Maining a Mage and wondering what boxing options are

Discussion in 'Casters' started by Adron, Jan 11, 2014.

  1. Adron New Member

    Could anyone give me an idea of what each class boxed recommendations provide? I'm going to be playing in a progression guild starting from classic, but I do have endgame in mind...but that will come a long time later from now...

    I've leveled a bard to afk /melody and follow my Mage, but wanted some more opinions...

    I've entertained adding another Mage...but in the end id like to reduce as much button mashing as possible.

    And I'd probably have mercs as well. Though I might only sub on one account and not the other since I won't need the current content for awhile

    My goal is to be able to somewhat efficiently take care of myself for exp when groups are scarce...

    I'd only box 2 toons too.
  2. Khauruk Augur

    Bard - simple ease, and it is guaranteed to boost every upgrade that you get on the mage. They can pull, and amplify every aspect on demand - tanking, pets, mana regen, cures, slow, snare, your dps. There are tradeoffs as they do this, but it's quite powerful.

    Chanter - good adps as you get higher, mediocre dps on their own. Excellent pulling, can't get the crowd control. Runes help pet tank higher nameds as needed. Can add very good dps if you charm w/ the chanter.

    Shaman - excellent healer, has some crowd control abilities to supplement your not great pulling. Sham epic is great w/ RS pets and they can add some of their own dps as needed.

    Druid - excellent healer, ports, a bit of adps (Wildfire, black wolf), a bit of dps on their own as needed.

    Cleric - supreme healer, lulls complement your pulling ability (given room and patience, lull, cleric pulling plus COH is surprisingly decent). Stuns and Shining Rampart combined w/ heals readily make up for lack of slow.

    Necros - pulling, awesome sustained dps, some tricks on undead.

    Wiz - ports, huge dps boost, few clicks to get excellent results.

    From there we get to the less complementary duos - bst and ranger (you miss 3/4ths of the dps they can generate though they do have some utility), melee dps and tanks.

    My choice was chanter, and probably playing the chanter more as main once I get more comfortable with it. They add a good amount on their own, can tank in a pinch w/ spammed runes, and can control a situation quite well if you pay attention to them. The wilder and more confident I get w/ the chanter, the greater the rewards will be. I think it will work well for my new casual style (I have raided for years w/ bst and ranger, but don't have the time or drive for that right now).
    Every time I see a mage/bard though, that gets very tempting....so easy, so much power. The healer combos are very tempting too - a friend at the time went through all of Underfoot at 85 w/ group geared mage and mainly group-geared cleric, and did so with aplomb.
  3. silku Augur

    Chanter is the way to go. More than mediocre dps. Better CC. Stuns to help when pet is going down too fast. Slows/cripples. Clarity that lasts at all times. Second spire + robe mana feeds. Twincast aura + mana reverb to increase both of your dps. Illusions of Grandeur to turn named mobs into puddles. I box a mage/chanter team, I also have a 100 bard.. I much prefer the chanter.
  4. drkoli Augur

    Necro is what I use with my mage for pulling and moar dps
  5. Ultrazen Augur

    I would highly recommend a Druid. When things are easy, the druid can contribute very well with dots, nukes, or AOE. When things get tough you have heals, roots, *snare* (very important), evacs.

    The druid can also harmony pull singles in a lot of places, and with insta camo, run speed buffs, snare, and harmony, and evac, they make really good pullers outside. This is something that is particularly useful if you are going to try and play without mercs a lot of the time. Having a nice steady stream of singles makes things much easier.

    I box a lot and have tried every combo under the sun, there is no better bang for the buck than a druid as a 2nd or 3rd box character. There just isn't another class in the game you are going to get so many useful things out of. There is also a fantastic synergy between druid and mage, all of the things a mage needs a druid does. It's hard to argue with ports, evacs, snares, heals, nukes, dots, AOE, run speed, buffs, all from one character. In the min/max world, Druids may not be top of the heap, but as 2nd or 3rd box character, I'm convinced they are the best class in the game.
  6. Necromonious Augur

    If I were to do over I'd probably go chanter....but then again, I just killed Plaguescale at level 97 (meaning he conned blood red) at Shard's Landing with mage/necro. Mage frontloads all the pet defensives, pops frenzied and Virulent, improved twincast with robe and elemental union, necro goes robe + spire + swarm pets + frenzy dead. It health was chunked down 10%+ at a time, died in less time than necro's first wave of DoT's ;)
  7. Yinla Ye Ol' Dragon

    I use Wiz and mage, chanter or druid would prolly be a better combo, but wiz has always been my main and all other classes are on the same account. I mainly use the mage for the pet.
  8. Githy Elder

    "No Button Mashing" reply:
    Another mage. I played a box team of 5 mages plus enchanter, and the only button mashing was the enchanter doing cc. Every mage had the same macro, and I'd just target the mobs, start their macros and cc any adds. Oh you're still alive? Start the macros again...

