Angelus: MAX DPS MAGE [Staff + Shield Build] (Lv110 Cap)

UPDATED: Lv110 Cap.
Build difficulty: 4/5 ~ Understand various mechanics.
DPS rating: 5/5 ~ OP!
Gear cost: 5/5 ~ Yes, good things are expensive.
Aggro: 4/5 ~ Holds aggro pretty well.
Utility: 5/5 ~ Damage, Break, Tank, Buff, Maze Runner. EVERYTHING!
Fun: 5/5 ~ Totally fun to play.

Angelus MAX DPS & Tank Mage Guide​

In most RPG's mages aren't physically strong, their role is limited to cast spells while hiding behind the knights who receive all the hits. Toram gives us the freedom to build our characters in genuine ways, like using a staff while wearing heavy armor and holding a shield, increasing our defense while still being powerful DPS spell-casters. Let's take advantage of this revolutionary way to play as mage!

This guide allows the user to build 2 types of Angelus Mage, one type focused mainly on DPS with the faculty to tank if needed, and the other type focused mainly on tanking while still having high DPS. Its a wonderful magic build that leaves various skill & stat possibilities to the taste of the user. Choose what you like more, tweak to taste!

"The Angelus Mage build focus on dealing high magic damage while having good physical and magical resistance to battle upfront. It works great as a solo build and is as well an excellent addition to any party."

Angelus
BUILD RATING: ★★★★★
[Hybrid Mage DPS/Tank, Staff + Shield Build]
INT: 255 & DEX/VIT/MTL: 42

Spoiler: Skills

There's 2 playstyles you can choose as an Angelus Mage:
DPS Angelus (INT>DEX build) and Tank Angelus (INT>VIT build).
Base skills are in black, essential skills are in red, 'DPS-only' skills are in green, 'Tank-only' skills are in blue.

Magic Lv3
Arrows ~ 10
Javelin ~ 5
Lances ~ 5
Impact ~ 10
Wall ~ 10
Blast ~ 5
Storm ~ 10
Magic Mastery ~ 5+
MP Charge ~ 10
Chain Cast ~ 5
Power Wave ~ 1

Martial Lv2
Smash ~ 5
Bash ~ 5
Shell Break ~ 10

Shot Lv3
Shot Mastery ~ 5
Long Range ~ 5
Quick Draw ~ 10

Shield Lv3
Shield Mastery ~ 5
Shield Bash ~ 5
Shield Cannon ~ 10
Protection ~ 10
Aegis ~ 5+
Guardian ~ 1

Priest Lv2
Holy Fist ~ 1
Bless ~ 5
Gloria ~ 3+

Guard Lv1
Heavy Armor Mastery ~ 1+

Survival Lv2
Safe Rest ~ 5
HP Boost ~ 10
Short Rest ~ 5
MP Boost ~ 10
Sober Analysis ~ 1+

Battle Lv2
Magic UP ~ 5
Concentrate ~ 1+

* The "+" sign means a skill to max in future level caps.
Total skill points available in this update: 163 (all levels & all emblems)

Combos
The Angelus Mage is not a simple "stormer", it is a full powered DPS mage which uses complex effective combos that deal high damage and build high aggro too. Traditional storm and farming combos will be left out, as they're widely known and unnecessary here. These combos require plenty of CP. You'll need to swap them depending on the playstyle of your preference or the boss you'll fight. This is all worth it!

Power Missile Combo
Double smite combo for HIGH MOVEMENT bosses.
{150% Arrows & 150% Storm Damage}
Holy Fist > Arrows (smite) > Impact (cons) > Storm (smite) > Shield Cannon (cons)
[MP: 400 / CP: 8]

Power Field Combo
Double smite combo for LOW MOVEMENT/STATIONARY bosses.
{150% Wall & 150% Storm Damage}
Holy Fist > Wall (smite) > Impact (cons) > Storm (smite) > Shell Break (cons)
[MP: 500 / CP: 8]

