Emeraldwind Chronicle - Development of A War Machine! Part 6

Wow, I have been out of commission for a long while! I'm sorry about that! So many different things have been going on... some good, some bad, but all turns out well in the end (sometimes!). Well, like always, I give a slight break down of what this template has going for it, as well as some other information...

As of now, prominent mages like Dizzarian, Achilles the Brave, Ultron, Zanten, and others have been debating the name of this template... I'll continue to call it Warring Mana Mage for now. Until they come to a decision, I'll just keep calling it that. ^_^

As of this writing, my mage is level 38 (I THINK!... actually, I really HOPE!) but I have a BIG problem! Since I have NO money, I can't afford to play! That means I don't have any of my current stats, level, items, etc. I, however, have what I THINK I am, as well as an estimate of what I want my skills to be or be very close to by level 40. Though my estimations are usually off by about 5 or 6 points on some skills, most of them are dead on. I haven't done a chronicle since about level 28 or so, so please bear in mind that a LOT has happened, including a ton of quests, and I might not remember everything... but I remember the important stuff, and that's what makes this template special, ideal places to level, etc.

Template Definition

Strength - 60
Endurance - 50
Coordination - 10
Quickness - 10
Focus - 100
Self - 100
Specialize: War Magic, Mana Conversion
Train: Item (my choice) or Creature or Arcane/Healing
Post Skills: (choices are yours but these were mine) Life @ 16, Arcane @ 26, Creature @ 60

As I've always said, the important thing is to specialize War Magic and Mana Conversion. This chronicle follows my choice of Item magic at the start, Life at level 16, Arcane at level 26, and Creature magic at level 60. Enjoy!

Ten levels of hunting. Ten levels of enjoyment. Ten levels of feeling I made some of the best choices with my character. There have been massive debates, considering Creature and Life 7 spells are now available, as to how useful (or un-useful, depending on your take of it) Arcane Lore is now. Though I know I will be easily casting level 6s by level 50 (base score mind you, in all my schools) and casting level 7s with buffs, I still find Arcane Lore VERY useful, for a variety of reasons. As I've mentioned before, I took Arcane Lore above Creature Magic because it has more use to me than Creature does at this point (and probably for the next 22 or so levels, until level 60) and for the foreseeable future. I'll be honest, one of the main reasons I took it was because of some nice items I have on both my mules and that were being added to the game. My biggest draw was the Staff of Clarity, which gives level 6 buffs to two of my skills (Oh, lookie here, the MAIN TWO), and a level 6 Life buff that allows me to regenerate mana at a much faster rate. However, the great part lies in the fact that a few other nice items that I can use have been addded to the game and if I hadn't taken Arcane Lore, I wouldn't be able to use these. Arcane Lore also takes down on the buffing times (I really don't like to buff... I only like to buff as little as possible... if items can do Creature spells for me, I'll forego those 1 or 2 or 3 points that I might gain). For the last ten levels, I have thanked myself for taking Arcane Lore over Creature, and I continue to do so. When the Quiddity Orb was first added, I looked at the dif... 200 dif... I got scared. I only had about 160 Arcane Lore at the time. But after diligently raising it several points, I've been able to use my orb to the point where if I die, I can still use it. Arcane Lore also makes it so that I don't have to do step buffs, which is something I hate... if I die, no need to worry, as I can STILL equip the buffs neccesary to achieve the scores I had previously or very close to. Arcane Lore has been a blessing for me and will continue to be so for a long time to come (And if Level 7 items come on clothing or other things, I will be able to benefit from that Luvin's).

Hunting... from level 28 to 30, I actually only hunted the upper areas of Geraldine Constulate... at level 30 or so, I went to the other area. This area is VERY nice BUT you have to be ready. Finger work is a must and you have to think about what you fight. Drudge Ravs are decent experience... they aren't tuskers, no, but en masse they are very good experience for their difficulty level. To reach the bottom area of GC, you simply buff yourself with all normal (read: weapon) protections, and acid and lightning (acid because Stalkers love to throw acid around and Lightning because that's Ravs element of choiec), hop down off the platform and look right behind you. There's a pathway. Run up, fighting the Stalkers if you want to, to the end. And hop in the green portal.. if you're fast, the virindi can't hit you with spells. When you get out on the other side, you need to be weary. In the earlier rooms, there's only one place that Hollow Minions are but they're in a room where you want to pull two tuskers (maybe) from... be weary of that room. In the lower area, there are Ravs, as I've stated, Virindi, tuskers, and minions. At level 30, depending on what level Item spells you are casting, you might not want to take Tuskers yet. I toyed with them a few times but, at my level and with my setup, I could only take one at a time. If you're buffing, buff everything with Blud Bane and Impen, and Impen your underclothes... the thing about underclothes... either get an Aerlinthe shirt and pants OR wear just a shirt and no pants OR just pants and no shirt. There is a triple layer bug that will make your abdomen act as if it's not covered and with tuskers this can be FATAL. Throw all weapon protections on you and Lightining Protection. And be ready. Drudges are nasty little beasts... go into the first hallway, and draw them in with a vuln. I've found, with the way the economy works, that whirling blade, bludgeoning, and frost work better than Fire. In fact, even the spell Dark Flame has been reduced to crap because everyone has it and is using it. With a level 4 vuln and level 5 Bludgeoning bolt (remember, I'm level 38 now) I tend to one shot drudges. so try up your spells and see which one works for you. You'll be swarmed sometimes in these rooms... just work your way through slowly. If you do, you won't ever be surprised... unless they spawn on top of you.

