style="">
style="">Aion
provides a fairly decent learning curve for players to learn
their class in the early levels. That gingerly hand-holding goes away
as soon
as players enter the Abyss and world PVP. Similarly, optimizing a
Sorcerer for
PVE is quite different from preparing for PVP. In the early levels a
Sorcerer
may load up on manastones that boost magic, but once you go toe to toe
with
another player those stones should all add HP. This is just one area
that a
Sorcerer needs to shift the thinking between PVE and PVP.
Let’s review some of
the others and discuss the Sorcerer’s role in PVP.
style="">Strengths and
Weaknesses
The
obvious strength of the Sorcerer is the high output of
damage. If a Sorcerer can stand back away from the fray and lob big
direct
damage spells, the fight is not going to last too long. And if an enemy
does
manage to get up close and personal, then the Area of Effect stuns
(Sleeping
Storm) and crowd control can allow the Sorcerer to put some distance
between
them and the attacker.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77665/preview">
The
glaring weakness of the class is the lack of damage
mitigation and overall health. The primary weakness of the class is its
inability to handle incoming damage. As stated earlier, load up on
manastones
with health to help offset this as much as possible. The Sorcerer that
can
balance between dealing damage and managing incoming damage will truly
understand how to play the class. As with any class, knowing when to
cast which
spell is critical especially with the small margin for error for such a
delicate class.
style="">Getting jumped (and
not in the good way)
The
Sorcerer doesn’t have personal space protection like
real armor. A cloth robe is not much in the way of protection, so keep
that
shield up at all times. While leveling up, get very comfortable with
the
various roots, stuns, and crowd control measures. When getting into PVP
land,
you’ll have to know instinctively which to cast in a given
situation. If you
have some distance while fighting a single target, you have some time
to cast
Sleep or Ice Chain or something similar. If however you don’t
have the luxury
of time, be ready with an instant cast Root. Blowing the wrong spell in
the
wrong circumstance can be deadly (ask me how I know).
[PROTIP]Keep
some Seeds of Perception handy so that you can
see those pesky Assassins.[/PROTIP]
style="">Choosing Stats and
Stigmas
As
mentioned above, there is a distinct difference between
how a player should gear up for PVP versus PVE. Beyond adding as much
HP as you
can get your hands on, you’ll want to make some choices when
it comes to
stigmas and gear.
In
contrast to many of the games on the market I’m surprised
at all of the options for specializing the Sorcerer skill sets. Feel
free to
try out different blends of damage increases and crowd control
measures. Most
of the Sorcerers tend to go down the survivability tree and end up with
Sleep
Storm as their end-game Advanced Stigma. Between that skill and the
predecessors like Illusion Storm, the Sorcerer has a plethora of
self-defense
mechanisms.
Having multiple stuns, snares, etc. at your fingertips is essential
as most players will drop a potion to get out of the first stun placed
on them.
Additionally, you’ll want to grab the Illusion stigma to help
avoid some of the
incoming damage.
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77666/preview">
When
it comes to weapons the Sorcerer is fairly limited. The
weapon of choice is typically a Book instead of an orb due to the
ranged attack
(orbs are melee) and the fact that books typically have stats for
greater
percentage of landing spells (magic accuracy). The enemy
won’t die if you don’t
land that spell.
The
gear decisions should be based on the stats provided to
the Sorcerer. The primary stat is Magic Boost which will increase
overall
damage and this is a good thing. The next tier of stats to look for
include
Magic Accuracy and Casting Time Boost. Both compliment the Sorcerer
casting
requirements and should be included (I’d give the nod to
accuracy over casting
time, but your mileage may vary). The last tier would be HP increase
and Attack
Speed. Attack Speed helps Sorcerers even though it sounds like a melee
bonus.
Attack Speed actually increases the combat animations for your
character which
will reduce the “down” time between casts.
I’d load up on more health if given
the option between the two though.
style="">Bringing It Home
The
blessing and curse of class is that there are so many
possible combinations for damage output versus crowd control.
I’ve outlined
some of the thoughts behind the choices for increasing survivability,
but you
may (and probably will) find combinations that work better for your
play style.
Please let me know some of your choices and the successes (and
failures) that
helped you come to those decisions. I’m always looking for
that optimal way to
tweak my character and bring the most out of my class.
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