Runes of Magic US / AU

Intro
I thought since there are so many people playing Warrior/Mage nowadays and there isn't really a formal guide for it, I would throw one together. This will be a more general guide to the class where I will touch on skills, buffing and play style. If you wan't gearing information consult a Mage guide, they gear exactly the same. If you have anything you would like to add please feel free as I do not consider myself an elite W/M by any means. I'm sure there are certain buffs or skills that other people use in ways I don't.


Warrior/Mage
The Warrior/Mage is a fairly unique class with the majority of it's damage output being done through normal attacks (or white-hits as they are normally referred to) with the addition of a buff that causes normal attacks to deal additional magical damage. There are a few other classes that share this play-style as well, Warden/Druid (via Earth Spirit Essence) and Knight/Mage (via Light Energy Weapon). Though each class can dish out respectable damage with normal attacks, Warrior/Mage is the premier DPS of the group.

Warrior/Mage is one of the easier dps classes to play if you wish to play at a casual level without worrying to much about boss strategies or crowd control. It has been called broken, cheap, overpowered, etc.. but if you wish to play at a high level and be more valuable to your party then you will have to do more than "Press 1 and GG". The Warrior/Mage has a plethora of useful skills for instances including roots, stuns, knockdowns and silences on top of high single target damage.

Let's take a closer look at the skills. To save time I will only be listing skills that are of use to Warrior/Mage in specific. For example, Slash and Brute Strength will not be listed, and though Brute Strength is beneficial if you run the reverse of this combo (Mage/Warrior) this guide is simply for Warrior/Mage.


Warrior/Mage Elite Skills

15 - Electrical Rage - Instant, No cd. Causes Main Hand Weapon damage and puts High Voltage buff on caster, increasing Magical Attack for 10 seconds. Becomes stackable with 70 elite. Without this skill your DPS will suck. You must keep this stacked to 3 at all times during boss fight. No exceptions.

20 - Lightning's Touch - Instant, No cd. Spammable attack that inflicts wind damage. Useful for questing. Not part of boss fight rotation. Don't invest too much TP into this skill.

25 - Sense of Danger - Instant, 2 min cd. Can only be used under 30% HP. Lowers damage you receive for 10 seconds. Capped at level 50. Up to you whether or not to max. I don't personally use it much ever. Otherwise see Survival Instinct for description on when to use.

30 - Thunder Sword - Instant, 6 sec cd. Fires 4 lightning bolts at the target inflicting wind damage. Very useful skill as it works while moving. Fairly high damage in PVP. Worth investing some TP into but not maxing unless you have maxed everything important.

35 - Electric Attack - Instant, No cd. Your normal attacks additionally cause wind damage. Half of the epic combination for the 60 elite, Lightning Burn Weapon. While leveling, Electric Attack does more damage than Lava Weapon. *You MUST max this skill.*

40 - Lava Weapon - Instant, No cd. Your normal attacks additionally cause fire damage. Half of the epic combination for the 60 elite, Lightning Burn Weapon. Does less damage than Electric attack but is close. *You MUST max this skill.*

45 - Power Control - Passive. Causes your Electric Attack to also increase your physical accuracy and your Lava Weapon to raise your physical critical hit rate.

50 - Wind Bastion - Passive. When you cast shout, lowers damage inflicted upon you. Basically makes shout worth using while clearing trash.

60 - Lightning Burn Weapon - Instant, No cd. One of your best skills and an absolute must-have. You need this skill. Allows you to use Lava Weapon and Electric Attack at the same time, causing your normal attacks to additionally inflict both Wind and Fire damage. Effectively doubles your damage output.

70 - Possessed by Anger - Passive. Makes Electrical Rage stackable and adds increased Physical and Magical Defense to the skill.


Notable Warrior General Skills

Enraged - Instant, 40 sec cd. Instantly increases Rage by 20 points. Nice if you need quick rage and your Aoth Cape/Rage Potion are on cooldown. Not the most useful skill overall. Worth keeping on your action bar.

