Classic Comic Book Mage Build Advice

twilightwatchman · September 2012

Hi Folks. Yet another CoX migrant asking for advice on character creation.

One thing I was never able to build in CoX was a true Dr. Strange type magician. I've looked at the power sets here and I think it looks possible but I really need some pointers on where to get started. Any advice welcome.

gerberatetra · September 2012

Well there's a lot of options..

what kind of play style do you want?

Blow things up?

Summon stuff?

Both?

Aid others and do some of the above or mostly help yourself?

Sorcery is kind of a 'swiss army knife' of abilities, almost all of them pretty cool.

Also, a lot of powers sets can be 'called magic' but are some elemental or something

agentnx5 · September 2012

Mantra of both theme-builders and min/max-builders:
"Test, test, and more testing!"

There's an extent of this you're going to want to enjoy discovering for yourself. Create experiments with controls and try it out, see what works for you.

If you have something specific you're confused about, this is a great forum to ask that question in.

As a bit of advice, you'll general one a section of one of each of these things in a build:
http://www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Buff_Self

gerberatetra · September 2012

agentnx5 wrote: »

Mantra of both theme-builders and min/max-builders:
"Test, test, and more testing!"

There's an extent of this you're going to want to enjoy discovering for yourself. Create experiments with controls and try it out, see what works for you.

If you have something specific you're confused about, this is a great forum to ask that question in.

As a bit of advice, you'll general one a section of one of each of these things in a build:
http://www.champions-online-wiki.com/wiki/Buff_Self

It sounds like you meant to post this reply in the Buff thread >.>

twilightwatchman · September 2012

For a Dr. Strange analogue it would be a mix of ranged damage and controls mainly, with some shielding support type abilities thrown in. I tend to solo a lot due to limited time so any build would need to be solo friendly but still able to team occasionally.

I played around with The Grimoire AT but didn't really like the feel of it by level 11. I've gone Gold so have access to freeform.

chalupaoffury · September 2012

I went for the spirit of the thing. I didn't toss in bubbles, because I felt like the double dip in debuff sigils and healing/stealth sigils would be sufficient. It's heavy crowd control, lots of debuffs, a bunch of healing options for both you and the party (although, for the party, they're pretty much gonna want to stick near you), and it's actually pretty capable of jumping into melee range and unloading on people without much fear of death. I'm running a version of this at like level 25, currently. It works really well, and feels like a traditional comic book mage, with a dimensional bend. I adapted this from another build someone else made, which was really pet heavy and a bit more telepathy based. I can't for the life of me find the bookmark I had, or I'd give some credit for the original concept.

Personally, I don't like pets, and I've been dying to find a way to set up a mage type character that didn't rely on em. I actually went over this exact problem myself about a week ago, and this was the solution I came to.

I left a power point open so you could rank a travel power to level 2.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Master of the Arcane

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Endurance (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Presence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Scourge
Level 6: Sniper Training
Level 9: Survival Training
Level 12: Prodigy
Level 15: Boundless Reserves
Level 18: Shrug It Off
Level 21: Indomitable

Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Spirit Reverberation
Level 8: Aura of Ebon Destruction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Vampiric Sympathy)
Level 14: Compassion
Level 17: Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Ebon Rift (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Circle of Ebon Wrath (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Sigils of Ebon Weakness (Rank 2, Mystic Transference)
Level 29: Ego Sleep (Plagued by Nightmares)
Level 32: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Paranormal Paranoia)
Level 35: Ascension
Level 38: Ego Sprites (Slave Mentality)

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Retribution (2/2)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Overseer: Overseer Aura (3/3)
Overseer: Impact (2/2)
Overseer: Honor (2/2)
Overseer: Enhanced Gear (3/3)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

Pretty much, you've got a tool for any situation. ego sleep and sprites will do the job for solo crowd control, and feed you health, while you set up your circles and sigils. Ebon rift and shadow embrace will be your big group melters, and probably your bread and butter. An ebon ruin tap every once in a while makes everything else you do hurt more. You've got lifedrain for a self heal (as well as the radiant sigils and your ego sprite returns) and if it gets really bad, you can pop ascension and drastically increase both your damage output and self/aoe healing. Not to mention, in true master magician fashion, you radiate energy that makes all of your allies hit quite a bit harder.

