> From: "James" <manickd@...>
> Subject: AE spell. 24th what one is good?
>
> The spells cast Force,Column of lighting and Lightning storm are my 3 AE
> spells I can make for this level. Do I realy need 3. ?Can you tell me what
> one or 2 are the best pleas?
I'm not sure any are "best." I use all three, but I've talked to some
wizies who prefer just one or another. Cast force is very nice in that it's
caster centered. I.e. you don't have to worry about falling within the
radius of your own spell. The column spells have better damage/mana/mob
ratios but they are *I think* of tighter radius than some of the other AE
spells (e.g. the spirals and rains)--column of lightning is, for instance,
excellent for stacked mobs. Lightning storm has a reasonably good damage
mana ratio and it has a lesser tendency (IMO) to pull mobs to you. In fact
target based AE are often better because your distance decreases the
tendency to pull the mob (in contrast to Cast Force). On the other hand,
when you do pull the mob(s), you are generally further from your tanks and
it takes longer to get help.
In short, I'd recommend you play with the spells and figure out what are the
best circumstances for each. One "good" place to do this is Highkeep, where
if you pull a nasty, you can generally make it to the guards (who may or
may not save you). Definitely don't try these in a group you don't trust.
Also, note that some AEs (e.g. rains, and cast force) are great at slowing
down PCs. If you have a slow machine or are in a group where your tanks
have slow machines, you may want to avoid those spells. (Try turning off
particle effects to help.)
Best of luck. AEs, when used right, are great spells. I've hit as many as
6 mobs at a time and that makes for incredible mana efficiency. One last
thought: If you get into a group with another wiz or magician, tell them
you'd like to practice and ask them to switch to AE also. Much safer and a
lot of fun. Nothing like a good game of ping pong with multiple mobs.
- Glyphin