Help For New Mages

Maybe this would help new players who choose mage i guess :-
Overview of Contents:
Stats
Builds
Int-mage
Rec-mage
Luck-mage
Leveling
Skills
Skill Recommendations
Items
Mobs
PvP Strategies

Stats in Shaiya

Strength(str) - phys. atk [useless for mages]
Rec. Defense(rec) - phys. defense, ranged defense, every rec pt adds 5 hp <--- the red bar
Intelligence(int) - mag. atk
Wisdom(wis) - mag. defense, mag. hit rate, every wis pt adds 5 mp <--- the blue bar
Dexterity(dex) - evasion, hit rate, every dex pt adds 5 stamina point <--- the yellow bar
Luck(luck) - range atk, crit rate, max crit dmg

ultimate mode, every lvl = 5 skill pts, 9 stat pts
for every lvl a mage gains, 1 int is automatically added

Builds:

Remember, builds are not absolute. It's all about playing the character most suitable to your style. Also, characters don't have to be pure. If you accidentally put a few points into dex, luck, or whatever, the character is not ruined! Just no points into str =P. Sometimes, mixed stats work out to be the best. The two recommended types of mages for NORMAL mode are the int-mage and rec-mage. Types for difficult mode: int, rec, hybrid. The types recommended for ultimate modes are int, luck, hybrid.

The point of normal mode is to get a character to lvl 50. Int mage most efficiently serves this purpose, particularly w/ defender. Rec mages lvl fast too, and it's better for soloing. Shaiya only truly begins in difficult mode =)

Int-mage

Pros: Very high atk, fast lvling
cons: Very low hp, low evasion, low hit rate
Recommended path of lvling: solo or preferably, party with a defender and grind on yellow/orange mobs, or even red if you're in higher modes. When you're partying w/defender, make sure that he/she has properly lured mobs before you atk, or else mobs will switch target.
Stats: Pure int, or add in some wis in a 4:1 ratio. You can stop adding wis when you find that you have enough mp to use. Eventually there is a passive that add mp, as well as a skill that converts sp to mp. Pure ints will find themselves drinking lots of mp pots before lvl 25ish due to not enough mp. So therefore, some wis will save you money at early lvls as well. *I personally recommend adding some wisdom!
Later on: do 6:1 (wis), 5:2 (1 wis, 1 rec), or 7:2 (1 wis, 1 rec)

Rec-mage

Pros: high defense, high hp, money-maker, good for soloing
Cons: me*Vulgar Word*m atk
Recommended path of lvling: solo on green mobs that use PHYS. atk (attempting to fight mobs that use mag. atk will be terrible), lure lots of them (at least 5+), you'll barely take any dmg, then run, then release your AoE skills. the skill fire thorn will help out a lot, because it aggros mobs, and they will take dmg every time they hit you while fire thorn is active. you'll lvl almost as fast as a pure int. don't party, it will only reduce exp gained. green mobs won't cost you much in terms of pots, and you'll get lots of money off them. use the money to buy a really good weapon to increase your atk.
Stats: Mostly rec, some int/wis. 4:1
Difficult mode: 6:1 (int/wis), 5:2 (1 int, 1 wis) - this build not recommended for ultimate mode

Luck mage
- an interesting build. I've heard about its power at later levels, so I put it here as an option. This build is more for later modes when you want to do a different build for fun and power ^^
Pros: amazing crits! highest atk
Cons: slow lvling
Recommended path of lvling: go int-mage or rec-mage, then buy an item mall product that resets stats. or if you don't want to spend the money, it's a very slow grind on blues/greens. the amazing crits and misses don't really show till high lvls. for example, when you have 300 luck pts, your crit rate is only about 50%, but with 400 luck pts, crit rate is almost 80%. so before you crit all the time, you're weaker than int, rec mages. you also need really good gear in order to lvl decently.
Stats: Mostly luck, some int/wis. You need 500 luck pts at least, preferably a little more w/ lapis to be a decent luck mage. Also get at least 80 wis either thru stats or lapis. works out best in ultimate mode, 6:3 or 7:2

Hybrid mages
- a personal combination of stats that you prefer - works best for difficult/ultimate mode
popular types are int/rec, and int/luck. There's always a few wis pts tossed in there, but very little.

Intuitively, a dex-mage makes sense - dodge rate, right? But this is actually a really crappy build, because everything is low. Low atk, low hp, low mp, low mag. hit rate. Finally, since like luck pts, you need a ton of dex pts to actually dodge a certain % --- again, very bad lvling too

Leveling:

In general, mages should kite, especially at early levels. I see the new mages standing there and trying to tank mobs. Nooo! You should cast, cast again, run away if mob is near or hits you, then cast again. Particularly as a ranged class, distance is important. Eventually, rec-mages don't have to care anymore; they can tank somewhat. Shaiya is also not a potting game. Pots have 30 second delay time, so it's heals, and then you can't heal again until 30 secs later. Be prepared, and drink that pot as soon as you feel some pressure. Don't wait. Another general thing some people don't realize is that you can jump and swim in the game. When trying to get to your favorite grind spot, save time by jumping over things or swimming.

