What is your stance reguarding mages with actual durability?

[Junkhead]

Dark Mages, if I may.

Those guys...wow. I thought Tharja was pretty durable herself, but then we get Henry, an apparent mage with 50% Def growth. That's just...wow. I am using him, and I am surprised how ridiculously durable they are for magic users. Add to that the fact that they are potential speedies as well (not so much for Henry thanks to a low base Spd, but Tharja could very well be). Also, let's not forget awesome tomes like Nosferatu- And my personal favorite, Ruin.

I am currently on Ch.21, and I can't help but be a little surprised by the enemy Sorcerer's having things like 57 HP/20 Def.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Juliet

[Da Bear]

My personal views on then are <3

[Junkhead]

You know, besides the obvious Nosferatu tanking. What do you guys think?

[Da Bear]

they're amazing.

[Tamanoir]

That's pretty amazing. The more surpriing fact is that they have higher Def growth than Res Growth.

Also, Ricken was a pretty good foretaste.

Not forgetting than Henry is a wonderrful father for everyone who wants to go mixed.

And then, you have Dark Knight. A Shadowgift Dark Knight seems the best thing ever...

...this game truly have awesome classes !

Edited May 3, 2013 by TendaSlime

[An Assassin]

Dark mages are pretty nice. Even without nosferatu, you have more leniency with them and their high defense. Vengeance, if you combine with vantage can be terror. Just...don't take them anywhere cold.

[Interceptor]

I like the concept of a tanky mage, but I'm a little concerned about the balance. Mages are traditionally supposed to be squishy, so unless they have some other kind of downside to go with it, it seems like an iffy decision to me.

I guess that accuracy was supposed to be the downside (along with lower MAG), but given the skills that Dark Mages get, that's hardly a factor.

[An Assassin]

Well, they DO have lower skill... Although even with hex an anathema, assuming you use them just to use dark magic, dark magic is like the least accurate magic there. So, I do think accuracy is there deficit. Er, flaw I mean. Even with the 2 skills equipped I miss a fair amount of attacks. Unless of course, using wind spells.

[Emeraldfox]

I wish they wore armor. But high defense is never a bad thing, it's always good.

[Interceptor]

Well, they DO have lower skill... Although even with hex an anathema, assuming you use them just to use dark magic, dark magic is like the least accurate magic there. So, I do think accuracy is there deficit. Er, flaw I mean. Even with the 2 skills equipped I miss a fair amount of attacks. Unless of course, using wind spells.

Sure, it's a thing, but as a drawback I feel that it's pretty minimal compared to the advantages of having innately better durability (never mind the Nosferatu access).

[An Assassin]

Yeah I getcha. An' even then the drawback can easily be corrected. Skill pair-up, or what have you.

[Loki Laufeyson]

This is why Dark Knight Shadowgift combo is amazing. DKs are hella tanky.

As for Sorcerers, i like them but Speed sometimes takes a hit and someone already mentioned the accuracy. Henry's speed growth is just not nice. But yeah Sorcerers are pretty cool.

[Tao]

Can't say much of Mages in general, but I...do like Henry as a Dark Mage -> Dark Knight, though I usually ended up benching him because of his speed growth. Although I enjoyed changing Avatar to Sorcerer in main run... so yes, dark mages are pretty amazing though.

Just don't really like Tharja myself. Henry is still decent as a father, I think... Gerome and Cynthia with Henry as a father were still good (in different files, of course). But this isn't about characters than the class.

I...I never used a 'normal' Mage in my file.

[euklyd]

Hmm. I don't love any of the (initial) Dark Mage characters (as far as gameplay is concerned; Henry is an awesome character); Henry is good, I never use Tharja except so I can recruit Noire, but units (generally Street-/Spotpass) re-classed into Sorcerers can be fun. Mostly because when I'm feeling too lazy to actually do any thinking, they allow me to solo maps with Armsthift + Aversa's Night (mainly R&R3, when properly Limit Broken).

Also, spamming Mire with Aggressor is hilarious, especially with Hit +20, Armsthrift, and Tomefaire. Of course, not many playable characters can do this, so it's a bit limited. Arvis and Julius are my main source of Mire spam, but Henry helps occasionally.

[Ein]

Luckily the Dark Mages you get are the best Dark magic users in anything ever.

And they're quirky. SO QUIRKY!

