Quote:
Originally Posted by ya.dingus
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Can't really decide.
Erudite any good with their cultural or nah?
Just stick to Dark elf for lazy hides when afk?
Gnome just because? Not sure.
Maybe just human cause being swoll is how to roll?
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Here's what I have in my unfinished mage guide:
Races
Magician can be chosen by five races, here is the basic information for each race, and I will rank them based on a 10/10 scale for fresh start servers and mature raiding servers. Most of the races are comparable to each other, except for humans who have a large stat disadvantage, and gnomes wall vision. In the end, choose what you like to play and what you think looks cool, as the stats won't matter as much once you reach higher levels. Be aware that humans will always be behind intelligence wise and if you are creating a mage solely to be a coth bot, or you think it will be a coth bot in the future: ALWAYS choose gnome. You don't want to be using shrink pots on bots.
Dark Elf DEF
Faction Alignment: Evil
Racial(s): Hide, Ultravision
Starting City: Neriak
Playable Classes: Cleric, Enchanter, Magician, Necromancer, Rogue, Shadow Knight, Warrior, Wizard
Experience Modifier: None
Armor: Medium, Small
Best natural vision, although with Summon Coldstone any race can see as well as a Dark elf. Built in hide skill of 50, it work's 35-50% of the time, and is useful for AFKing in weird spots, avoiding trains. Hide isn't the most useful on a mage sadly because it will kill your pet. Second highest starting int. Execelant noobie zone and access to Freeport, has a library in Neriak. Fashionquest is real here, and dark elves look fantastic. Fresh start 8/10, Mature Server 7/10.
Erudite ERU
Faction Alignment: Neutral
Racial(s): -5 Disease Resist, +5 Magic Resist
Starting City: Erudin, Paineel
Playable Classes: Cleric, Enchanter, Magician, Necromancer, Paladin, Shadow Knight, Wizard
Experience Modifier: None
Armor: Medium
Highest starting int, and that bonus +5 MR is excellent! They start with 70 agility though, which is a serious handicap. Unless you put 5 points in at character creation you will have an AC penalty and often be running slower while encumbered until you get an item with +AGI on it. The noobie zone is pretty bad over all and most people have to take the boat to Qeynos, Erudin does have a library though. Fresh start 4/10, Mature Server 8/10.
Gnome GNM
Faction Alignment: Neutral
Racial(s): Tinkering, Infravision
Starting City: Ak'Anon
Playable Classes: Cleric, Enchanter, Magician, Necromancer, Rogue, Warrior, Wizard
Experience Modifier: None
Armor: Small
The only small race available for Mage, this is invaluable for using COTH to invite people from the entrance of zones. (We will cover this later). Any race can be shrunk and perform the same trick, but only gnomes can do this at all times with superior wall vision. Decent int, excellent starting zone and access to a library make them a good choice at any point during the timeline. Fresh start 8/10, Mature Server 10/10.
High Elf HIE
Faction Alignment: Good
Racial(s): Infravision
Starting City: Felwithe
Playable Classes: Cleric, Enchanter, Magician, Paladin, Wizard
Experience Modifier: None
Armor: Medium, Small
High elf has decent starting int, the highest charisma, which is actually nice. You will make more money vendoring items throughout the character's lifetime and it adds up. Greater Fay and Crushbone are noob friendly and full of cash making opportunities. Access to the library in Ak'anon as well as the dwarf and gnome starting zones. High elf is never a bad choice, just maybe not the best choice, but style matters and they have it. Fresh start 8/10, Mature Server 7/10.
Human HUM
Faction Alignment: Neutral
Racial(s): None
Starting Cities: Freeport, Qeynos
Playable Classes: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Enchanter, Magician, Monk, Necromancer, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Shadow Knight, Warrior, Wizard
Experience Modifier: None
Armor: Medium
Lowest int, male beard fashionquest, really good starting locations in Qeynos or Freeport, but the libraries are harder to access. No night vision, play a human to be more unique or to enjoy the advantages on an early server, they get a decent fresh start ranking purely because Qeynos, the Aquaducts, Blackburrow and the Karanas are such a good place to play. Fresh Start 7/10, Mature Server 5/10.
Starting Statistics
RACE STR STA AGI DEX WIS INT CHA BONUS
Dark Elf 60 75 90 75 83 109 60 30
Erudite 60 80 70 70 83 117 70 30
Gnome 60 80 85 85 67 108 60 30
High Elf 55 75 85 70 95 102 80 30
Human 75 85 75 75 75 85 75 30
As a general rule of thumb going 25 int/5 stam is a strong choice for any racial choice or playstyle. It wasn't until deep into Velious gear that I began to regret choosing 25 int at creation on the first Green server. I chose Dark elf, with 25 int and 5 str, and it served me well throughout the entire timeline. It wasn't until I started getting NToV caliber loot that I started going over 255 int, and even then as a raiding mage you will want to be using a Manna Robe anyway which will limit your int. The point is that going 25 int is never wrong, or a bad choice. In fact it is generally the best choice available for most players.
For Erudites on fresh start server I highly recommend going 25 int/5 agi to cover that agility gap. If you don't have 75 agility there is a run speed penalty when encumbered and an armor class penalty. On a mature server you can use items to cover this gap and instead I would recommend str or sta instead.
If you are the neckbeardiest of the neckbeards and know for sure that you will be gearing this toon out at level 60 with NToV quality loot then you absolutely want to go 25 sta / 5 int. The extra hit points will make a difference later and if you wanted to cap stamina as well as int, it's much harder without the creation sta. I also recommend 25 sta/5 int for experienced players who don't plan on using the character for coth bot status, and are going to twink it. I'll explain more on this later.
Experienced players can also choose 25 int/5 str at creation or a mix of the two stats. Str is very useful on fresh start servers and will pay for itself many times over being able to carry more loot out of a dungeon or exp session. Be wise about this and only choose str if you know what you are doing and understand you will lose out on stats at 60 that you might want at that point.
Deities
In general it doesn't matter what you choose at all, because the diety specific equipment is generally pretty bad for most diety/race/class combos. Bertoxxulous has some decent black sapphire gear, but is it worth being hated by everyone? Agnostic is the best choice for a mage, the only choice for a coth bot, and in general the best choice for most players. If you like the flavor of a diety, or want to roleplay, or just like the idea of it. Go for it! It doesn't matter and in the end, having fun on your character is most important.
Creation Recap
I'd like to stress here that no matter what you choose your character will do fine, and at 60 you will hardly be able to tell the difference. Play what you like and have fun, don't let anyone tell you what's best for YOU or how you choose to play. That being said there is definitely a min/max approach here and if you want to know what is technically the best, or what I recommend, keep reading. A lot depends on what your plan is for the character, is it a first character on a fresh start server that will become a coth bot later? Is it just a coth bot? Is this your main through Velious? Is this character just a fun side project that you enjoy leveling? Have you the longest neckbeard and want to know the absolute best way to create the character? Also please note that Erudite's may need +5 agi at creation to hit that magic 75 agi number.
Farming toon for fresh start Green destined to be a coth bot:
Race: Gnome
Diety: Agnostic
Starting Stats: 25 int/5 str
Coth bot:
Race: Gnome
Diety: Agnostic
Starting Stats: 25 int/5 sta
Main character through entire timeline:
Race: Any
Diety: Any
Starting Stats: 25 int/5 str or sta
Side Project:
Race: Any
Diety: Any
Starting Stats: 25 sta/5 int or str
Neckbeard Project:
Race: Gnome
Diety: Agnostic
Starting Stats: 25 sta/5 int
TLDR: Play what you like the best and don't let other people tell you that min/max is the only way.