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[Magery] Returning player - New to mage pvp

Barbarian

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Hi

I've recently returned to UO after several years and looking to start mage pvp. Never done it before, so I plan to get up and running and then join a guild for field fights/champs etc.

At present I'm working on my keybinds and practising combos and have a few questions - I'd be grateful if some of the experienced Pvp'ers could help me with this. I'm trying to make a fairly minimalist set up that I can start with and expand later as I improve.

- Interrupts: Do I need more than one of these? Feeblemind seems quickest and most use as an all-purpose debuff against mages/dexxers alike, is it worth binding others?

- Mana Vamp: Worthwhile? (I see a lot of dexxer templates being recommended with no magic resist)

- Damage: One of each low/mid/high damage enough? e.g. harm/lightning/EB + trusty explo/FS combo?

- Specials: I'm running Wrestle/Parry - is it even worth wasting mana on weapon specials? Not sure of the mechanics now for disarm and if its likely to work

Watching mage PVP videos it seems that field fights are more about multiple lower mana spells, attrition and focusing fire rather than big combos - is this accurate?

I'd really appreciate any advice at all, looking forward to getting into it :)
 

Lord GOD(GOD)

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
- Interrupts: Do I need more than one of these? Feeblemind seems quickest and most use as an all-purpose debuff against mages/dexxers alike, is it worth binding others?

- Mana Vamp: Worthwhile? (I see a lot of dexxer templates being recommended with no magic resist)

- Damage: One of each low/mid/high damage enough? e.g. harm/lightning/EB + trusty explo/FS combo?

- Specials: I'm running Wrestle/Parry - is it even worth wasting mana on weapon specials? Not sure of the mechanics now for disarm and if its likely to work

Watching mage PVP videos it seems that field fights are more about multiple lower mana spells, attrition and focusing fire rather than big combos - is this accurate?

I'd really appreciate any advice at all, looking forward to getting into it :)
Interrupts - No, Feeblemind is all you need and as a small technical point is preferable to Weaken or Clumsey, because people have been known to 'weaken bug' themselves which means they can't be weakened and you fizzle trying to cast it. Also players with only 10 Dex (which are probably admittedly few these days but still if it was the only interrupt you macrod and happened to be fighting a Mage with 10 Dex you wouldn't want to find this out in the middle of the fight) can't be Clumsey'd again it'd fizzle you. Every template needs mana so Feeblemind always works. (Yes, they could 'Feeblemind bug' themselves but again as all templates need mana and it can't be overcome with potions it's less likely.)

Mana Vamp - Yes, very worth it. As is Parralyse, you never know when someone doesn't have a trap box.

Damage - Every damage spell except Mindblast I would have on a macro, mixing up your combos makes you less predictable, I keep Mindblast on a gump for the rare occasion you need cold damage for some reason.

Specials - I would say no it's not worth it, for a start you'd need to factor in HCI on to the suit (which you can do but it's a lot to add for little gain), you could also add in Bracers of Alchemical Destruction which are arms with Hit Lightning (for Wrestlers) they also have 3 FCR, they're not a bad option if you intend to duel a lot, but a double edged sword if you're mainly going to be field fighting/spawning as they may cause you to rubberband when they go off on spawn (which will cause more spawn to flag on you)... Plus with Parry on your template Disarming is not really that useful. You may find it a better option to go with Anatomy instead of Wrestling, it will save you 20 skill points which you can put to use somewhere else, the combination of Anatomy and Evaluating Intelligence gives you defensive Wrestling and the formula gives you a free 20 points towards it (so you only need 100 Anatomy, 120 Eval for 120 defensive Wrestle - the same as having 120 Wrestling but without the hit part - which can be a bonus in certain situations)

Mage PvP - is either about duels which is about spellplay/interruption and cycling your opponent to death (different duels have different rules, but most decent players definition of a duel is just spells/skills no pots/apples/items of any kind etc, it's a truer test of player skill rather than setup), or field fights/spawns/chokes these are mainly about fielding, target selection and dumping. Yew gate PvP is basically field fighting but with more random gank factor by noobs/house hiding added in.

There's a player called Mervyn, who has in his signature something to the effect of 'I'd rather you did 10 damage to the right target than 100 damage to the wrong target' and that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about field fighting.

Some sort of voice chat/map are pretty much essential in any guild for PvP too... Though it works a lot better in a guild that's organised and know who's calling the shots and who's following the calls, most guilds don't manage this because of all the big egos.

Edit:
I don't know what else you're doing with the template but in case you're not aware you should look into having a focused spec Mage which can have 30 Spell Damage Increase (40 with Inscription). Also a Reactive Paralyse shield is a good idea too. As well as Casting Focus to lessen spell interruption.

Any terms you hear and don't know what they are type them in google after 'uoguide' and there's usually a page on it.
 
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Barbarian

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Thanks for that detailed and very helpful response mate, I appreciate it.

I'm working up Spellweaving as well so that negates focused spec as I understand it.

Do you also make use of the self buffs/debuff spells generally? As they are all such short duration I'm not sure they are sustainable enough to be worth it, other than maybe in a 1v1 duel. It seems like a lot of effort to monitor them otherwise.
 

Lord GOD(GOD)

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Depends which you mean but generally speaking yes. You want to cast Curse on your target fairly early as it will cap their resists to 70/60/60/60/60 (65 energy for Elfs) which obviously increases all of your spell damage, watch for them removing it with Enchanted Apples/Remove Curse/Cleansing Wind and reapply asap (usually a waste of time dumping your mana on them otherwise - unless you're epically good at interrupting them/they're a noob that can be easily cycled). There's a cool down timer on the apples, and you can interrupt the spells unless they're in Protection. Either way just try to combine/time it in relation to Poison so that you can beat them down.

Spellweaving is fantastic, especially in field PvP, especially it's mastery's. You can have 4 Faster Casting with Spellweaving if you can fit it on your gear (although I think I'd prefer a Reactive Paralyse shield, there is also a shield called Hephastus which has 1 FC). Thunderstorm/Essence of Wind can give FC/FCR/SSI penaltys which are obviously very useful if you can get them off (switch in and out of Protection if necessary). You could also temporarily use a 1 FC book in your hand to get 4/6 (if not using an Ornament of the Magician - which isn't that great these days) and just disarm it if/when you need pots.

Gift Of Life, Attunement, Gift of Renewal and Bless, Greater Strength/Dex potions, also yes, use them. You need 80 Dex (not Stam) for Parry to be 100% effective, you could set yourself a Greater Dex potion below 80 (usually 21 for a human with no Enhance Potions) and just drink them when fighting dexxers. Or you may to get more for a buffer against curses, which of course you should be removing yourself anyway with Enchanted Apples.
 

Barbarian

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Spellweaving is indeed awesome, I'll be putting on my dexxer as well.

Thanks again for the advice - you are one of the most helpful posters on here.
 
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