Magic Composition that great?

basilmarket.com forums : I/L Wizard to Arch Mage | 15 posts archived

thread starter chopstick4 Jul 22 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Instead of maxing Magic Composition I was going to max thunder spear for my substitute attack. And the SP from Magic Composition will go to Seal. Will my SP build mess me up in the future?

kirbyhyper 07/22/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Not at all. As long as you're maxing only one attack, you should be fine, and capable of getting Spell Booster, Seal, and Slow (will be helpful for any time you want to go kill bosses; Partial Resistance will be fine at level 1).

HateSpirit 07/22/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

Yeah, get one in both and see which one you like better. That's what I'm going to do. Won't mess up your build, like kirby said, just max only one.

MazzleHazzle 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

i disagree, i actually think that thunder spear is a useless skill and u should max element composition as when you are lv 120 lightning chain is a far better lightning attack and will competely replace thunder spear. thunder spear is very slow and by the time you have used it you would take a considerable amount of damage. I dont recommend slow either, as slow does not effect your attacking(more for play than anything).

mrhung 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

^ Slow is much more useful than comp/TS will ever be. Doesn't matter which single-target move you go for, so long as you don't forget to max Seal, you should be well off. Neither of mine are maxed - I threw about 8 points into PR, and throughout 3rd job I never seriously touched either single-target attack.

kirbyhyper 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

MazzleHazzle said: "i disagree, i actually think that thunder spear is a useless skill and u should max element composition as when you are lv 120 lightning chain is a far better lightning attack and will competely replace thunder spear. thunder spear is very slow and by the time you have used it you would take a considerable amount of damage. I dont recommend slow either, as slow does not effect your attacking(more for play than anything)." I hate it when people say this. Sure, Chain Lightning can replace Thunder Spear, but as an attacking and boss skill it also replaces Elemental Composition, Cold Beam, and against Lightning-resistant monsters, even Magic Claw. Essentially the entire set of single target attacks that you've ever had is 100% totally wiped out by this one skill. Aside from that, you over-exaggerate Thunder Spear's attacking speed. I have it maxed and I actually use it when I'm training often (except when it's at Red Wyverns, duh). Without Booster I can constantly kb a Windraider, Typhon, or anything else that has an awkward kb animation in CWK (including Bigfoot). And with it, by simply having an I/L compatible Elemental Wand (which I don't have T_T) I can produce a higher dpm than with Elemental Composition (Comp isn't affected by Elemental Wands). Slow is another bossing skill, and once again, another skill I use regularly while training (this time, including Red Wyverns).

xkitkat Jul 23 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

You made a good choice as to maxing EITHER comp OR thunder spear. It's just a matter of choosing one or the other. The extra SP would be nice for slow and seal Seal and slow are both essentials. However, here are some of my reasons why I chose comp over ts (a reply to the above poster ^): I agree that Chain Lightning will replace both comp arrow and thunder spear. However, judging by his level, he wouldn't really be at windraiders or typhons anyway. Both composition arrow and thunder spear will be used in training probably only as a finishing attack. Since both of these are considered as finishing skills, might as well choose something that would satisfy another part of your maple life: bossing. In terms of bossing, even though thunder spear would be compatible with an elemental wand or staff, a 3rd job mage would probably boss most at headless horseman and papulatus. Bossing at HH: Headless horseman is neutral to ice and weak to lightning. Comp arrow would still have an additional bonus against HH. Plus, the higher DPM and casting speed would make it even easier to knock headless horseman back for soloing. Bossing at pap: This is where the casting speed really matters. Pap has dispel, which causes most inexperienced mages to die ( I know I died a lot when I first tried bossing here at 9x). Because of the slow speed of thunder spear, right when you get dispelled, you're not able to recast magic guard becuase you're still in the middle of casting thunder spear. By the time you are able to recast, pap probably would've already attacked again leaving you magic guard-less and causing you a death. I'm not over-exaggerating thunder spear's casting speed here. It comes from experience and other people's stories and experiences as well.

kirbyhyper 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

xkitkat said: "You made a good choice as to maxing EITHER comp OR thunder spear. It's just a matter of choosing one or the other. The extra SP would be nice for slow and seal Seal and slow are both essentials. However, here are some of my reasons why I chose comp over ts (a reply to the above poster ^): I agree that Chain Lightning will replace both comp arrow and thunder spear. However, judging by his level, he wouldn't really be at windraiders or typhons anyway. Both composition arrow and thunder spear will be used in training probably only as a finishing attack. Since both of these are considered as finishing skills, might as well choose something that would satisfy another part of your maple life: bossing. In terms of bossing, even though thunder spear would be compatible with an elemental wand or staff, a 3rd job mage would probably boss most at headless horseman and papulatus. Bossing at HH: Headless horseman is neutral to ice and weak to lightning. Comp arrow would still have an additional bonus against HH. Plus, the higher DPM and casting speed would make it even easier to knock headless horseman back for soloing. Bossing at pap: This is where the casting speed really matters. Pap has dispel, which causes most inexperienced mages to die ( I know I died a lot when I first tried bossing here at 9x). Because of the slow speed of thunder spear, right when you get dispelled, you're not able to recast magic guard becuase you're still in the middle of casting thunder spear. By the time you are able to recast, pap probably would've already attacked again leaving you magic guard-less and causing you a death. I'm not over-exaggerating thunder spear's casting speed here. It comes from experience and other people's stories and experiences as well." That's all agreeable. I just had a small rant because I get quite peeved at people saying that the reason to not max Thunder Spear is due to Chain Lightning in 4th job.

