Mage/Dark Wizard Int, Dex And Agi Glass Cannon Build

I've been thinking of a good build for my mage, and most good water builds nerf thunder defense by a lot (I'm looking at you Aquarius Chestplate). I really want to counterbalance the thunder nerf, but at the same time boost mana regen and spell damage (percent and raw). I came up with this build and I'm not sure how it will work. Please leave feedback in the comments.

So why these skill points?

Spoiler: Intelligence

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Well, Intelligence is the bread and butter of all mages. It's main boost is mana regen and spell damage, which all mages should focus on, as melee damage for mages is crap. Mana steal is also associated with intelligence too, and will be pretty important for this build. Intelligence also decreases mana used at higher levels. I currently have 80 intel, and meteor uses only 5 mana! I'm pretty sure we all know how great intel is, so enough said.

Spoiler: Dexterity

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Dexterity will be both an offense and defense skill. Dexterity can buff spell damage, which will be the main play style of this class. Dexterity can also help out with getting mana back from mana steal, mentioned in the intelligence section. Since mana steal only works with basic attacks, using rapid attack speed of most dexterity weapons (or the attack speed buff on some armor pieces) will regen mana faster with mana steal. I'll talk more about using mana steal on play styles.

Spoiler: Agility

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Agility will be the main defense skill. It focuses more on dodging attacks for no damage, while defense just eats up hits. I chose agility because it matches the glass cannon style of dexterity. Of course, I guess defense could work as well, but then there would be some armor changes. Agility will give walk speed bonuses, making moving around and loot chest runs much easier (especially when used with teleport). To me, mage seems like a class that shouldn't be very tanky, so agility seems more compatible.

Here's a list of what to use and explanations:

Helmet: Neuron or Cumulonimbus

Depending on what you focus on more, neuron will work better for a more water-based version of this build, and cumulonimbus for a more thunder and water base build.

Chestplate: Aquarius or Boreal-Patterned Aegis

Similarly to the helmets, both these chestplates will serve different purposes. I would recommend using Neuron and Boreal-Patterened Aegis, or Cumulonimbus and Aquarius. As I mentioned already, the whole purpose of this build is to counterbalance the massive thunder nerf. For Neuron Boreal-Patterned Aegis pair, it really focuses more counterbalancing that negative thunder defense. Neuron nerfs thunder by a lot, so Boreal-Patterned Aegis will bring the thunder defense back up. Aquarius subtracts 100 thunder defense, and Cumulonimbus will increase it back to positive. Neuron and Boreal Patterned Aegis both include mana regen, but I would highly recommend acquiring a really good Neuron, with maxed out mana regen. Now don't get upset, because Neuron is only a unique, so just grind and Freezing Heights or Demon Cave, with luck it shouldn't take long to get a Neuron with near max mana regen. Now, for Aquarius and Cumulonimbus, it's pretty easy to explain. This pair might not bring thunder defense to a positive, but that's okay. It really stresses more on spell damage and mana regen, a classic. Aquarius with at least 5/4s mana regen and +10% spell damage will do. Cumulonimbus is a rare, so a one with more than +20% spell damage should be relatively easy to get.

Leggings: Dark Channeler

So here's an interesting one, dark channeler will really bring back 100 thunder defense, and includes mana regen, mana steal, and a lot of raw spell damage. Dark Channeler is also not a legendary, so I would suggest obtaining one with at least near max mana regen and mana steal.

Boots: Memento

Notice that this build is not one over 10k hp. That's because of the glass cannon play style this build uses. Memento will be the piece of armor giving the most health (with +2850, if you are using Cumulonimbus-Aquarius combo). Memento is pretty self explanatory, with high mana regen and spell damage. You might say that it gives negative life steal, so when using basic attack, your health decrease. That's okay because the build mainly focuses around spells, but if it gets annoying, just use a heal spell (should only cost 2 mana with high intel).

Rings: Kaze, Concentration

Kaze is a legendary bracelet that I haven't looked into a lot, but it gives a decent amount of walk speed. This will be most of the agility, as we only care about walk speed from agility. However, keep in mind that there is a health debuff, and you could end up with -500 health from Kaze, so be careful about this. Concentration is a staple to mages, especially because of it's low level. The best way of obtaining Concentration is to check tier 3 and 4 chests in low level areas.

Bracelet: Squid Anklet

Extra mana regen never hurts!

Necklace: Anything that can gives positive health or positive defense bonuses

I'm not going to be too hard on the necklace because the armor is the most important part. However, there will be some remaining defense nerfs, especially if there your thunder defense is negative. If you thunder defense is okay, then use a necklace which counterbalances the health debuff from Kaze, or a necklace which counterbalances the negative life steal from Memento.

Powders:

I would highly recommend using curse on the wand, as it decreases the defense by a lot. An enemy with low defense is just calling for meteor spam. As for the armor, I'm not quite sure if concentration would be ideal. Concentration gives a longer bonus when more mana is used, and I don't know if the bonus comes before counting the intelligence level. For example: If meteor normally costs 8 mana, but the intelligence level decreases the cost to 6 mana, would the bonus of concentration last 8 seconds or 6 seconds?

Now most importantly: the wand

Wand: Lunar Spine (but could be many other wands)

It really depends on your budget, and I can't specify just one weapon, but Lunar Spine is what I'm currently using. The wand must have mana regen on it, or else it won't qualify. It must also have normal or higher attack speed, in order to get the most mana steal from the least time. Honestly, I wouldn't object to cascade because of its quick attack speed, but you would have to give up some sp to meet it's requirements.

Play Style:
So, now that everything is specified, how is this build supposed to be used? Well, it's a spellspam/glass cannon build. The main idea is to use spells and to run around a lot. One thing to keep in mind: Always have enough mana for a heal spell in hostile environments. It's really important especially because the build doesn't come with a ton of health. Heal is what makes a mage have so much survivability, and a heal could make the difference between life and death. Teleport will work really well with doing loot runs or in open spaces. When using this build, avoid corners and walls as much as you can, teleport requires an open area to cast. Meteor is essential to this build, as it is the only damage dealing spell. Because of meteor auto-targeting mobs, meteor will almost always lock on. I highly recommend using ice snake and meteor together. Ice snake to give the mob slowness, and meteor to lock onto in when it has slowness. Now, for as for mana, it will increase by however your mana regen amount is every 4 seconds. Mana steal is great, especially if you are on low mana and trying to recover mana to be able to cast a heal. Use basic attack when your mana is low, so that you get can use curse and gain mana back.

Conclusion
This now concludes my new build, and I hope it works for you guys. Note that I actually am not using it and it's just a suggestion that I am planning to use in the future. In conclusion, this build is based on intelligence, dexterity, and agility, which give bonuses to mana regen, mana steal, spell damage, and walk speed. Using items like Neuron, Cumulonimbus, Aquarius, Boreal-Patterned Aegis, Dark Channeler, Memento, Kaze, Concentration, Squid Anklet, and a good water wand with relatively fast attack speed is key for this build. Play this build with close attention to your mana (don't ever let it drop below the amount for heal) and use your spells wisely. Watch out! there isn't a lot of health, so try to dodge enemy attacks. I would love to see it work for everyone!

 

Looks alright, but I wouldn't use Kaze, it has negative spell damage... An alternative could maybe be Raging Wind or Magical Loop or something

 

yea, i was just looking at some good walk speed accessories and saw kaze

 

you literally wrote an essay about a mainstream build

good fucking job mate

 

Truly revolutionary. This definitely was not thought up by half of the server once cumulonimbus came out.

 

idk I just see so many mages w/ int and defense builds