Need help for my Mage

[Vaynark]

Just started playing as a Soothsayer on normal difficulty to get used to the game. I'm at level 2 at the moment and haven't spend my talent runes yet. I've also explored and looted the 1st island without fighting any of the enemy troops yet and got these scrolls:

Order
Battle Cry
Bless
Call of Nature
Dispel
Helplessness

Distortion
Haste

Chaos
Flaming Arrows
Fear
Poison Skull

Rune Magic
Runic Word
Chargers
Winter Dance

The spells I got right now are Slow and Magic Missile. According to the other threads I've read in this forum, I should concentrate on one school of magic first. Which magic school should I take to level 3 first or should I restart the game and hope I got a Heal scroll to beat those undeads? Also which skills from all the skill trees are worth getting for a Soothsayer? Is Glory and Learning worth it for a Soothsayer? Should I get Creation, Destruction or Higher Magic first?

[tiberiu]

The spells I got right now are Slow and Magic Missile. According to the other threads I've read in this forum, I should concentrate on one school of magic first. Which magic school should I take to level 3 first or should I restart the game and hope I got a Heal scroll to beat those undeads? Also which skills from all the skill trees are worth getting for a Soothsayer? Is Glory and Learning worth it for a Soothsayer? Should I get Creation, Destruction or Higher Magic first?

You don't need Healing buddy. Better get your Rune Magic to lvl 3 first, you will have Magic Missile for damage. Another point is that you are not sure to find Heal scroll so you might be wasting a lot of time restarting.

Learning is good, you can't go wrong with it. But maybe don't rush it, first get some skills to help you in the fights. Glory is not really that good I think, better get Jarl lvl 3 first if you want leadership. You will waste some runes on Diplomacy to get to Glory, so this is not that nice.

A lvl 3 magic school and Higher Magic...this is what it's good to go for. The school I'd say is best overall is Distortion, but for the first part of the game when you already start with Magic Missile and a scroll of Winter Dance..Rune Magic is better. Having the Spell Chargers is priceless. It's really a very good spell for generating your rage later on.

[Vaynark]

Thanks for answering, tiberiu. For regenerating Mana, which one should I max out first, Concentration, Meditation or Transmute? Is creating artifacts with Artifactor important? Should I max it out too? I know I won't be needing Alchemy since I can make magic crystals with Artifactor. Are Linguistics, Creation, Destruction, Diversions, Sense Weakness, Tactics and skills that increases Int outside of Magic skill tree(like Scouting) worth getting?

[tiberiu]

Thanks for answering, tiberiu. For regenerating Mana, which one should I max out first, Concentration, Meditation or Transmute? Is creating artifacts with Artifactor important? Should I max it out too? I know I won't be needing Alchemy since I can make magic crystals with Artifactor. Are Linguistics, Creation, Destruction, Diversions, Sense Weakness, Tactics and skills that increases Int outside of Magic skill tree(like Scouting) worth getting?

You're welcome buddy :). For regenerating mana, Meditation works only on the map, not in battle, I think it's not good idea to put more then 1 point into it, because you need the runes in other places. Transmute is better then Concentration, but it also costs a little more...BUT... for the first 4 islands, so until level 20 or so, you should be able to manage without having mana regeneration of this sort. Remember, you have the spell Chargers! This spell is very powerful, it can provide for you BOTH Mana and Rage. You will be surprised what it can do for you. Remember to use it mostly on Viking Race units because they will give more bulbs of mana and rage then the other units.

Artifactor is a useful skill, yes. I think it could need to be maxed at some point, later in the game, definetly not too early because there aren't so many recipies around. You should put 1 point into it if you find a recipe for an item that can help you.

