current strongest mage build?

[Mad Dog]

It's been awhile since I last asked this and I've moved on to a thief build that I like.

But I still like the theme of a powerful mage MC.

So what's the current strongest offensive mage build?

Offensive cause I'm trying to end fights as soon as I can.

 

[Muted_ReDead]

Arcane Archer might not really count, but Crackle Powder + Arc Cannon is potent enough to wipe the floor with the 5-demon encounter in the Rift, and does decently against every other encounter. Good combo of damage + CC.

But for mages, Arc Cannon might be worth dropping in favor of the white mage's Celestial Smite, which might be the most potent single-target spell in the game, dealing both Storm and Holy damage, AND stunning the enemy if they're weak to either. The aoe damage will be missed, but you have your companions for that. Arona or Ryn's Blessing + Brint's cleave is potent. Vitality Reap WOULD be a good option for an Enounter AOE if demons didn't resist Blight damage so much, however it's also the only offensive Black Mage Encounter spell, so if you're tired of having a summon it might be worth picking up anyways. (haven't tested it for myself though).

CS faces single-target competition in the recharge slot with Primal Scar, which deals fire, frost, and storm damage to a foe, AND makes them 50% weaker to each element. PS vs CS depends on what team members you want to combo with (Kiyoko or Pyro!Brienne who capitalize from the fire weakness), but no matter which you choose I believe that Crackle Powder or Grease are essential for their abiltiy to utterly dominate the turn economy when swarmed by enemies, and it's a decent stun to have even during single target encounters (though in the case of the Wraith-touched Chimera, I find that it's usually best to attack it outright and only stun it when you need to give your healer an emergency turn).

It's worth noting that Black Mage really struggles against the little bird shit in the rift, who has very high ward. Be sure to carry heavy physical damage dealers such as Brint/Brienne, Bronze Arona or Hexblade Cait, and if you're not running healing yourself I highly recomend bringing a healer to better stomach the Rift, such as Cait or Regalia!Ryn. the latter gets bonus points for having access to the potent Blessing spell. Other magic users aside from Hex Cait are not recomended due to troubles with the Aivanari Rider's very high ward, but Kiyoko and Pyro!Brienne can comb with Grease or Primal Scar particularly potently. If you don't wan to whore out for Grease or Crackle Powder and dedicate the recharge slot to something else, Berwyn can aoe stun enemies with his Earth Elemental summon, though it's worth noting that it won't effect the rider due to being airborne, and Berwyn himself is not very combat effective outside of summoning that. His +10 spellpower buff doesn't even stack with the champ's. =w=

This covers all the new black mage stuff, I hope what I wrote was helpful! The new spells are all very powerful except for maybe Vitality Reap for being Blight, but hey they can't all be winners~

 

[Mad Dog]

Arcane Archer might not really count, but Crackle Powder + Arc Cannon is potent enough to wipe the floor with the 5-demon encounter in the Rift, and does decently against every other encounter. Good combo of damage + CC.

But for mages, Arc Cannon might be worth dropping in favor of the white mage's Celestial Smite, which might be the most potent single-target spell in the game, dealing both Storm and Holy damage, AND stunning the enemy if they're weak to either. The aoe damage will be missed, but you have your companions for that. Arona or Ryn's Blessing + Brint's cleave is potent. Vitality Reap WOULD be a good option for an Enounter AOE if demons didn't resist Blight damage so much, however it's also the only offensive Black Mage Encounter spell, so if you're tired of having a summon it might be worth picking up anyways. (haven't tested it for myself though).

CS faces single-target competition in the recharge slot with Primal Scar, which deals fire, frost, and storm damage to a foe, AND makes them 50% weaker to each element. PS vs CS depends on what team members you want to combo with (Kiyoko or Pyro!Brienne who capitalize from the fire weakness), but no matter which you choose I believe that Crackle Powder or Grease are essential for their abiltiy to utterly dominate the turn economy when swarmed by enemies, and it's a decent stun to have even during single target encounters (though in the case of the Wraith-touched Chimera, I find that it's usually best to attack it outright and only stun it when you need to give your healer an emergency turn).

