The Problem

Many beginning magic users will start up EQ and sit there saying things like, "Wow, these spell effects are really cool!" or, "I'm gonna ignite some Beetle-butt with this spell". The spell effects are indeed some of the coolest in the biz, but after using them for a bit, a lot of magic users will be left feeling inadequate, confused, and maybe a little hungry for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The problem that most folks have when starting a magic user is that they expect spells to overpower enemies from the very beginning. For all those aspiring spell casters out there, let me offer this little nugget of wisdom: magic users are under-powered at lower levels.

Now, a lot of folks will sit there and say silly things like, "Oh, well I don't want to play one then" or, "Well how am I supposed to ever reach the higher levels?". The answer, for all but a couple of the magic-using classes, is teamwork and patience.

By teamwork I mean that whenever possible a magic user should be in a party. A magic user is usually a great addition to a party and parties with a good mix of magic users and warriors will advance at rate that is about 2 to 3 times faster than solo-class groups. There are two exceptions to this, and that is the Necromancer and the Magician. Both of these classes can summon pets to take on the warrior role for them. For all other classes, it is essential that you pair up with some strong swarthy types in order to get the most out of your spellcasting abilities.

By patience I mean that while magic users are fairly weak at low levels, they can often be the most devastating force in a party or an important savior--in the case of the healing classes--at higher levels. All you have to do is hang in there and you will eventually find yourself becoming a force to be reckoned with.

"Okay, I've teamed with a warrior but I die all the damn time."

Ah, the joys of learning magecraft. The mighty warrior and I engage a foul Gnoll and I begin to blast it with spells. Suddenly the Gnoll snarls and begins to attack me, dealing mighty blows. Ignoring the warrior pummeling him, he beats me to a bloody pulp before I can even finish getting off all my spells. I die.

Now the inevitable questions: why did I die? Is it going to be like this every time I enter into combat? Am I doomed to become a bloody smear on the landscape every time I use my magic?

The answer is, of course, no. The key to surviving as a mage is to understand how hostile creatures deal with the people who are fighting them.

Crimes of Hate

Monsters have something like a 'hate list'. When a monster is fighting against a group, everybody in that group is in its hate list. The person that the monster hates the most is the one that the monster will attack. Several factors go into determining relative 'hate' values and that is the key to surviving as a magic user. Fact of the game: magic users cannot absorb much damage. The way to avoid being dead is by not being the target of a monster's "affections".

So what is it that really ticks off the monsters? Let's have a look:

• People with low hit points. That pretty much covers, well... all spell casters in the game. If everybody in a party attacks a monster at roughly the same time, the monster will almost always start in on the mages, then the cleric types, then the rogue/monk types, then the warriors.
• People that hurt them. This is one of the keys. Let the warrior beat on a creature before coming anywhere near the monster. Usually you want to let the fighters pound on a creature for about 20-30 seconds before even thinking of either casting or joining in on the melee. This insures that the monsters have built up a really good hate of the fighters so that they won't spontaneously run over and hit the mage.
• Proximity. It doesn't matter if you've only hurt the monster for 1 point of damage. If you're right next to it then if you're a magic user there is a good chance it will attack you. Stand back. Stand way the hell back. Let the monster hate the fighter for a bit. That is the job of a fighter anyway: soak up damage and deal a decent amount of damage.
• People who heal the person that the monster is fighting. When you heal somebody, the monster hates that as much as if you'd just done the same number of HP in damage to them. So if you're a cleric type, don't heal unless the fighter actually needs it. Once they get below about 3 bars of health then it's okay--you're a healer and it's your job to heal. Before that, let the tough warrior types suck it up. It builds character and gives the big lugs something to brag about.
• People who cast enhancement spells on the person the monster is fighting. If you cast an enhancement spell on a party member while they are in combat, that bugs the monsters. They figure both sides are doing their best, why does some meddling caster have to mess with the equation? For this reason, cast enhancement spells before your fighters march off into battle. Note that if you cast a Damage Shield (a shield that hurts a monster every time they hit the person with the shield) on a fighter before they enter combat this damage does not count against the caster. It counts against the fighter, which is an excellent reason to do it even if the damage is minimal, since it makes the fighter more hated so that you can get off better offensive spells without attracting unwanted attention.
• People who cast detractor spells (Weaken, Drowsy, etc.) on the monster. This one really ticks them off. For this reason, don't cast these spells from anywhere less than maximum range, and only after the fighter has hit the monster a few times. Even then, be prepared to take some heat. Monsters really hate these spells. Use with caution and you'll do fine.

Lastly, monsters of high intelligence have a built in hatred of spell casters. The more intelligent ones will always attack a spell caster the first time they cast or attack, so save that nuke spell for when it really counts.

"So how do I kill those pesky beasts then?"