HopelessWorld 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

I would personally skip both and max out partial resist. Neither Thunder spear nor composition is used in training and cold beam works just fine as a finisher (especially with ele wand 3). Also with ele wand 3, cold beam is actually stronger than composition against ice weak, and even on neutral monsters, beats composition in DPM as well as Thunder spear. Also seeing as how ele wand 3/7 should be your end game weapon anyway, it makes a lot of sense to skip these spells. Bossing as pre-4th job is a bad idea overall, but if you must, cold beam would be strong enough to boss with.

HateSpirit 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

HopelessWorld said: "I would personally skip both and max out partial resist. Neither Thunder spear nor composition is used in training and cold beam works just fine as a finisher (especially with ele wand 3). Also with ele wand 3, cold beam is actually stronger than composition against ice weak, and even on neutral monsters, beats composition in DPM as well as Thunder spear. Also seeing as how ele wand 3/7 should be your end game weapon anyway, it makes a lot of sense to skip these spells. Bossing as pre-4th job is a bad idea overall, but if you must, cold beam would be strong enough to boss with." It really depends on your style. TB is a lot easier to boss with, but you might get dispelled and die from loss of MG. Composition can also be useful.

HopelessWorld 07/23/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

HateSpirit said: " It really depends on your style. TB is a lot easier to boss with, but you might get dispelled and die from loss of MG. Composition can also be useful." Well the thing is, you really shouldn't consider seriously bossing until you get to 4th job. Mages are the worst bossing class as a trade-off for being the fastest levelers (at 4th job). Occasional HH might be good, but with cold beam, it is strong enough to consistently knock it back when you get to high enough level to solo it. I think you're talking about papulatus when you say getting dispelled. 3rd job mage soloing a papulatus is seriously a far-fetched scenario and frankly, a great waste of time, for a very low chance of reward. I guess I just think bossing is pointless at 3rd job and that those spells are completely unnecessary, seeing as Ice Strike is all you need to train with, perhaps cold beam as a finisher.

xkitkat 07/24/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

HopelessWorld said: " Well the thing is, you really shouldn't consider seriously bossing until you get to 4th job. " I love bossing XD It's what makes the game fun. It's a nice break from all that mindless grinding. It's true that mages might not deal as much damage as other classes in terms of bossing, but we do have awesome skills such as slow that works amazingly at bosses as well. It's true that cold beam can do as much damage with an ele wand, but if you don't have one right now, I'd still suggest going for comp arrow. Comp arrow makes soloing HH much faster x) And as for pap, you definately wouldn't be soloing, but it's a heck of a lot of fun with a party. I guess both TS and Comp aren't really essentials in your career, but I personally love getting new flashy skills XD I've always been a serious bosser (whether big or small bosses), always will be <3

lewisrock 07/24/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

HopelessWorld said: "I would personally skip both and max out partial resist. Neither Thunder spear nor composition is used in training and cold beam works just fine as a finisher (especially with ele wand 3). Also with ele wand 3, cold beam is actually stronger than composition against ice weak, and even on neutral monsters, beats composition in DPM as well as Thunder spear. Also seeing as how ele wand 3/7 should be your end game weapon anyway, it makes a lot of sense to skip these spells. Bossing as pre-4th job is a bad idea overall, but if you must, cold beam would be strong enough to boss with." comp= 140 magic atk +35magic atk in ice/thunder weak monster = 175magic atk cold beam = 100 magic atk + 50 atk on ice weak monster + 25atk with ele wand = 175 magic atk how is cold beam stronger than comp? no offense but just wondering if i did the math rong correct me

VietDreamer 07/24/09 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

worthless, the moment you put level 1 cl i doubt you would keep either of them on your keyboard.... thunderspear+slow=win

kirbyhyper Jul 24 2009 + PM | QUOTE | PERMALINK | REPORT

lewisrock said: " comp= 140 magic atk +35magic atk in ice/thunder weak monster = 175magic atk cold beam = 100 magic atk + 50 atk on ice weak monster + 25atk with ele wand = 175 magic atk how is cold beam stronger than comp? no offense but just wondering if i did the math rong correct me" Cold Beam has more casts per minute. Edit: Furthermore, you don't really add it like that. With elemental advantage and an Ice Wand, Cold Beam's base is 100 * 1.25 * 1.5 = 187.5 per cast Elemental Composition is simply 140 * 1.25 (as it's not affected by an elemental wand) = 175