[Renall]

I think the SPD/SKL/MAG caps of Sages are worth it in the extreme cases, but for facerolling the game Sorcerers are just too much.

[Shadow Mir]

Hmm. I don't love any of the (initial) Dark Mage characters (as far as gameplay is concerned; Henry is an awesome character); Henry is good, I never use Tharja except so I can recruit Noire, but units (generally Street-/Spotpass) re-classed into Sorcerers can be fun. Mostly because when I'm feeling too lazy to actually do any thinking, they allow me to solo maps with Armsthift + Aversa's Night (mainly R&R3, when properly Limit Broken).

Also, spamming Mire with Aggressor is hilarious, especially with Hit +20, Armsthrift, and Tomefaire. Of course, not many playable characters can do this, so it's a bit limited. Arvis and Julius are my main source of Mire spam, but Henry helps occasionally.

That combo sounds like it's only possible on any male children of the Avatar (and the Avatar himself, if male)... (I know that I'm omitting Spotpass units)

That aside, I'd say I have no real idea what to think - the initial dark mages do have issues (Tharja can't hit the broad side of a barn unless she's using wind magic, even with Anathema helping, and Henry's depressingly slow to start off. The former also has issues with being on the receiving end of critical hits, which is especially bad against other mages).

[euklyd]

That combo sounds like it's only possible on any male children of the Avatar (and the Avatar himself, if male)... (I know that I'm omitting Spotpass units)

That aside, I'd say I have no real idea what to think - the initial dark mages do have issues (Tharja can't hit the broad side of a barn unless she's using wind magic, even with Anathema helping, and Henry's depressingly slow to start off. The former also has issues with being on the receiving end of critical hits, which is especially bad against other mages).

That is true. It only works for Avatar's male children, and Avatar (M). Which is why Arvis and Julius are my best friends

...when I said "not many playable characters," what I meant was "Avatar and any of Avatar's male kids."

I think Brady, Owain, and Morgan (M) do it best, cause they can get Galeforce as well, for 2x the kills.

And you're right. Tharja and Henry certainly do have "issues."

[Junkhead]

I like the concept of a tanky mage, but I'm a little concerned about the balance. Mages are traditionally supposed to be squishy, so unless they have some other kind of downside to go with it, it seems like an iffy decision to me.

I guess that accuracy was supposed to be the downside (along with lower MAG), but given the skills that Dark Mages get, that's hardly a factor.

Dark Mages have lower Mag? I thought that was another specialty of them, to hit hard and take a few more hits than neutral mages. Hit is certainly an issue, but it's never been enough as to be a burden. Just pair them up with a unit that gives more hit and give Tharja a Secret Book.

Henry's speed growth is just not nice. But yeah Sorcerers are pretty cool.

Uh...what? Henry's Spd growth is actually pretty good at 55%. If anything, it's his poor base that hinders him at first.

[Elieson]

Flux has more uses and costs less over Elfire, and is also E- rank (Elfire is D). Newly switched Dark Mage Cordelia and Libra are fine to start.

Elfire hits everything anyway.

Nosferatu has only 5 less hit compared to Flux (therefore 10 less on Elfire).

The only time you notice Tharja missing is before she promotes, and that's like 4 chapters or so.

Hate te accuracy on Waste though, and Ruin isn't much better, but still Magic hits often enough that you shouldn't be missing often.

[Interceptor]

Dark Mages have lower Mag? I thought that was another specialty of them, to hit hard and take a few more hits than neutral mages. Hit is certainly an issue, but it's never been enough as to be a burden. Just pair them up with a unit that gives more hit and give Tharja a Secret Book.

Dark Mages are -1 to MAG base compared to Mages, and also -1 to MAG cap (and Sages are +2 to cap compared to a Sorcerer). Plus, don't forget that Mages get a +2 MAG skill on top of all of that. So realistically, a vanilla Mage is going to be +3 over an equivalent Dark.

[Elieson]

Dark Mages are -1 to MAG base compared to Mages, and also -1 to MAG cap (and Sages are +2 to cap compared to a Sorcerer). Plus, don't forget that Mages get a +2 MAG skill on top of all of that. So realistically, a vanilla Mage is going to be +3 over an equivalent Dark.

Also Tomefaire

Remember flux is way more powerful than vanilla Mage spells though.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Elieson