New Spellhowler - Setup

Spellhowler Setup

I am now bringing up a spellhowler and was looking for what is considered the best setup. I am PVE now but may end up getting into PVP soon as I am now realizing I am very short on SP and a few deaths won't hurt now and then.

I am looking for opinions on the following:
Best Tattoos
B Grade Gear (and A grade eventually)
Weapon of choice and the SA's that go on them
Best skills to use for leveling
Best skills to use for PVP
Anything else that may be of use
Best places to hunt

I know this has been discussed many many times but was looking for things all bunched into one. I am not interested in other classes at this time.

Thanks in advance

if you want to roll a mage class for pvp, sh is not the one. their casting speed is too slow. sh is good for pve..

+5 INT - 5 MEN, +4 WIT -4 MEN
or visa versa
or +4 INT -4 MEN, +4 WIT -4 MEN, +4 CON -4 STR

- I stand by Demon Robes all the way to 80 for PvE
- Any Acumen weapon is good (BG SoV or Spellbreaker, AG Sword of Miracles or Branch of the Mother Tree {no shield tho})

Spell use depends on your fighting style and what mobs you are fighting. Up til level 50 I just fought mobs that I could one-shot so I used only Hurricane. It also depends on if you are dragging around a SE or not.

Any place that has Wind Weak mobs is good, although I found some mobs right next to them that I could one-shot as well. Go to Stratics, Monster Attributes, Then look at what Zone they are in. Simple enough.

Slow, Silence, Vamp Claw, B2M, Death Spike, Death Link, Chaos, highest damage output of any class etc...Not good a PvP? I beg to differ. Casting speed WAS king...when we had sleep. One vs One...yes a SpS has a good chance to kill you (if you don't land silence which was improved in C5) and archers will kill any mage 9 of 10 times. Mass PvP as far as mages go? SH is king.

Spell Singer still does higher damage per second than a Spell Howler. And sleep was rarly used in mass PvP anyways (or so I hear).

Spell Singer still does higher damage per second than a Spell Howler.

Not if they get silenced. With the changes to Cancel and Mental Shield that is a likely outcome for SH and SpS that are close in level with similar equipment.

Is it possible to remove silence without dieing? And what's stopping someone else from silencing the SH?

Silence lasts about 30 seconds. For a combat between mages it means death or BSOE.

And yes, someone could silence the SH but not the SpS since they don't get Silence. The only players that get Silence are SH, Necro, and Overlord. The OL silence is in the form of a Seal so I can't say how effective that is - normally Seals have a poor land rate on players.

Yes, an attentive ES in PvP (which should be in a good mage party but rarely is) has a fair chance (~50/50) of removing silence in about 2 seconds, otherwisely more like 6 or 7.

Best Tattoos

+4Int -4Men , +4Wit -4Men, & +4Con -4Str

B Grade Gear

You can stick with C grade here, depending on where you hunt. If you opt for B grade just for a change of look, I lean toward Avadon over Zubei. At this level, even in Demon, there aren't any mobs your level that you can one shot, unless you are CDL'ing with an overenchanted weapon in Demon robes. Might as well use Avadon and kill as many as you can, as quickly as you can.

(and A grade eventually)

Dark Crystal robes. This is the point when you will group a bit more as an SH and possibly PVP more. But if you can't afford the helmet, just stick with what you used at B grade.

Weapon of choice and the SA's that go on them

At C grade if you get your hands on Demon robes and a sufficiently enchanted Ecliptic Sword or Whispering Death, you can one shot some mobs with the Magic Power SA. That will speed you through your early 40s.

Otherwise, when you get higher level -- and the mobs get much faster and their skills get more strategically engaging -- you will want an Acumen weapon.

Best skills to use for leveling

Pre-level 44, Hurricane. Body to Mind and Corpse Life Drain (CLD) should already be something that you use regularly. Clear Mind adds to that. Post 44: Deathspike. At 52 you'll get Curse Death Link. You can probably find a spot or two at this level where you can use this skill effectively. But it's not a must, and at higher levels, very risky. Play to your comfort level.

Sleep has been nerfed. Don't bother learning it as a top priority spell. Don't bother using it in dire moments to save your neck. Keep a BSOE handy.

Anything else that may be of use.

*Walk, don't run.
*Nuke first, ask questions later.
*Force yourself to group, so that you can learn the roles of other classes under combat situations.
*Don't go wandering around too deeply into the Sea of Spores without a phalanx of allies at your back.
*Craft your own shots. Don't buy them.

Best places to hunt

Anywhere you like. Sure, there are more dark resist mobs in game now, but for the most part, the world of Aden and Elmore is your oyster. This is still one of the best soloing classes in the game.

+5 wit over +4 wit and +4 con here.

+5 wit over +4 wit and +4 con here.

I find that higher level mages, and those who PVP in particular, go with the +5 Wit over the +4 Con. Personally I like my toon to be a bit less squishy (which is why I also keep a BB SOES in inventory). Plus I like having more hp to convert to mp.

Spell Singer still does higher damage per second than a Spell Howler. And sleep was rarly used in mass PvP anyways (or so I hear).

Damage per second? Yes. Damage per buff round? No. A SpS will be sitting on thier butt regening loooong before a SH even has to think about mana if played properly. There for in a Mass PvP situation a SH will deal far more damage over time. Also, I Never said Sleep was used in mass PvP. I was refering to the 1 vs 1 situation. As it is now a SH will win out over a SPS more often then not unless their silence is interrupted or fails to land.