I think Square Enix and/or the DEVs hate mages! (Long post)

[MStowastiqVahlshdeh]

I am not leveled enough to determine how mp management is doing in the game, yet I know this will be a major focus for me later, as I am really stringent about managing mp and the above complaints/advice concern me for what is to come.

For what a nooblet's opinion on this matter is worth, my biggest and only complaint with mages is the boring casting animations. I sometimes can't tell my character is casting at the beginning of the cast if it were not for the lovely magics animation. I know this sort of thing is trivial along the list of more important fixes but for me, visuals are a huge part of my gaming experience.

Note: Perhaps this will change as he levels up and uses new spells, in the way other classes have new animations for new weapon skills or actions but I am uncertain. It does not have to be a dramatic choreographed dance like in Dragon Age but something more than just standing there barely moving his arm would be wonderful.

edit : I just discovered a topic more suitable for my post than here in this thread. I apologize for my error.

[Brigandier]

MP restoring spells that I have as a THM don't do crap.

I nearly choked on my drink when I read this. Parsimony is an epic ability when used properly; however, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and explain how I use it since I made the "MP Argument" above. Here's how I typically solo mobs while keeping MP up.

1. Use Thunder
2. Use Featherfoot (yes, the Pugilist ability, very low level).
3. Use Parsimony if it is up.
4. Use Thundara
5. If I didn't two shot it, finish it off with a Thunder.

By doing the above, you're getting MP back from Featherfoot most likely (120ish MP for me at 48 THM), and a free if not MP profitable Thundara (or if you're feisty you can use it on Thundaga, I've seen several hundred MP recovered this way). If you're trying to hit chain 5, take a small breather. Not talking minutes here, just enough to keep your MP high enough to start going all out on the chain 3+ mobs. Hitting chain 5 reliably requires a bit of pacing on the early mobs; however, you can do it fast enough to wipe them out before they respawn, which is a lot more than most jobs can do.

As for that MP management argument, seriously, what the hell are you guys doing to do that effectively? Taking a long break between spells while the monster smacks you, to restore a tiny amount of MP?? As far as I can tell, no one should have to resort to that. It's ridiculous.

You're right that no one should have to stand there getting beat on while they recover MP, or that anyone should draw hate for the implicit reason of proccing Featherfoot. Where you're wrong lies here (assuming you mean a party situation):

1. Why is the mob on you? The mob is on you, this is not supposed to happen. Answer: STOP NUKING

That's the entirety of it. You're a mage, SE intended for you to be very vulnerable. You can solve both the MP and hate issue by clocking back your nukes a bit. It may seem that you're doing less damage this way, but if properly paced you can keep the flow of nukes steady and eliminate any "sorry guys, gotta sit here for ages to regen MP" scenarios.

[Estellios]

If you're getting continuous aggro then you just need to find a better camp or find a safe spot to pull enemies to, it's just that simple. You are going to need to have time to rest after a chain and possibly a tick or two between battles, which makes a much larger difference than you might think. You aren't supposed to be AOE nuking down multiple enemies at once in rapid succession like before (when nukes costed a laughable ~20 MP) unless they are under your level and you're farming. If you're solo XPing take advantage of Guildleves and especially Company Guildleves, the latter of which either give you your own personal instanced XP area or, in the case of the defense leves, generally give you ample time between waves to recover MP. Know how much Sleep spells/Sanguine rite costs for you and make sure you NEVER go under that amount so you have an out. And run away if you bite off more than you can chew.

If you haven't taken the time or just refuse to level other classes, you're only harming yourself if you really want to insist on soloing. The whole point to leaving the class system in this game is so you can solo and the biggest strength that Classes have over Jobs is the ability to cross-class, and if you don't take advantage of it than it's really your issue. Out of the abilities I listed earlier, 2 of them require you to take Pugilist to Level 6 which would take, at most, an afternoon. Sanguine Rite requires 30 THM, which if you insist on playing Mages only, you probably already have or will get eventually.

[Brigandier]

Also another thing that helped me immensely with thaum was realizing sound aggro mobs will not aggro if you are standing still or walking. Now I just kill my way into a thick nest of them and stand there nuking everything around me, using Resonance if they are out of reach. MP stays up much better this way as well, as there are many more opportunities for it to regen.

[Katt]

I have LVed up other classes, and what I'm trying to point out is missions like the one at the U'Ghamaro Mines. Going in at LV 50, and fighting Kobolds who's LVs are the same. It for the most part it can't be done. Even with using sleep, i can get twp or three of them killed before I have to stop and let my MP recover. By the time my MP has recovered and I moved on to the next one or two Kobolds the others that I killed respond.

And yes I'm using the two CNJ skills to regain my MP while fighting. The game has been re-done so much that Mages can't go out on there own for the most part and do the LV 50 missions.

[Estellios]

Pretty sure that quest is meant to be done in a party... seeing as how the strongholds are party areas. U'Ghamoro is also, plain and simple, a pain in the ass of a zone for EVERYONE. Kobolds spam DoT spells which prevent you from recovering HP/MP at all.

[Kinseykinz]

Pretty sure that quest is meant to be done in a party... seeing as how the strongholds are party areas. U'Ghamoro is also, plain and simple, a pain in the ass of a zone for EVERYONE. Kobolds spam DoT spells which prevent you from recovering HP/MP at all.

This...

Also, not every Class/Job will be suited to killing every mob in game. Just like each Class/Job has it's strengths and weaknesses, so do mobs. If you are trying to kill these for exp, maybe look for a soft,squishy mob that has a low resistance to Magic Damage.

[Katt]

@Kinseykinz Kind of funny how youe missed the fact that I said that I did this at LV50. I can't gain XP from any kill since I'm already capped.

[Kinseykinz]

@Kinseykinz Kind of funny how youe missed the fact that I said that I did this at LV50. I can't gain XP from any kill since I'm already capped.

Okay I should have been more specific Mr. Nit-pick. The exact thing you are trying to do is designed for party play not solo. In general however, if you find that you are having issues killing a mob efficiently, that is the same level as you, go find something else to kill or switch to a different class as it is probably resistant to your current classes attacks. Better?

[Delmontyb]

One thing I forgot to add was not to forget to allocate your points you get per level. Drop some in PIE and enjoy a bit more MP.

@Kat
I also ran that solo, it was very tough, but I was able to complete the quest. It was a lot of fun, doing it solo, somewhat reminded me of the difficult zones in XI.