MAGES

[Agrippina]

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[CONTAINS SPOILERS]
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I've duplicated posted the same message in another thread. But I wanted to mention again because I'm really looking for some good advice here. So here's the message. You DMs out there help me! Give me some pointers.
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Is there a school to go to so that I can learn how to play a mage? Apparently, I suck at mages. But, I don't get it. I mean you only have like 3-4 spells per level to memorize. And if your opponent has a +anything weapon you better cast prot from mag weapons or you are squashed, stoneskin ain't gonna cut it. From my exp, mages suck. But tell me where I'm wrong... tell what I need to cast in the variety of circumstnaces. How do you get past that damn casting delay of 1/round? You know you go cast and wait and wait and oops get hit -20 hps, wait and wait and start casting and oops get hit -15 hps, opps lost my spell.... I'd like to learn how to really really play a mage, if you got some help, I've got some in two weeks to play bg2 (finals will be over).
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Various scenarios: I'd like answers FOR MAGES ONLY to take these guys on. LET ME REPEAT - TELL ME HOW YOUR MAGE ONLY CAN TAKE THIS ON WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM FIGHTERS. IF not possible without fighters without tanks, tell me so and say what spells you cast while your fighters "tank" the hits...

a) 5 guys with no +anything weapons. What do you do?
b) 6 Umber hulks, what do you do?
c) Spiders (don't think death spell works on sword spiders, do they? Anyway, 5 mutated spiders and 2 sworders coming after you, what do you do?
d) Bloody elder orb and his two minions, what do you do?
e) Irenicus with his bloody spell protections and time stop. What do you do? Spell strike? Nah, he just cast's something else... so what do you do?
f) You are in mind flayer city, what do you do?
g) Taking on the demon in watcher's keep and his buddies (the guy at the end of level 3..the demon that sez, "What do you say, do you want to play?" --- BTW-- HE's so cool!) What do you do?
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This should do it for now. OK MAGES...tell me how's it done!

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by Agrippina: a) 5 guys with no +anything weapons. What do you do? Stoneskin + Mirror Image Greater Malison + Emotion Spell Sequencer: Greater Malison + Emotion + Slow Mordenkainen's Swords Skeleton Warriors b) 6 Umber hulks, what do you do? Laugh and cast Death Spell/Death Fog/Cloudkill. Take your pick. c) Spiders (don't think death spell works on sword spiders, do they? Anyway, 5 mutated spiders and 2 sworders coming after you, what do you do? Same as b) with the exception of Cloudkill, and Death Spell does work on Sword Spiders. d) Bloody elder orb and his two minions, what do you do? Cloak of Mirroring is of course the best option, but that is only available in Chapter 4. I recommend that you fight the Twisted Rune first and get the Staff of Magi. The SoM confers invisibility, and therefore, you can cast an area of effect(AoE) spell like say, Fireball/Cloudkill/etc... and hastily re-equip the SoM. Remember to cast these spells out of the Beholders' sight and this is possible because they are AoE spells. e) Irenicus with his bloody spell protections and time stop. What do you do? Spell strike? Nah, he just cast's something else... so what do you do? Beat on him with an army 100 Skeleton Warriors. Seriously though, use Project Image to summon as many Skeleton Warriors as you can. This is to kill off the Demons that Jon Irenicus summons. Eventually he will cast Death Spell, after that, cast more Project Images and summon more Skeleton Warriors and Mordenkainen's Swords. Use the swords to distract Jon Irenicus, he can barely hurt them. This will allow your more fragile but more damaging Skeleton Warriors to score hits on Jon Irenicus without getting interrupted. Mordenkainen's Swords last only for 2 minutes, so remember to re-summon them when appropriate. f) You are in mind flayer city, what do you do? Skeleton Warriors and Mordenkainen's Swords for the Illitids, Death Spell for the Umber Hulks. g) Taking on the demon in watcher's keep and his buddies (the guy at the end of level 3..the demon that sez, "What do you say, do you want to play?" --- BTW-- HE's so cool!) What do you do? The Cambion???? I do not fight him, there is a peaceful solution and I always choose it. If you really insist on fighting him, use Time Stop and Improved Alacrity to wreck havoc. The PRATI tactic comes to mind. Project Image + Robe of Vecna + Amulet of Power + Time Stop + Improved Alacrity.

