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Those of you looking for the definitive answer to Mana use, I apologize
for the disappointment but alas I can only offer my opinion.
Levels 1-5
Mana is cheap and Health is not: Blast the hell out of everything.
After about level 5 Mana is complemented by Health(by that I mean you can
actually take a bit of damage and survive now) As such, an intelligent
Wizard will learn to balance the loss of Mana with taking damage. Keep
in mind that at levels 5 to roughly 8 Mana recovers(in terms of bubbles)
at about twice the rate of Health. This is important since you can still
solo comfortably at these levels. If you have lost a bubble of health
you should have already used 2 bubbles of Mana(sometimes more depending
on the situation)
Levels 9 and up I solo occasionally but I prefer to have a friend or 2
for the most part so that's what I'll talk about:
As the Wizard in the party your job is the hardest. You have to know
the status of your tank(or party members taking damage), the status of
the MOB or MOB's and after all that you must be able to balance your
Mana(and sometimes your health) with the health of your tanks in order
to get the most out of your fighting time.
Tanks getting the snot beat out of them? A good Wizard will have no mana
and have lost a bubble or 2 of health by the end of the fight. A big Mob
may hit me for between 20 and 40 points a pop which a level 10 Wizard can
take between 1 and 3 shots depending on the damage done. Needless to say
your tanks will be able to get in several hits while you're taking your
lumps. Save a little Mana so when you back off you can deal that killing
blow and keep your MOB from running away.
If you're in a fight that is middle of the road, and you expect your
tanks to lose 2-3 bubbles of Health you can easily get away with using
3/4 of your Mana on this kill and still be the first one ready for your
next fight. When your party first engages the MOB jump in and get a few
melee hits in. Your tanks will do enough damage to keep the MOB's
attention from you. After a few hits step back and cast a couple of your
offensive spells of choice(shock of lightning etc...) sit down and take
note of your party members health bars(keep and eye on this at all times)
as well as the MOB's health bar. When the MOB is down in health a bit
jump back in and take a few more melee shots at it. If you did your job
the MOB will turn and hit you once or twice. Back up and finish him
off(when his health is low enuff) with your damage spell.
This last scenario is my most common and usually ends up to be the best
Exp for the time spent. Most of these Mobs are Yellow cons(a few reds)
and I usually have 1 sometimes 2 ppl that I work with like this.
As you get higher in levels you will not be able to take a hit or 2 as
comfortably as you once could so this behavior where I take some of the
damage will eventually stop. At what level I'm not exactly sure since I
like sticking my neck out for the rush hehehe!
For weaker MOB's it's almost a waste to use more than a spell or 2. Again
a proper balance of Health and Mana will optimize your adventuring and
fighting time.
Keep in mind that every situation is different which means I try to fight
using these tactics but that's not always possible. For those of you that
are already up there in level I apologize for typing out what you already
know. One thing everyone should keep in mind: Never be afraid to use all
your mana if the situation warrants it; it always takes your tanks longer
to recover their health than for you to recover your Mana.
Cinius Shade(Mith Marr)
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