is max skill cap? I have a 8lvl and attune the relic that gives +3 skill cap but it's still 8.