How good is spell damage in epic/legendary?

[Jaif]

Hey all, I'm making an earth caster...not sure what secondary yet (I have time, only lvl 8<g>), but one thing that has me concerned is the spell damage. It's fine right now, but I noticed that spells like flame surge and volcanic orb are limited - max the skills, and that's your damage.

Do these spells do well in epic/legendary?

-Jeff

[Ion Silverbolt]

Spell damage should be respectable provided you're cranking your intelligence up. Also, there's some decent gear to help boost fire damage as well.

[Xaece]

Originally Posted by Jaif

Hey all, I'm making an earth caster...not sure what secondary yet (I have time, only lvl 8<g>), but one thing that has me concerned is the spell damage. It's fine right now, but I noticed that spells like flame surge and volcanic orb are limited - max the skills, and that's your damage.

Do these spells do well in epic/legendary?

-Jeff

Very not true on max'ing the skills, and thats it for your damage.

Intelligence, as it increases constantly increases damage of -all- Elemental damage sources. That means both your staff, and your spells. In addition, there are many other sources that can increase your spell damage, such as +% Fire, and the even better +% Elemental damage bonuses (Which can appear on weapons, and rings commonly, less commonly on armors).

[Jaif]

Thanks for the responses and explanation. I've really only played my warden much, and he's incredibly gear dependant but at the same time he gets better every step up. But I guess you're right - the actual damage number is only one part, and gear and int can keep it going up.

Thanks!

-jeff

[Flying Fox]

Yeah, before the synergy patch on D2, you max out your spells, thats all you got. A lot of games broke off from this stupid trend and somehow increased spell dmg from equipment or base intelligence. I'm glad TQ is like that, it makes the mage a lot more progressive and playable.

[Luhkee]

Damage still seems ok so far, but I'm getting a little worried. Squall and Eruption are terrific, but the dmg of my volcanic orb and chain lightning are a bit worrisome. My next step is to max the dmg boost for those respective trees before I settle on a final build. I have a feeling I'm going to have to go for a -recharge setup in order to make magic enjoyable past greece legendary.

Right now I'm sitting at lvl 46 or 47,
950 int
+60ish % all elemental dmg increase from gear
+44% fire dmg inc on top of that.

I figure I can add ~100% dmg to fire and lit from passive buffs on top of that as I get higher in levels. Hopefully that keeps the dmg competetive. I haven't decided if I'm going to put my last 20 levels worth of stat points into int or hp. That is 1000 hp or 80 base int(about 160+ modified by gear).

It's a little sad to see that my 5 points in eruption dominate my 24 points in chain lightning. Depending on recast speed, final boosted dmg and projectile speed, I'll decide whether I go with chain lightning or volcanic orb. I'm still experimenting with spellbreaker.

[roguebanshee]

Originally Posted by Luhkee

I haven't decided if I'm going to put my last 20 levels worth of stat points into int or hp. That is 1000 hp or 80 base int(about 160+ modified by gear).

1k HP = 1 - 1½ hit from a normal legendary monster. You still won't survive the big boss hits unless you have good resists against the damage type.

80 Int = more damage = increased kill speed

[CGameProgrammer]

Earth Enchantment gives +100% Fire Damage. Get that! And Volativity gives a 33% chance of greatly increased fire damage.

[BloodAndRoses]

You should be able to get more than 100% damage donus from passive buffs from higher levels. There's the basic Storn Nimbus/Earth Enchantment, which gives 100% or so once maxed (maxed upgrade for Storm Nimbus, not the original skill itself). Then there's the Wisp upgrade, which gives +100% elemental damage when maxed. Volativity also increases fire average damage over time, as mentioned above.

With high-level legendary mage equipment, you can easily hit +150% or more to elemental damage (or if you really focus on a single element, +300% or more for that element). Pumping fire damage is eventually the easiest, as each Seal of Haephestus gives +70% or more to fire damage.

How I look at it is spells at lower levels are heavily point-dependant (if you spread yourself too thin, you won't be able to kill effectively) whereas at later levels it becomes entirely equipment-dependant.

[Luhkee]

I don't really consider the wisp a passive buff, but I do have that. I was referring to earth and nimbus enchantments. I think my wisp gives me 100-140% depending on + skills, but I don't rely on that in my figuring. I definately figure there is some good options as far as legendary gear goes. I'm not sure if I want to focus on +int%, int/spell dmg %, or double int % if I go for greens. There are a few purples I simply must acquire.

As far as stats go, the extra 80+ int would be very nice, but if I have a few pieces of dmg resist gear, that might make a nice difference in that extra 1000 hp. I'm a bit nervous sitting at 2350 hp. Only the minotaur lords and the cyclops in epic can threaten me, but still.... In legendary the first little mobs only crit for 50-100, but come act 3 I'm expecting heavy hitters.

One idea I've been wondering about is defensive ability. The biggest problems I have are the massive crits, but I don't know if it is possible or feasible to raise dex/DA to a useful level against Olympus lvl legendary mobs.