New to the game, thought I would roll a mage.
Couple of questions:
1. I have played Cleric/healer classes is a mage a healer of sorts
2. What advise toward a build can you folks offcer.
3. Is there a restriction on Armor/Weapons on mages.

Welcome to DR.

1. There are no healer classes, you heal with potions

2. Mages have 3 types of elements they can attack with, ice/shadow/fire, so just pick your preference, as you get higher you will get more options and when you can get blue screen of life, do so... BSOL.

3. There is no restriction on gear of any sort except level based or membership required, but you will find that certain gear works best for certain classes based on the bonus they provided. Mages will want gear that gives bonus to int and end, and that give bonus to their preferred element - ice/fire/shadow.

You can also heal with spells, but it's self-only (heal self, not others)
Same goes for mana regen as well.

BSOL is crucial for mage survival, and crispy critters rocks for dealing massive damage in a short period of time. Throw up BSOL, run thru a couple of groups of mobs to get their attention, back yourself into a corner, and let the crispiness begin! I have Crispy on my left button hotkey and Mobs die so fast, you'll probably get a speeding ticket (your mileage may vary) You *DO* however, need to keep an eye on your mana, since it does suck mana, but potions are plentiful at Audrey's little scam shoppe.

I've found that putting all skill points into INT, and going for +int and +fire damage gear works great for me. As you get higher in level, BSOL converts more and more damage to your mana pool, meaning HP (or END) isn't the be-all, end-all. I've got nearly 40k mana at lev 88 so far, and don't seem to have much of a problem (even soloing on insane) staying alive, since with pyromania and crispy critters, most mobs are dead long before they even have a chance to hit me.

In my opinion, the best way is to go paper mage. (All int) and get +int boosts from most of your gear. The thing with mages is you kill them all before they kill you. With this high int, you can kill most monsters with one or two shots.

Tips:

1. Kite : You will have low hp, but high firepower. Hit mobs with shadow lighting, move away, hit them again. This could save you health potions, which is a good thing when you're in your early levels and money is tight.

2. Shift : Press the shift key to use skills while be stationary. Someones you don't really want to misclick and get right beside hordes of monsters. So press shift and hold the left mouse button to fire some fireballs away (depends on the skill you alotted there). Skill like Shadow Lightning, do require you to actively click on a target though. So it doesn't work for that. Skills like Crispy critters, and the bolt skills, work best.

3. Don't use melee : You're a mage. Use magic. Always. If you're out of mana potions, go back to town, or stick around and wait for your mana to replenish.

4. Distract : When you're doing boss runs, try to use the skill "Monster Bait" (Taught by Gwen of the Treefolk, ranger trainer) to lure monsters, so you won't take the full brunt of their offensive.


I found it best to stick to one element, and getting gear and skills with bonuses for that element. That way, you maximize your damage. I always try to keep shadow lightning on my "R" slot though, in case I run into some mobs that resist my main spells a lot.

Good luck.