As for the skills here's what I think:

-Linguistics is good, but it is to be maxed Later, after you get, say, Higher Magic to lvl 3.
-Creation can be good if you want to do lots of summons, and Destruction is good if you focus on dealing damage with spells. So between these 2 you should only pick one and focus on it.
-Diversions is quite powerful, but it is Luck-Based ( enemies have 10% chance/lvl to miss their first turn, automatically every battle, so at lvl 3 you would have 30%). I would put only 1 point into it for starters, and maybe max it when I reach lvl 30-35. Also take note that it will not help you in the VERY hard battle vs the Boss Spider. It also costs quite a lot.. so, It's up to you but in the end there might be better options.
- Sense Weakness costs way too much for what it does, and I wouldn't recommend it to be taken until much later in the game.
- Tactics... some players can find this useful but if you think about it, when you arrange your army properly and when you have high initiative, it's utterly pointless. I for one would never take it. Runes are better spent elsewhere. The skill that it unlocks is weak too, so no disadvantage in not taking Tactics.
- Scouting..For a mage, all the skills that increase Intelect are worth getting at some point. Scouting is very useful even without this bonus because it allows you to choose your battles wisely. I definetly recommend it to be taken as soon as you have a magic school to lvl 3. It's very cheap and important skill.
-Learning, which gives you extra XP and intelect is definetly worth getting. In the long run, the extra XP adds up and makes you level up faster. And 3 bonus intelect is quite nice. A little expensive skill though.

[Vaynark]

Thanks for your replies, tiberiu. They will definitely help my Mage playthrough. I'll try them after work.

[Harakiri]

For the first 4 isles, the summon animal spell at level 3 is a great help since you have very low leadership and it basically enables you to easily do at least 80-90 no-loss wins before the spider.

After that, the spell will be useless - but still, getting order to level 3 at first is a good idea.

Then you should get the rune school to 3 and either concentration or the other one were you get mana from killing enemies because you will be low on mana easily.

Additionally, i want as fast as possible to the highest skill - the one that allows you to double cast each round - this is a great help - e.g. lay 2 traps at the first round to stop almost 50% of the enemies to make their move (non range units) - use the greed rage skill to stop another one

[sethmage]

Remember, you might get some extra spells scrolls from battle chests.

[tiberiu]

Remember, you might get some extra spells scrolls from battle chests.

I once even found an Item. :) An armor, the one who gives +1 Defense and 2 rage.

[namad]

jarl for leadership is basically just flat out bad.


glory>jarl for the spider fight, and the spider fight is the only difficult part of basically the entire game... another reason not to get learning is that it makes the spider fight harder by now allowing you to also have glory..



yeah around lvl40 or so jarl>glory but by then you can have any unit in the game you want (except undead)

[Vaynark]

In this game, which type of mage is the easiest to play and finish the game? Direct damage spell-slinging mage, summoner mage, or buff and debuff mage? At what level will my hero be when I reach the spider boss and at around what level my hero will be when I finish the game? What do I need to prepare to fight the spider boss beside Glory? I haven't left the 1st island yet so my spells and scrolls are limited to the ones I mentioned before. With my current spells and scrolls, which one is more useful against the spider boss, summoning spells or direct damage spells? Should I go Order Magic lv 3 and use Call of Nature until the spider boss, or go Rune Magic lv 3 and use Magic Missile and Winter Dance instead?

[tiberiu]

In this game, which type of mage is the easiest to play and finish the game? Direct damage spell-slinging mage, summoner mage, or buff and debuff mage? At what level will my hero be when I reach the spider boss and at around what level my hero will be when I finish the game? What do I need to prepare to fight the spider boss beside Glory? I haven't left the 1st island yet so my spells and scrolls are limited to the ones I mentioned before. With my current spells and scrolls, which one is more useful against the spider boss, summoning spells or direct damage spells? Should I go Order Magic lv 3 and use Call of Nature until the spider boss, or go Rune Magic lv 3 and use Magic Missile and Winter Dance instead?

