Managing Maddening Mystical Mayhem - A Mystic Guide

Crescendia - Harshlands

When are u going to update your guide to include the new Morai Skills? Or was it posted and I missed it?

Marista - Lost City

Crescendia - Harshlands wrote: »

When are u going to update your guide to include the new Morai Skills? Or was it posted and I missed it?

I suppose I should probably do so. However, my info on all but one will have to be speculative from the descriptions since I have, by and large, quit PWI as of late. Still, I can get around to it before too terribly longer.

To all the others who've posted, especially those in my defensive, I'm glad if I was of help, and thank you for your input. ^^

AlenaJones - Dreamweaver

So, what I've gathered by scrolling threw and reading a little at a time is that; In my opinion, PvE sage is the best for solo'ing things. What level do you think a mystic would be able to solo FC, if she/he had a cleric. ^_^ Thank you for posting your guide. Its quite helpful.b:chuckleb:victoryb:pleased

Syvres - Raging Tide

I've noticed that for certain mobs (like Farng), Nature's Veng+Soul Absorb combo gets resisted. b:surrender

I love being DD/heal, always fun to be badass b:cool

X__Gaia__x - Sanctuary

This guide was very helpful to me, thank you
Could you please make the genie part soon? I would really like to know what Genie skills would be useful! (:
Or did I miss that part somewhere? o.o

DevourQi - Raging Tide

Simply, one of the most interesting '' Mystic '' guides. Thanks for your hard work, it helped alot!

Mystic_Ali - Dreamweaver

I love this guide! Its helped me a lot through out leveling my mystic, I came back several times and altogether I've completely read the whole thing. I plan on going sage, I wont go into details because that's to much for me to type right now b:laugh I love the build of
--->MAG 3, STR 1, VIT 1/ per lv<---
I personally think its the best for taking damage for the times when you steal agro

Mystic_Ali - Dreamweaver

AlenaJones - Dreamweaver wrote: »

So, what I've gathered by scrolling threw and reading a little at a time is that; In my opinion, PvE sage is the best for solo'ing things. What level do you think a mystic would be able to solo FC, if she/he had a cleric. ^_^ Thank you for posting your guide. Its quite helpful.b:chuckleb:victoryb:pleased

I found a video on youtube of a mystic soloing FF, which is basically FC ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=durSUAv6Ok0&feature=related

Hope that helps somehow

Marid - Dreamweaver

Mystic_Ali - Dreamweaver wrote: »

I found a video on youtube of a mystic soloing FF, which is basically FC ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=durSUAv6Ok0&feature=related

Hope that helps somehow

While not denying it might be useful, do be aware that's an r9 mystic, with lucky break.
Lucky break is a godly skill for AoEing, effectively doubling AoE strength (100% crit). It allows me and the mystic in the video to solo FC with ease, since it makes the pulls so much easier.

(Also be aware that you do not want bramble if you have this skill as it sets it off)

As for what level you can solo with a cleric, I'm afraid it's a rather unanswerable question as it depends on gear, skill of the cleric and how you handle the mobs. Potentially even from in your 80s, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Mika_Magic - Dreamweaver

I loved your guide, ty ^^

Amazing work b:victory

Brillance - Raging Tide

Marista,

According to 3 Mystics in this forum - as posted on a thread about genie skills - your description of Absorb Soul is totally incorrect.

Please read the following...

_Slim - Lost City wrote: »

Tangling Mire is awesome when u use it with AS.

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands wrote: »

AS doesn't do physical damage...

Absorb Soul
Primarily a pvp skill, this skill does physical damage and double damage to a target with "Nature's Vengeance" status, but cannot crit and has a ridiculous 5 second channel time that make it poor for dps. However, it does not gain agro, and can pass through many defensive buffs that do not directly increase pdef, making it a valuable tool.


This is due the fact they believe the spell doesnt do Physical damage - but...

Eoria - Harshlands wrote: »

True damage which is not the same as physical damage.

They go on to agree that...

Xainou - Sanctuary wrote: »

True dmg =/= physical or elemental dmg

true dmg = damage that flat out ignores defense levels, shells, buffs, ...

Which means if they are NOT just trolling the forums, as usual - your description is wrong. And, those of us that use AS with the genie spell Tangling Mire are having a mass halucination when we find that it benefits us to do so.

I dont think it is wrong, but they will argue with me for hours about it, so I just thought Id put this out there.

Thanks & miss you here, Brill

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands

''Deals Non-Elemental Damage equal to 125% of your Magic
Damage plus 486.2 to players. Deals Non-Elemental Damage
equal to 200% of your Magic Damage plus 907.0 to monsters.
Absorb Soul cannot cause a critical strike.''

