help with mage build

im lv 100 my stats are 30/23/30/16/20/8/44
i was doing forest pvp( i thjink my blood presure went up) it was fun besides the lag stabs and the 2 on 1 and then taunting when all they did was heal the phantom(enough ranting) not sure what to do with the next 20 levels rise vit and end to 40??? get to 40 dex so my sorceries are faster and ber able to use painting gardian sword better with the enchant??? any suggestions will be greatly apreciated. any pvp advice 2. thanks

Well, there are a multitude of things you can do with your stats. I'd use the next twenty to make sure Vit/Edu are at least 35 a piece if you intend to go toe-to-toe with your opponents. Then dump the rest into Dex. CMW and any dex weapon would go fabulously. If you are use for some crazy damage, grab either and the Ii-ado katana or the painting guardians sword and tear people up.

If you intend to cast go 40/23/35/16/20/50 and have an enchanted backup.

thanks for the suggestion. you gave me a lv 121. 10 vit 5 end and 6 on int. is it worth going for 50 int is the crystal dragon breath or whatever is called that good? are those 6 extra points in int are that noticeable??? sorry for the many question

No offense Tao, but I wouldn't do that at all. This is a Mage we're talking about! End is the last thing you need more of at 30 already. I say get your attunment to 34, for 8 slots, and put the rest into Vit.

i guess i can still use painting guardian sword for buffing with 20 dex? how much dex affects casting speed????

I'm not even sure it affects sorcery speed... I know it makes a tiny difference in Pyro.

Even then, it's not enough to justify spending so many points into Dex if you're going to cap yourself at 120. You'd be spreading yourself way too thin if you were to invest in Att, End, Dex, and Int, leaving you nothing for Vit.

i guess ill cap myself for a while to pvp. the thing is with 34 att and 50 int i will only up my vit to 33. im using the ring thats boosts 20% to vit end and load. since my dex is 20 i guess i can go with a lighting painting guardian sword or still use the buff. my first character lv 157 has 50 faith 50 str and im a bit tired of moonlight blade/sunlight blade. and grant is overrated in my opinion.

You don't need 50 Int. 44 is close enough, believe me. 39 Vit, for SL120 PvP, would really be the minimum. And honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't have gone above 20 End and put those 10 more levels into Vit also.

Oh also, yes, go for the buff. But you could always get both: 1 sword +15 to buff, and another Lightning +5, for when the buff wears off.

To be honest, I don't know about the painting guardian swords though! Their range leaves much to be desired in PvP... I like the Bandit's Knife for my Mage, for its crit rating, that way if my opponent gets too close I can perform a safe backstab and get some distance while he gets back up.

Sorry for the off-numbers, I just pulled them off the top of my head. Anyway, in rebuttal to wondering why 35 end? if the mage is going to melee (He mentioned weapon buffing) he will need stamina for swinging the weapons, and carrying capacity for armor.

It's really all personal preferance, and I am not one known for his magery in PvP

im guessing 33 vit will have to do if i want to do that set up. i went to ng+ so i cant upgrade yet. but ill give the bandits knife a try when i get the chance. with lower weight weapons i guess i can have heavier armor. i do like to use the Crown of Dusk for the boost. but i guess ill need better defense and sacrifice some of my offense.

@Tao

Sure... But with the amount of Vit he has, he should avoid going melee as much as possible!

If you're going to do a Spellsword build (I think that's what they call Int/ melee hybrids!) it takes careful stat planning.

Personally, I would do it this way:
Vit: 40
Att: 28
End: 30
Str: 14
Dex: 20
Res: --
Int: 44
Fth: --

You'd have 7 points to spend as you like, to get to SL120. This is an Iaito build, by the way.

But when I go Mage, I like to go Mage all the way! So here's what I would recommend:

Vit: 40
Att: 50
End: --
Str: --
Dex: 12 (Bandit's Knife)
Res: --
Int: 50
Fth: --

And you have 14 points left to spend as you like. Personally, I would put 10 in Vit and 4 into End, but you could also use them to level Str/ Dex some more to use a different weapon.

that pure mage would need light gear and grass shield i guess?? since it has low stamina. not sure what ill do but since i already have 20 dex the katana (or use another weapons that fits on that dex i have) build seems to fit my stats more. i do like to melee from time to time. this is game is frustrating some times.

Why grass crest?? It's a Mage, stop thinking about stamina!

1. You don't need stamina to cast spells.

2. You regain your stamina while you're casting.

As a Mage, you only need enough stamina to roll around a few times. Then you cast and regain it all anyway, and roll again. My SL120 PvP Mage actually has base 8 End, and that's all the stamina I need! Also, with so little End, the first thing I'd spend my precious little equip weight on definitely wouldn't be the GCS! I have the TCC in my left hand, bandit't knife in right, kirk's gauntlets (for their roll damage properties), and painting guardian leggings (for looks! I hate skirts... but they would be more effective)--that's it!

I started experimenting with filming some gameplay with my phone. I actually had some fights with my Mage last night that would have made a great video... but my phone died just before and I didn't realize. I got a bit of other interesting footage though, I'm trying to edit it now (not Mage though, unfortunately).

I agree with Blaine about not needing so much endurance, but given that you have 30 already i'd strongly recommend the moonlight greatsword.
It requires 16/10 is str/dex which will mean 10 wasted levels in dex but its worth it. Get your int to 50 to benefit most from the "S" scaling.
On my PVP sl70 mage i only have 16 att and 8 endurance and i cope fine, just make sure you keep your armour equip burden below 25% for maximum stamina recovery.

