Build Guide - Mage | Sword x Staff

Note

Depending on your luck and budget, the skills you have available to you at the start of the game will vary. Also, some encounters demand different types of skills or damage types as well. Because of this, there is no one-size-fits-all build for all content; instead, it’s better to understand all the strongest skills Mage has to offer and use the ones your account has to build what’s best for you at the time.

AoE Skills

The skills below are strongest in AoE scenarios and fall short in pure single-target encounters compared to alternatives. Consider slotting them in over other skills in AoE-heavy fights and dropping them in ones with only one or two powerful enemies.

Cyclone : Deals lower than average damage but gathers enemies on use, making it a powerful opening skill to use before your other AoE Abilities, allowing you to hit more targets than usual. Particularly useful at gathering ranged or stationary enemies that start spread out and can’t easily be AoEd otherwise.
Fireball : A F2P average damage, average AoE range nuke, which is always a solid choice in AoE encounters. Often loses out to more premium options and set-ups, but if you don’t have those, you can slot this in until you have something better.
Blazing Fire Ring : The better Fireball, but harder to get. Deals more damage and has a larger radius thanFireball, but requires your character to move into the range of enemies, which can be a downside in certain fights. The damage and radius usually make up for this, though.

Single Target Skills

Mage’s T1 spells all rely on multi-hit components plus the Unstable Aura to be effective. The reason is that every individual hit on any spell has a chance to trigger Unstable Aura, which will deal an extra instance of damage. Because of this, when evaluating single-target abilities, the more hits the better.

Flame Jet : Deals some solid damage and hits 3 times in a line-based AoE. Not the highest hit count or damage option for Mage T1, but very easy to get, meaning you’ll likely be using it early in general and also later in pure Single-target set-ups.
Tempest Sphere : Deals less damage than Flame Jet, but hits 5 times instead of 3, which, after factoring in Unstable Aura, causes it to deal more damage, but it doesn’t have any AoE component. This skill is a great slot-in for any fight where you’ll have a singular enemy you need to deal a large amount of damage to.
Wind's Delight : Basically an upgraded version of Tempest Sphere that hits 7 times instead of 5 and also hits enemies around the main target, allowing it to be both single target and AOE viable. The one catch of this ability is that each hit after the first does less and less damage, meaning the total damage this ability does itself is low, but it makes up for this with its large hit count and ability to trigger Unstable Aura.
Water Assault : Doesn’t appear as a single target skill at first glance, but very much is one when you factor in the fact that large enemies are hit by it 3 times and medium enemies are hit 2 times. Because of this and its solidly high multiplier, it’s another top option for single target, especially when combined with the other T1 Water Legendary Skill - Water to Ice . This ability isn’t just good in single-target situations but is also quite strong in AoE situations as well, although its AoE damage is slightly lower than dedicated AoE options when not multi-hitting.

Situational Skills

Some of Mage’s T1 skills are situational in their use, meaning that in some fights, they can be the difference between clearing a usually unbeatable stage or not. If you get stuck, try out these skills by swapping others out.

Iron Thorn : Deals less damage and has less AoE radius than all the options above, but has a chance to Root targets, giving it a solid shot at immobilizing Melee-based enemies for a short time. Whether you land this immobiliser is random, and whether it’s worth the damage loss against the enemies you’re fighting is also another question, but it can be worth a shot if you’re stuck.
Stonechief Summon : This skill deals terrible damage, and in most fights, you won't live long enough to make a large impact. However, at certain stages of progression and in some fights, the fact that this summon will draw hits away from you and later in the fight is re-summonable can be the difference between winning and losing due to the extra survivability you gain through it.

Charms

The Charms below are all of Mage’s best options when it comes to T1; all of them are viable and useful in certain scenarios, with the exact combination you should use depending on the skills you have on your account and the encounter you’re against.