If that was really physical damage they would not have bother write non-elemental.

Jaiden_/ - Sanctuary24

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands wrote: »

If that was really physical damage they would not have bother write non-elemental.

Really? when i use it on HA classes like a barb it does **** dmg like using a physical attack against them. So what are the mechanics of non elemental dmg?

venegefulrose

Very useful and informative guide! f:grin Thank you! f:cute

Evryn - Morai

Some observations about my own new-player trials with a Mystic (PvE, since I don't do PvP):
The class is extremely versatile. Sure, your character is a little fragile and the class appears to be VERY mana hungry, but the ability to fill a number of roles makes it an asset to almost any party.

- Support/Heal:
Mystics in the support role can do a lot of damage prevention. Using both the healing plants, the Salvation (on manual control so it doesn't go scurrying after enemies) and your direct and area healing skills does wonders for keeping a large party in one piece. Salvation's shield should be thrown on squishies, especially in boss fights with AoEs. Salvations damage reduction could be thrown on the tank - it will draw heaps of mana, but can be used as a stopgap to keep the tank alive. If you do it, expect to have to recard the Salvation once it runs out of mana.
In bossfights where AoE's come into play, Falling Petals is a nice thing to use. Delayed effect Iron Heart means the heals automatically take effect once something is damaged. Good for use on ranged DDers and even clerics (especially blue bubblers). Since you can't stack it like Iron Heart, it isn't as useful on tanks. Be aware that Falling Petals does draw aggro upon casting.
Resurrect on squishies, especially Clerics, is a plus. If your party has only one cleric, always resbuff him/her so that if things go pearshaped and the cleric goes down, it can get up and resurrect any other party members. This tactic has spared me a few TPK's, not to mention that it curbs XP loss on clerics.

- DD:
Mystics have a few advantages as DD class. Against "?" level enemies their summons deal an excessive amount of damage compared to other players. For fights against such mobs, using the Storm Mistress and feeding it mana is more mana-efficient then shooting the enemy yourself. The Cragglord deals an insane amount of damage against such enemies - 250K damage in the short time it's there shouldn't be a problem. Much more painful then the Thicket (especially if you've leeched the Storm).

For standard DDing the Mystic can spam the Natures Vengeance/Absorb Soul combo. Absorb Soul does not draw (much) aggro, so your tank doesn't need to worry much about holding aggro while you use this. The skill does heavy damage - keep in mind that your target will be hit roughly five seconds after you start charging, so use this combo on something with a good chunk of hitpoints left. Your summon can also do a little tanking - If a single mob decides to go after a DDer you can stick your pet on it. The Devil Chihyu can handle this best - the Skull Slap has a nice long stun that tends to also reset aggro (on the Chihyu usually).
Plants are also a nice aggro management tool. The debuff plants draw aggro onto themselves (but weakly so), which allows you to pick off enemies one by one while the plant keeps other critters occupied. Be aware that if you or a party member use AoE damage skills, this tactic will fail. It's mainly nice for soloing as it allows you to pick off a group of enemies one by one safely. Having a healing plant out while you're busy mining something will also cause enemies that wander too close to attack the plant first.

- Luring:
Mystics are also quite capable of luring specific mobs. Unlike Venos, their summons can't be stowed, so generally you'll just want to let it die and recast it afterwards. The Chihyu with it's skullslap on automatic works best - the attack is very fast and has a decent range, ensuring the monster you target will be damaged, and will come running for you once the summon dies. The Chihyu is also quite cheap to recast.

There are a few points of concern:
- Mystics tend to be squishy.
- Mystics have limited party buff capacity. Their only long term buff is the Resurrect, which has an insane mana cost.
- Mystics are very mana hungry. Using mana consumables is a must in prolonged fights. In support, using a +50/+100MP/s powder would be most useful, since you don't enter combat state if you play that right. In DD role using standard potions/consumables would work best.

Some final tips/tricks:
- Absorb Soul ignores the usual 50% damage penalty when firing from air to ground or water to ground. Can be used to snipe targets before they get a chance to respond (world mobs only, usually).
- Setting a hotkey for pet attack can be helpful in sticking your pet on something before you attack it yourself. This allows your pet to grab aggro and prevents the mob from attacking you.

Zoldi - Morai

Evryn - Morai wrote: »

There are a few points of concern:
- Mystics tend to be squishy.