It's worth noting that Black Mage really struggles against the little bird shit in the rift, who has very high ward. Be sure to carry heavy physical damage dealers such as Brint/Brienne, Bronze Arona or Hexblade Cait, and if you're not running healing yourself I highly recomend bringing a healer to better stomach the Rift, such as Cait or Regalia!Ryn. the latter gets bonus points for having access to the potent Blessing spell. Other magic users aside from Hex Cait are not recomended due to troubles with the Aivanari Rider's very high ward, but Kiyoko and Pyro!Brienne can comb with Grease or Primal Scar particularly potently. If you don't wan to whore out for Grease or Crackle Powder and dedicate the recharge slot to something else, Berwyn can aoe stun enemies with his Earth Elemental summon, though it's worth noting that it won't effect the rider due to being airborne, and Berwyn himself is not very combat effective outside of summoning that. His +10 spellpower buff doesn't even stack with the champ's. =w=

This covers all the new black mage stuff, I hope what I wrote was helpful! The new spells are all very powerful except for maybe Vitality Reap for being Blight, but hey they can't all be winners~

Thanks!

What about Power Wave? It was pretty good when I used to use it.

And what stats are you maxing for these builds?

Could you expand on the Arcane Archer build? Like what class, weapons, and abilities are you using?

As for teammates, I normally run with Brienne and Arona. They've both got cleave so they absolutely destroy groups of enemies. Would I need a healer for these builds?

 

[Alypia]

Good post, ReDead!

It's worth noting that Black Mage really struggles against the little bird shit in the rift, who has very high ward. Be sure to carry heavy physical damage dealers such as Brint/Brienne, Bronze Arona or Hexblade Cait, and if you're not running healing yourself I highly recomend bringing a healer to better stomach the Rift, such as Cait or Regalia!Ryn. the latter gets bonus points for having access to the potent Blessing spell. Other magic users aside from Hex Cait are not recomended due to troubles with the Aivanari Rider's very high ward, but Kiyoko and Pyro!Brienne can comb with Grease or Primal Scar particularly potently. If you don't wan to whore out for Grease or Crackle Powder and dedicate the recharge slot to something else, Berwyn can aoe stun enemies with his Earth Elemental summon, though it's worth noting that it won't effect the rider due to being airborne, and Berwyn himself is not very combat effective outside of summoning that. His +10 spellpower buff doesn't even stack with the champ's. =w=

This covers all the new black mage stuff, I hope what I wrote was helpful! The new spells are all very powerful except for maybe Vitality Reap for being Blight, but hey they can't all be winners~

I would only add here that Vitality Reap does do well against the Avanai + Roc because of the beast taxa weakness to Blight. With high enough crit, you can wipe the roc with a single shot of Reap about half the time (all the time if you Bless first), then move on to the Rider with Primal Scar + Celestial Smite.

 

[Muted_ReDead]

Good post, ReDead!

I would only add here that Vitality Reap does do well against the Avanai + Roc because of the beast taxa weakness to Blight. With high enough crit, you can wipe the roc with a single shot of Reap about half the time (all the time if you Bless first), then move on to the Rider with Primal Scar + Celestial Smite.

Thank you for pointing this out, I didn't realize this! In that case Vitality Reap is a great option for dealing with what would otherwise be your worst nemesis in the rift.

Thanks!

What about Power Wave? It was pretty good when I used to use it.

And what stats are you maxing for these builds?

Could you expand on the Arcane Archer build? Like what class, weapons, and abilities are you using?

As for teammates, I normally run with Brienne and Arona. They've both got cleave so they absolutely destroy groups of enemies. Would I need a healer for these builds?

Power Wave is decent, but it doesn't compete with Celestial Smite or Primal Scar once you hit level 6. Its damage is very lackluster in comparison.

