A Guide to Mages comment thread

[Skandranon]

Rank 6 of the spell will absorb 570 damage in exchange for 1140 mana plus the 140 mana it costs to cast the shield.  Improving it with talents yields 997 damage absorbed in exchange for 1995 mana (+140 again).  Because the spell is instant cast with no recast, the real benefit comes from not having to drop 140 mana to recast it.  The normal mana/damage ratio when taking into account the cost of casting the spell is 2.25:1 as opposed to the talent improved ratio of 2.14:1.  This is not a particularly convincing improvement, I'd rather just refresh mana shield and spend the points elsewhere.

That's basically the argument I've already made in the unfinished second revision of the guide. I didn't do the math, and I'll include it with credit if you let me, but basically, I definitely agree that if the incentivization is only a less frequent recast, that's not particularly worth spending talent points on.

Personally I think arcane meditation is only worth it if you've got an abundance of spirit.  The good news is you can hold off your decision to get it for quite a while, then decide based on how your gear is  shaping up.  If you end up having upwards of 250 spirit, I'd say that this talent would be more beneficial than Arcane Focus or Subtlety.

Possibly. That said, some assumptions in that theoretical situation don't sit well with me. A 6000 mana pool at level 60 is a fairly hefty assumption - my level 60 mage only recently broke that barrier, and that's with Arcane Mind. Base mana at that level seems to come in around the 4000 mark. To assume 6000 without Arcane Mind and high spirit is to assume, essentially, a full set of Owl stuff and some Magister's things. Equipping like that will provide tiny stamina bonuses, making you a rather worthless AoEer. Given that a mage's primary instance role is AoE, it's not a trade I'd recommend.

Still, I'll expand the discussion surrounding Meditation. Wouldn't hurt.

I would also add that you may want to stress the importance of good UI management through the use of mods which are readily available (eg Flexbar).  An efficient UI can be the difference between life and death in many situations, as well as generally being more pleasant to play with.  Things like cycling through nearby targets are also very handy for easy polymorphing.
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I would, but I must admit that I don't have the experience to write about such things. I only use one UI mod, Telos' BottomBar, and by all accounts my play is quite good. I'm not up to downloading and trying out UI mods, and I do just fine without them, so I don't think I'm qualified to add such a section.