Compared to which class ?
A mystic tend to be squishier than a barb, but compared to a lot of other classes I would say that they are "average" due to their autobuff (plus salvation, plants and fast heals if needed)

mrcharlytoo

Evryn - Morai wrote: »

- Luring:
Mystics are also quite capable of luring specific mobs. Unlike Venos, their summons can't be stowed, so generally you'll just want to let it die and recast it afterwards. The Chihyu with it's skullslap on automatic works best - the attack is very fast and has a decent range, ensuring the monster you target will be damaged, and will come running for you once the summon dies. The Chihyu is also quite cheap to recast.
.

If you lure like that, you'll pull everything towards you.

Lure by getting Chihyu to attack (fast movement and best HP). When he's hit the boss a few times, Resummon. The boss will come for you then but not the other mobs.

Evryn - Morai

Compared to any melee classes. In terms of squishyness they're on-par with the Wizard, Cleric... Only the Psychic is more squishy if it decides to use Black Voodoo. Due to it's heavy mana usage, I cannot see a Mystic in light armor to a viable option... ('though I admit, haven't tried it)

And if you lure the smalls before the boss by hitting a single small, then letting the summon die, only the small that was damaged will come running for you. Anything else won't. Occasionally, some smalls are set to follow a boss around - if you hit the boss before them, those guys -will- follow the boss straight to you (not aggro'd on you, but chasing the boss - they'll charge whatever else comes in range first).

Personally, I prefer to lure the smalls and leave the boss for last.

klys

Mystics are one of the tankiest classes because of their 4 buffs/heals/control skills which allows them to prevent damage/absorb damage/recover from damage very well.

Mystics have 3 party buffs

Mana cost isn't terrible, as an endgame mystic I can usually get away with just using the free divine mana pots.

The Cragglord deals an insane amount of damage against such enemies - 250K damage in the short time it's there shouldn't be a problem. Much more painful then the Thicket (especially if you've leeched the Storm).

If I understand this correctly, you're saying leeching the mistress will allow you to summon a more powerful cragg. That's not how summon stats work- only changing gear or using frenzy will allow you to change summon stats.


Everything else you posted looks accurate

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands

Evryn - Morai wrote: »

- Mystics have limited party buff capacity. Their only long term buff is the Resurrect, which has an insane mana cost.

If your forum's avatar is correct than ress is the only buff that you can cast on other people at your lvl, but at lvl 95 there's 2 others, verdant blessing and invigorate (And a AOS version of ress).

tweakz

klys wrote: »

Mystics are one of the tankiest classes because of their 4 buffs/heals/control skills which allows them to prevent damage/absorb damage/recover from damage very well.

-Would you believe a mystic complained about getting brambled in BH Aba today? b:chuckle

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands

tweakz wrote: »

-Would you believe a mystic complained about getting brambled in BH Aba today? b:chuckle

If the mystic have lucky break yes, I didn't test it myself yet, but some mystics said that if you cast lucky break and get it while you are bramble lucky break proc on the bramble reflect.

So if a mystic cast lucky break and get hit by the mobs before be able to do GF or w/e then lucky break got wasted.

It's situational, if the mystic is not the tank/puller then bramble doesn't matter, but if the mystic is the tank/puller and have lucky break than it might be better to don't bramble the mystic.

Zoldi - Morai

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands wrote: »

If the mystic have lucky break yes, I didn't test it myself yet, but some mystics said that if you cast lucky break and get it while you are bramble lucky break proc on the bramble reflect.

So if a mystic cast lucky break and get hit by the mobs before be able to do GF or w/e then lucky break got wasted.

It's situational, if the mystic is not the tank/puller then bramble doesn't matter, but if the mystic is the tank/puller and have lucky break than it might be better to don't bramble the mystic.

I experienced that in PV once so I can confirm it.

Anyway, as you said this is situational, and it could sometimes be good even if the mystic is tanking. In Phoenix Valley I would say that this really is not a good idea.

pizzaloverz

Thank you for a great guide! b:thanks

kittenblues

Thank you to the guide for commenting on mystics getting proactive on their role in a squad.

I'm currently a lv 70 and have many skills that are still at lv 1 due to lack of skill points to spend on them. The skills I use most and fit my play style get attention and the ones I just didn't understand or wasn't sure fit my methods got ignored. This means that I can only use some of the methods discussed in this guide because I have a high skill, others are a bad ideal. maybe this will change as i get to higher lvs, but that's not how it works right now.

One of the biggest issues I have had in squad work is a lack of understanding of what I can actually do as a mystic vs. what other mystics can manage. Sure, you can run your first PV with a mystic on heals. I have done it successfully. Sure you can run your first PV with a mystic on DD and have them do it well. Just don't expect that a mystic who wants to DD has the power in their heal spells to cover you, and don't ask the mystic with the high heal skills to DD. We don't get enough skill points to run like that. Yeah, I got to learn that the hard way.

