Caster - strength attribute & gear question.

[.:Jj:.]

Hi
Is there a way to avoid investing into strength attribute? I can see staff do require it, which is weird a bit and it seems this weapon type is the default one? I can se wands but I haven't seen any caster off-hand items liek spell books or some tlaismans, do I guess the only things to equip is a shield.

I'm doing 2:1 point distribution for my caster between INT and DEX, STR seems like a waste since I'm not focusing on tanking and armor, but evasion+energy shield and bonuses to dodge- not a single piece of gear has +armor bonus.

What's the deal with that? Haven't done the math and there's not a lot of guides, is dual wands the intended way to go for casters?

[Der Pizzadieb]

Scepters are also an option, but they have higher Strength requirements aswell. Scepters do have nice implicits though. Mine currently has Elemental Damage + Elemental Resistance even as a common.

[Shinapple]

Sadly mid to late game, the bosses are geared to casters not melee, so melee are getting shafted unless they added more melee options or a high hp on hit with hunger.

[.:Jj:.]

I started Act3 with my main character and so far it seems to be the case. Packs of rats seem to be 'harder' and more annoying than some of the bosses because they're small and fast and hitting them with hitscan, targeted spells like Lightning Chain can be slightly tricky.

When it comes to the theme I really like sword&board, but more often than not playing melee in hns arpgs is tedious and annoying compared to ranged options. And I almost always lay solo, so there's no aspect of tankign in a team composition.

And yeah still nothing when it comes to other weapons/offhands for mage. Furthermore- I'm in Act 3 and w./o buying anything- I've changed wands maybe 3 or 4 times so... yeah :/

The only thing I might change is ratio of attribute distribution, from to 2:1 to 3:1 INT-DEX, because I got the first toggle spell and might enable a couple more in the future, and big mana pool is a must.

[tiamats4esgares]

Originally posted by .:Jj:.:

I started Act3 with my main character and so far it seems to be the case. Packs of rats seem to be 'harder' and more annoying than some of the bosses because they're small and fast and hitting them with hitscan, targeted spells like Lightning Chain can be slightly tricky.

When it comes to the theme I really like sword&board, but more often than not playing melee in hns arpgs is tedious and annoying compared to ranged options. And I almost always lay solo, so there's no aspect of tankign in a team composition.

And yeah still nothing when it comes to other weapons/offhands for mage. Furthermore- I'm in Act 3 and w./o buying anything- I've changed wands maybe 3 or 4 times so... yeah :/

The only thing I might change is ratio of attribute distribution, from to 2:1 to 3:1 INT-DEX, because I got the first toggle spell and might enable a couple more in the future, and big mana pool is a must.

I like how somebody who has the audacity to ridicule me has trouble with rats and has a bad build.

[tiamats4esgares]

Originally posted by Ultimoron:

isnt the speed on the wand, just for its inate attack skill...? same for every other weaon...

No. "Attack speed" and "cast speed" are two separate things. "Speed" means BOTH. That's the stat on every weapon. Isn't hard to test this, both literally cast spells with different weapons and looking at your dps.

[Lightning]

Yeah most of the wording is confusing but you eventually get used to it

[.:Jj:.]

Originally posted by tiamats4esgares:

I like how somebody who has the audacity to ridicule me has trouble with rats and has a bad build.

One -where did I say I have any problems with rats? Point to it, please.
You know what quotes are for right? You know what jokes are, right? You clearly can see I'm writing about annoyence or rather lack of it in terms of fighting as a caster build, and not about difficulty of any sorts? You see I'm writing about mechanics of combat flow as a caster, right?
Try reading a bit more to improve your reading comprehension.

Two- where am I 'ridiculing' anyone? You were repeatedly lying despite being told again and again you were wrong, and clearly had no clue about what you were talking about in terms of the possibilities of dual-wielding wands and basic functionality of hns arpgs. A lot of conceit from you.
I wasn't making any statements, just describing the reality. And now you also have issues with pointing out you were lying? Move on, seriously.

[tiamats4esgares]

Originally posted by .:Jj:.:

Originally posted by tiamats4esgares:

I like how somebody who has the audacity to ridicule me has trouble with rats and has a bad build.

One -where did I say I have any problems with rats? Point to it, please.
You know what quotes are for right? You know what jokes are, right? You clearly can see I'm writing about annoyence or rather lack of it in terms of fighting as a caster build, and not about difficulty of any sorts? You see I'm writing about mechanics of combat flow as a caster, right?
Try reading a bit more to improve your reading comprehension.