Magic Breaker Combo
Double smite 100 MP short range combo with rich self-proration, excellent for soloing.
{DPS Angelus Exclusive - 110% Arrows & 150% Storm Damage}
Smash > Shell Break (save) > Shield Cannon (cons) > Arrows (smite) > Impact (cons) > Storm (smite) > Holy Fist (cons)
[MP: 100 / CP: 12]

Infinite Magic Combo
Continuous, spammable combo for long range playstyle. Stay safe from afar casting it non-stop without triggering Holy Fist.
{130% Storm Damamge}
Arrows > Javelin (save) > Shield Cannon (cons) > Impact (cons) > Storm (smite) > Holy Fist (cons)
[MP: 100 / CP: 10]

Magic Guardian Combo
Double smite and heaviest aggro combo (2000 MP within 100 MP).
{Tank Angelus Exclusive - 130% Wall & 150% Storm Damage}
Holy Fist > Guardian (save) > Shield Cannon (cons) > Javelin (swift) > Wall (smite) > Impact (cons) > Storm (smite) > Shield Bash (cons)
[MP: 100 / CP: 14]

TIPS:​

1. Modify any "interruption skill" in the combo if needed, when fighting delicate bosses such as Nurethoth & Jade Raptor.
2. If you follow the DPS Angelus set Holy Fist, Smash & Arrows in your shortcuts.
3. If you follow the Tank Angelus cast Protection or Aegis depending on the damage the target deals.​

Angelus Mage vs. Bosses


Angelus Mage vs. Mini Bosses


* Note: the videos in this thread are outdated -since I am retired-, but the guide is completely up to date.​

Skills insight:
Essential Skills

Storm: our main DPS (damage per second) skill, it will deal damage 6 times in a row at level 10 and has a wide AoE (area of effect) making it the best farming skill in the game. Using staff it damages +100%, using Magic Device it's AoE gets 4 meters wider, in circumference.
Impact: high chance to tumble the target (make it fall to the ground for 2 seconds). Cuts by half the mp cost of any skill used after it, it's damage decreases if used repeatedly (without any skill in between). At skill level 7 it becomes an instant cast. Staff users get +25% tumble rate, while Magic Device users get +250% damage. At skill level 10 it's tumble rate increases noticeably and damage increases a little.
Shield Cannon: instant long range skill, twice as faster than Shield Bash. At Lv10 it has 100% Stun Rate for up to 24 meters (it gains +10% Stun rate per skill level, however, Cooldown and Ailment Resistance still rolls).
Shell Break: recovers 400 MP instantly if Guard Break is inflicted (activation rate is around 20% at Lv10, however, factors such as Cooldown and Ailment Resistance of the enemy affect it).​

Utility & Passives

Power Wave: enables long range auto-attacks. Max attack range increases with skill level. Power Wave is an utility passive skill, it lets us lure/kite, prorate from afar and keep recovering MP with normal attacks while a boss is executing a red AoE.
Magic Mastery: increases magic attack while equipping staff or magic device. Skill Lv1-2: MATK+1%, Lv3-7: MATK+2%, Lv8-10: MATK+3% (values aren't rounded in game).
Concentrate: unlocks Spellburst effect: Magic Damage 150-200% randomly. The activation rate is extremely low.
Quick Draw: 20% chance of recovering 100 MP after any skill which consumed MP. Part of our large mana pool delight.
Sober Analysis: activates MP Recovery inside battle in intervals of 3 seconds. The amount of MP recovered per tick increases with skill level.
Heavy Armor Mastery: Guard Rate +10% at Lv10, works very well paired with Gloria. Guarding hits generates Aggro (attention/hate points). Aggro accumulation has no top limit (ceiling). Magic can't be evaded, only guarded.
Force Shield & Magic Shield: increase physical defense & magic defense respectively, each rank is HP+50. Max both for a total of +1k HP & DEF/MDEF boost.
Magic UP: adds a fixed amount of MATK depending on the level. Formula: (Magic UP Skill Level) x (Character's Level) ÷ 40. Example: Magic UP Lv10 x Character Lv80 = 800. 800 ÷ 40 = 20. Result: Magic UP Lv10 adds MATK +20 at level 80.​