You could swap out ebon aura for aura of primal majesty, if you want. Personally, I like the dps boost.

twilightwatchman · September 2012

chalupaoffury wrote: »

I went for the spirit of the thing. I didn't toss in bubbles, because I felt like the double dip in debuff sigils and healing/stealth sigils would be sufficient. It's heavy crowd control, lots of debuffs, a bunch of healing options for both you and the party (although, for the party, they're pretty much gonna want to stick near you), and it's actually pretty capable of jumping into melee range and unloading on people without much fear of death. I'm running a version of this at like level 25, currently. It works really well, and feels like a traditional comic book mage, with a dimensional bend. I adapted this from another build someone else made, which was really pet heavy and a bit more telepathy based. I can't for the life of me find the bookmark I had, or I'd give some credit for the original concept.

Personally, I don't like pets, and I've been dying to find a way to set up a mage type character that didn't rely on em. I actually went over this exact problem myself about a week ago, and this was the solution I came to.

I left a power point open so you could rank a travel power to level 2.

PowerHouse (Link to this build)

Name: Master of the Arcane

Archetype: Freeform

Super Stats:
Level 6: Endurance (Primary)
Level 10: Constitution (Secondary)
Level 15: Presence (Secondary)

Talents:
Level 1: The Scourge
Level 6: Sniper Training
Level 9: Survival Training
Level 12: Prodigy
Level 15: Boundless Reserves
Level 18: Shrug It Off
Level 21: Indomitable

Powers:
Level 1: Shadow Bolt
Level 1: Shadow Embrace (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 6: Spirit Reverberation
Level 8: Aura of Ebon Destruction (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 11: Lifedrain (Rank 2, Vampiric Sympathy)
Level 14: Compassion
Level 17: Sigils of Radiant Sanctuary (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 20: Ebon Rift (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 23: Circle of Ebon Wrath (Rank 2, Rank 3)
Level 26: Sigils of Ebon Weakness (Rank 2, Mystic Transference)
Level 29: Ego Sleep (Plagued by Nightmares)
Level 32: Ebon Ruin (Rank 2, Paranormal Paranoia)
Level 35: Ascension
Level 38: Ego Sprites (Slave Mentality)

Travel Powers:
Level 6:
Level 35:

Specializations:
Endurance: Readiness (3/3)
Endurance: Gear Utilization (2/3)
Endurance: Power Overwhelming (3/3)
Endurance: Hardened (2/2)
Guardian: Fortified Gear (3/3)
Guardian: Locus (2/2)
Guardian: Retribution (2/2)
Guardian: The Best Defense (3/3)
Overseer: Overseer Aura (3/3)
Overseer: Impact (2/2)
Overseer: Honor (2/2)
Overseer: Enhanced Gear (3/3)
Mastery: Endurance Mastery (1/1)

Pretty much, you've got a tool for any situation. ego sleep and sprites will do the job for solo crowd control, and feed you health, while you set up your circles and sigils. Ebon rift and shadow embrace will be your big group melters, and probably your bread and butter. An ebon ruin tap every once in a while makes everything else you do hurt more. You've got lifedrain for a self heal (as well as the radiant sigils and your ego sprite returns) and if it gets really bad, you can pop ascension and drastically increase both your damage output and self/aoe healing. Not to mention, in true master magician fashion, you radiate energy that makes all of your allies hit quite a bit harder.

You could swap out ebon aura for aura of primal majesty, if you want. Personally, I like the dps boost.

Thanks - will definitely give this a try as it fits both the concept and name (Twilight Watchman) for my mage. I had a play around in the Powerhouse last night with various Arcane powers and the options are a little overwhelming for a beginner.

Classic Comic Book Mage Build Advice

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