Returning Vet Training Questions

[Guest]

Been away from UO for a few years. I quit right around the time Publish 16 came out. It's been a long time, I know. I go away for a few and I see LRC, LMC, MR, FC, FCR, resists, soul stones... They made this game so complicated! Ah well...

Due to some really unpleasent experiences in Yew way, way back, I'm not really into PvP. I've decided to make a mage mostly for PvM (and to defend myself from PvP'ers). I've not really tried to train one since just before the Juka Invasion.

My first question is: these days, how long does it take to get a mage to be strong enough to be able to defend himself? I already have other characters that are semi-established, but I'm not looking to spend the millions of gold it takes to make an uber-suit. Currently my template looks similar to one I've seen here:

110 Magery
110 Eval
110 Med
100 Resist
100 Wrestling/Spirit Speak
100 Inscription/Necro?
90 Spellweaving

I've found out that Resist is rediculous to train now. As for the rest of the skills, though, I'm not sure how long it will take to finish the template. Heck, I'm not even sure if the skills blend well! Either way, I'd like to know how much time I need to set aside to train to a decent level.

A little bit of advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[imported_Farsight]

With an LRC suit, you could make your template in a week or less. I've recently done just that on Europa.

I spent 1 hour on resist spells to get it to the upper 90's. The rest came from guaranteed gains to GM.

I spent 2 nights on magery, and 2 nights on necromancy, both are over 100.

In that process, eval int and spirit speak are both in the upper 80's, low 90's. If I wanted to, a couple of hours casting fast spells on whatever would get them to GM. I'm in no hurry.

I spent my fifth day on spellweaving, doing the quest and training to about 85 (enough for dryad allure, not enough for WoD) just to have something to take the damage for me, so my final template is:

110 Magery
110 Meditation (takes care of itself)
100 Necromancy
90-something SS
90-something EI
upper 90s resist (another hour training will get GM)
85 spellweaving.

Everything left is in focus, but that isn't much.

 

[imported_xStrikerx]

Resist is one of the easiest skills to train. Go to Haven and gather up all the spectral spellbinders you can find. Just walk slowly in front of them and they'll just cast debuff spells. With 15-20 of them, resist gains super fast. I went 90-GM in 10-15 minutes.