I got rank 1 firebolt but I really don't do a whole lot of fire-countering. I can see the strategy in it though.
What I do, usually, is alternate between firebolt and ranged (I'm an elf). Elf Ranged loads faster than Firebolt, but doesn't knock it back. Still, doing this can help to conserve mana, and because Firebolt does not miss it's always a good idea to load it after dealing the first strike with your bow. That way you can be certain that you'll survive. If you don't have the mana for a Firebolt, I would advise that you shoot once more before they get too close and then if it misses Play Dead before they get to you.
Also make sure that you don't shoot an arrow too quickly after a firebolt, because if you do so you will only cancel their "getting up off the ground" animation and cause them to immediately begin to run after you. If you make this mistake and they're far enough from you, you could still load either Firebolt or Counter. However if they're too close you will just have to Play Dead.
Ice and Lightning really don't work with Ranged because you won't really be knocking the enemy back. Alternating between the two types of attacks will not work because you will have an even lower chance of knocking the enemy back, therefore making a missed arrow that much more deadly for you.
I find that Firebolt can be even more useful than Icebolt at times, so even though it's less popular it's not to be underestimated... Because it knocks enemies down every time (except for advanced heavy stander), it easily makes up for the fact that the charge time is highest among the bolts.
Also, perhaps the most useful thing is that you can smash right through both level 1 and 2 Mana Deflector enemies. With Ice and Lightning, hitting such enemies could be considered suicidal because if the passive defense activates there will be no stun. That's what you're counting on if you use those spells most likely.
However when it comes to Advanced Magic you have 3 methods of combat.
1. With a Thunder of Rank 5 or higher, or an Ice Spear of any rank, the loading times and the stuns/knockbacks of the attacks will be such that you can feasibly use them within enemy aggro range.
2. Stay just out of aggro range and cast Fireball.
3. Charge up any of them and then have a team mate open the chest or hit the pole. Doing this in a pole room is not recommended because the team mate might end up hitting the pole that opens the door first and you will have wasted your mana in that case.
That's really all there is to it. Please remember that Elves use less mana to cast Ice Spear, and that chaining Thunder burns up mana much faster regardless because the first charge costs 42 mana.
Do not ever try to pull off a Fireball within aggro range unless you have someone able to defend you for 25 seconds, or you will die. Also, don't use Fireball unless there is a large group of enemies whose HP is within your damage range.
Also, doing magic on a giant is really just no good. =( They have less MP available and their spells cost more MP.
Elves and Humans both have their pros and cons on this. While elves use less mana for Ice Spear, they need more AP than the other races for Bolts. Also, Humans have better melee abilities and making magic combos with that is more effective than trying to do like me and using Ranged and Magic together. Also, because Ranged gets screwed over by lag and might miss, it's hard to rely on it sometimes.
You could certainly say that Humans are the best mages, however it's not so hard to make it work on an Elf.
In general, I recommend that people don't try to be like me and do without melee completely. On the other hand though, I would not recommend that Elves work too much on melee, it should be their secondary form of attack if they use it at all (secondary meaning you should Counter alongside your Ranged/Magic).
And anyway, those that try to master two forms of combat at the same time will inevitably work on one more than the other. Especially if you're like me and you've been putting off doing Refining (consequentially having to keep your Dexterity low enough that you can bring it down to 0 with Scarecrow equipment and Experienced Death).
Honestly, I originally wanted to be a Lightning mage more than anything else. However, I was unable to get adjusted to it. Unstable damage, as well as the fact that multi-targetting splits that unstable damage amongst the enemies... It's just not easy to do a lot with it. You also have to remember that it costs more AP than the other Bolts. It does have the nice stun time and low cast time (r5+), as well as the fact that at 1 and 2 charges it is still useful, to make up for the shortcomings. However it's hard for me to see it as anything more than a secondary form of combat.
Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:42 am
Personally I like to start with using firebolt because it will always knockdown your target regardless of whether the monster has mana refraction or heavy stander. I like to follow this with lightningbolt because of the quick charge time you can easily fire one off before the monster is able to get to you. After using lightningbolt use counterattack, you should have plenty of time because of the long stun animation from lightningbolt.