Unstable Aura: The go-to enabler for Mage at T1, causing all of their hits to deal additional Wind damage, turbo-charging many of their Single-target multi-hit abilities.
Mana Surge : Provides tons of Crit Rate to all abilities. Before you get a large amount of Crit DMG on Gear and from other sources, this Charm isn’t always the single best damage option, but it has the advantage of working on all damage types, allowing it to catch up and be competitive even if you have next to no other Crit stats.
Gale Shield : One of Mage’s best defensive tools in T1 and a must-have in a lot of encounters if you are lucky enough to have it on your account. Very often, it is the difference between beating fights high about your current power level and not.
Elemental Mystery : Provides a good chunk of Elemental Mastery, boosting your damage across all elements. This Charm is easy to get and universal; however, the downside of it is that you can get this stat elsewhere on Gear, which can reduce its value a little.

Situational Charms

The Charms below are situational, meaning they either need specific other skills or builds to function and are less optimal without them, or their usefulness is dictated by the encounter type at hand. Alternatively, a few of these also serve as alternatives to the “staple” Charms listed above, so you can use them if you don’t have any of those yet.

Tip

Usually, you’ll replace Mana Surge (assuming you have it) or Elemental Mystery for one of the below.

Water to Ice: Works very similarly to Unstable Aura, but has a higher chance to activate, has a chance to Freeze, but only works on Water element spells. This Charm is usually only worth using if you have Water Assault on your account, as it requires a high hit Water skill to get the most out of it. If you have Water Assault, you can consider slotting this in for both Single-target and AoE.
Heart of Flame : Usually never your best in slot choice, but can be a substitute for the best T1 Charms if you don’t have high rarity options like Mana Surge or Gale Shield yet and are using a decent number of Fire skills in your current setup.
Wind's Whisper : Similar to Heart of Flame , it is usually used if you’re missing either Mana Surge or Gale Shield, but is usually the better choice in most cases over Heart of Flame as it boosts Wind Damage, meaning it amplifies Unstable Aura’s damage, which will be a good chunk of your total damage, especially in single target.
Flaming Path : Causes you to constantly spawn Fire around your character, which will Burn enemies that come into contact with it. The Burn inflicted can deal a tremendous amount of damage in fights and can serve as an outstanding AoE tool in fights with many enemies that try to swarm you. The downside of this Charm, though, is that if enemies don’t walk through the Fire, they won't take damage, making this Charm a little hit or miss, but when it hits, it can be the difference between winning and losing and end up being one of your top damage-dealing abilities.

Builds

Single Target (Premium)

Skills
Water Assault	Flame Jet	Tempest Sphere	Wind's Delight
Charms
Unstable Aura	Gale Shield	Water to Ice	Mana Surge

Area of Effect (Premium)

Skills
Water Assault	Fireball	Blazing Fire Ring	Wind's Delight
Charms
Unstable Aura	Gale Shield	Water to Ice	Mana Surge

AoE Skills

Cyclone : Deals lower than average damage but gathers enemies on use, making it a powerful opening skill to use before your other AoE Abilities, allowing you to hit more targets than usual. Particularly useful at gathering ranged or stationary enemies that start spread out and can’t easily be AoEd otherwise.

Fireball : A F2P average damage, average AoE range nuke, which is always a solid choice in AoE encounters. Often loses out to more premium options and set-ups, but if you don’t have those, you can slot this in until you have something better.

Blazing Fire Ring : The better Fireball, but harder to get. Deals more damage and has a larger radius thanFireball, but requires your character to move into the range of enemies, which can be a downside in certain fights. The damage and radius usually make up for this, though.

Single Target Skills

Mage’s T1 spells all rely on multi-hit components plus the

Unstable Aura to be effective. The reason is that every individual hit on any spell has a chance to trigger

Unstable Aura, which will deal an extra instance of damage. Because of this, when evaluating single-target abilities, the more hits the better.

Flame Jet : Deals some solid damage and hits 3 times in a line-based AoE. Not the highest hit count or damage option for Mage T1, but very easy to get, meaning you’ll likely be using it early in general and also later in pure Single-target set-ups.