There also seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding about the devil being a portable tank. On a boss my lv, that pet is likely dead before I get his first heal off then heading to me. On a tank class, I can use falling petals to slow down damage till I can heal and send in the pet. Clearly the devil is only a tank in the sense that he can distract a target while I do something else, not a full replacement for a team member. In short, asking your mystic to lure a boss in their first PV will probably get them killed. Yeah, I got to learn that one the hard way.

And finally, team work really matters when you have maxed your res buff as fast as you can. Sure the exp and health protection are great for when it all goes wrong, but the manna it takes to cast on a full party is kind of insane and will chew through spirit charms like tissue paper when you have to keep casting it on squad members.

Maybe as mystics get higher it's not so bad, but you have to get to that lv to begin with. Until then, bad team work and lack of communication are down right expensive.

Zoldi - Morai

kittenblues wrote: »

One of the biggest issues I have had in squad work is a lack of understanding of what I can actually do as a mystic vs. what other mystics can manage. Sure, you can run your first PV with a mystic on heals. I have done it successfully. Sure you can run your first PV with a mystic on DD and have them do it well. Just don't expect that a mystic who wants to DD has the power in their heal spells to cover you, and don't ask the mystic with the high heal skills to DD. We don't get enough skill points to run like that. Yeah, I got to learn that the hard way.

This is not true in my opinion.
Because you can do a good enough work as a DD with NV only
Because you can do a good enough work as a healer with Break in the clouds.
And those two skills are cheap and should always be the first ones to up.

Then you can even add Gale force to do some AOE damage.

Evryn - Morai

Bit of a gravedig here kitten - most of the guide is now sort of obsolete as the primal skills aren't taken into account (and those -really- alter the balance of the mystic in terms of which skills are useful and which are not).

Quick overview of the primal skill changes:
* Primal passive Endless Breeze adds direct skill damage, and Cascading Thunder adds crit. The end result of this is a 20% damage bonus and 10% critrate increase. But these don't apply to plants and summons, so the DD role of your pets and especially Thicket is greatly diminished.
* Specific primal skill upgrades are:
- Primal Swirling Mist: Longer cooldown time (15s vs 5) but the spell changes into a ranged AOE (27m range, 10m area effect) greatly enhancing the Mystic's AOE capabilities.
- Primal Devil Chihyu: Slightly beefier devil, but nothing to write home about.
- Primal Lysing: Spell changes to an "Instant" type, so no more channeling/casting time to blow up a plant. This makes casting a plant and blowing it up immediately a second makeshift AOE with status effects.
- Storm Dance: Combines Weeping Breeze dance and Swinging Cloud Dance into a single heavy damage spell that can reduce the cooldown of (sage/demon) Absorb Soul, allowing you to fire 2 of these in rapid succession. You basically lose the heal nuke for a bigger Weeping Breeze and a chance to fit the NV / Storm Dance / Absorb / Absorb combo in one short burst.


As a lowish mystic (not enough spirit to get all skills to the level you want them yet) keep the following skills as musthaves:
- Devil Chihyu: Handy for doing things solo, it can take a few blows from mobs so you don't have to.
- Natures Vengeance: If in doubt, just spam this.
- Break in the Clouds: If in healing role and in doubt, just spam this.
- Resurrect. Big mana cost for a low mystic, but you should always at the very least buff your cleric with this. If your squad doesn't have a cler, buff everyone despite the cost, and prioritize rebuffing this when someone died.

Wouldbenices:
- Mists Grasp: DoT effect can add a bit of extra damage. Mainly for boss fights until you get the primal version, then you will want this for sure.
- Falling Petals: Heals over time. It's basically an Iron Heart-style effect that triggers on receiving direct damage the first time after it is cast. Can be handy for throwing this on tanks.
- Healing herb: Useful healing plant for bosses that AOE, on lower HP parties it can offset boss AOE damage (such as those from Pole and Nob).
- Absorb Soul: If you draw aggro but can't handle it, switch to spamming Natures Vengeance / Absorb. Still does decent damage and any damage from Absorb Soul doesn't count towards your aggro. Useful if a non-barb is doing the tanking but comes up short on damage (such as BMs).

With those skills you can be useful in almost any team, be it as a DD, healer or hybrid role (I used to adopt a "whatever the party needs most" attitude when playing mystic - you're so versatile, and your heals are so damn fast, that if you need to spotheal a player, you can do so faster and easier then a cler can even). Low mystics mainly have mana problems, so try to bring some mana apots along. 100MP/s mana regen powders and 9000 MP mana orbs can help a lot.