Defensive Formation - Instant, 2 min cd. Increases your physical defense by 50% and decreases your physical and magical attack by 50% for 30 seconds. This skill is what I like to call an "Oh-Sh*t-Skill", emergencies only. This skill decreases your attack strength for increased survivability. The only times I have used this skill were when I got mobbed while questing or the tank going down in an instance and everyone running for the exit. ***DO NOT USE DURING BOSS FIGHT***


Notable Warrior Primary Skills

Frenzy - Your bread and butter. Instant, 5 min cd. Increases attack speed, accuracy and damage for 15 seconds. This is your 5 min cooldown, the most important buff you have. Keep on your action bar at all times. Enough said.

Surprise Attack - Instant, 12 sec cd. Charges at target doing physical damage and knocking them down. 150 max range but must be at least 60. Great initiation skill, allows you to finish your buffs while others are running in and still beat them to the boss . Don't use to soon or you might aggro the boss before the tank.. Also a great skill for pvp as it is an interrupt as well as a knockdown. Keep on your action bar. Level to at least 20 to allow use of Shout skill.

Taunt - Instant, 25 sec cd. Forces the target to turn towards you for 5 seconds. You aren't a tank, don't use this skill in higher instances. Only lowers ones if you are tanking for whatever reason.

Shout- Instant, 2 min cd. Stuns up to 5 targets in range for 3 seconds. Pretty straight forward.

Terror - Instant, 45 second cd. Force an enemy to flee for X seconds. Yes it does work in siege war, try it!

Aggressiveness - Instant, 3 min cd. Increases rage generation for 30 seconds. Great buff for boss fights. Keep on action bar.

Survival Instinct- Instant, 5 min cd. Can only be used under 25% HP. Increases defense, dodge and parry rate for 30 seconds. I find that if I'm below 25% hp that means my health is zero and I'm dead, but if you find yourself low on hp and still alive, this skill is worth using as it might increase your chances of your healer getting to you before you die. Worth keeping on your action bar if you have room.

Group Taunt - Instant, 5 min cd. Taunts most targets in range to target the player. Useful if you are trying to save someone, like a healer etc. and sacrifice yourself in the mean time. Otherwise, you aren't a tank, don't use this skill.

Blasting Cyclone - Instant, 12 sec cd. Causes physical damage and knocks down multiple targets in range. Don't bother leveling up as the damage won't make a difference. Use simply for the knockdown crowd control. Very useful skill for trash clearing as long as your tank has aggro.


Mage General Skills

Fireball - Instant, 6 sec cd. Inflicts fire damage with an intelligence multiplier. Great instant cast for quick damage on a mob or player but not useful in boss fights. Only level up after more important skills are maxed or if you are using W/M for pvp.

Lightning - Instant, 20 sec cd. Inflicts wind damage with an intelligence multiplier and roots the target for X seconds. Also works as an interrupt. Level to 50.

Wisdom - Passive. Increases Intelligence by percentage. The more Intelligence you have the more this will increase your intelligence. Worth maxing in my opinion. You can always use more intelligence.

Intensification - Instant, 2 min cd. Increases Magical Damage by X for 20 seconds. Not really worth throwing very much TP into unless you have everything else maxed.

Silence - Instant, 24 sec cd. Silences the target for X seconds. Awesome skill, Max to 50 cap. Keep on bar at all times.

Fire Ward - Instant. Increase the party's fire resistance. Useless skill. Not worth investing any Talent Points into.

--Continued due to character limit--

Warrior Set Skills
Warrior set skills adhere to generic Warrior play style, they are geared towards physical damage characters. That being said, several of them are still useful for any play style. I will list the set skills relevant to Warrior/Mage

55 - Tourniquet - Sold by Nabod Klein in Dalanis
Stops loss of blood and covers your wound restoring 250 HP per second for 20 seconds.

55 - Undefeatable King - Fury Battle Wear Set from Hall of Survivors
After using this skill you can use King's Fearlessness.
King's Fearlessness: Immune to helpless, stun, root and fear for 3 seconds.

55 - Weapon Guard - Devil Slaughter Suit Set from Hall of the Demon Lord
Area Damage received is lowered by 20%

65 - Composure - Heart of Distortion Set from Grafu Castle
Temporarily lowers the aggro you cause by 3% and increases strength by 3%. Lasts 900 seconds.

67 - Tourniquet - Deadly Danger Set from Sardo Castle
Your wound is being bandaged, restoring 600 HP every second for 20 seconds.When the effect ends, instantly restores 5% HP.