Level 30 to about 33 I was hunting just the drudges... they were enough for me since I wanted to get my Arcane Lore up enough to use a few items I had tucked away AND I wasn't feeling exactly good that I could take tuskers full-time. At level 34, I decided it was time to do what other mages do. Remember, I just take my time and don't always rush into everything like some others might... you might fight tuskers LONG before I EVER did... I just want to be sure I can handle what I'm facing. So I donned my robe, my Aerlinthe shirt, my flared blue pants, my new Matte Claw (did I forget to mention I got that? I traded for it with an Obsidian Dagger), and went into GC. I did my usual buff. My strategy, being in closed confines and not exactly sure if my Life Magic (don't remember numbers) would suffice completely against the tuskers. So I head into the first room where I can safely vuln and launch a few at a tusker before him and his 3 friends come pound on me. I fire my two bolts and send a vuln his way. I've discovered in here that if you send two volts in this particular room (you'll know it when you see it... it used to have 3 drudges in it and there are virindi in the hallway the tuskers are in) and then a vuln, you'll be able to run into the other hallway you just came from and have two tuskers, one hitting you, the other not knowing what to do. So I did my strategy... it worked... and I didn't get hit too hard (level 5 spells all around). So I fed off the tuskers (generally using Frost or Force Bolts, since Fire sucks hard and I hit harder with Force than Fire any day of the week... economy sucks sometimes) for a few levels, avoiding the hollows and mean virindi.

I'm level 34 or so and the Quiddity Orb quest gets added. Well, I need one, after I see the stats... Item 5, Life 6, Mana C 6 buffs? Oh, I'm there! There are people angry about it... saying people at this level can't use the item... well, 5 minutes after I got the item, I could use it. I had to raise Arcane one point. The quest, itself, was annoying... I got the southern half, piece of cake... but finding the northern drudge was a killer! Not to mention the person I was with got logged off and I had the northern claw drudge basically hitting me for the longest while I healed and drained him... eventually my friend came back and we went into the portal. Come to find out that both dungeons are a piece of cake... they are a walk in the park. Lurkers and Stalkers through most of it, Ravs at certain parts... got to the point where I watched tv while I played. After I got my orb, i stayed there for a little while helping others get their orbs. And now that I can use my orb? Well, 2 wands of mine went back onto my mule and I'm fiddling with the idea of using level 6 everythings now. Is the orb worth getting? For many, no. For some, yes. You have to be built a certain way, have a certain mind set... but who said this orb was to be for everyone? Bah! I got another great toy and I love it! Thanks Turbine!

At level 35, I did what I said I would a long time ago... I went to the Obsidian Plains full-time. At first, it was awkward. When you get into this certain mind set of playing with certain buffs, you fall out of the habit of actually LOOKING at your mana and actually CARING. Well, that happened to me but 5 minutes on the plains, with ever changing spawns and creatures, sets you right again. My intention was to go visit some tusker camps after getting my footing. I wanted to take Dizz's little Crater tour but I wasn't exactly in the mood to die... yet. I had gotten some armor off a mule, because I didn't konw what kinds of things I'd see and figured the added protection would be good for me. Boy, was I right. Virindi, tuskers, drudges with lightning sticks, grievvers, shadows, oh my! Tanked an Umbris. Killed it. By myself! Was very happy. Did the same to an LT. Tuskers were cake now and I tanked 3 with ease.

So I headed out to a tusker camp... and perched... I know, I know, I shouldn't perch but I was tired. I actually run between tusker camps now or just run around on the plains messing with things I KNOW I shouldn't. But that's what got me to level 38 and will get me to level 40. At 40? Well, I'll dig my heels in for that long haul to 45... because once I hit that, I HAVE to see Aerlinthe... it's a goal of mine... that and my stupid mage armor!

So what are my projections for level 40? These are only mine, remember... yours will be different (as in, you might concentrate on only magic all the time and have higher scores)

Strength - 155
Endurance - 145
Coordination - 70
Quickness - 110
Focus - 200
Self - 200
Health - 150
Stamina - 250
Mana - 275
War Magic - 230
Mana Conversion -195
Arcane Lore - 180
Item Magic - 210
Life magic - 210
Run - 200

Projections... let's hope I reach them! Well, that's all for now. I'll be back at level 40 or so to tell you how things went! Until then, happy hunting!