Easiest to play : buff and debuff mage. (with the exception of the first 4 islands, where direct damage is better and you don't have too many spells anyway)
Your level before boss spider: 19-20 (impossible diff)
Your level at end of game : 65-70
For the boss spider, it is very important to have at least 1 point put into Frenzy skill, from the Might Tree. It increases attack every time your units kill units. The spider will have lots of summons and your units' attack will greatly increase by killing them. IF you can get Transmute, it will help with regenerating mana during the battle. But it is hard for a Mage to find so many red runes...
Against the spider boss I'd go for direct damage. I could deal 1400 to the spider boss/round with 2 Magic Missiles. I doubt summons could manage this. Call of Nature if I'm correct is also expensive spell at lvl 3, and mana will run dry fast with it.

[aristobal]

I am playing on hard mode. I reached the spider on 18 level. Try to open all chest on battlefield. You may success to find useful scrolls. I killed it by use of fire arrow (it has not resist to fire) and 3 troll. Afterwards the easiest way to play to cast phoenix call up to 50-60 level. But you'll have all magic schools to such levels. Good luck.

[Vaynark]

What about leadership? Will I get in trouble with the spider boss if I don't take Glory or Jarl? Should I take Glory or Jarl before I fight the spider boss?

[aristobal]

Try carefully to spend your runes. Personally I spent them actively only on first island because it was hard to play without losses and magic helped much. But then I tried to accumulate runes to battle with spider because much depend on what magic (scrolls) you'll find. Much depend on current situation. Personally I used "glory". Frankly speaking it will be enough leadership to buy 3 trolls and kill the spider without losses. Decision on you.

[tiberiu]

What about leadership? Will I get in trouble with the spider boss if I don't take Glory or Jarl? Should I take Glory or Jarl before I fight the spider boss?

If you care about playing without losing a fight, and without reloading in case that you lose, (aka playing hardcore), you can take both of them. The extra leadership will help kill the spider faster and will mean a lower risk of losing the battle.

The spider can, however, be killed without having any of these skills, even with the mage, even on impossible. So you will not be in trouble if you don't take them. It might just be a little safer with them.

[Vaynark]

Well, I do always try to play without losing any troops. Thanks for answering, guys. I think I won't be taking Glory for now. Maybe later when I need it. I'll try to get Higher Magic first after I get my Rune Magic to level 3 and try to get Frenzy and Learning when I can.

[aristobal]

Keep in mind that the spider has some resist to Magic Missile.

[Vaynark]

Roger that. Hopefully, I'll find more scrolls in the next island.

[travelingoz]

It may be better to wait until just before the Spider boss fight to decide which path you want to take. If i were you, i would only invest runes in skills that are absolutely needed to continue.
You may decide to go down the Rune magic path and in one of your last battles before you meet the Spider, dig up a Summon Phoenix scroll......:grin:

[Vaynark]

That's a quite interesting idea, travelingoz. What skills did you invest in when you're in the 1st island?

[ckdamascus]

It may be better to wait until just before the Spider boss fight to decide which path you want to take. If i were you, i would only invest runes in skills that are absolutely needed to continue.
You may decide to go down the Rune magic path and in one of your last battles before you meet the Spider, dig up a Summon Phoenix scroll......:grin:

Do you mean figuratively finding a Summon Phoenix scroll in a pre-generated chest during combat?

I couldn't find anyway to "treasure hunt" or dig up scrolls like in Armored Princess. Did I miss something else again? :)

[sethmage]

I find that all the chests in the battle mode don’t change contents, in AP you could dig up gold with little dragon/archeologist, but if you had time and patience the battle could be replayed with different findings.

Also I’m trying to see if you get shrines or wishing wells I always get the same reward whatever that is exp or gold. First shrine on the first island (snowy area), level 2 55exp, then I went after level 3 55exp, lev4 55exp, hmm… well lev5 55exp. there is a description of the person who is trying the same thing over and over again expecting different results, yet in TL and AP you got different rewards.