Necro/Mage Help

[samjax]

I would appreciate your ideas on the following template I am playing.

I am currently developing a Necro/Mage character and am pondering a couple of different options. I PvM only at this time. No PvP.

Currently, with jewelry and armor, my skills are as follows:

Focus: 100
Meditation: 100
Necromancy: 100
Magery: 95.8
Eval Int: 88.7
Spirit Speak: 88.3
Magic Resist: 74.6
Wrestling: 69.1

I normally run around in Liche form as I have some items that more than compensate for the HP loss.

I assume that Focus will need to be dropped. If so, that leaves the remaining 7 skills which can be GM'd or better. By dropping the focus, and going at least GM in everything else, I understand this to be a fairly "common" template.

My current armor is 69, 70, 45, 70, 70.

I normally carry the Scrappers Compendium for the 25% SDI and a couple of other stat helps. I also have a good number of greater heals and greater cures that I carry with me and have hot-keyed for quick use.

Question 1: With my current armor, or potentially better armor in the future, is Magic Resist necessary?

Question 2: If I always run Protection, is Wrestling necessary? Even if I don't run Protection, is Wrestling necessary?

Question 3: If I replace Wrestling with a weapon skill and use a high dollar mage weapon, will I lose my Scrappers 25% SDI?

Question 4: Would archery be even remotely worthwhile on this template?

Quesion 5: Would poisoning be even remotely viable on this template?

I have played with archery on the TC and with 100 Archery/100 Tactics my auto-attack hits were averaging around 25 points or so on Trolls, Ettins, etc.

I have also played around with 100 Poisoning on TC. When I used Evil Omen followed by Poison, while the monster was very close to me, the results were pretty impressive. Not sure how this would work on higher level stuff though.

Thanks for the help!

 

[imported_Farsight]

1. Resist: In PvM, resist is purely optional in my opinion. If you keep summons between you and the casting baddies, then nothing will cast on you.

2. Wrestling: See resist. The difference is that when you have no wrestling, all you have to do is step away. Besides, a mage weapon (staff of pyros, blades of prosperity) is easy to find, which makes you protect yourself with magery skill instead of your weapon skill.

3. Scrappers: Yes, you have to hold your scrappers to get the benifits.

4. Archery: The necro-mage is already a tight template. Adding skills would make it even worse. But having a hybrid mage/archer or necro archer is very possible.

5. Poisoning: Yes, it's a good skill to have. But the work-reward ratio for poisoning is pathetic. It takes a lot of resources to build up a skill that can be cured with a low level spell or potion. Many high level mobs are immune as well.

Your template:

I would simply drop wrestling (first) then focus and put the skills into the rest of your current skills. Then you would have magery/meditation/eval int/necromany/spirit speak/resist as high as possible with the rest in focus. That makes for one unbelievably powerful template. Yes, it's common. But there's a reason for it.

 

[imported_Desolation87]

I like your resists, is that 100lrc? I too find cold to be hardest to get to 70 aswell. I'm 85 85 65 68 75. Even on my all 70s dexxer cold seemed to be hardest to get.

I think if you want a necro/archer then to completely drop mage, eval etc. Then run around in vampire form for leech life.

But like the previous poster said, a mage/archer/necro is kinda jammed packed. Biggest mistake people do in UO is to try and do too much.

 

[Hunters' Moon]

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I have also played around with 100 Poisoning on TC. When I used Evil Omen followed by Poison, while the monster was very close to me, the results were pretty impressive. Not sure how this would work on higher level stuff though.

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This is my necro/nox mage template:

1) Necro 100 skill
2) Spirit speak 100 skill
3) Magery 110 skill
4) Eval Int 110 skill
5)Poisoning 100 skill
6) Meditation 110 skill

I can vow that the necro/nox mage is a great pvm template.

Try this spell combo in TC to see the overall effects. Evil Omen/poison(poison field at a distance)/pain spike/strangle/EV. Thats two "damage over time" effects you have on the monster plus what the EV is doing and any bonus casting you may do to the monster. As for usefullness for higher end beasts,theres not many beasts that are immune to level 5 poison