For any Phy+Mag build, I use Strength+Willpower+Agility for maximum offense. For a pure magic build you can take the strength and put it in either Cunning or Presence. if you want to use the powerful new fire summons use Presence, but I havent tested them yet so I can't speak for their effectiveness in The Rift. Both will win you more fights than Toughness for now.

For the "Arcane Archer" I use the Bessy Mauler from the ghost wolf fort (I forgot the name) with maxed willpower strength and agility. This build can utilize physical abilities alongside magic abilities to a good enough extent for not having a Catalyst. For abilites, and this applies universally accross all builds, you have two different but internally varied options: aoe recharge and single-target Encounter, or vice versa. Both variations always want Grease OR Crackle Powder. AoE stuns are just too good to pass up.

Arcane Archer: Eagle Eye/Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt/any heal/Arcane Shot, Crackle Powder/Grease, Arc Cannon/Celestial Smite/Primal Scar/Fireball/Frostfire Shot, and Dastardly Blow/Deadly Shadow/Vitality Reap.

If you choose to be a thief class you can also opt for Crowd Control, whose attack power will increase from 50% if all targets are afflicted with debuffs like Staggered, and if you use your aoe stun you'll have plenty of time to have an ally to apply those debuffs to the enemies. Same with Frostfire Shot. Sneak Attack is iffy because it either wastes a turn charging up or it requires you to have use Deadly Shadow the immediately previous turn, which is a turn you could've used to stun the group instead. There are no ranged catalysts that work well with Arcane Archer, which is why I'm using the Bessy Mauler instead. I recomend using two Lucky Strikes to compensate the BM's low accuracy, so it's not the greatest spellcaster but it's extremely functional with its versatility. Black Mage is not recomended for this class as it still mainly relies on your physical attack power, even if it has at least one spell. 17 willpower will only do so much for the Bessy Mauler.


For a dedicated caster, the Control Rod+Mage Wand is the best weapon combo avialable, the former being obtainable from Kinu Quest. A close tie for best off-hand goes to the Blank Scroll from Kohaku in the Kitsune den, the toss-up being +5 spellpower vs +5 crit. Dedicated mages will already have a lot of spellpower so I'd recomend the Mage Wand for more crits, and is also not trapped behind Kohaku's gacha inventory. The downside to this build, however, is not having access to the coveted Crackle Powder, meaning you won't be able to force a CS stun with it. You can debase yourself by using either Divine Blossom (accuracy and crit) or Metal Wand (spellpower and spell penetration), which are very weak compared to Control Rod but grant access to Crackle Powder, a worthy consideration.

Control Rod black mage build: Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt, Grease, Fireball/CS/Primal Scar, Vitality Reap.

Ranged Catalyst build: Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt, Crackle Powder, Arc Cannon/CS/Primal Scar, Vitality Reap.

If you want to use the new sexy fire summons you can replace Vitality Reap with either one and have your stat spread be Willpower+Agility+Presence. If you're ever using Grease just use the Control Rod. Don't bother equiping Leadership gear if it comes with the Heavy tag, it'll lower your initiative.

The War Scythe build is the best weapon for those who want to mix might and magic, and runs similarly to the Control Rod build, but with strength instead of cunning and a vast array of physical options. I've typed enough so let's just jump to what I think is the best build for it: Offensive Magic/Heal, Grease, Fireball/Cleave/PrimalScar/CS, Smite/Vitality Reap/Bull Rush/DastardlyBlow.
Access to at-will spells becomes amazing when you get disarmed and you get to throw fire bolts or psychic blasts at the enemy instead. Smite is the quintessential gish ability of the game (for now), but Vitality Reap kicks the bird shit's ass as Alypia helpfully pointed out, and Bull Rush and Dastardly Blow are both powerful single-target stun options. DB is slightly better due to the accuracy, but Bull Rush can be used when you're disarmed.

