Best magic tree?

[Malaficus Shaikan]

Best magic tree?
Ok i have study all the magic tree's time and again and they are all usefull.

My current build is an essence build(thanks youtube)
My Sovereign is a healer(life mage) with the decalon for all the other magic tree's.
However here is the thing.
I never get my sovereign to a high enough level to research all magic spells(including the once's in the mage class tree)

So my questions are as followed:
1: is it possible to research all magic skills?
2:Is it smarter to put points into skills rather then magic and use the mage class instead for spells instead.
3:Do you need a magic tree for spells researched in the magic branch.
4:Why people love death magic? I find it extreemly mana expensive.
5:Is a paladin(life magic defender class) build efficient?
6:How do shards effect your spells.
I know people brag about 75 death shards but even with huge map high magic i never find that many shards(and yes i know about corruption there but there just arent that many shards on the map)

Note: I have all dlc's.

[mltnschroeder]

1. In theory yes, but in practice no not really. Paragon spell can raise your levels, but at the cost of gimping your sovereign's hp. Neither is it necessary. Rather than having a jack-of-all-trades spellcaster who has a spell for any occasion, I find it easier (and better) to specialize and use each spellcaster to fulfill a specific role. SO imo usually per hero,1 branch of the skill tree is enough, and maybe 4-5 spell picks at most (enough to reach archmage rank). A "fully developed" useful battle mage is usually between lvl 8-12 in my games. By late game, a few of them might be lvl 16 or so.

2. That depends. Your skills should support the role and spells you chose for that Mage. The top skill path for mana economy, damge dealers and de-buffers, the bottom skill path for Summoners. 8-10 skills or so per mage is usually enough.

3. You can just add 'general' spell learning if you want. But while your mage will have lots of spells, they won't be as powerful nor as effective as had you chosen some relevant supporting skills. 2 elemental paths on a single mage is plenty imo. You can also make a useful Mage without having ANY spell knowledge. On the skill tree, the summoner path doesn't require any known elemental magic. Also, you can choose Aeromancy, Hydromancy or Geomancy for some useful combat spells that don't require elemental knowledge, but can take advantage of any shards you might have captured.

4. Death magic is good if you are the underdog in battle to balance things out. It combos well with beast or demon armies so that they don't fight at a disadvantage.

5. Sounds viable. Defender is most powerful once you and your troops have heavy armor, since tactics usually involve "when defending" skills.

6. See each individual spell description to see what affect shards have. Aeromancy has Lightning Bolt which deals damage based on caster LEVEL, which is quite useful if you have a small kingdom with no shards.

[warhameron]

Try mods:

Necromancy Revamped
http://forums.elementalgame.com/444576

Demons and Wizards
http://forums.elementalgame.com/446891


New Summoner path and reworked Mage path
75+ different units/creatures can be summoned including dozens of new monsters
Spells for summoning groups of units
Magic missile spells available for each spellbook (eg. Barrage of Stones for Earth, Soul Spear for Life etc)
4 New spellbooks (Nature, Shadow, Battle, Beasts) and 4 new world resource types
29 New Champions
New monster lairs

[Malaficus Shaikan]

Thank you both.
I love the mods.