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Incar Magician Guide
	Author: jbskittlez
	Guide Type : Incar Magician Guides
	Rating: 4
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The Incar Magician is one of the most powerful PvE characters in 2Moons, and presents a unique threat in PvP combat. I've gotten tired of guides written by twelve year olds, and so this is a guide for those of you who can't stand uneducated opinions, and want a mostly unbiased view into the Incar Magician.

This guide is written in British/Australian English, as I am Australian. This information is current as of 4.6.20 (Action 4, Expedition)

Getting Started

It is important to understand exactly what a Mage is and isn't. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your character is important for every class, and the Mage is no exception.

It's also important to know that mages are very expensive. a 138 Izar helm, completely clean, on Abaddon as of May 14, 2009, can cost as much as 100 million dil.

Contrary to the spellcaster in most MMOs, a well developed mage will stand quite a few hits. By level 50, the passive Energy Mastery, Fire Mastery, Ice Mastery, Lightning Mastery, and castable Seize Nimbis will add 136 defense, a further 12% defense, 27% resistance to fire, ice, and lightning, and 12% resistance to poison and curse. This defense bonus makes up for the smaller base defense of your armours. This is important, because the overwhelmingly constant AOEs of the Mage will often shift the focus of the monsters away from your teammates and on to you. You'll find this especially true early on in your game, when AOE attacks are mostly limited to Mages and Segita Hunters.

It is also important to realise that as a Mage, you will be playing a 'smarter' game. You won't quite have the luxury of being able to simply click on someone during PvP and use your skills sequentially. Luckily for you, if you know what you're doing, neither will your opponent. In high level PvP duels, you'll need to take notice of your position relative to your opponent, and in some cases, swap battle modes mid-combat. While a general series of skills will often bring you to victory, to master the Mage, you'll need to learn to be dynamic, and to cast the right skills in the right order, at the right time.

Skills

Mage skills are spread across four skill trees: Passive, Fire, Ice, and Lightning.

The Passive tree deals with passive skills, buffing skills, and non-elemental attacks. It is here that you will find some of your most important skills. Of particular importance are the Energy Mastery, which adds 10 times the level in defense, and then a further percent defense per level. You'll also find Seize Nimbis, which addes defense, a further percentage bonus to defense, and elemental resistance for 200 seconds. Mana Force is also notable, among others, as it gives as much as 42.62 mana back per second, for 120 seconds. Finally, of the greatest importance is Aqua Circle, a devastating 3 hit attack that you receive at level 98. It is important to note that not all the attacking spells here are magic damage. Aqua Circle and Energy Hammer, for example, deal physical damage. They receive a percentage bonus from the elemental masteries, though, and still hurt.

The Fire, Ice, and Lightning trees deal with each of those elements. Fishing can be found on the Fire tree, although it is a waste of a skill point. The Mastery of each element is crucial, as it provides up to an extra 30% damage for that element, and also offers up to 15% resistance for that element. You'll notice that each element looks quite similar to each of the others. Each element has certain ideals behind it, although these are not of much importance.

The Fire tree deals with ongoing damage, and generally has a higher damage associated with each skill. This is mitigated by the fact that most monsters will have over 50% fire resistance later in the game. Still, it is a powerful tree early game, and for PvP duels.

The Ice tree deals with slowing your opponents, although you won't notice this until level 16. From level 27 onwards, you'll have the ability to completely freeze monsters for a short amount of time.

The Lightning tree, supposedly, is meant to be a little less powerful, but quicker. I'll leave such a judgement to you. Later game, however, lightning isn't as often resisted as fire, and carries the ability to augment your further lightning attacks and non-elemental attacks with additional lightning damage at level 92.

Skill Specifics

You will, without a doubt, want to completely max Energy Mastery, Fire Mastery, Ice Mastery, and Lightning Mastery.

You should never invest even one point in Energy Jab, Energy Bolt, and Fishing. You are given a single point in Energy Jab when you start the game, and like all starting skills, it is a free point. That means if you perform a skill reset, you will not have an extra skill point because of it.

You will be maxing Aqua Circle, and so will want a point into Seize Nimbis and Energy Hammer. The point into Energy Hammer is free.

What follows isn't necessarily true across all Mage builds. You are cautioned to not simply follow this, but to think about each decision. You will never be a powerful Mage without thinking through your own character yourself. There is no 'cookie-cutter' build for a Mage.

You will want one point in every attacking skill in the Fire, Ice, and Lightning masteries. Some you will want more, but for a lot of them, you will only want one point.

Only put one skill point into the level 7 skills: Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Lightning Bolt. While not strictly an AOE, this skill has the possibility of hitting up to three times

Only put one skill point into the level 16 skills: Fire Ball, Ice Wave, and Chain Lightning. These are your line AOEs, and while you'll only put one point into them, you'll be using them non-stop until level 27.

