Newbie Paradox Mage

[azrael]

Hey, I just joined here, so I hope this is in the right category...

Anyway, I just started my first Paradox Mage. The control is amazing- melee enemies can't even get close to me- but I feel like my Paradox is almost unmanageable. The Rune of the Rift doesn't actually decrease my Paradox, and Static History has a long cooldown and really can't keep up with the exponential Paradox increase I get while fighting. During long battles, I feel like the most dangerous enemy is myself and my anomolies
I also feel relatively unprotected; is the lack of any shielding or defense talents for Paradox Mages intended?

Help a newb out!

[phantomglider]

The Timeline Threading tree is good for managing Paradox. Gather the Threads is about -80 if you can go a few turns without doing anything and can boost the recovery of Static History, and Rethread is an attack (with added disable chance) that can restore a bit of Paradox if you can hit multiple enemies. I was able to get through the final battle without significant paradox problems. Also, Redux-Static History reduces Paradox by a lot, if you haven't been doing that.

I'm pretty sure PMs are supposed to feel fragile. You have supreme crowd control and disabling, so you don't actually take that much damage, and for anything that gets through you have the Energy tree sustains and Body Reversion.

[edge2054]

Paradox Mages have excellent defensive talents they just don't use shields like an archmage does.

They have a short range targeted teleport that takes no time to cast.

They have an AoE offensive teleport (banish). They have Wormhole which can effectively prevent a monster from getting with in melee range of you at all assuming you use it in the right circumstances.

They have an armor effect that works on all damage types aside from physical and mind (something very rare in ToME).

They have a combined physical resist and projectile slow (again powerful and rare effects).

Carbon Spikes is much much better than the mage alternative stone skin.

Paradox Mastery grants temporal resist (good for dealing with your own anomalies and backfires).

And of course, numerous crowd control options above and beyond those listed above.

As to Rune of the Rift I'll look into adjusting the paradox reduction. Right now it only reduces paradox if the target is hit and survives the initial attack. The reduction could be put higher up in the function so that it always takes place (if there's a valid target anyhow).


*edit* hahaha.. I just read your sig. That shouldn't actually work because of time line splitting. Though it's a neat thought

[kazak]

Also, are you pumping WIL and paradox mastery?

To build off of Edge's comments..... I've had a lot of fun with sustain-heavy Paradox Mages that max Carbon Spikes, Energy Decomp, and Entropic Field, and then run around in heavy armor--they become awesomely tanky (especially if you get premonition and the light tree from escort quests). My last one, I ran a ghoul (mainly for the hp), so I was running around the East throwing up overlapping kill zones of Retch and redux-ing Ashes to Ashes, and then just watching everything around me drop while my HP stayed at or near max (Ashes to Ashes, especially redux-ed, does really good damage to multiple critters, lasts a lot of turns, and all for one cost, which means you don't have to constantly spam spells and drive your paradox through the roof). So there are definitely good defensive options, I think it's just a matter of finding the right balance between defensive sustains and what offensive options you're using in any given situation to manage your paradox.

Also, yeah, Rune of the Rift was giving me really crappy paradox reduction my last game.

[SageAcrin]

For managing Paradox, besides the options given, I've found that working heavily on the damage over time end of Paradox Mage helps quite a lot.

They don't do a lot of direct damage with anything, but spells like Gravity Well and Slow are amazingly good if you can keep enemies around-and of course, Gravity Well is good at that. And they tend to be Paradox efficient, despite their high raw cost, as well, due to that. Remember, you don't always need to cast more spells, if an enemy will die from the ones you've already cast.

Defensively, backfires and anomalies happen more if you wear heavier armor, but relatively the effect is still worth the payoff. Titanic is an excellent option that lets you wear a Robe while still having decent Armor Hardiness-crucial if you want to make Carbon Spikes pay off, and Telos Top works as a main weapon in that case. Entropic Field is amazing, in particular, and I feel like backing up Edge how how good it is-Paradox Mage is about tanking off -4 HP, not reactive barriers, as odd as it is, and sacrificing some offense for more passive defense is worth it.

Perhaps the biggest thing to do with Paradox Mages, however, is to be proactive about Paradox. Every time you have cast enough Paradox worth of spells so that none of the Paradox healing is wasted, cast Static History. Don't react to high Paradox-by then, it is often too late. Heal it before it gets dangerous.

[edge2054]

Perhaps the biggest thing to do with Paradox Mages, however, is to be proactive about Paradox. Every time you have cast enough Paradox worth of spells so that none of the Paradox healing is wasted, cast Static History. Don't react to high Paradox-by then, it is often too late. Heal it before it gets dangerous.

This is actually a really good point. Paradox costs scale with current paradox level. In game terms think of spacetime like a pair of jeans and paradox like a hole you've torn in your jeans. The bigger that hole gets the easier it rips. So keeping the hole just small enough to work with is key because once it gets to big its a lot harder to fix.

In mechanics terms the higher your paradox is the more your spells cost to cast which in turn makes paradox even higher and your spells even more expensive. In other words you can dig yourself a hole very easily.

[azrael]

Edge, I'm using b38, and redux+paradox clone actually DOES work - the game just gets very slow and glitchy, and one of the "impending paradox clone" status effects, or whatever they're called, takes effect immediately.