the first pure mage build - low sl but reasonable power

Hello folks,

I'd like to start my first mage built (it should become a pure mage) in DeS. Since I'd like to try to get my first Platin ever I followed the recommendation to choose the starting class Royalty at sl1:
Vit 8/ Int 12/ End 8/ Str 9/ Dex 12/ Mag 13/ Faith 12/ Luck 7

I made my way through 1-1, 2-1 and 3-1 already without any levelling - still sl1.

Now I'm thinking of the first soul levels to get a good power but I'd like to stay pretty low at first to enjoy also low level pvp for a few days - after I got all pwwt thinks and after I got the Ring of Friends of course.

I already have the Kris Blade (but cannot use it of course) but it gives me more magical dmg, right? I also have the Ring of mag. Sharpness and of course as Royalty I was granted the Ring of Fragrance and the Silver Catalyst. I only have the spell Soul Arrow.

What could I possibly do to get a good power against the next bosses and for having a chance of winning a pvp fight or two.

Because Kris needs Mag 16 I would have to put 3 points to magic. This makes me sl 3. and it increases my mag. power as well.

As I really like to have a good melee weapon as well (I usually like strenght and NR toons most but I also played a Dex toon up to sl 125 with SC) I'm looking for a good auxiliary melee weapon for my mage. A weapon that S-scales with the mage stats like intelligence or/and magic or faith and doesn't need much other stats like str. or dex.? 

Looking for an early game weapon (at sl1 to sl10) and a weapon for higher level like sl 30 or sl 40.

I'm also interested in the best early game spells and the best spells I can get later.


Thanks for your help!

Best wishes!

TO up magic damage, upgrade kris knife with colourless demons souls. you can also boost damage with clever rats ring and monk headpiece as well. You should trade in the dolls demons soul for soul arrow, freke will do this. Homing soul arrow and firestorm should be your spells for later on, takes up a lot of slots and MP.

As for weapons, do 4-1 straight away and get the crescent falchion. Crescent scales with magic and has an mp regen effect. Upgrade that or make another weapon crescent, i always had the killij from 4-1 as crescent. Or you could build a non elemental weapon and cast magic or light weapon on it. If you want to stay low, dragon weapons ae your best bet.

Once you get beyond the first part of each of the worlds, things get tougher for sure.  Although you could do it at a low level, you'd burn through spice like you won't believe.

Another spell that is highly underrated is the Fire Spray (trade the Flamelurker soul).  It's the only spell in the game that can be cast while moving, which means you can kite enemies with it.  Takes very little mana, and having the ability to move while casting is extremely valuable (especially in world 5)

Micha369 wrote:I'm also interested in the best early game spells and the best spells I can get later.

What you need to do first is buy all the spells possible from the basic merchant in the Nexus.  Most importantly Flame Toss, Cloak, and Water Veil.  It's important to have access to both a fire and magical spell, and since you have Soul Arrow already you just need an early Fire damage spell for magic-damage-resistant enemies.  Cloak is useful for utility in certain areas, and Water Veil will be very helpful against fire-based enemies such as the Fat Ministers and Flamelurker.

Once you've got those covered, you need to plan out what spells you want to get and plan which areas you need to beat based on what spells you get from the boss souls.  Since you've already beaten 3-1 (I will assume you freed Freke here), your best early damage spell is Soul Ray, made with the boss soul from the 3-1 boss by talking with Freke.  Soul Ray can handle most any boss fight and should be your stepping stone to bigger spells.

As for what spells you need to aim for getting, the three most important spells for a mage are Soul Ray, Homing Soul Arrow, and Fireball.  Homing Soul Arrow is made from the Old Monk's soul in 3-3, and Fireball is made from the Dragon God's soul at the end of world 2.  Once you have those 3 spells, you can take on anything.

Other spells you'll want to aim for will be Ignite, Warding, Firestorm, and Fire Spray.  These are all more situational and you won't be using them for every area, but they are all incredibly useful in the right spots.  Ignite is like Combustion in Dark Souls, only with a much faster cast time, meaning you can use it to fight in melee range as a mage.  Firestorm will destroy bosses, and Fire Spray was explained well in an earlier post.  Keep in mind though that since Firestorm is made from the Dragon God's soul (which you should be using on Fireball first), and Ignite and Fire Spray are made from the Armor Spider's soul, you can't get all of these spells until NG+.  Warding will be very useful for low-level PvP since you likely won't have raised the points for Second Chance yet and it provides a great defensive alternative.

