Gregorius,Apr 30 2005, 10:46 PM Wrote:Mages: how do they compare to Rogues? I'm particularly wondering about how resistances/immunities factor into late game soloing and group play (is it as "you almost have to have two trees to be able to kill everything" as D2 sorceresses), and how the damage compares. Which of the aforemention classes is usually the favorite for instances? Which one is best for group PvP (i.e. Battlegrounds, not mindless Southshore zergs)?
Immunities isn't that much of an issue for mages in the late game. This is mainly because we're talking about talents, not the actual skills. Even as a Fire/Arcane-specialised mage, I can throw up a decent damage blizzard in Moulten Core, and there's nothing wrong with the slowing effect of my frostbolts, they're just *less* effective. The layout of the arcane tree with the damage skills on top (Arcane Explosion and Arcane Missiles) makes it easier to create very focused builds. If you just spend 10 points in Arcane, you can place the other 41 in another tree, making it highly specialised, without really crippling the build against certain opponents.
As for resistances, I havn't had any major problems with it so far. You still damage high level bosses like Azuregos and Lord Kazzak with more than 50% of your spellcastings, which is often enough, since you have to control your DPS against them anyway. ;)
As for PvP, they have very different roles. Since my experience with the Battlegrounds is very limited (none, in fact :D ) I can only talk about the mindless zergs, or perhaps slightly more organized versions of mass PvP.
Rogues are the special ops units of PvP. They strike against characters that have moved too far from the flock or made a too agressive advance with devastating damage, and then disappear without a trace. (or just run like hell out of the action! :P )
As a mage, I can easily say that 75-80% of my deaths on the battlefield has been caused by talented rogues.
Mages on the other hand, most often act as the artillery of PvP. With the support of hunters, druids and paladins, they can quickly destroy characters rendered immobile. With mana shield and fire ward active, (to fend of long range hunters and mages) surviving on the front line isn't an impossible task. Just make sure you have someone to cleanse you from the evil DoT's. ;)
With blink to free you from snares, and the new insignia you cure you from fear, polymorph and slowing effects, mages are really hard to catch. Blink and polymorph are also awesome advancing skills, catching up to enemies on the run and polymorphing them long enough for the rest of your party to catch up.
Once again, this is based on Hillsbrad skirmishes. I have no idea what the gameplay will be like in the Battlegrounds. ;)