Mage specialization

[Vertiggo]

So my mage is 23 was mindlessly killing crag spiders when I saw my alteration specialization hit 68. I was like "ffs" I'm a noob so money is tight now I gotta buy a damned Ruby to reset. While I was touring to temple ro it got me thinking is conj the only option for mage? I mean obviously I don't want alt but is evoc an option aswell?

[Tecmos Deception]

Conj is the best option for sure if you're chaining pets... but if you're spending a lot of time in groups where you've got the same pet alive for extended periods, you'll probably be using a lot more mana on nukes than on summons. But for raids again you're probably expected to be conj since COTH and summoned items are conj and your nukes don't stick too well on raid targets.

[isoka]

Remember that magicians have some nukes conjuration based, as well as some DoTs conjuration based. So even in groups, you can benefit from conjuration specialization.

[jolanar]

Specialization just gives you a chance at a mana cost reduction(higher skill is a higher chance), so it's not really that big of a deal to reset right now if you can't afford it.

[Daldaen]

Specialization just gives you a chance at a mana cost reduction(higher skill is a higher chance), so it's not really that big of a deal to reset right now if you can't afford it.

This is false.

Specialization is a guaranteed flat mana preservation.

It's roughly equivalent to 1% per 20 skill (it's actually closer to 18 and some decimal I think skill per %).

So at max skill it's 10% at 200, and 2.5% at 50.

Every cleric should notice their Complete Heal costs only 360 mana versus 400 for example.

See this thread for the bug post / evidence: http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164045&highlight=Specialization
See this thread for the patch that implemented the correct specialization mechanic: http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173108&highlight=Specialization

To the OP:

Wizard - Evocation
Magician - Conjuration
Enchanter - Alteration
Necromancer - Alteration
Cleric - Alteration
Shaman - Alteration
Druid - Alteration

No class should ever deviate from these specialization choices. They will serve you best in the group and raid game. There are very niche leveling specialization choices (like cleric evocation if you're soloing 30-50, or Druid evocation if you're too lazy to charm solo and want to quad, or magician evocation for 51-60 if you do AE Chardok groups), but for your typical, run of the mill solo, group, raid and end-game options, the above are the correct specialization choices.

[Nibblewitz]

But what about a master teleporter who is specialized in alteration?

[Daldaen]

But what about a master teleporter who is specialized in alteration?

Consult with Eratani.

[jolanar]

Interesting, thanks for the clarification. Regardless, at 23 it's probably not the end of the world if you wait a bit until you can afford it to do the quest.

[Daldaen]

If you are soloing, I'd say it's worth the money to burn a ruby because you will likely be using chain pets to do so. Pet summons are basically 200 mana per cast and being properly specialized will save you 20 mana per cast, roughly 2-3 med ticks at these lower levels, and depending on the camp you may need 2-3 casts per mob.

If you're grouping, it doesn't matter because individual contributions in a full group are really inconsequential in the success of the group. The game is easy enough, especially when leveling up that just auto attacking will win the day in a full group.

But to elaborate more fully on why Conjuration over Evocation... On raids and in higher end groups magicians primary role is mod rod production and Call of the Hero (for either pulling or mobilizing). The later being an extremely expensive spell. Being able to reduce the mana cost on both of those roles is very helpful. Beyond this, magician nukes are woefully underpowered in this era of the game, and stay that way until PoP (and by this point EQ Devs were smart enough to make the level 65 nukes Conjuration). Most every mob at the higher end will have a decent resist rate on your spells which require you stand in AE sight to cast.

As I mentioned earlier, the only time I would rationalize going Evocation is around level 51/52 when doing Chardok AE groups to get another Scintillation cast out of your mana bar. Which is definitely the best mode of leveling. Doing Sebilis and Velketors is cool for about 2-3 sessions at a few different camps. After that it's mind numbingly boring.