Only put one skill point into the level 27 skills: Fire Blaze, Ice Spike, and Lightning Chase. These are your first point AOEs, similarly, you'll only put one point into them. You'll be using them often until level 36.

Only put one skill point into the level 36 skills: Fire Fury, Ice Storm, and Lightning Circle. These are your first true AOEs, and you'll be using them non-stop until 81, although you may combine them with Spoiled Divinity at 58 and Energy Hammer at 64.

Your level 51 elemental skills are single target, six hit skill, designed for PvP combat. You'll have a choice in what you want to do. I, personally, would leave each of these skills with only one point invested, however you will often have people mentioning that you should max the Lightning skill, Cruelty Lightning. The reasoning behind this is due to the bonus to lightning damage that is given for 5 seconds after casting Intimid Flash, the level 92 lightning skill. While the bonus is quite large at level 137, I think that earlier on, your points are better spent elsewhere, and later, you'll do more damage out of Intimid Flash, then Aqua Circle, and then Urzer Gain. The other option is to change your build using a skill reset.

Your level 81 elemental skills are when each of the elemental trees begin to show their own characteristics. Blast Pheonix is a large, straight line AOE that hits for a single, large amount of damage. In fact, not even the combined damage of any one of your level 92 skills will ever outdamage it. It's drawback is that it is fire, and is often resisted against, and that it only will hit a maximum of five targets. Until this flaw is resolved, it is best suited to a PvP role. Freeze spirit is a spell similar to Ice Spike, except that it will always freeze the those within the AOE. It doesn't hit very hard, however. Thunder Spear is a two hit straight line AOE, and while doing less damage than Blast Pheonix ordinarly, becomes more powerful than it with Intimid Flash and hits all the targets within that line. Max Blast Pheonix and Thunder Spear, as the damage increase per level for Freeze Spirit is better spent elsewhere, and the freeze duration doesn't increase.

Your level 92 elemental skills are vastly different again. Infernal Pillar is a three hit attack, the first two being a single target, and the last being a line AOE, which sends you hurtling forward towatds your target for a good distance. It also has a negligible damage over time aspect, totalling 150 hp at level 92 and 240 hp at level 137. The last part of the attack can also be used to escape from close range combat. Gracious Eddy is a 6 hit AOE, freezing a single target with the first hit, and the following five hits being a huge AOE. Intimid Flash is a 6 hit AOE focussed on your current location. You need not have a target to cast it, and on top of a tiny damage over time aspect, it gives a percentage boost to lightning attack, starting at 20% at level 92 and ending at 110% at level 137. This bonus lasts for five seconds. Max all three of these skills

You will want to max Mana Force, to ease your usage on mana potions. When generally grinding in parties, mana force is generally sufficient for you to not need mana pots. With a Segnale present, you will often not need health potions either. When in instanced dungeons, deadfont, expeditions, or seige, however, you'll find yourself going through mana potions, regardless, as you will be constantly casting spells.

For a similar reason, you will want to max Urzer Gain, as it will cut your mana costs by 32%, as well as doing quite large non-elemental damage to a single target. It is also incredibly quick, and is able to be cast quick enough to get the bonus from Aqua Circle. When cast after Intimid Flash and Aqua circle, it receives the 110% bonus from Intimid, the 75% magic damage bonus from Aqua (This is applied to your magic damage, and not the overall skill damage), and 30% each in fire, ice, and lightning from your masteries, on top of its non-elemental magic damage that cannot be resisted.

Aqua Circle is a devastatingly large three hit AOE, that also casts a bonus of +75% magic attack. This bonus lasts just a fraction longer than it takes to cast Aqua Circle, and so a quick cast of Urzer Gain can still receive the bonus. Casting Intimid Flash before Aqua can lead to even higher damage hits. Aqua circle, while its damage depends on magic damage, deals physical damage to a target.

You'll want to max Seize Nimbus, as it provides you with defense similar to that of an Azure Knight with resistances.

You'll want to max Magic Power, as it adds fixed damage, and percentage damage on top of that.

You'll also want to max Spoiled Diviniyy, As it reduces the resistances of your target. In the case of fire, it can be as much as 20%.

Stats

The general build for most Mages is enough strength and spirit for your weapon, and the rest of the points into constitution, also known as 'heal' or 'con.' Under no circumstance should you ever place any additional points into strength, or any points at all into dexterity. Early on, you will certainly favour extra constitution over extra spirit, but the choice remains yours later in the game. You may wish to put additional points into spirit, as you find your HP and defense sufficient, although you will most certainly already find your damage sufficient as well.