Tempest Sphere : Deals less damage than Flame Jet, but hits 5 times instead of 3, which, after factoring in Unstable Aura, causes it to deal more damage, but it doesn’t have any AoE component. This skill is a great slot-in for any fight where you’ll have a singular enemy you need to deal a large amount of damage to.

Wind's Delight : Basically an upgraded version of Tempest Sphere that hits 7 times instead of 5 and also hits enemies around the main target, allowing it to be both single target and AOE viable. The one catch of this ability is that each hit after the first does less and less damage, meaning the total damage this ability does itself is low, but it makes up for this with its large hit count and ability to trigger Unstable Aura.

Water Assault : Doesn’t appear as a single target skill at first glance, but very much is one when you factor in the fact that large enemies are hit by it 3 times and medium enemies are hit 2 times. Because of this and its solidly high multiplier, it’s another top option for single target, especially when combined with the other T1 Water Legendary Skill - Water to Ice . This ability isn’t just good in single-target situations but is also quite strong in AoE situations as well, although its AoE damage is slightly lower than dedicated AoE options when not multi-hitting.

Situational Skills

Iron Thorn : Deals less damage and has less AoE radius than all the options above, but has a chance to Root targets, giving it a solid shot at immobilizing Melee-based enemies for a short time. Whether you land this immobiliser is random, and whether it’s worth the damage loss against the enemies you’re fighting is also another question, but it can be worth a shot if you’re stuck.

Stonechief Summon : This skill deals terrible damage, and in most fights, you won't live long enough to make a large impact. However, at certain stages of progression and in some fights, the fact that this summon will draw hits away from you and later in the fight is re-summonable can be the difference between winning and losing due to the extra survivability you gain through it.

Charms

Unstable Aura: The go-to enabler for Mage at T1, causing all of their hits to deal additional Wind damage, turbo-charging many of their Single-target multi-hit abilities.

Mana Surge : Provides tons of Crit Rate to all abilities. Before you get a large amount of Crit DMG on Gear and from other sources, this Charm isn’t always the single best damage option, but it has the advantage of working on all damage types, allowing it to catch up and be competitive even if you have next to no other Crit stats.

Gale Shield : One of Mage’s best defensive tools in T1 and a must-have in a lot of encounters if you are lucky enough to have it on your account. Very often, it is the difference between beating fights high about your current power level and not.

Elemental Mystery : Provides a good chunk of Elemental Mastery, boosting your damage across all elements. This Charm is easy to get and universal; however, the downside of it is that you can get this stat elsewhere on Gear, which can reduce its value a little.

Situational Charms

Tip

Usually, you’ll replace Mana Surge (assuming you have it) or Elemental Mystery for one of the below.

Water to Ice: Works very similarly to Unstable Aura, but has a higher chance to activate, has a chance to Freeze, but only works on Water element spells. This Charm is usually only worth using if you have Water Assault on your account, as it requires a high hit Water skill to get the most out of it. If you have Water Assault, you can consider slotting this in for both Single-target and AoE.

Heart of Flame : Usually never your best in slot choice, but can be a substitute for the best T1 Charms if you don’t have high rarity options like Mana Surge or Gale Shield yet and are using a decent number of Fire skills in your current setup.

Wind's Whisper : Similar to Heart of Flame , it is usually used if you’re missing either Mana Surge or Gale Shield, but is usually the better choice in most cases over Heart of Flame as it boosts Wind Damage, meaning it amplifies Unstable Aura’s damage, which will be a good chunk of your total damage, especially in single target.

Flaming Path : Causes you to constantly spawn Fire around your character, which will Burn enemies that come into contact with it. The Burn inflicted can deal a tremendous amount of damage in fights and can serve as an outstanding AoE tool in fights with many enemies that try to swarm you. The downside of this Charm, though, is that if enemies don’t walk through the Fire, they won't take damage, making this Charm a little hit or miss, but when it hits, it can be the difference between winning and losing and end up being one of your top damage-dealing abilities.