    Or if you're really lazy (like me) get [Unmentioned 3rd Party Software], and set up a multibind key for each char, then you can mix wizards and mages and have 1 key for pet attack, and spam 1 key to fight.

    Wizard benefits are ports, exodus escape button, and at lvl 100 my wizards do more than double my mages' dps on burn.

    Necro? All the high-level necro's seem to say you need to be doing a lot of micro-management to get the benefit. Wizard just casts ethereal weave then chains ethereals :D
  9. Enkel Augur

    Honestly, these are my favorite combinations with a mage:

    Mage Mage (favorite)

    Mage wizard

    Mage enchanter

    Mage druid

    Mage necro (dont' care as much for the necro because I'm not to worried about multiple mobs).

    Mage/Mage because it's the most formidable duo in the game, in my opinion. Mage/Wizard is obvious, crazy amounts of dps in the group game. Mage/Enchanter, because IoG, auras, and cc is awesome fun. Mage/druid because heals, root, and black wolf are very nice. Mage/Necro, two awesome pets, single pulls, and good dps.
  10. SyDiko Augur

    Mage + Beastlord, is what we (the voice in my head lol) run and it's awesome. :)
  11. Nylrem Augur

    I've personally brought up a cleric, bard, and druid as boxes (each separately, I only have 2 accounts, plus wife's account) with my magician main.

    I've duo'd A LOT with my wife's BST main and her chanter and mage alts, a friend wiz and his alt monk, and a friend necro.

    My highest recommendation would now be the druid for overall general content. Their porting ability (teleport bind is phenomenal), tracking ability, and ability to shift to either dps or heal, combined with their utility, is extremely powerful.

    Mercs stink, terribly, at higher levels. They are stupid healers, don't move away from mobs, etc. The ability to use a real toon to heal your pet with a real priest class (plus the ability to heal in raid content) is extremely valuable.

    That being said, ANY, and that is literally ANY of those mentioned, are great boxed classes for a magician, it's greatly going to depend on how much effort you want to put into that boxed toon. So, if you have a preference to any of those classes, play that class, I think you will enjoy the game more, that way. And you will usually be able to solve challenges, one way or another, with any class. That's the fun of the game, IMO. Taking on challenging content, and beating it... eventually.
  12. Mintalie Augur

    Chanter. I've had a chanter box almost as long as I've had my mage and couldn't be happier. With macros for debuffing and nuking, they are very easy to maintain, plus the backup advantage of crowd control if things get nasty.

    Also, lots laugh at this suggestion, but keep Shiny Bob up and give him some pet toys, and keep your pet aura up on the mage (it also affects RS pets) for a tiny boost. DPS is DPS, even if it's just a little bit.
  13. Toysoldier New Member

    I currently box three mages and must say there is nothing that can stand in the way with three pets. Going getting tough? add in a tank merc and two healer mercs, game over for tough mob..........
  14. Enkel Augur

    or three cleric mercs?
  15. Gnomeland Augur


    Shaman epic doesn't hit RS pets...
    Enkel likes this.
  16. Khauruk Augur

    Thanks. I could have sworn that it did, but never checked to verify.
  17. Cone head Augur

    As a Mage and my play style I would look for a class that can snare as my second option.

    Bard, Necro, Druid, Wizard.

    Root is ok but snare is just a bit more reliable imo.
  18. Bryan Augur

    I returned to eq as a 6 box but over time reduced it to 3.

    I run bard mage wizard and healer caster caster j5 mercs.

    At level 93 heroic adventures are a joke. I main the bard because I like to be on top of pulls while mobs are being burned down and so I can focus on cc when I choose to pull multiples instead of taking the time to split.

    My em12 air pet tanks fine and I don't even bother with bard slow. I go full offrnsive plus regen on bard. Against named or tough mobs I make sure to RS with mage the moment his pet engages so the mob turns on the servant to give the healer merc time to get in a heal rotation.

    I love the trio for survivability, mobility, sustained and burst dps, and overall ease of use.

    Bard/mage is also good for PL. I leveled up a shaman and chanter to 90/85 in little time and just log them in for buffs every few hours.
  19. JustaguythatplaysEQ New Member

    always remember, when hits the fan,... the necro has FD,.. and when equipped with cleric merc and their own res ability,...
  20. Ultrazen Augur

    OH one more thing, I main mage/druid/bard, if you've never experienced the LOL redonkulous damage that is Bard spell buffs and fire buffs + Druid skin to plant line and debuffs + Mage fire spells, you are in for a treat if you go that route. The amount of damage you can do with that stuff running is.....quite a bit. Anything that combo works on will more or less reduce it by a couple of con levels.

    I'm convinced BMD is the best 3 box in the game, it certainly is my favorite anyhow. You can do pretty much anything with that combo, and the travel options are equally as nice. I've been running around doing my Bard epic, and the ability to port and COH has just been a godsend.

    Anyhow, best of luck whichever way you go!