Bard/Mage going Bard/Arch

[Loki_MTD]

Currently have a 7x bard/mage, concidering going bard/arch.. current template is..

Provo
music
mage
med
eval
Hide
Wrestle

Should I tweak this template or should I just make a new toon with a template like...

Provo
music
Mage
arch
Anat
tactics
Heal

What are some pros and cons to each of the templates or how can either of them be tweaked to make a better toon.

The reason I'm debating is the time it takes to take down mobs.. I provo big mobs on eachother, then burn all my mana, then med, then burn again.. think it would be more cost efficient and faster without having to regain mana.

 

[Vince[Tharakus]]

Yea me personally, I never understood the Mage/Bard. But to each his own. Should have fun with whatever build you choose.
I wouldn't change my Bard Archer for a Mage any day. I think you'll like the Archer alot better

 

[kurtis]

It's a preference thing and it depends on how you enjoy playing your char.

I personally find myself in a lot of tight situations and I enjoy playing them out, rather than just insta running or recalling away. So I switched my archer/bard for a mage/bard for the flexibility and survivability. It made a huge difference and now I never get PKed unless I'm multi-tasking and not paying close attention. Having wrestle gives you a nice cushion. But actually the main reason I switched was because I hated bothering with slayer bows and dealing with keeping myself stocked on arrows (even though I had a GM fletcher at the time). It was just a personal pet peeve of mine. And I use this character to gate my other chars around a lot, so the meditation is helpful.

But yes, a mage/bard isn't going to make as much gold/hour as an archer bard or get as many points at a champ. And there are times when my provo camp didn't go quite right and I wish I had a bow and arrows to finish off mobs faster.

 

[Vince[Tharakus]]

Yea its definitely a thing of preference. Thats what makes UO great theres isnt just one way to skin a cat.
The answer lies within yourself and what makes you have fun!

 

[[Legato]]

Currently have a 7x bard/mage, concidering going bard/arch.. current template is..

Provo
music
mage
med
eval
Hide
Wrestle

Should I tweak this template or should I just make a new toon with a template like...

Provo
music
Mage
arch
Anat
tactics
Heal


What are some pros and cons to each of the templates or how can either of them be tweaked to make a better toon.

The reason I'm debating is the time it takes to take down mobs.. I provo big mobs on eachother, then burn all my mana, then med, then burn again.. think it would be more cost efficient and faster without having to regain mana.

This is what I did and its killer:

Provo - 100
music - 100
Mage - 60 (recall, mark, reflect)
arch - 100
Anat - 80
tactics - 100
Heal - 80
resist - 80

The resist sets you up to solo blood ele's and other monsters when you need to. The healing/anatomy is enough for most encounters. The magery lets you recall, mark, reflect, and heal all you need. The rest sets you up for success.

Just get a legit bow, and you'll still pop up 60hp shots each pull. Rake in about 10k in 10 minutes, depending on where i go

 

[Stredeck]

This is what I did and its killer:

Provo - 100
music - 100
Mage - 60 (recall, mark, reflect)
arch - 100
Anat - 80
tactics - 100
Heal - 80
resist - 80

The resist sets you up to solo blood ele's and other monsters when you need to. The healing/anatomy is enough for most encounters. The magery lets you recall, mark, reflect, and heal all you need. The rest sets you up for success.

Just get a legit bow, and you'll still pop up 60hp shots each pull. Rake in about 10k in 10 minutes, depending on where i go

I like that build Legato, what's your stat setup? And yes I'm new again, if that's a newbie question.

 

[[Legato]]

95 90 40

 

[FrogX]

Should I tweak this template or should I just make a new toon with a template like...

Provo
music
Mage
arch
Anat
tactics
Heal

What are some pros and cons to each of the templates or how can either of them be tweaked to make a better toon.

The reason I'm debating is the time it takes to take down mobs.. I provo big mobs on eachother, then burn all my mana, then med, then burn again.. think it would be more cost efficient and faster without having to regain mana.