NEXT, team-mates. I typed enough so I'll try to be brief. No matter what your composition is, Two Heavy Damage Dealers + a healer is the best combo for farming The Rift. At least one of them should have Blessing. Thus, either Queenly Ryn AND/OR Bronze Arona are highly recomended. The healer will allow you to farm for the entire game day without being slowly whittled down. Brint, Bronze Arona or Kiyoko are your best dps dudes. Berwyn gets a shout-out for having an aoe heal and a summon with its own aoe stun. He's not a great damage dealer but can take the place of a healer in your party if you're fealing radical. This is untested and I have no idea if it actually works out.
Here's how swarm combat goes with this team: You aoe stun. Someone casts bless if they have it. Your other DPS attacks with a blessing-powered aoe. If no one has bless then everyone spams aoes. If one of them has no AoE's they single-target someone to death. You finish off the enemies with your aoe of choice. By the time you cast your spell on turn two the enemy team is either dead or near dead. If your HP is low just heal up before blessing and single-target until the next Blessing is ready. the Jotuns, Avanai and Chimera encounters necessitate different approaches, but everything else won't.

Don't worry, your long journey reading this post is almost over. It's just a screenshot of my Arcane Archer gear.

For the Control Rod set replace ONE of the Lucky Strike rings with a Wizard Ring from Ivris' shop. Not a lot of gear offers Spellpower so grab em when you can, but 80 damage is greater than 0 damage.

Now that you've read my post, you may proceed to ignore all of my advice and turn on easy mode because none of this matters and I don't have a life

 

[Mad Dog]

Thank you for pointing this out, I didn't realize this! In that case Vitality Reap is a great option for dealing with what would otherwise be your worst nemesis in the rift.



Power Wave is decent, but it doesn't compete with Celestial Smite or Primal Scar once you hit level 6. Its damage is very lackluster in comparison.

For any Phy+Mag build, I use Strength+Willpower+Agility for maximum offense. For a pure magic build you can take the strength and put it in either Cunning or Presence. if you want to use the powerful new fire summons use Presence, but I havent tested them yet so I can't speak for their effectiveness in The Rift. Both will win you more fights than Toughness for now.

For the "Arcane Archer" I use the Bessy Mauler from the ghost wolf fort (I forgot the name) with maxed willpower strength and agility. This build can utilize physical abilities alongside magic abilities to a good enough extent for not having a Catalyst. For abilites, and this applies universally accross all builds, you have two different but internally varied options: aoe recharge and single-target Encounter, or vice versa. Both variations always want Grease OR Crackle Powder. AoE stuns are just too good to pass up.

Arcane Archer: Eagle Eye/Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt/any heal/Arcane Shot, Crackle Powder/Grease, Arc Cannon/Celestial Smite/Primal Scar/Fireball/Frostfire Shot, and Dastardly Blow/Deadly Shadow/Vitality Reap.

If you choose to be a thief class you can also opt for Crowd Control, whose attack power will increase from 50% if all targets are afflicted with debuffs like Staggered, and if you use your aoe stun you'll have plenty of time to have an ally to apply those debuffs to the enemies. Same with Frostfire Shot. Sneak Attack is iffy because it either wastes a turn charging up or it requires you to have use Deadly Shadow the immediately previous turn, which is a turn you could've used to stun the group instead. There are no ranged catalysts that work well with Arcane Archer, which is why I'm using the Bessy Mauler instead. I recomend using two Lucky Strikes to compensate the BM's low accuracy, so it's not the greatest spellcaster but it's extremely functional with its versatility. Black Mage is not recomended for this class as it still mainly relies on your physical attack power, even if it has at least one spell. 17 willpower will only do so much for the Bessy Mauler.