Mage Damage

Mage damage is a complex thing. A mage can do all three types of damage. She can hit with her weapon physically, for physical damage, although this is obviously not how you will kill things. Each tab will do it's respective element, and spells like Energy Jab, Energy Bolt, and Spoiled Divinity will do non-elemental magical damage, which cannot be resisted. Energy Hammer and Aqua Circle, strangly, do physical damage dependent on your magical damage. Regardless, each of these attacks will receive your mastery damage bonuses and things like Intimid Flash.

It is imperative that you know what bonuses apply to what forms of damage. Magic damage bonus will apply to all your attacks, but elemental bonuses, like +5% elemental gems or the Intimid Flash bonus will only apply to that specific element, non-elemental magic damage, or physical damage.

Sockets and Weapon choice

An age old question of Mage builds is that of wand over staff. Aesthetics aside, as sometimes one will look better than the other, you should always go with a wand.

The only benefits that anyone ever thinks of for a staff is that it has an extra socket, and it offers a block rate. Firstly, a block rate is a bad thing. Every time you block, you stop casting whatever you were casting. Continuing to knockback 10 monsters and preventing them from attacking instead of blocking the damage from one monster while his 9 companions hit you is your goal as a mage in PvE.

The extra socket is a little bit more difficult to understand. First, you must understand sockets in general. As you should know, poison gems, curse gems, and rhombuses are pointless for mages. When you socket your wand, for example, you're left with four choices: Pyramids, Lightning, Fire, or Ice. Those elemental gems you socket that weapon with only apply to that specific skill tree and non-elemental damage. When you do approximately 1,000 magic damage, this is a scenario you might encounter: you could socket your mage weapon with +40 pyramids, +43 elemental damage gems, or +4% gems. Within each of those elemental choices, you could choose to make them all one element, or one of each. your five choices would then be a wand with...

+120 magic damage

+126 fire/lightning/ice damage

+12% fire/lightning/ice damage

+43 fire damage +43 ice damage +43 lightning damage

+4% fire damage +4% ice damage +4% lightning damage

The first choice will net you an increase in 120 damage on every attack you do. The second will increase your damage by 126 on only attacks from one element and non-elemental. the third will net you a bonus of 120 damage in the same way, as 12% of 1,000 magic damage is 120. The fourth option will give you a bonus of 126 damage on your non-elemental attacks, and a bonus of 43 on each of your elemental attacks. The final option will give you a bonus of 120 on your non-elemental attacks and only 40 on each elemental attack.

When applied to a staff, you could use that extra slot to add another +40 pyramid, or any of the other choices. As illustrated in this example, however, the best increase in damage comes with pyramids, at this level. An extra 40 magic damage doesn't make up the difference in power between the two weapons, as a wand does far more magic damage. it also requires less strength, and thus has more points to spend on a useful stat. As a wand requires more spirit, your base magic attack is higher as well.

Late game, however, the situation changes a bit. A Mage around level 110 might find herself in the situation where she could use +44 pyramids or 5% elemental gems, with a base magic damage of around 2,500. It would probably be slightly higher, but I use the number for simplicity of calculations. Her feasible socketing choices on a wand then become...

+132 magic damage

+15% single element damage

+5% fire damage +5% ice damage +5% lightning damage

The first choice yields an increase of 132 damage for each attack. The second choice yields an increase of 375 on a single element, and on non-elemental attacks. The final choice yeilds an increase of 125 for each element, and 375 on a non-elemental attack. The problem now arises where the most a single extra socket can do is grant 44 extra damage to all attacks, or 125 extra damage to only some of them. At level 110, however, the difference in magic attack between the two weapons is 63.5, on average. On top of that is the extra spirit you would have in the wand to make the weapon requirement, which would leave you with an attack far superior.

The most extreme example, played out with +44 pyramids and +6% elemental gems, starts to play out differently. It may be beneficial to think of the situation with items yet to be released, such as +48 pyramids. Regardless, you may find that, dependent on your style and spells that you cast, a wand with +18% to a certain element will do a lot more average damage than +144 magic damage. Even playing a balanced game with 6% gems of different elements would deal more damage overall. If you're a very right mage, until a +% magic damage gem is released, 6% elemental gems would be the way to go.

The only exception to the rule is between a divine noble level 130 wand +9 versus a divine noble level 130 staff +9, in which both of the weapons have full critical bonuses. In this example, the base, average damage of the staff will be slightly higher than that of the wand, howoever the points required in spirit will make the wand more powerful at the end of the day. One could feasibly put extra points into spirit at the cost of constitution, but similarly a wand mage could do the same.

Resources

Your number one resource will probably be other mages within the game. Keep in mind that you may already know more than them, though. You may also want to think through potential builds using the MMOSite Incar Magician Skill Simulator.