I plan on getting tatts for my SH soon, but don't want to buy them all at once because I can't afford to shell out all that adena at one time.
I plan on purchasing the following:
+4 int / -4 men
+4 wit / -4 or -5 men
+4 dex / -4 or -5 str
Questions:
1) Which one should I purchase first, second, then third? At what levels should I acquire them? (I'm 52 atm)
2) Will it be a big diff if I go with the -5 men and -5 str dyes as opposed to the -4 variety? I've heard that it's not a big deal for strength, especially for SH's but what about Men? (I'm tryin' to save a little money here.)
Any constructive input on this matter will be highly appreciated!
Nerf your STR all you want, it's not an issue. You can start with the -5 men dyes and later, when you can afford it, upgrade to -4. But wait until someone else comments, as I've never played with that much -men :) Just an idea ^^
+4 CON/-5 STR, not DEX. There is no reason to go +4 DEX seeing as how it only adds like 1 Speed per dex (maybe I'm slightly off on accuracy) and you can buy a cheap C Bracelet and Speed Talismen that give you +3 Speed.
You don't need ATK Speed, Critical, etc.
CON gives you CP/HP/Carrying Capacity/Stun Resistance, among other things.
CON > DEX on a Mage, ESPECIALLY a Dark Elf Mage.
Most nukers, including SH, do the standard +4 INT, +4 WIT, +4 CON, -8 MEN -4 STR.
However, I personally chose to go +5 INT -5 MEN, +4 CON -4 STR. That is, I boosted my damage as much as possible through tats, but not my cast speed. But I can gain cast speed from buffs/pots, acumen SA and DC robes.
The result is a character that hits hard as possible and is more MP-efficient than other SHs (didn't nerf my MEN as much). I actually like having more MEN, makes a noticeable difference to M.Def and MP regen rate. But note - I mostly PvE and do raids with this character.
If you plan to PvP (especially 1v1), then this would not be a good optiion, you really need the +WIT for PvP. But for a raid/seige/pve SH, INT is more important. So in the end, it depends on what you want to do with the toon. I'd say get your INT tat first (since at your level you are mostly going to be leveling and PvE), followed by WIT, then CON.