I still play my one and only character with my very own DEX/INT build
(im at work at the moment so i cant post my stats sry) and i can tell
you guys in my opinion 40 VIT fits my playstyle very very well... i
don't need more VIT to win 4 out of 5 of the battles. It all really
depends on your playstyle. I'm mainly usingthese:


Right Hand: Uchigatana +14 buffed with CMW / Chaosblade (i know
most of the ppl dislike this weapon due to HP loss, but its a very good
weapon if u know how to use it), Ascend PyroGlove +5 (for great fireball
harassing only).

Left Hand: Grass Crest Shield +15 / Crest Shield (if i need more magical DEF), Tin Crystalisation Catalyst /
Beatrice's Catalist (depends on how much spells i need) That paired with

Homing Crystal Soulmass / Homing Soulmass is a deadly combination! (i
capped my INT at 32 because im using more DEX for melee damage)
Armor (weight < 50%): Crown of Dusk, Black Knight Chest +5, Smoughs Gauntlets (or Kirk's for roll damage), Crimson
Waistcloth +5 / Waistcloth of the Channelers (if i need a little more
poise)

Rings: Dark Wood Grain Ring, Ring of Steel Protection / Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring

as i said before, it's my very own build and it fits me perfectly. it's a
build you have to play very agressive and tho very patience with. I
don't gain much DMG because i have about 390 DEF and good Elemental
Resistances and a 50 poise (thats enough to stand most of the attacks
(except the big weapons)). But i still have to flip around to evade if it gets too hard.

the thing i want to tell is... IMO u don't always need more then 40 VIT to survive SL120 PvP. it always depends on ur playstyle

So, just throwing my .02 (and free advice is worth what you paid for it) but a few things I like to focus on with any magic user:

Vitality - you will get hit, so 30 is a min, and that's where I like to keep it.

Att: - You shouldn't really need too many spells, but 5 is probably a good place to be (so 19). Gives you plenty of adaptability, which you will need to handle different situations while still saving points for other attributes

Endurance - as others point out, you're probably not swinging a whole lot (although I do like a good lightning or fire uchi as a backup) so you shouldn't need to go to high here, 25 should be good, but if you like to block rather than parry, then 30

Str: - stay with min for a good off weapon, cutoffs are usually 12, 14 & 16 (nothing higher is really worthwhile for a strict mage build)

Dex: - Now here is where I disagree with others, dexterity increase casting rate for ALL magic types, Pyro, Miracles and Sorcery. The max rate is hit at 40, but that's a little too much invested for my taste. I like to raise it to ~24. It can make the difference between getting that soul spear off or not. Any points you don't spend on strength, put here

Res: -- nothing

Int: - Well now, this depends, 40 is really fine if you want to mix in some swordplay (or spearplay or whatever) but 50 CAN be worth it if you go with the dragon's breath. It can certainly surprise people and follows the terrain, so can be applied strategically for good effect,

Fth: -- same

So if you start with a Pyromancer (I always do just for the whole min/maxing thing), that'll put you at SL116 with a few points to spare for slight improvements to vit/end (hope my calcs are correct there). If you decide against 50 INT, then pump into Dex for ability to use a scaled off-weapon with CMW and faster casting

I'd personally say 23 attunement, minimum 30 Vit and End (add more if you need) 44Int max unless you want White dragon breath (which is disappointingly underwhelming)

and if you want to have power in melee then STR 16 and grab Moonlight GS+5, it'll be stronger than most weapons a mage can handle..

Id say only if you have points to spare, put them into Dex, but i don't find casting times of Soul spear/soulmass spells to ever be an issue no matter what your Dex is.

@BLA1NE

what type of spells do you recommend for in close fighting (when you don't have the choice)? do you use any pyro spells on your build?

I would max out Int to 50 and put the rest into Vit. You have plenty of Att and End and w/ so few points I don't think you're going to see a significant increase in casting speed. That is assuming you have the stats to wield the weapon you want. I'd also go for Logan's or Tin Crystalization catalyst in the left hand w/ your weapon in the right and constantly switch between two handing that weapon and casting homing souls and soul spears.

Int builds are beasts in PvP... wish I saw them more often

hi all,

what type of spells do you recommend for in close fighting (when you don't have the choice)? do you use any pyro spells on your build?

I don't use pyro very much. Sometimes, but usually for close fighting I'll switch and two hand an enchanted/lightning claymore, and then when they back off, keep pressure w/ spells again. The key is going to be to constantly switch your tactics. If you're only in NG, then I would definitely use pyro and keep a greater combustion and a fireball on me just in case.

I don't use multiple types of magic on one build, just the way I like to pigeon hole my characters.

I'd say it is better to have a good melee option to go with, than rely on close range spells such as combustion to get you out of close combat, and melee is more reliable too.

pyro spells, especially fireballs (...fireorb, etc.) sometimes are good for harassing. if u play against an decent SL120 he won't care much, but if u play against casual gamers they get nasty if u throw them at their direction. so... its almost useless, yes

many thanks for all the suggestions. since i have some stats compromised already and only have 20 more levels for 120. 40 vit 50 int will be 16 levels. the other 4 points can go to dex since i already have 20 i guess. i do have moonlight greatsword +5( and it funny to hit people with the heavy attack) im guessing with 24 dex i can use a dex weapons better for buffing or use the quelags furysword(some people say is not good i do like it even though it doesnt do a lot of dmg) if not i have 4 points extra to play with to bad 27 att doesnt give you another slot it has to be 28