Two- where am I 'ridiculing' anyone? You were repeatedly lying despite being told again and again you were wrong, and clearly had no clue about what you were talking about in terms of the possibilities of dual-wielding wands and basic functionality of hns arpgs. A lot of conceit from you.
I wasn't making any statements, just describing the reality. And now you also have issues with pointing out you were lying? Move on, seriously.

One - If you can't figure out how to handle rats, then maybe ARPG's aren't for you. I'm playing a mage build too, Fireball is my main skill, and I figured it out.

Two - I ONLY said that wands couldn't be dual wielded TWICE, and only one of those times was after people told me otherwise. I simply thought YOU were wrong and not ME because of how rude and condescending you were from the get go. Maybe I would have listened to you if you would've been friendlier about it from the get go. Or, you know, if your screenshot actually worked. Maybe PC's aren't your thing? And neither is interacting with people.

[.:Jj:.]

Originally posted by tiamats4esgares:

One - If you can't figure out how to handle rats, then maybe ARPG's aren't for you. I'm playing a mage build too, Fireball is my main skill, and I figured it out.

What are you even talking about?!

The point of that remark was how easy combat is and how little involvement is required. Pointing out that bosses just stand there and you barely have to aim, less than with the simplest enemy type like rats, means 'I can't handle them'? Lol, what?

You keep making that stuff up because you made a fool of yourself and you need to feel better? For the second and the last time- just move on, stop replying to me and bumping this thread. Its topic is gear options for mages. I do not care about you, or how you play.
Won't waste more time on the rest of your post.

I'm really not interested what you have to say, stop spamming.

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Best mage in this game = GLASCANNON
Endgame mage is among #top3

You need some HP, so (INT) 3:1 (STR) is very solid ..forget DEX
Tbh, the important Runes already force you to go 65% INT
eg: Lv.85 Rune requires ~250 INT
Around Lv.90 300+ INT is pretty standard for mages

[tiamats4esgares]

Originally posted by wespe___o=/:*:

Best mage in this game = GLASCANNON
Endgame mage is among #top3 :doombolt:
Lv.50 ~100 INT

Oof I'm level 30 with 168 INT, did I do it wrong? XD

[wespe___o=/;;;:*]

Originally posted by tiamats4esgares:

Oof I'm level 30 with 168 INT, did I do it wrong? XD

nah.. that was minimum.. I added more explanation

[tiamats4esgares]

Originally posted by wespe___o=/:*:

Originally posted by tiamats4esgares:

Oof I'm level 30 with 168 INT, did I do it wrong? XD

nah.. that was minimum.. I added more explanation :D:

I probably need more STR though still.

[Sanzor]

Originally posted by .:Jj:.:

I started Act3 with my main character and so far it seems to be the case. Packs of rats seem to be 'harder' and more annoying than some of the bosses because they're small and fast and hitting them with hitscan, targeted spells like Lightning Chain can be slightly tricky.

I reached Act 3 as well as Mage and currently can advice you to get Frost Shock (the aoe around mage) and link it with Lightning Chain. This works well for the small stuff, while you use another primary skill vs. bigger enemies. It's also fun for "suicide mages" by teleporting into packs and nuke stuff that way :P

[.:Jj:.]

Originally posted by Sanzor:

I reached Act 3 as well as Mage and currently can advice you to get Frost Shock (the aoe around mage) and link it with Lightning Chain. This works well for the small stuff, while you use another primary skill vs. bigger enemies. It's also fun for "suicide mages" by teleporting into packs and nuke stuff that way :P

Yeah Lightning Chain is my main, bought that rune even before got the first chest that included it, knew it from the start that's the thing I want. Usually, I go for electricity/ice elements in these games, they fit my playstyle.
DoT is ok with bosses (especially ones that force a lot of movement), but too slow for me in normal play mode, I prefere instant dmg so fire and poison are out.
Same with status effects- I like also some 'passive' CC so shocking/stuning/slowing down/freezeing enemies is most welcome.
And with fire (and lesser extent poison) there's more channeling, and as a mage I don't to stand in one place for too long. Might work for some physical-armor + elemental hybrid, one with a shield and investment in HP.

LC is great for destroying breakable items on maps, clearing trash and dealing with mid-enemies. Not bad for stronger ones tho, but ofc (in theory) good single target skill should outmach it.
But I'm still searching for one. Need to buy ~2-3 runes and test them out before investing into leveling up single target rune. ATM as a placeholder I'm using Frost Thorn. I might consider specializing in one element, but I'll have to play a bit more to see if it's advised or even viable for various reasons.