most archers run around with about 100 mana, maybe more if theyre elves. with 40% lmc, the special moves should drop down to 18 mana and start to double cost when continuously used; however, it does seem people are able to get 5-7 AI's off before their mana pool is diminished. i'm not sure if they are really good at conserving their mana, but it does appear like some are able to bypass the double mana cost with the use of some tactic (maybe casting Create Food, and rearming a new weapon?).
i too run 70% dci and a -magery weapon with skill jewelry to boost the magery back up to 120 and special moves seem to ALWAYS hit me too. based on experience, i would say that special moves do not consider DCI when they hit, but only the user's HCI, which is somewhat understandable, but when they can get 7 AIs off in about 4 seconds (1.5 second swing speed) it's nearly impossible to survive unless you're in protection to avoid interruption.
in the end, my biggest issue, when it comes to 1v1, is these archers. i'm not saying there is anything wrong, it's just what i personally have issues with. i'm sure anyone who runs a mage and actually fights one of these fencer/archer, that spam AIs, knows what were talking about.
yes, of course, there's a bunch of ways to survive as a mage in pvp. mana vampire, paralyze, field spells, summons, protection, but all of these are often what we consider cheap tactics; however, i understand, as pvpers, we are supposed to use everything we can to our advantage.
needless to say, whenever i encounter one of these archer/fencers that know how to play their template, i have using everything possible to win/survive. considering archers often can sit still and interrupt with hit effect, velocity, and 1.5 swing speed due to easy SSI stacking (40% swing speed bows), protection seems to be one of the only ways to survive.
on the other hand, when you actually get one of these guys low, they're off screen before your spells are done casting. if bola'd they just shift forms and are gone before you know it. if a player tries to run from of these archers, they are easily chased down and AI'd from a distance, or running shots (which are very weak).
with all that said, i understand that their skills are at least providing all their offense, but without resist, these template solely rely on potions, orange petals, and apples. their defense is completely based on items, not skill and there's nothing more that i hate then the idea of my mage dedicating 120 skill points to resist when it is completely useless against most pvpers (since the majority of pvpers are not casters).
in the end, these fencer/archer templates are very powerful, and a great challenge for most casters. if there are no bugs that allow them to constantly spam AI, then all seems to be working fine, there's just some people who have this template down to a science and have no problem displaying it. however, i personally believe some balancing can be done, possibly giving resist a function against something other than casters?? i don't believe items should rank greater than actual skill. there should be an incentive to have resist, and not give them all the room to fit two melee skills.
