Int Casters Theory crafting

[Loach]

So this is obviously from a level 32 mages perspective.

However it seems to me, that INT does almost nothing in terms of game play outside of raids.

As I understand it, INT only grants + mana to your mana pool. Unless I'm in a fight, where I'll need unlimited mana until the mob is dead. More int is a wasted stat.

I'm wondering if the best gear set to level/farm plat in wouldn't be a +hp suit? Since the amount of mana regen is static. Having 10000 mana or 1000 mana is irrelevent if it takes you 250 mana to kill the mob. You kill 4 then med for 5 minutes. Or you can kill 40 then med for 50 minutes. The end result is exactly the same. This is assuming your pet(for a mage) can keep up on life to your mana pool. And we discount the fact that, you'll be regening mana slowly while fighting also, maybe netting you 42 instead of 40 mobs on the large mana pool.


So to me, the biggest xp gain or platinum gain, would simply be avoid dieing. It cuts into both goals a ton. 1 death can take up to 30 minutes to recover from by the time you retrieve your corpse and rebuff etc.

In the lower end zones if you manage to die, you won't find a rez.

Am I correct in grabbing a HP suit for leveling? I understand the manapool makes a huge different when taking down a raid mob in classic eq.

[guineapig]

You are correct.... or at the very least I agree with your opinion.

Int and wisdom are largely overrated stats in terms of importance for the simple fact that when your mana pool is not full, they are meaningless.

Hitpoint gear is a much better choice for leveling up, particularly as a mage who does not need to cast much while leveling but has very little control in multiple mob situations. For necros, shaman and enchanters it's even more important.

People that run around with max int gear will generally have at least 150 less hitpoints and 20 less AC. This is a conservative estimate.

Enhanced survivability is key.

[Brain]

For a soloing mage.. yeah int gear really isn't that great.

But for almost any group situation I'd say more mana = more survivability.

Yes the normal, average pull doesn't require a huge mana pool but eventually you will get an "overpull" in which surviving means utilizing every last drop of mana that you have.

[Loach]

the problem i find with the overpulls. Is even though I don't let myself drop below 40% mana, while grind out xp in groups.. everyone else in the group seems to. So they gate on me and I die, when if we had all kept mana back as a reserve, we'd pull through it... So I think the extra mana only comes into play if you have a dedicated play group that is all on the same page. Otherwise hps, allows you to gate with them lol.

[guineapig]

Originally Posted by Brain [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For a soloing mage.. yeah int gear really isn't that great.

But for almost any group situation I'd say more mana = more survivability.

Yes the normal, average pull doesn't require a huge mana pool but eventually you will get an "overpull" in which surviving means utilizing every last drop of mana that you have.

hmm... sort of. but from a mage standpoint look at it like this. What does your mana do? It summons shit and nukes shit.
In the case of a bad pull, more mana simply means you nuke more.
You nuke more = you get more agro
you get more agro = you get hit more
...and once your out of hitpoints you're dead.

You can be out of mana and still have a pet, a healer and a tank in your group and most importantly you can be alive.

Out of hitpoints? You get a dirtnap. You can be at 50% mana as a mage and still bite it simply because your mana does not directly effect your survivability.

[Dr4z3r]

It seems to me it comes down to how well you can control your situation. Soloing, if you can pretty much expect to always be killing something or medding, I think you're right that survivability is where it's at.

Grouping, though, I think it is especially important for healers (not so much INT casters) to have a nice, big mana pool. The reasons being that 1) in a good group you'll be able to spend all your time healing or medding, there should be no standing around, and so the higher your mana can get while medding, the better-off you'll be for those 2) inevitable overpulls.

My 2cp

[BeepBeep]

Wait. You mean us mages aren't supposed to get AGI / CHA gear?????

[guineapig]

Originally Posted by BeepBeep [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Wait. You mean us mages aren't supposed to get AGI / CHA gear?????

Well if it were up to the people designing loot back in 1999.... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[saucer]

This is the right idea.

As a soloing mage, I cannot count how many times having my defense maxed and lots of HP gear saved me from dying by allowing me to gate or get my pet on an add to finish the fight.

Get 2 5/55s, shimmering orb and glowing bone neck. If you can afford it: 2ac 35/25 black saph ears and neck, and rokyls instead of orb. People will think its crazy to use a shimmering orb, but not only does it offer hp, it offers 15ac in a shield slot, which is calculated similar to how defense points are calculated.

The most difficult part is having defense maxed, but you should be fighting low blues anyway, and if you do it right by stepping in for some hits now and then it won't be too bad.

Int is for suckers, you should be using your lvl 1 nuke and reclaiming fire pets when they get low HP and resummoning. That said your base points should go into INT, i made the mistake of putting them into stamina for an almost negligible effect.

[Extunarian]

That said your base points should go into INT, i made the mistake of putting them into stamina for an almost negligible effect.

QFT - Cloth wearers get hardly any return for stamina. In my opinion its best to use your points for int, and when you're happy with your mana pool, go all out on hp/ac gear.