Not the most amazing skills for a Warrior/Mage as to be expected. Tourniquet, Weapon Guard and Composure can be useful if you want to take the time to farm for the pieces. Overall, pretty underwhelming, but again, to be expected.



Buffing as a Warrior/Mage

-Useful Potions and Food-

Grassland Mix - Increases Maximum HP by (current Maximum HP + 1500) x 10% + 1500 for 900 seconds.
Obtained from Black Codex vendors.

Rhinoceros Blood - Will raise each member of your party's HP limit by 1750 for 3600 seconds.
Obtained from Black Codex vendors.

Secret Ritual Manual - Will raise each member of your party's Magical Attack Power by 1000 for 3600 seconds.
Obtained from Black Codex vendors.

Hero Potion - Increases all attributes by 20% for 600 seconds.
Obtained through alchemy or purchasing from the auction house.

Touch of the Unicorn - Increases Maximum HP by 20% for 180 seconds
Obtained through alchemy or purchasing from the auction house.

Strong Stimulant - Increases normal attack speed by 25% for 30 seconds
Obtained through alchemy or purchasing from the auction house.

Strength of Battle - Increases Rage by 100
Obtained through alchemy or purchasing from the auction house.

Tranquility Powder - Decreases all Aggro by 25% for 30 seconds.
Obtained through alchemy or purchasing from the auction house.

Ham Sandwich lvl 85 - Increases Magical Damage by (current Magical Damage + 340) x 12% + 340 for 900 seconds
Obtained through cooking or purchasing from the auction house.

Sesame Bread lvl 85 - Increases Magical Attack Power by (current Magical Attack Power + 7000) x 15% + 7000 for 900 seconds
Obtained through cooking or purchasing from the auction house.

Moti Blended Sausage - Increases the Critical Magical Hit Rate by 120 and Critical Magical Damage by 10% for 60 seconds
Obtained through cooking or purchasing from the auction house.

Elegant Cuisine Delicacy - Increases all basic attributes by 2%. Lasts for 30 minutes upon use.
Obtained from the wedding chapel vendor.

Royal Radiance Cocktail - Increases Intelligence and Wisdom by 5% and Magical Damage and Healing by 1% lasts for 30 minutes upon use.
Obtained from the wedding chapel vendor.

*Fire Pet - I include the fire pet in buffs because lets be honest, the only reason people use pets are for the buffs. Pets should not be overlooked as they give very strong buffs at higher levels. Beside the attribute increase they also have skills that increase HP, Attack, Defense and Crit among other things. For instance at level 46 your pet's HP and Magical Attack buff skills can be maxed at level 5. Giving 10% HP and 5% Magical Attack respectively. At level 50 you can max your Critical buff to 5 giving you 10% increased Magical Critical Damage.

If you wish to learn more about pets, there are several guides on how to obtain, feed and level up pets. If I have time I will find some and link them here on this guide.

I am specifically not including Zodiac pets here, though they can have very decent buffs as well such as HP, all attributes, etc..

- Useful Buff Skills -

Lightning Burn Weapon - Instills flame and electricity in your weapon for 15 min. Your main buff, you need this on at all times.

Essence of Magic - Mage/Priest buff castable on other players. Increases Magical Attack.

Embrace of the Water Spirit - Priest/Scout buff castable on party members. Increases Magical Attack.

Sublimation Weave Curse - Warlock buff castable on party members. Increases all attributes by 6%.

Surge of Awareness - Warlock buff castable on party members. Increases Physical and Magical Attack Power by 20%, also reduces Physical and Magical Defense by 20% for 15 seconds. *Does not stack with one of the more common buffs, discussing and will update as soon as I pinpoint which buff that is.*

Mysterious Grace - Druid/Warden buff castable on party members. Increases Magical Damage.

Grace of Life - Priest buff castable on other players. Increases HP. *Does not stack with Touch of the Unicorn.*

These are just some of the more common buffs you can acquire from party members among many others. Please feel free to list others and I will add them if they fit.

Please let me know if I missed any buffs as I'm working quickly on this guide and may overlook a few things. Also I only included the most up-to-date Magical Attack and Damage foods since there are several iterations of each.