Buffs & Support

Protection: each rank increases Physical Resistance by 5%, decreases Magic Resistance by 2.5% & prolongs the buff duration for 1 minute, so Protection Lv10 is P. Res. +50% and M. Res -25% for 10 minutes. It costs 100 MP with shield, 300 MP without shield. It can be set as combo closer instead of Shield Bash, Bless, etc. Works for all party members.
Aegis: same as Protection but with Magic Resistance. If both buffs are casted simultaneously the result is P. Res. +25% & M. Res. +25%. Aegis/Protection and Gloria buffs will stack. Resistance +% is always better than DEF/MDEF+%.
Gloria: at level 10 it buffs all party with 300% of base defense/magic defense for 30 seconds (i.e. if your DEF/MDEF is 200, with Gloria it will be 600). When mixing Staff + Shield it increases Guard Rate by 5%. Cast this skill while your first combo is dealing damage, its our support rank stealer.​

Stat build:

Maximize INT first, INT must be at 255. This is our main stat for magic power.
After level 95 you'll be able to increase a secondary stat. HERE IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS!

Choose DEX for a slight MATK & CSPD boost, DPS oriented build.
Every point in DEX adds MATK+1, and due to Magic Mastery and MATK+% on gear, sometimes it increases by 2.

Choose VIT to further increase your endurance capabilities, aka. to be invincible.
Every point in VIT adds DEF+2 (if wearing heavy armor) and the higher the character's level the more MaxHP it adds!

Choose MTL as personal stat, increase it at will.
Every 3 points in MTL add Ailment Resistance +1% and every 10 points add Neutral/Physical/Magic Resistance +1%.

Make your choice based on your preferred playstyle: Damager (DEX), Maze Runner (VIT) or Mini Boss Specialist (MTL). Endgame optimal stats should be: Full INT, full DEX, just enough VIT to survive & the rest in MTL.​

Stats at Lv100:
With average gear/xtals.
* Already outdated.

​

Equipment:

STAFF
Vs. Neutral Bosses:
○ 1st Anniv Staff III: INT +11, INT +7%, MATK +7%
Vs. Elemental Bosses:
○ 1st Anniv Staff III: [Element], Damage to [element] +11%, MATK +6-7%
Xtals:
Cheap option: ◇INT+2
Best option: ◇Evil Crystal Beast

SHIELD
○ Albero Shield (NPC craft)

ARMOR
○ Heavy Remodeled: INT +7%, MATK +7%
Xtals:
For Survivability (if you feel you die to much): ◇Boss Roga
For MaxMP & CSPD (better performance): ◇Jade Raptor

ADDITIONAL GEAR
For MATK:
○ Curled Horns (NPC version only) ~ ◇Scrader / ◇Ancient Empress
* ◇Scrader has MATK+3%, HP+500 and a negative of Physical Resistance -20%. To bypass the negative stat use the shield skill Protection.
* ◇Ancient Empress has MATK+3% and a new godly stat of CSPD+50%, but it reduces Impact's damage by -10%.
* DO NOT use Bandage Eyepatch, it gives poor results. Curled Horns adds Stability, a super powerful stat which would hardly be replaced in the near future. Want a proof? HERE'S MY TEST.
For CSPD:
○ Cat-Ear Hood (CASPY drop only) ~ ◇Sunlight Potum
For Survivability:
○ Forehead Protector (Golden Potum Event only) ~ With either of the above xtals.

SPECIAL GEAR
○ Philosopher's Ring ~ ◇Scrader​

*Refine your staff as high as possible! The higher the refinement, the higher the damage gap.
*Refine your armor, shield and additional gear for Neutral/Physical/Magic Resistance +1% per every refinement level! It makes a big difference on the damage received. A dead mage is useless, refining your gears is mandatory.
Click HERE to see the Refinement Multiplier chart.

TIP: Get all the elemental staves; equip the one that's stronger against the boss you'll fight.
Click HERE to see the Elemental Table.