Ok, now we know what monsters hate. So what kind of strategies do we want to employ? Here is a typical situation involving a low level party with a warrior type:

• Cast enhancement spells on the warrior. If this takes a lot of mana, rest up for a little bit to get some back. Then if you have a Damage Shield spell, cast that on the fighter.
• Have a fighter engage the monster. Let it beat on the beefy one for a while. If you are a cleric and the monster gets lucky against the fighter, heal up the fighter. Once the monster gets below 1/3rd of their hit points, feel free to engage in melee. If you have offensive spells you can cast those just so long as you save some mana for healing.
• If you are a mage, let the fighter beat the monster down to about half of its max hit points. If the fighter is hurting a bit, open up and nuke the bugger so that the fighter won't have to wait forever to heal up (or worse, die). If the fighter is doing reasonably well, wait until the monster is down to about 1/3rd of its hit points and throw a few nukes out there to finish off the critter.
• Rest for a bit, get back some mana and let the fighter heal. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Now, many of these strategies don't necessarily apply to higher levels. Area of effect (AOE) spells make a big difference as do type-specific banishings (Banish Undead, Banish Elemental).

Area of effect spells are where some of the damage-specific magic user classes really shine. You can get your warriors fighting a group of 5 to 6 beasties and then open up with the area affect and do hundreds of points of combined damage. A couple of notes when dealing with AOE spells:

AOE spells hurt the caster of the spell too. In order to avoid being killed by your own magic, cast the AOE spell on the fighter in the thick of the battle. In a -PvP party you can't hurt your own party members, so the fighter won't get hurt at all. All of the monsters around him, however, will suddenly become very uncomfortable. This is especially important with the "rain" type spells that do AOE damage over time. If you cast those on a monster and the monster starts chasing you... well, that can be bad. So always cast AOE on your party's central warrior type. Also, monsters tend to dislike AOE--particularly the "rain" type--spells. So always cast them from the maximum range i order to avoid suddenly becoming surrounded by hostile monsters.

As for type-specific banishing spells, they represent one of the few times you'll want to get your spell caster into the thick of battle. A cleric with anti-undead spells has an extremely efficient mana-to-damage ratio when fighting undead creatures. Usually an undead can't stand for more than 2 to 3 of a given Banish spell (assuming that you're attacking creatures of approximately the same level as yourself). So when using those types of spells don't be shy--walk right up and say hello to the nasty Skeleton.

Tips

For all spell casters, it's important to not be the target of more than one monster. All spell casters can be interrupted by creatures hitting them. Most spells you can time to get off between blows but, if you have multiple creatures attacking you, their blows usually don't come in synch. This type of situation makes it extremely difficult to cast spells.

In addition, you'll want to be a minimalist. Don't cast just for the joy of seeing the (really cool looking) graphical effects. Cast when your spells will make a difference. Mana takes a long time to regenerate, especially at higher levels. You don't want the party having to wait 5 minutes for you to catch up on mana just because you felt like nuking a creature that the fighters were doing just fine with. If a fighter is in trouble, or a monster is trying to run away while it still has a few hit points, that is the time to nuke a creature. Don't heal a fighter that is just down a couple hit points, he can heal those up in the time it takes you to get back a little bit of mana. Avoid draining all your mana unless a party member is in danger. Once you are out of mana you are effectively useless to a party, and your party's efficiency is hampered by having to wait on you to regenerate that mana.

When you actually are creating a spell caster, I recommend throwing 75% of your bonus points into your primary spellcasting attribute. This means Intelligence for the Mage/Wizard/Enchanter/Necromancer classes and Wisdom for the Cleric/Druid/Shaman classes. The other 25% of the bonus pool is usually best spent on Stamina, so as to increase your HP total to the point where you can survive long enough to run if necessary. Some people may be tempted to throw some points at Strength, Agility, and/or Dexterity, thinking that doing so will make them viable "fighting magic users". This strategy will work up until about level 15. At that point, fighter types start to get the Dual Wield and Dual Attack skills. Even a Barbarian Shaman with a 2-handed Combine War Hammer will be easily eclipsed by a warrior using two Combine Long Swords with Dual Wield, Double Attack, and Kick. So if you want a fighter, play a fighter. If you want a magic user create a magic user. If you want to have a combination of the two, stick to the hybrid classes (Paladin/Shadow Knight/Ranger). To spend a pure magic user's bonus points on combat-related attributes only works at the lower levels and will comparatively cripple you at later levels.

You can only memorize up to 8 spells at a time. Figure out a strategy for using your spells and memorize the ones that are pertinent to the situation you are in. Most classes have about 100 spells to work with at the highest level; make sure that you have memorized those which will make sense when used within your party.

Do not be afraid to run like a girly man when you start getting mobbed. If the party isn't in danger (or can also run) then it's far more inconvenient for a party to have to wait for you to come back and reclaim your corpse than it is for them to just not get a kill or two. You will have to run at least a few times with any magic using class, so be prepared and don't let it sneak up on you.