PVP Protection Parry Pure Mage Questions

[EliteEmpire]

So ive been doing some research on some mage pvp temps recently, and came up with this:

120 Magery
120 Eval
120 Resisting Spells
110 Parrying (120 with hepheastus)
100 Inscription
100 Anatomy
50 Meditation

No main hand wep, Heph shield. Gold isnt really an issue so im going all out on this template, but id like to know if its worth it before i start collecting the pieces. Necro Mage is kinda outta my league, complicated/specialized, it frankly intimidates me. Tried mystic mage in the past and i sucked at it. I guess its true that you should start with pure mage and then when you get SUPER good with pure add in other skills. Thats the point im at now. I am very good at pure duels, and thinking about making this pure template for the max sdi. I dunno how itll fare against other mage temps that have more of a spell pool than me, maybe you guys can comment on how a pure parry mage does in the current... "meta", if there is one. I imagine that protection parry mages wipe the floor with your average dexxer.


I have a few questions:

1. I read that the bracers of alchemical devastation (non replica) now works with shields. Is it worth it to aquire the bracers for general use and not just duels? Or should i try to get other stats on the arm slot? Im going with as many legendary artys as possible, so the resists arnt really the issue with these, i just am thinking maybe theres better uses in the arm slot mod wise. I guess i just dont see a clear cut benefit, or a super clear cut disadvantage.

2. Poisoning or no? Was thinking of dropping resist and adding 80 poison and adding rest to meditation. I dunno... or could drop inscription but that would weaken everything else.

3. Prot. Should i always be in prot? Do i even need to try for fc gear if im always gonna be in prot?

4. Antiques- This is more of a gearing question - How much faster is the durability decrease, and when is the proper time to fortify (i read you get 3 fortifications and thats it)

5. Should I make the jump to necro mage? I have played against a few but i know nothing of the combinations, maybe theres a video or link i could be directed to to see how it plays, they are super powerful so i hear, are they MUCH more effective than the temp above?


Many thanks!

 

[Lord GOD(GOD)]

1. I read that the bracers of alchemical devastation (non replica) now works with shields. Is it worth it to aquire the bracers for general use and not just duels? Or should i try to get other stats on the arm slot? Im going with as many legendary artys as possible, so the resists arnt really the issue with these, i just am thinking maybe theres better uses in the arm slot mod wise. I guess i just dont see a clear cut benefit, or a super clear cut disadvantage.

I haven't heard anything about them working with a shield, and as far as I can see they wouldn't work without Wrestling as you have no 'hit' part to your melee defense. I wouldn't bother using them on any template that wasn't solely for the purpose of duels (or just a weird template for the fun of it).

2. Poisoning or no? Was thinking of dropping resist and adding 80 poison and adding rest to meditation. I dunno... or could drop inscription but that would weaken everything else.

From what I've seen lately I would highly recommend Poisoning.

3. Prot. Should i always be in prot? Do i even need to try for fc gear if im always gonna be in prot?

Short answer, no, you shouldn't always be in Prot. Why? Purge, and Ward Removal Stealthers, are two good reasons. I've replied to your Necro/Mage thread too, and as money's no object, a full legendary suit you should be able to max Casting Focus. I see Prot as a defensive measure to be used when the opponent is all about interrupts. I wouldn't assume you're going to kill anyone in it.

4. Antiques- This is more of a gearing question - How much faster is the durability decrease, and when is the proper time to fortify (i read you get 3 fortifications and thats it)

Not really sure but I would avoid at all costs. I had one antique piece of jewelery in a half arsed rebuild, had no resists on it, and it was at 0 after a very short amount of time (like less than 1 days play).

5. Should I make the jump to necro mage? I have played against a few but i know nothing of the combinations, maybe theres a video or link i could be directed to to see how it plays, they are super powerful so i hear, are they MUCH more effective than the temp above?

Replied to the other thread. Only way to do it is to jump in really or do it on test if you can find anyone on there to fight. Main thing is to decide whether you're going pure or hybrid, if you're going hybrid which spells are you going to be using, you might not need full Necro if you're not going to use Strangle/Wither.

Edit: one last point, just something I overheard, that I agree with, don't use that Heph shield, get a Reactive Parra one.