Newbie mage pointers

[Davairus]

We advise you not to play mages until you're more familiar with the game, however, its clear that some people still relish this as a sign of a "challenge", and throw themselves in at the deep end. And that can lead to a very discouraging character if it never gets over the hump into the "fun" levels, especially because of needing to sleep constantly. So rather than say, "Told you!", here's some tips for your newbie mage. (Which we still dont advise)


1) invisibility. You've got to practice and use this spell. Against all other players, you + low level mage = fodder. This is your best (and only) defence for a long time. It even works against low level mobs, so if you're getting reamed by goblins or something, invis after fleeing. This is mainly what that spell is in the game for. A defence.

2) Mercenaries. Low rank killing speed is pretty horrible for mages, because they run out of mana quickly. A hireling provides damage for you. So always use the mercenaries, upgrade to the next best mercenary as soon as you can. Make them RESCUE you to save having to tank too. When you can get by well with spells, start levelling up a pet. It'll be weak at first, a strong companion in the long run.

3) hitroll and AC. Low level mages have more problems connecting their hits, and get hit easier, since they're subjected to typical AD&D rules until you reach the "advanced" levels of the game where defences are provided. Both of these attributes are gold, a lowbie mage with no defences, decent AC and armor spell can tanks mobs almost as well as a lowbie warrior with 2. Believe it. It'll wear off as you level up though.

You'll need to sleep much less once you (A) get a mercenary, (B) get hitroll, (C) get some levels to reduce spell mana costs. And once its fun, it stays fun.

5) Quests. These offer some exp reward, and for a low rank spellcaster, that's gold. Complete as many of these as you can find. The start of many quests can be found just wandering around inside Seringale - after you complete your guildhall quest, travel to the Merc Guild again (remember we said get a merc?), then after you finish that series of quests, visit Tir the captain for another series. That should tide you over nicely. If you're having troubles finding more out of the way quests, try the pub crawl quest at the Drunken Beggar.