Shrooms & Drinks:
Magic Fragrant Wood: increases MATK+20 and base MATK+2%.
Shooting Star Potion: speeds up your casts. CSPD+300.
Giga Speed Potion: highly recommended when soloing, to do faster proration. ASPD+750.
Magiadd III: cheap substitute to MP gear. MaxMP+300.
Shock Absorbing Cream: boosts up your tankiness. Guard Rate+7%, Guard Power+7% & VIT+7.
Magic Barrier Wand: recommended vs. Shining Gentleman or other heavy magic damage dealers. Magic Resistance+5%.
Stab-Proof Sheet: same effect as Magic Barrier Wand but with Physical Resistance (+5%).
Vita Plus III: helpful for tanking mini-bosses. MaxHP+1500.
* The effects of all these substances last 30 minutes.

Enjoy the magic!

 

Love the idea of sober + max shield mastery for aspd instead of relying entirely on mp charge. Looks like a solid build and has given me a few ideas

 

highest mdef/pdef in game.

if you take in Bless Lv.10, it will have higher heals because staff computation is different. it takes int aside from matk.

 

Also, do you have any idea on spellburst % chance at concentrate lvl 10?

 

@Precaria Awesome build!
I looked through your build and realised why I have some challenges soloing and locking down bosses. Shall tweak my build and playing style with yours as reference. Credit goes to you!

My build is similar to yours and have some differences.

1. My build is slightly more focused on Support and Healing now.
   My Bless and Mini Heal @ 10, Protection @ 5.
   Tanking comes later when I start adding Vit.
   I'm delaying the maxing of Heavy Armor Mastery, Shield stun skills and Battle Skills to later at higher level caps.
   
   
2. The differences comes in positioning / formation / role in relation to party members.

• I can see that yours will be at melee range and tanking the boss. Mine can more behind the lines and having a wider view of the battle field when I need to. My combos will also be longer range, using Shield Cannon instead of Shield Bash.

• I may also switch Gloria to Bless to sustain small heals throughout the battles and keeping up the Gloria (+ Protection/Aegis) buff when it ends. Also, Bless lasts only 15 seconds while Gloria lasts up to 1 minute, so it may be better to cast Bless more often than Gloria.
  
  
• With the above, I'm integrating positioning and skill versatility into my build, being able to be effective both at melee and short-mid range.

 

This build begs for a 1 MP ranged opener so you can strategically switch between point-blank or long range combat. Awesome build ^^

 

Wha...Wha....Wha..... you didn't use mastery and mp charge!? No HP Boost!? Is it work!? Looking forward to the video! ><)/

 

Warmage doesn't need to recharge in battle so, level 1 MP Charge is enough. Mastery increases MATK but lowers the effect of Concentrate. And yes it has HP Boost, in fact if you follow the build exactly as I wrote it you'll have around 4.5k hp without VIT added. In this moment I'm tanking DG at level 55 and receiving all the hits while typing in the PC, getting attacker, tank and supporter lol.

 

That's the beauty of this build. When Mages are charging, you are still Tanking / DPSing. ^^

 

Sorry for asking, but how do u have 4.5k hp with just hp boost?

 

HP increasers:
Relief Shield
HP Boost ~ 10
Force Shield ~ 5
Magic Shield ~ 5
Roga
Vita II
If F. Shield and M. Shield were maxed it would be 5k hp total.

 

Am I missing somethin? o.o I was pretty sure Protection costs me 300mp. Unless it costs me more because I'm using a dual?

 

I see, it costs me more since I'm not using a shield then. =.= It's 300mp for me. I got it my all buffs combo. (reflex war cry aegis protection trigger slash)

 

@Precaria
Sanctuary is also another awesome buff. Will you add Sanctuary and Mini Heal when level cap rises?
Both skills will further strengthen the Support role/rank.

 

Yes, in future level cap we will be including Sanctuary, Mini Heal and Power Wave to keep on prorating when the bosses cast red aoes or chase someone else, PW at level 2 gives a gunner's range while using staff (8 meters).

 

So you recover MP with staff's hit? is the damage big? I thought Staff Stability are bad..

 

Yes, you can recover MP with auto attacks or normal attacks using staff and magic device.
Staff's stability isn't high but the real purposes are:

1. Recover MP by using Sober Analysis
2. Build up proration for magic attacks, so that your magic attack damage(s) are higher