When it comes to picking a class in an open-world, action RPG, the mage is usually my last choice. While I will admit, there is a bit of a draw to picking a sword & board warrior with massive amounts of health to charge headfirst into battle or a stealthy rogue with insane amounts of critical damage, the reason I don’t normally like mages is they’re often not particularly true to their role or have very visually underwhelming spells. However, this is not the case in the least bit when it comes to Dragon’s Dogma 2.
Incant Your Spells
One of the major things that normally bothers me about mages in most action RPGs is that they play closer to spell-wielding monks than an actual mage. You can often dodge, block, and/or parry to ward off enemy melee attackers and unleash a torrent of energy at a moment’s notice.
Furthermore, there’s usually some skill tree to level up melee attacks to be on par with that of a sword or dagger user, which isn’t terribly thematic unless you’re roleplaying as Gandalf. Some games take this even further and allow mages to use alternative weapons like chakrams. What are we, ninja mages?
I’m looking at you, Kingdoms of Amalur.
In Dragon’s Dogma 2, you’re going to sit there while you cast your spell and like it. In order to cast a spell, you need to spend time incanting it. The more powerful spells are going to take some time and moving around slows this down. Of course you can spend stamina to speed up through process through Quickspell, but use too much stamina and you’ll need to stand still to cast your breath.
If a couple of goblins get through your front line before you finish incanting Flagration, you’ll at least get knocked over and possibly killed. Take the wrong position against a charging Minotaur, and you’re definitely going to die. Essentially, use too much stamina or stand in the wrong spot at the wrong time and there’s a good chance you end of dead; there isn’t a lot of leeway for mistakes as a Mage with low HP and no maneuverability.
Make Strong Friends
If you’ve made it this far and think I’m writing satire, I wouldn’t blame you. I’ve made the Mage in Dragon’s Dogma 2 sound weak and difficult to play. Well, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, the Mage is fragile but it is also a powerhouse of a support role. What It isn’t is a master of everything from high-powered spells to melee combat.
This means that the most important thing to remember when playing a mage is bring strong friends that synergize well. You’ll at least want a Fighter or Warrior to draw enemy attention and a Thief or Archer will bring some solid damage. The last slot can be flexible but you don’t want too many range or melee classes in your party at once.
With a strong support cast, the Mage in Dragon’s Dogma 2 can really shine. While the Mage can do some decent damage firing off a volley of Levin bolts or destroy a swarm of enemies with Frigor’s ice spikes, the real benefit comes from its supporting magic. Mages are they key healers in Dragon’s Dogma 2, and while it’s possible to play without a healer, the ability to use a regenerative healing spell like Argent Succor or the area-of-effect heal Anodyne can really turn a battle around.
In addition to damage and healing, Mages also have a few other tricks. Being able to levitate can make traversing the environment easier and allow you to grab a few hidden chests. Elemental boons will also increase your party’s damage and make them stronger against certain types of enemies. Finally, Celerity acts as a haste effect and can buff your party’s speed before the fighting even begins.
Time to Upgrade!
Although playing a strong support role has its merits, I’ll understand anyone who wants to take a pure damage route. Initially starting out with a rather pathetic Magick Bolt and the mediocre Flagration, Mages will eventually have access to a decent amount of attack abilities. However, if you really want to wield powerful magic, it’s important to upgrade to the Sorcerer Vocation.
The Sorcerer and Warrior vocations are the quickest to unlock in Dragon’s Dogma 2. All they require to unlock is a short quest received from Klaus, the guild master in Vernworth, which is the first major city you’ll come across. The quest simply requires you to clear out a dungeon and find the relevant weapons for the vocations. Once you’ve got your archistaff in hand, it’s time to become a true Sorcerer.
Even from a low level, most of the Sorcerer spells will feel stronger than the mage’s, however, it might be worth bringing High Levin and High Frigor for a while as their damage is still pretty decent. Eventually, you’ll unlock High Salamander, High Hagol, and High Thundermine, which are some of the strongest elemental spells in the game.
High Salamander is essentially a line of fire that will continuously burn your enemies, while High Thundermine places a lightning sphere in front of you and is a great defensive spell. High Hagol casts a blizzard on top of your enemy and despite its low damage output it can freeze enemies leaving them vulnerable. If standard elemental damage isn’t cool enough, you can summon a meteor with Meteoron, a tornado with Maelstrom, and an earthquake with Seism.
Another thing I should also mention about the Mage and Sorcerer from Dragon’s Dogma 2 is that their spells look amazing. In a lot of RPGs, mages spew weak-looking streams of frost breath or tiny fireballs, but not in Dragon’s Dogma 2. Frigor shoots absolutely beautiful ice spikes from the ground that explode after time while Halidom creates a stunning ball of light and Levin sends massive lightning bolts crackling from the sky. While not every spell is a wonder to behold, they all look great to some degree.
While not normally my go-to class, Dragon’s Dogma 2 has swayed me into playing a Mage (at least for now). Its spells are gorgeous and it plays thematically well. It truly is the magiest of the mages.
