by Animaaal Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:38 pmTired of the same ol' same ol'??? 
Want to try something new?
Try a caster!
Want to try something new?
Try a caster!
It's fun, unique, and requires and completely different playstyle than you're used to. However, there are some things to consider before venturing into this. The following are basic principles one should contemplate before thinking about stats, armor, etcetcetc.
Casting time
First, read the wiki's description of dexterity and how it relates.
Secondly, read this old thread: Comprehensive survey of dexterity's impact on sorcery casting speed
Now just to reiterate, the maximum benefits you can possibly gain are:
-Decrease in casting time for pyros can be between 20-27%
(Some pyros are unaffected)
-Decrease in casting time for sorceries can be between 9-22%
(The wiki states between 8-10%. After reading the link I provided, you'll see this is up for debate and the wiki is probably outdated.)
-Miracles are largely unaffected, but some do have small to moderate gains such as the lightning spear miracles. iGBx has a youtube of those specifically.
Okay, so you get it right? I thought I did too. There is something largely disregarded after reviewing these principles. I was guilty of this myself at first...
Are you actually going to use any castings that require a decrease in casting times? It would seem like a mechanic you would naturally want to exploit for obvious reasons. However, without understanding what your combos are going to be, you cannot accurately decide if it is right for your build.
For instance...
If you want to use Chaos Fireball then increasing your dexterity would seem like a wise choice. However, how will you be setting it up? Is that the only spell you will use to take advantage of this aspect?
There are plenty of "quick casts" available in this game. I had to break from the frame of mind that "I have a dex build so I should take advantage of pyro" mentality. Utilizing dexterity in this regard for the sole purpose of one casting, in most cases, is a bad idea.
Conclusion: Decide how you want to combo, then decide if dexterity is right for you.
Attacking with the “directional pad”
How would you play if you had to push up on the directional pad every time you wanted to switch from an R1 attack to a R2 attack with the Balder Side Sword? That is in essence what you are doing.
Furthermore, how would you change your playstyle if not executing this correctly would cause you to do the “scratch your head” emote?
What is displayed in your attunement slot during battle is all you have to go on. It is frustratingly hard to get used to at first. You will find yourself attuning your castings in a specific order to minimize the number of times you have to push up on the d-pad while in the heat of battle. You’ll also find yourself attuning multiple castings in order to further minimize the number of times you have to push up on the d-pad in order to get “back to the start”.
Not recognizing this as one of your biggest hurdles will be one of your biggest mistakes.
I didn’t realize this until I began to have a relative amount of success, then it became apparent that this was my biggest challenge. As compared to getting backstabbed, not backstabbing, what armor to wear, etcetcetc.
Playing without backstabs
You have no backstabs. Your weapons are: a talisman, a pyro hand, and a catalyst. You do not have to use all three, but they are the only items available in the game to cast with.
You should develop some sort of niche to try and compensate. For example:
-High health and defenses.
This can give you some cushion to absorb a backstab, maybe two and still not lose your momentum.
-Dead angling WoG.
Some might say its cheap, but you have no backstabs. In this case, I would believe it is an acceptable playstyle.
-The DWGR.
Using this ring will allow you to exploit i-frames and to slightly cover more ground when rolling. Depending on your playstyle, it can become invaluable.
-Maximum damage.
Using items like the BDCR, Crown of Dusk, Cot Darksun, TinCrystal Catalyst, and the Manus Catalyst are ways to try and win the dps race so to speak.
These are just examples.
In conclusion
After considering the aforementioned, you can now begin to decide how you want to murder.
I promise you, it is an extremely fun and satisfying way to play. Is it extremely competitive? I'd say no. Only because not having a mechanic available to you that is of extreme importance when considering Dark Souls playstyles is an obvious hurdle.
Can it be viable? Most definitely. The mere uniqueness of this playstyle will cause you to gain victories over seasoned vets at times. But only because of the shock value. I'd wager to say that if you played your buddy, "the seasoned vet", after awhile he'd probably exploit your weaknesses and eventually gain an edge.
I am convinced however, that more skilled players than myself have a chance of making this playstyle extremely competitive, probably more so than I could hope to.
Here are some more helpful links and discussions:
Pure Caster - Pure caster PvP (video) - Page 2
(The video is on page 1, first post)
Spell Combos
Using Dexterity to Decrease Casting Times in PvP
Insanity Mage Build
Last edited by Animaaal on Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:32 pm; edited 3 times in total (Reason for editing : shpeling/spacing/grammer)
pyro 
sorcery 
miracle