There's a lot of complaint going on about skill interruptions and mages being a weak class. Before you complain, you should reflect first ^^ Except doing PvP, PvE should be no problem for you~

Are you picking the mob in the most strategic location?
Int-mages, always pick the most isolated and distant one, to allow for maximum number of casts and to avoid AoE's surrounding mobs. Rec-mages, cast your AoE's into most crowded place, but, you should not run into most crowded area.
My skills keep getting interrupted/ I don't have enough time to cast my spells?
Remember, skills mostly interrupt by either 1)a mob hitting you, or 2)you run before the skill finishes casting. Avoid doing either, and if surrounded by lots of mobs, keep an eye on the hp bar and run in circles. A higher level technique is to dogde- double hitting S (dodge back), Q (dodge left), E (dodge right).
Mobs get too close before I kill them?
Take note of elemental resistance! Use the skills that deal most damage on a particular mob. Finally, know the cast times of your spells! Cast the one that takes the longest first (when you have max distance), and the instant one last.


Skill Recommendations:

These recommendations are mainly for normal mode. In difficult/ultimate mode, you have more sp, so this becomes less significant. Some skill names change after lvl 1, eg magic ball >> magic arrow >> magic missile. Just look at the picture ^^ When I say meh, you can pass or get 1 level to try it out, and again, it matters less in later modes.

Passives: Dagger power up - (useless, unless you plan on using daggers)
Mana training - adds mp, max
Relax body - improves hp/mp/sp recovery rate (lvl 2, or max if u have the sp)
Backpack - adds inventory space (get lvl 1, maybe lvl 2, depends on need)
Interpretation - allows you to understand language of other side (useless)

Basic: Magic ball - max (good finishing skill)
Body protection - max
Fireball - lvl 1
Sonic pole- lvl 2 or 3
Ensnare Roots - if you like to pk, max this
Mana Leakage - useless

Combat: Fire thorn - rec-mages, max this skill. Int-mages, stay away!
Fire wall - useless, rec-mages - lvl it if u have sp
Storm - max
Rock Mountain- lvl 2
HP drain - meh, 75% success rate btw
Nemesis (ultimate mode) - good pk skill, only 85% success rate though, if you get it, then max it, no point in getting only lvl 1 or 2
Doom - meh, low dmg over time - get it in later modes though
Meteor - lvl 1 or 2 (some ppl love the dmg, while others hate the cast time)
Earthquake - lvl 1 or 2
Lightning - max
Fire choir, Wind choir, Earth choir (difficult mode) - these 3 skills all do high dmg, but they have 4 sec cast time and 300 sec refresh time before you can cast them again. So they're only good for 1 hitting things, or pking. Most people max 1, and get lvl 1 of another one. - Use in conjunction w/ ensnare roots.

Special: potential - max
diversion - converts sp to mp, lvl 2
Health Assistant - lvl 1, or max if you pk
Hellfire - free choice, a decent AoE - if you get this, then skip the fire/wind/earth song spells
Earth Split - free choice, decent AoE - if you plan on getting this, then skip Earthquake
Turbulence - max
Flite - useless, 1800 sec delay way too long, and it doesn't work on a lot of things
confusion - meh
attribute remove - removes elem. resis, some ppl love it, some ppl find it utter waste of sp, when maxed, 80% chance of success
support spell - lvl 2
reap and sowe (difficult mode) - good final pk hit
Secret Technique (difficult mode) - turns everyone in your party except your self invisible, bad skill lol, the mage should not become a target XD
Kamain's Fury (ultimate mode) - =)

Items:

A mage can equip either a staff or daggers.

Normal mode -- staff for sure
Later modes -- staff w/ wisdom lapis, or dagger w/ int lapis

A dagger hits lower dmg, but it's faster and misses less. Remember... you're still casting spells w/ a dagger.

For more details on attack speed; read THIS

The better the gear, the more slots it has for you to seal in lapis. mages should focus on wis, rec, and dex lapis. tailor needs to individual builds - accentuate your strength, hide your weakness.

PvP Strategies

In my opinion, mages are more of a PvE class that is also amazingly effective in group PvP. Stay behind everyone else, unleash crazy AoE's, and be aware of assassins and hunters. The mage, unfortunately, does not do well in individual PvP.

Vs. Priest/Oracle - not much strategy, just hit them with your highest hitting spells, and try to root them. They will throw spells back at you. Priests/oracles have tons of wisdom, so you do low dmg on them, takes very long time to bash their hp. How much wis and hp each party has determines how long the fight will last. Sad thing to say, but you will probably lose. In fact, you can even try switching to daggers and stab them instead because some of them have so much wisdom that your spells just doesn't do much.

Vs. Ranger/Assassin - ouchie. Ranger/Assassins are probably the best classes for PvP. They interrupt your skills, can make you faint (status effect), kick you, and be invisible and stalk you. You can only run... and they even have a skill that boosts speed. boohoo. Just don't let them get close to you, root them, etc. It all depends on how well you use your PvP skills. You do have some chance against them.

Vs. Archers/Hunters - pretty bad as well =( they have this skill that drains your mana. And then you're kinda screwed. However, if they don't drain your mana, then you have a chance! (because some of them save their skill points, and don't bother to lvl that skill =P) Run close to them! Because ranged dmg gets reduced to almost half when you're standing right next to them. Then root, and bash them like crazy.

Vs. Fighter/Warrior - the second their name appears, runaway! then root, hellfire, all 3 wind spells (instant cast ones), while you run some more to give yourself possible another chance to repeat aforementioned spells. It all depends on keyboard control ^^
oder classes l8r