For a dedicated caster, the Control Rod+Mage Wand is the best weapon combo avialable, the former being obtainable from Kinu Quest. A close tie for best off-hand goes to the Blank Scroll from Kohaku in the Kitsune den, the toss-up being +5 spellpower vs +5 crit. Dedicated mages will already have a lot of spellpower so I'd recomend the Mage Wand for more crits, and is also not trapped behind Kohaku's gacha inventory. The downside to this build, however, is not having access to the coveted Crackle Powder, meaning you won't be able to force a CS stun with it. You can debase yourself by using either Divine Blossom (accuracy and crit) or Metal Wand (spellpower and spell penetration), which are very weak compared to Control Rod but grant access to Crackle Powder, a worthy consideration.

Control Rod black mage build: Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt, Grease, Fireball/CS/Primal Scar, Vitality Reap.

Ranged Catalyst build: Psychic Blast/Fire Bolt, Crackle Powder, Arc Cannon/CS/Primal Scar, Vitality Reap.

If you want to use the new sexy fire summons you can replace Vitality Reap with either one and have your stat spread be Willpower+Agility+Presence. If you're ever using Grease just use the Control Rod. Don't bother equiping Leadership gear if it comes with the Heavy tag, it'll lower your initiative.

The War Scythe build is the best weapon for those who want to mix might and magic, and runs similarly to the Control Rod build, but with strength instead of cunning and a vast array of physical options. I've typed enough so let's just jump to what I think is the best build for it: Offensive Magic/Heal, Grease, Fireball/Cleave/PrimalScar/CS, Smite/Vitality Reap/Bull Rush/DastardlyBlow.
Access to at-will spells becomes amazing when you get disarmed and you get to throw fire bolts or psychic blasts at the enemy instead. Smite is the quintessential gish ability of the game (for now), but Vitality Reap kicks the bird shit's ass as Alypia helpfully pointed out, and Bull Rush and Dastardly Blow are both powerful single-target stun options. DB is slightly better due to the accuracy, but Bull Rush can be used when you're disarmed.

NEXT, team-mates. I typed enough so I'll try to be brief. No matter what your composition is, Two Heavy Damage Dealers + a healer is the best combo for farming The Rift. At least one of them should have Blessing. Thus, either Queenly Ryn AND/OR Bronze Arona are highly recomended. The healer will allow you to farm for the entire game day without being slowly whittled down. Brint, Bronze Arona or Kiyoko are your best dps dudes. Berwyn gets a shout-out for having an aoe heal and a summon with its own aoe stun. He's not a great damage dealer but can take the place of a healer in your party if you're fealing radical. This is untested and I have no idea if it actually works out.
Here's how swarm combat goes with this team: You aoe stun. Someone casts bless if they have it. Your other DPS attacks with a blessing-powered aoe. If no one has bless then everyone spams aoes. If one of them has no AoE's they single-target someone to death. You finish off the enemies with your aoe of choice. By the time you cast your spell on turn two the enemy team is either dead or near dead. If your HP is low just heal up before blessing and single-target until the next Blessing is ready. the Jotuns, Avanai and Chimera encounters necessitate different approaches, but everything else won't.

Don't worry, your long journey reading this post is almost over. It's just a screenshot of my Arcane Archer gear.
View attachment 16347
For the Control Rod set replace ONE of the Lucky Strike rings with a Wizard Ring from Ivris' shop. Not a lot of gear offers Spellpower so grab em when you can, but 80 damage is greater than 0 damage.

Now that you've read my post, you may proceed to ignore all of my advice and turn on easy mode because none of this matters and I don't have a life

For the Arcane Archer Thief Build, what stats do you max? Strength, Agility, and Cunning? Or Strength, Agility, and Willpower?

 

[Muted_ReDead]

For the Arcane Archer Thief Build, what stats do you max? Strength, Agility, and Cunning? Or Strength, Agility, and Willpower?

Strength, Agi and Willpower. It still uses Arc Cannon, after all!

 

[Mad Dog]

@Muted_ReDead A bit off topic, but what do you think is the strongest warrior build? Is it a tank? An attacker?