Archer/Bard:
100 Archery
100 Tactics
100 Music
110 Provoke
80 Anatomy
80 Healing (77 real)
72 Resist
63 Mage (61 real)

90/100/35

63 magery is highly recommended, you are going to suffer without magery. Protection & Teleport will save your ass from PKs, being able to buff yourself is nice, and 63 will never fizzle recalls (60 will still have the odd fizzle). With modifiers you can cut healing back to 77 real and still hit 80 with the stats I listed.

 

[Snickle]

Drop heal/anatomy for mage/med

Archery
Tactics
Provo
Music
Mage
Resists
Med.
90 str / 70 Dex / 65 Intel (110/90/65 potted)

Never worry about mana. Can do everything a guy with anat/heal can do except wear heavy armor. In addition, he can cross heal mates, summon EVs and fields (at champs), gate, mark, magic reflect and recall in/out of dungeons without worrying about mana return. I hate going out with friends who can't recall due to mana shortage and especially hate when nobody can cross heal.
This template is a jack of all trades.
The anatomy loss on damage isn't a problem... I do 120 a swing with exceptional/slayer bows

 

[Loki_MTD]

Drop heal/anatomy for mage/med

Archery
Tactics
Provo
Music
Mage
Resists
Med.
90 str / 70 Dex / 65 Intel (110/90/65 potted)

Never worry about mana. Can do everything a guy with anat/heal can do except wear heavy armor. In addition, he can cross heal mates, summon EVs and fields (at champs), gate, mark, magic reflect and recall in/out of dungeons without worrying about mana return. I hate going out with friends who can't recall due to mana shortage and especially hate when nobody can cross heal.
This template is a jack of all trades.
The anatomy loss on damage isn't a problem... I do 120 a swing with exceptional/slayer bows

How much of a loss in damage would I get if I dropped anat.. and wouldn't heal be less effective with out eval?

 

[Snickle]

No the heal/cure spells are magery based. Only offensive spells are eval based. And I don't have anatomy on my guy and he does 90-130 a hit with his exceptional slayer bows

 

[Loki_MTD]

Great.. thanx for all the good feedback everyone... the long and short of it, I think I'll keep my bard/mage (I do love playing him and IS very flexible in different situations).. and I'll make a new toon with a template like...

Provo
music
mage
med
arch
tactics
still on the fence for either resist or hiding for the last.. don't have resist on my bard/mage and it works out fine, especially for a pvm character... but hiding on constently use.

 

[Bromista]

I like Snickle's build best. You won't notice much of a dip in damage output by having no anat. No gimped skills. Ability to invis with magery without devoting skill points solely to hiding. Heals, cross-heals, cures, buffs all at 100% effectiveness. The only downside is losing the ability to have a bandage running, meaning you have to drop your bow to cure/heal which opens you up to physical attacks that much more. But those scenarios should be few and far between if you play your cards right.

Definitely a very versatile template.

You could even eat some junk peace PS to boost skill cap or dip into some skills (namely med since you will want to keep bow up and casting to a minimum anyhow) for bonus skill points.

 

[Loki_MTD]

I can create a macro after I cast all my spells to rear my bow though... correct, so I don't have to manually reload each time

 

[Bromista]

Yes that sure helps. What sucks is the cool down on the swing timer when you re-equip but that is easier to live with than getting hit 100% of the time when your bow is down.

 

[Snickle]

Yea the few small downsides are having to unequip for heals (restart swing speed) and the highest AR is 45 with invul leather. 28 in exc barbed. Also being forced to recall out when it's just one red. A 5x mage with Provo/music would be able to fight back.

I still much prefer my template over any other. Yes, I've tried them all... Took me a lot of tweaking to settle on this one.

I'd 100% do resist spells OVER hiding.
That being said, my exact template on my gold farmer/champer is:

115 Provo
100 Music
100 Archery
100 Tactics
95 Magery
95 Meditation
85 Resist Spells
25 Hiding

110/85/70 (I'm always potted)

The 25 hiding is for emergencies or just to have the option available after a few attempts, since the invis spell isn't permanent. At 95 magery I never fizzle EV scrolls (and never leave home without em whether I'm champing or not). At 25 hiding I succeed about 25% of the time on the first attempt.