And you should definitely be aiming for NG+.  One of the most useful spells is made from

Spoiler:

which you can only get by clearing a playthrough.  Be sure to take the proper ending to get that soul and hold onto it until you free Yuria in NG+, who will be able to make the spell Soulsucker from it.

The rest of the spells you can get whenever.  Some are slightly helpful for certain situations such as Poison Cloud but aren't useful enough to be things you should be aiming for right away, and others like the weapon buffs are wasted on a pure mage since you'll be doing almost all of your damage through spells rather than weapon attacks.  Pick them up as you get the boss souls for them, but don't really worry about those other spells too much.

TL;DR:  Spells you must have to work as a pure mage are Soul Ray, Fireball, and Homing Soul Arrow.  Good spells you want to eventually get are Ignite, Firestorm, Warding, and Fire Spray.  Everything else you can get on your own time.

And that's all I have to say about spells.  Hope it helps

Hello folks,

thanks for your help!

By now I'm almost through this playthrough with my first "pure mage"!

My intention initially was to get platinum trophy. And I wanted to stay at a low sl to have an alternative toon for invading others. Everything went very well, I managed all bosses (except King Allant - this guy is still untouched). I had really no big trouble killing bosses like ME or FL. All at sl 6 (Royalty)!

Ok, since I'm so obsessed with strong swords, I had to invest at least one point in strength. I first cleared world 2 to the Dragon God to get the pure dragon stone and then I crafted a nice Dragon Long Sword+5. Flame Lurker was really easy with Soul Arrow in ng (despite of my worst fears -at sl6). Then I mostly went through the game with this sword. So, not really a pure mage I admit! But at sl 6 I still could make a good mage later.

For platinum I had to continue for all the items as you know.
But then the problems started: I was not able to get my hands to the Demonbrand (Old King Doran)! With Soul Arrow on sl6 no chance. So I decided to invest a little in my mage. I took one of the poison clouds (the one that needs the least stats)
and killed Doran.
And now for the named black phantoms! I simply didn't manage them! I really had problems! Finally I levelled up to sl30. Goodbye, low level toon!

I somehow managed them now but I was desperate fighting Selen Vinland! She is such a hard enemy! First thing she casts is an anti magic spell! So what could I do now? I used grave robber ring to get close to her. I cast a spell and she hit me.
She can jump and move w/o any handicaps but I cannot. She hits me once an that's it. I read the wikispaces.com and tried a few strategies. Each strategy required different capabilities. So I had to level. I tried stronger spells, e.g. firestorm with the sharp magical ring and the Kris blade+5 - the effect was 10% of her hp! She got me always because one has to reload the MP by drinking old spices after one firestorm. I tried a  bow - she always heals herself. Nothing worked! All my invested points into dex and int have been waisted.
At the end I read this heavy weapon and stunning tactic. So I had to level strength to 30! for the DBS. This was an easy and really cool thing then! She had no chance to get to her feet again! But my initial goal to stay low was down the toilet!

Now, I have a toon that is nothing and everything. But I'm about to get platinum.
I never ever will do this again, because it is so hard! And it is stupid work duping all those upgrade materials. And the obtaining of those is a nightmare! And Mages cannot stay low heading to platinum!
I cannot further use this toon! If I had known all this earlier I would have made the toon differently! With sl 6 it is not possible for me but sl 100 is not needed either.

You know, with sl 100 I don't feel proud! I always try to have a challenge!
And now I know a strengths toon is better then a mage toon at a low level.

Anyway, I have learned a lot in this playthrough!


EDIT:

This is unbelievable! I'm with this toon in ng+ now!
I left nexus for 1-1 but it was so easy that I simply could run through the whole 1 world including the False King Allant and didn't die a single time!

This toon, despite of his bad blend of all stats, is so overpowered, equipped with the NR, Dorans' Ring, Theft Ring and SC!

I really have to put him in the dust bin.

Btw, I have 100% DeS' trophys now* smile