Need Hard mode mage tips, Never played other KB's.

[Zechnophobe]

Originally Posted by Zephiroth

I'm playing as a mage now on hard mode, but still can't get it right, how do I pick what armies to fight and leave alone? Should I be looking for int. booster for my equipment over attack and defense? And what about skill tree, should I focus only on magic and not might and mind, or mix it up some?

The "Difficulty" of a non-hero army is based on its leadership total. So ones with 'strong' have more troops than you do, and 'weak' have less. Since you are a mage, your leadership is the lowest of the three classes, so you will often see troops as a little bit harder than the others.

I would focus equipment on intelligence, mana, and rage. Definitely invest in all three skill trees, but try to find a good mix of spell effects to use. Some control spells from distortion, some damage spells from chaos, defense from order. Do not try to upgrade ALL your spells. Even a mage will run out of crystals that way.

In Mind tree, pick up some leadership boosts, and diversions.

In Might Tree, grab the basic Rage bumps on the right side. +24 rage is very important. You gain rage at a rate based on your total rage, so 24 more rage means generating that much more per hit! ALl three of the rage skills on the right side of that area are totally worth it, even for a mage.