[Volguuz RageWaar]

In the later stages the mages and sorceres become very powerfull, but in the begining you'll need the help of others, see this - when you get into the copper coronet there is a guy that chalange you to a figth he is very weak but suppose he is level 20 and as only a wepon +3 or +4 and you are in level 26 what will you do, well for one you could cast "absolute immunity" that way you'll be protected against all kind of weapons lower than +5 after that you could cast "Improved Aclaraty" (removes the time between each spell you cast, it's a really great spell) then you could cast a time stop, the after that you could do whatever you want with him it's your choice...

So as you can see the Mages are very powerfull ones once they are in the later levels

[antonius]

Best way to learn any class is to solo with it. Mages are tough to do it with, but just make sure that you know what your spells do - here's where that manual helps.

Items/Spells to go invisible are useful - you don't NEED to kill everything (better part of valour!) as are wands (fire! monster summoning!) - go into every encounter as a sniper - kill the toughest oppo then retreat and go back again (BTW - same tactics apply for any non combat character like thieves).

Patience and planning really are the watchwords with a mage.

[F. Gottwald]

also, don´t underestimate ´special delivery´:

3 skull traps from spell sequencer
3 skull traps from spell trigger
1 skull trap from contingency

these took out little jon irenicus before either him or his demons started touching me... and of course if you got rid of the xp cap one way or the other, you will have all sorts of other delicious possibilities.

[Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs]

Originally posted by Agrippina: a) 5 guys with no +anything weapons. What do you do? b) 6 Umber hulks, what do you do? c) Spiders (don't think death spell works on sword spiders, do they? Anyway, 5 mutated spiders and 2 sworders coming after you, what do you do? d) Bloody elder orb and his two minions, what do you do? e) Irenicus with his bloody spell protections and time stop. What do you do? Spell strike? Nah, he just cast's something else... so what do you do? f) You are in mind flayer city, what do you do? g) Taking on the demon in watcher's keep and his buddies (the guy at the end of level 3..the demon that sez, "What do you say, do you want to play?" --- BTW-- HE's so cool!) What do you do?

I assume you are soloing, so i will answer your questions as such. If you have a party, just send the mage to the back and cast damage spells.

Dundee pretty much covered it, but i want to give another opinion, because not everybody likes all strategies. (i.e. no Cloudkill wand, no invisibility, no weapons, etc. )

Note: Fireball works in ALL instances, save demons. Skull trap is good too, but usually damages you. Use both of them often. Web is also very useful for keeping your enemies where you want them so you can fireball them repeatedly easier. Note that Spiders are totally unaffected by Web. Also, though your melee skills will be terrible, sometimes it is easier to hit your enemy over the head. Use Staff of Rhynn, Staff of the Ram, Staff of the Magi, Dagger of the Star, and Sling of Everard. You will be able to hit a remarkable amount of enemies, provided you are running around a lot.

a) Protection from Normal weapons + sunfire, abi dalzim's, comet, etc.
Or blur/mirror/stoneskin, or Web.

b) Cloudkill wand. Skeleton warriors. Fireball/Web/Spider Spawn.

c) Fireball. Abi Dalzim's. NOT web.

d) Cloak of Mirroring. Staff of Magi invisibility. Skeleton Warriors. Abi Dalzim's/Dragon's Breath.

e) Irenicus cannot see invisible creatures, nor can any of the demons. Don the Cloak of Non-Detection and Staff of the Magi, use Ruby Ray, Breach, Spellstrike, etc. Then use Finger of Death until he dies.

f) Staff of the Magi. Cloudkill repeatedly. Use Potions of Genius to protect from brain drain if they happen to get close.

g) Don't kill Aesgareth. Gamble with him. If you're lucky (or have lots of savegames) and have a Remove Curse spell, you can come off with a scroll of Wish, the Spectral Brand, and a permanent Mind Shield. If you have a thief in your party, you can also get 1000000 XP and either a Ring of Protection +3 or an extra point of intelligence.

AND BE NICE TO PEOPLE!! IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER!!

[Cannibal Monkey]

1. Isn't there an elder orb in the planar sphere?

2. Isn't there a cambion in Irenicus's dungeon?

[Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs]

Originally posted by Cannibal Monkey: 1. Isn't there an elder orb in the planar sphere? 2. Isn't there a cambion in Irenicus's dungeon?

1. Yes. let the golem kill him. or, if you want the experience, let the golem beat on him until the elder orb is almost dead, then hit him over the head with a stick.

2. Yes. run around a lot, use magic missiles, and slings.

Another note: once you have mastered the mage perspective, try a solo sorcerer. sorcerers SHOULD NOT be attempted until you are very familiar with all the spells, because a mistake will follow you all your life. Personally, i wouldn't use any walkthrough for sorcerer spell picks, since it's a very personal decision and depends greatly on your playing style.