Runes of Magic US / AU

m/wd has the hardest hitting instant (earth groaning wind blade), m/d has the second hardest (magma blade). Both are effective as instants in pvp. m/wd has a second instant that can be used also, m/d has self heals - more likely to be in safety though. Both are good in pvp, I won't say either is "best" have played both in siege, self-heals are more my style.

Best burst is m/w, longest sustained dps is probably m/s though. m/p is somewhere in the mix for top dpsing mages also.

m/wd is definitely cooler and more fun to play that's for sure

m/r is pretty good for pvp coz of spammable insta cast

however i cant say anything about m/wd because i havent seen anyone on euro,
neither in SW or on the server i play on

I enjoy M/D. The self heals it gives are a lifesaver. Only problem it has is it sucks mana lol. Like my W/Wd.

Quoted from "MPHick;516985"

I enjoy M/D. The self heals it gives are a lifesaver. Only problem it has is it sucks mana lol. Like my W/Wd.

m/d doesn't suck mana. After level 40 it won't be a concern in most cases, and after 50, not at all. only the self heal and the poison clean are heavy mana drain, damage spells are very low mana consuption (since you can leave them at 50 and don't need to upgrade them... )

There's a M/D in Prodigy that is rather well-known for burning down bosses in instances single-handedly. The rather extreme variety of buffs they have also prove a huge help in a lot of different situations. I don't know that much about M/Wd but I don't see a whole lot of them in very late-game, so I admit I'm a little skeptical of their potential against M/D.

Doing things right, I suspect M/Wd would probably have a very slightly better burst if they get lucky though, but I'd go M/D not only for better odds of keeping the dps up and self-heal but also because they're an immense help to parties in terms of buffs in general.

For all mages, no matter what combo you are, during the burst phase the only skill you should be using is Flame. Any other skill used instead of Flame while E.C. is up is wasted DPS. So to determine which is better in the burst phase, look at which class has a better elite skill to boost DPS, and that is M/D's lvl 25 elite skill that increases M.Att. So in M/D vs M/Wdn in a burst phase, M/D would win. However neither of these class combos compare to M/W during the burst phase though.

Quoted from "filfar89;517010"

What about m/d vs m/wd burst and sustained?

Of the two, I'd think m/d is better for burst and sustained, m/wd might get lucky with elven amulet, but it's not likely. Instant casts are not as effective in pve as they are in pvp.

Just to try to help out and shed some light on this for anyone else who is wondering, I have actually played all 5 combos in the last 2 months; M/Wd, M/d, M/s, M/w, and M/r. Here is how they stack up, in both PVE and PVP.

PVP: It is true, M/wd and M/d have the highest hitting instant cast skills, and both do great in PVP; it will come down to whether or not you want heals, so if you want to heal yourself, go M/d. Personally I prefer M/r for PVP as Cursed fangs has no cool down, so you can spam as long as you have energy. Stay away from M/s at all costs, as fire shot will get dodged all the time by rogues and warriors, and M/w lacks the insta casts of the other 3 to be effective in a quick shootout.

PVE: M/d and M/wd fall behind here, their insta cast skills do not translate well for the burst phase at all. If you had to pick between the 2 for PVE, I'd honestly choose neither and go M/w or M/s. M/w will absolutely crush both of their DPS, and will out damage a M/s in most fights as well. Having just tried M/s vs. M/w, M/w is the king of PVE dps. The only outside choice, as many people on Eu roll one, is grabbing a M/p; sounds like you are an elf however, so I'd roll M/w.

With the 3 class system, I'd recommend going M/s/d if you like to heal, as you could also run a D/s for pro heals. If all you want to do is top the DPS chart, I'd go M/w/wd or M/s/wd, then you can run all sorts of other combos, like W/wd, Wd/w, S/wd, and Wd/s. In the end, it's going to be up to you as to what you prefer.

Between M/D - M/Wd

PVE Bosses: M/D
PVE Trash: Near Draw, M/D comes out in the end with +mattack elite
PVP Offense: M/Wd
PVP Defense: M/D due to ability to heal structures, gates, and weakened allies, otherwise M/Wd for clearing people around gates (lol)

M/Wd is unique in that the lvl 55 set skill (Stone Scale Blade) and lvl 60 set skill (Earth Collapse) have their damage boosted by the M/Wd's lvl 35 Earth Scepter skill which increases earth damage by 60%.

Stone Scale Blade: Range 250, 2 second cast, 1200 Earth Damage + .20 x INT Earth Damage

Earth Collapse is the interesting thing though:

EARTH COLLAPSE: 2 second cast, 60 second cooldown
Summons five nearby Rune Pillars, decreasing the damage dealt to multiple targets in the area by 3% (for your party). A target (enemy) touching a pillar will be attacked by falling rocks, causing 1500 + 0.2 x INT Earth Damage.

AUGMENTED FOR LEVEL 65 AND ABOVE:
Summons five nearby Rune Pillars, decreasing the damage dealt to multiple targets in the area by 3% (for your party). A target (enemy) touching a pillar will be attacked by falling rocks, causing 100% Earth Damage.

Now, already the 1500 + 0.2 x INT Earth Damage would be boosted 60% by the M/Wd Earth Scepter elite, but at lvl 65+ this is already boosted by 100% anyways.

It's fun to be the unique and underplayed M/Wd!

To be honest, all you really have to do is play M/Wd/D. I mean you ONLY have to get the Warden side to 50, which is easy in Coast of Opportunity. Just level up with M/D and pull out M/Wd when you reach cap. See which one you like best. If you don't like M/D or M/Wd, just erase either the D or Wd, and do W or S. Then you have your PvP + PvE combo put together.