Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The Mage

Built from the ground up to be masters of destruction, the mages in Aion bend the forces of the world to fit their needs. Being blessed with the ability to assault targets with massive amounts of damage means most battles last for little more than a few seconds. Whether you kill the monster or the monster kills you, a battle will rarely last much longer than that. 

Strengths
Very high DPS (ranged)
Multiple "Get out of jail free" abilities
Less gear dependent than other archetypes

Weaknesses
Very slow auto attack
Lightly armored
Slow mana regeneration

Words to live by
"Kill or be killed... quickly."

The Basics

The beginning of any mage's career is going to be fraught with danger. You're low on hit points and may as well be wearing tissue paper for armor. Fortunately for you, none of the creatures wandering around the early areas in the game will aggro you when you get near them. This gives you the opportunity to pick your targets with care rather than being jumped every few minutes by the next monster that thinks you look particularly tasty.

With the exception of your initial three skills, Fire Bolt I, Ice Chain I and Restrain, all of your spells need to be bought from a Mage Trainer. After you've ascended to a Daeva and chosen your specialized class, some spells will be garnered through drops, but for now, you'll simply buy them all.

If you ever get in a tight bind (and it will happen), use Restrain to stop your pursuer in their tracks for 20 seconds. Any damage will release them, so be sure not to cast on the mob again until you're ready. Later in your travels, you'll acquire a DoT (Damage Over Time) spell. Be aware that if you've already cast a DoT, Restrain will only buy you a few seconds until that next tick of the clock goes by and your DoT triggers again, thus releasing your target. Restrain has a lengthy cooldown timer, so only use it in the most dire of circumstances.

Until you reach level 5 and get some more spells under your belt, the name of the game is Root and Nuke. Learn it, live it, love it. It's a tried and true method that has worked well for countless generations of mages that have come before you. Remember that in every encounter, distance is your friend. If you have problems remembering this for some reason, just continually repeat, "I am not a tank.”

With your target at maximum range (or close to it), cool their heels with Ice Chain first. This will not only giving them a jarring dose of water damage, it will also drastically reduce their movement rate for 12 seconds. While they're slowly crawling towards you in a futile effort to strip the flesh from your face (they *always* want to do that), heat their world up with a well timed Fire Bolt. If this doesn’t kill them outright, the damage from this attack will have them on the ropes. If they’re still kicking at this point, feel free to send another Fire Bolt their way. Personally, I find it more mana efficient to finish them off with your auto attack. It may be slower than molasses in the winter, but it will get the job done.

Gaining Power

At level 3, you gain your first chain attack in the form of a new spell called Blaze I. Cast Flame Bolt and upon a successful hit, an icon for Blaze will appear on your screen. You've only got a few seconds to click on it, so do so in a hurry to see the results.  This burst of flame will ignite your target for another 119 points of damage. On top of that, it also decreases their Magical Resistance by 30 for 30 seconds. Anything that lowers the ability of your target to resist one of your spells is a good thing. Blaze has a decent cooldown timer (30 seconds) so you'll most often only get it off once in a battle, but it's a welcome friend when it's available.