Duel Mage vs Double Element

[boohboomagoo]

I'm noticing that in the new version. It seems if you select a opposite element. You "might" risk loosing your "ultimate" but.... the mage that selects to spec in two elements gets an extra relic slot. High level relics actually have a chance at rolling a Plus 2 to element - and therefore you can win the ultimate by equip relics. Not exactly sure why one would do pure element mages in late game anymore due to this because having a relic slot seems much stronger than getting a guaranteed path to ultimate. Also thinking that - if you double spec in say fire. I'd think your damage should hit harder, or your stats should be growing differently. But as of this build. My takeoff is. Duel Mages are now much better than single element double focused mages simply for the fact that they seem to get 5 relic slots vs 4. Let me know if i'm wrong. Or what your thoughts are. I'm just noticing that my duel proc mages are falling behind in terms of damage and utility.

[TheNightglow]

If you apprentice into the same element you get a mali in the 2 opposing elements and a +3 to your element and +1 ultimate (typically this means you can do ultimates 3 times a day instead of 2 times)

If you apprentice into a neighbouring element you get +2 to each element and no mali

If you apprentice into an element that is your second closest neighbour, you get 1 free relic slot and +1/+2 to your/the new element and a mali to 2 others

If you apprentice into an opposing element, you gain a special super power, depending on the 2 elements and you gain +1/+2 to your/the new element and a mali to 2 others

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so you dont always gain a free relic slot, it depends on how far away the new element is from your current
in some cases the super power for an opposing element is far better then a free relic slot, like
nature + air, extends all duration based effects by a round (like haste)
lightning + dark, dooms random enemies whenever you dont deal direct damage (like Inspiration, Shadow Cover or Recharge)

meanwhile for some elements the +1 daily ultimate can be super usefull, like a fire mage being able to use the fire ultimate 3 times a day is insane, meanwhile for most other elements there really isnt much reason why you would want to do them more then twice

[Jay]

As another example, going fire+water does some serious damage. Crits do triple damage and they crit half the time with their water spells.

[boohboomagoo]

Yes; I just found the keynote text. When was this added?

It was like if you double up with the element you get an extra ultimate per day, up to 3 max; they say it was dependent on if they're happy or not on conviction. I'm lighting creative difficulty so generally... it's pretty high.

Fire+Water - was triple damage for crits; which is awesome - expecially paired with a electric mage that can charge an ally attack.

I was trying to get them all today to see the different skills. But yes; some of the weird ones allow for the extra relic it's not for all duel classes.

Definately makes it more fun to build a mage. I remember when air with a high damage bonus was pretty much the only way to go. I think they nerfed dark a little too hard though - cause I haven't found a build that makes dark a awesome field cleaner like it used to be.