Playstyle as a Warrior/Mage

Playstyle as a Warrior/Mage is pretty straight forward. You are a melee magical damage dealer and your main mode of damage is normal attacks or "white-hits".

Just buff up before going in. Make sure you don't surprise attack the boss before the tank gets to it, because that can lead to some floor inspection. Max attack speed buffing with white attacks and stacking your electrical rage at the beginning of the fight to 3 stacks. After that only hit the electrical rage buff when its about to run out to keep it at 3 stacks and just let your white attacks do the work.


Gearing Differences from Mages

So as it has been discussed in this thread and I'm sure countless other places I thought I would add a small gearing section to discuss the difference between Mages and W/M since I said in the first section that W/M gear like Mages. That statement is true but at the same time there are different items.

Staff vs Wand/Tali
I personally believe that you won't get the most out of your W/M unless you run with a Wand/Talisman and that is because of the sheer speed difference of the weapons. Yes a staff may hit for higher numbers than a wand but you lose a lot of speed, so much so that it hinders your damage. Speed is the single most important factor for damage on the W/M. Any aspiring W/M would do well to remember that.

Another important reason to use Wand/Tali over a Staff is the aggro issue. With a Wand/Tali you can have 2 recon runes (-aggro%) as opposed to only 1 in your staff, which transitions us on to the next point.

Weapon Runes
It should be mentioned that Warrior/Mages use Raid runes (attack speed) in their weapons instead of Curse runes (spell casting speed). White-hits are considered regular attacks and though they may do magical damage they are not a spell. As mentioned above, attack speed is the most important part of Warrior/Mage dps outside of gear.

Recon runes. Less aggro generation. 'Nuff said.

Miracle and Burst. Miracle and Burst are must haves in your weapons, they provide added Magical Crit and Magical Damage respectively. Get em.

The Aoth Discussion
The Aoth Mysticism set gives an 8% intelligence increase to those who have the full 3 piece set of accessories. That being said it also has much lower crit than updated accessories and though it is currently still being used by most mages I would like to see a discussion on it for W/M. I personally think it hinders the class due to the lost crit, then again I am not the authority on W/M so I can't say that for sure. I wouldn't mind hearing from some people that do use it on W/M or input from other mage players.

Edit: I have spent some time talking with guild members and other community members and I have come to the conclusion that this set is indeed very important for W/M and should be obtained if you have the means to do so. The intelligence increase makes a big difference in your overall magical attack. You can make up for the loss of crit by tiering your items higher (T8+). It is a bit more expensive but is worth it in the long run.


Hope you like my guide so far

Change Log
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Old stuff
-Added set skills, buffing and playstyle sections. Will add more later when I have time.
-Added small gearing section, will get into statting after more discussion on the topic.
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11/10/14
-Changed description on Intensification and added a paragraph at the end about the Aoth set.
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Edit by Yrcanos: Couple more in case you need 'em!

Yeah I suppose I could put a small gearing section in just to cover the differences between staff - wand/tali, runes, small amount of info on statting. I just didn't want to put a whole lot of time into saying exactly what gear they should be looking for because for the most part w/ms do stat just like mages. I personally don't use the Aoth set because I feel like the loss of crit hinders the class.

Quoted from "Soulcalibur"

Thanks for including my quote. I worked hard on that paragraph hahaha

Great Guide. Let me know if you want opinions about gearing. I have that Alna mentally to W/M.

Feel free to give any opinions you want. This can be an open forum for anything W/M related. Gearing will eventually be added to this guide I'm sure but for right now I didn't want to put the time into it.

Quoted from "docdesertor"

Quoted from "Gutterboy"

Lightning's Touch - Instant, No cd. Spammable attack that inflicts wind damage. Useful for questing. Not part of boss fight rotation. Don't invest too much TP into this skill.

Thats wrong... you can use fireball and Lightning's Touch at the same time that you do white hits... you can increase your dps 15% if you use it. (100% tested).

People think that white hits are cut by instant skills, but i tested this a lot of times and you can use them without problems... you dont have to use cast skills like Thunder Sword

Is the same as Rogue/mage....they can use instant skills in burn... they dont use combo throw

So you just rotate them between white hits then? Interesting.. I'll try it next time I dps on my w/m and see what I come up.