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. 


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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.




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Keep this up and it won't be long before you realize it's time to visit
your friendly Mage Trainer to buy some more skill books. At level 5,
you'll gain access to Concentrate I and Erosion I.



Concentrate is a passive ability that increases your Concentrate
ability (No, really?) by 25 points. It may not sound exciting, but it's
what allows you to continue casting during those moments
you’re getting the snot beat out of you. Even if it's not the
most glamorous ability, it is one of the most useful so be happy to
have it.



Erosion is a DoT spell that will shift around in the sequence of your
arsenal release, depending on the situation. It initially strikes a
target for 37 points of earth damage and continues dealing 33 damage
every 3 seconds after that for a total of 15 seconds. Most often, it's
best to cast Erosion after Ice Chain. Casting it first may grant a
little more time to complete the cycle of damage, but not enough to
make it worthwhile in most instances. By not casting Ice Chain first,
you give your target more time to get in range, and that’s
something you never want to do unless you have to. Continue playing
with the timing and placement of Erosion and before long, you'll have
each situation mastered.


Nearing Ascension



Level 7 is when you'll discover you really begin to come into your own
in terms of power. Before you do anything else, track down your Mage
Trainer and pick up the skill books for Frozen Shock I and Stone Skin I
if you haven’t already stashed them in your inventory. These
two skills finally begin to flesh out your character a little more.
They open up new possibilities and release you from the strict
regimental patterns you've been using in combat up until this point.



Frozen Shock is the second chain spell you receive. After you cast Ice
Chain, an icon will appear on your screen. If you cast another spell
instead of Frozen Shock, the icon will go away, rather than remaining
there for a couple seconds (the same is true for any chain spell).
Frozen Shock inflicts 126 water damage on the target, plus puts it in a
Knocked Back state. This means that not only do they get pushed back a
few feet, but they'll also just stand there in a daze, wobbling from
side to side for a few seconds. This is a great opportunity to really
unleash some hurt, or run away.



The second ability you can get at level 7, Stone Skin I, is a real life
saver and will become your best friend, assuming of course that you
actually remember to cast it on a regular basis. It forms a shield that
surrounds you for 5 minutes or until it has absorbed 212 points of
damage. The only thing that makes Stone Skin a drag is the two minute
cooldown timer on it. Most of the time, this is little more than a
nuisance to recast, but if you've accidentally pulled multiple targets
or had a streak of resists during a battle, that two minute wait can
feel like a lifetime.


The Path to Ascension



Upon reaching level 9, you will instantly receive a quest to ascend and
become a Daeva. I don't care what anyone else says or why, but drop
what you're doing and go complete this quest. Unless you're in a group
that desperately needs your help and will most likely hunt you down in
real life to set your house on fire, you need to complete this quest as
soon as possible.



Ascension is where you become a Daeva, are granted your wings, and
choose your specialized class. This is where your true life begins.
This is when you begin to grasp the true meaning of power.



The paths of mortals are no longer your concern.





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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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