The
Sorcerer is similar to other cloth wearers in other
games where the goal is to balance damage output with mana conservation
all while
staying out of harm’s way. Seems easy enough, but there are
many variations
when it comes to enemies, situations and the required combat sequences.
Since
most people will practice the spell rotations on various encounters and
have
their own favorites by the time they get into the level 40 range,
we’re going
to focus on the earlier part of the level range. As with most of my
discussions, we’ll focus on how to achieve the best damage
throughput using the
lowest amount of mana thus having the least amount of downtime.

style="">Walking before you
run.

style="">Aion provides
many
ways to learn about your class as you level up. The good news is that
you are
provided a stair step approach to character skill sets. Within the
first twenty
levels you’ll learn the lion’s share of the spell
types. Later on you’ll get a
host of upgrades to those base skills and get a few more to help round
out your
compliment of abilities. All of this means that a basic spell rotation
can be
developed early on and then honed to a fine point over time.

style="">Basic Rotations

One of
the bread and butter rotations starts with Delay
Blast which provides a few seconds to tee up more damage. The next
batch of
spells will include a chain and some nukes. There are many options and
you will
want to try out the options to see which provides the return on your
mana you
enjoy. One such rotation might be the following:

style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Cast Delay Blast

style="margin-left: 0.5in;">During the delay you
should be able
to unleash Ice Chain and its chained spell Frozen Shock. This will
provide some
damage and a nice knockback as the slowed enemy tries to get to you.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;">Time to add some fire to
this ice.
Cast Flame Cage for some nice damage over time. Some players will cast
Flame
Fusion in later levels to help lower the fire defense of the enemy.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;">While the damage ticks,
cast
another chain including Flame Bolt and its chain partner Blaze.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;">Once this first round
barrage is on
the way to your target, it’s time to take inventory. The next
step will depend
on the health of the enemy, the pool of mana available and the location
of the
next fight.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> style="">               
If
you need (or want to) end the fight quickly at the cost of some mana,
drop a
Flame Harpoon on the bad guy.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;"> style="">               
If
time is not of the essence don’t be afraid to use a little
spellbook ranged
attack to finish them off.

style="margin-left: 0.5in;">Watch that mana, and
don’t be
afraid to use Mana Treatments, potions, etc. to keep yourself topped
off.

Make
sure to cast Lumiel’s Wisdom for 15 seconds of
discounted spell costs (50% off) when you start dropping on mana
reserves. When
you hit level 34 and get Gain Mana, you’ll be able to cast
this for some mana
regeneration as well.

style="">Topping it all off.

You
have all kinds of options and the above is just one
illustration of how to approach a one on one PVE battle. The rotation
will
definitely vary depending on the type of enemy and whether you are solo
or
grouped up. Try different variations and see what kind of rotations
work best
for you in a solo situation, but don’t forget that you will
also be called upon
for group work and PVP. Some skills will seem like they have no
purpose, but
imagine how they might be useful in a group or PVP scenario.

Good
luck out there and report back on your successes (or
how we might learn from your brilliant failures!).