“Storm Fracture” War Mage- ARCHIVE

This is a general build article. I am also working on “Farming Major Spirit Runes or burning through 52 Energy per character as fast as possible”. Research Note: 52 Energy assumes 42 Energy Bar and 10 points from “Dungeon Banking” (see old BoH Forum post).
Archived for Research (80Archive)
Research Note: Builds change as BoH releases versions and your character changes. At Might Rating 2K, 4K, 8K, 12K & 16192, you definitely want to re-evaluate your abilities (Thanks GioRGiO for posting your 15K Stats).
I am currently running a “Storm Fracture” War Mage with a few Red Gems in Max Health (War Mages have the worst armor, cloth), but the rest in Magic. Unlike Shadow Walkers and Justicars, there is no reason to have both Melee and Magic gems since all v1.4 War Mage abilities are Magic based. My character is using Axe/ Shield with Haste -40%. CJ prefers a Staff (Typist's Note: No comment.
). Update: I am now using a Tier 9 Staff when fighting Triple Groups if I have twice the minimum Might Rating for the Raid.
Generic Abilities (12 points)
Ice Fracture rank 3= 50% reduction in Ice Resist. In v1.4, even if the enemy has 0% Ice Resist, this ability lowers it. So a 0% Ice Resist becomes -50% causing the enemy to take 50% bonus damage from Ice Attacks. Better than Inner Focus rank 3 when going for speed, but even better *with* Inner Focus against Dungeon Boss. De-Buff
Fire Fracture rank 3= Fire version of Ice Fracture. De-Buff
Inner Focus rank 3= +50% Bonus Damage for Magic & Melee. With the Semi-Soft Stat Cap of +225 Bonus Damage [ see post ( viewtopic.php?p=4238#p4239 )], that is another +112 Bonus Damage (or more). Better than Blessing of Might which only give points to Magic Stat not Magic Bonus Damage. Buff.
Research Note: In v1.4 Combo Inner Focus - > Combustion - > Fire Fracture does more damage then the same character casting Combustion - > Fire Fracture - > Inner Focus. Always cast Inner Focus first to maximize Combustion damage.
Hasten rank 1= Haste 10%. Due to Haste -40% Semi-Soft Cap [ see post ( viewtopic.php?p=4238#p4238 )], strong combo against Dungeon Boss. Skip if not yet Haste -30% (casting penalty). Also skip if monster groups (if Might Rating is 5,000 or higher). Around 8,000 Might Rating, you can keep Hasten rank 1 or move the point to Time Void rank 3. Buff.
Time Void rank 2= Group Interrupt. You can never have too many interrupts. De-Buff
Abilities for Monster Groups (6 points)
Ice Storm rank 3= Slow Enemy for 30% or -23% enemy DPS (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff). Combo with Frozen Shard rank 2 (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff), Haste -40% (Semi-Soft Stat Cap) & Hasten rank 1 (Total Haste -50%) to get 4 attacks for every 1 attack a Dungeon Boss gets. Slow De-Buffs of the same Tier do not stack, they just reset the timer. Minor Frost Runes from the Temple are Tier 1 Slow De-Buff, so you want Frozen Shard rank 2 (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff) and Ice Storm rank 3 (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff) to get the most out of these abilities. Ice Storm rank 3 will get you the best Slow De-Buff. You want the best Slow De-Buff when facing a Triple Group. Usually you will be using Ice Storm and Frozen Shard against a Dungeon Boss, so Frozen Shard rank 2 will work for maximum Slow. Frozen Shard rank 1 would only reset Minor Frost Runes and Frozen Shard rank 3 would only reset Ice Storm rank 3. Magic De-Buff & Attack.
Flaming Pyre rank 3= 80% chance per enemy of a Flaming Pyre (Tier 2 fire Damage Over Time). The DOT breaks Icy Grasp rank 1. Before v1.3 the definitive War Mage spell. With Dragonmoor (Flame Creatures take extra damage from Ice Storm, but Frozen Vale Creatures still highly resistant to Flaming Pyre. see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2158479 ]) and the v1.3+ Ice Storm, War Mage could go with Flaming Pyre or Ice Storm. Combo with Fire Fracture rank 3 and/ or Inner Focus rank 3, weak vs. individual, medium vs. Dungeon Boss, strong vs. Triple Group, medium vs. Onslaught Boss. Magic Attack.
Abilities for Dungeon & Raid Bosses (7 points).
Combustion rank 3= v1.4 does 350% weapon damage in 4 seconds (87.5% DPS) with a chance for a Critical Hit. With Haste -40%, if you are lucky, you can cast Inner Focus, Combustion then stall with Defend for 1 to 1.2 seconds then cast Icy Grasp rank 1, stall with Defend for 1 to 1.5 seconds, Buff character, De-Buff enemies, and have Ice Storm rank 3 strike the same time as Combustion rank 3. I am happy with the Combustion rank 3 going off within 0.5 seconds of Ice Storm rank 3. Due to Cool downs, Inner Focus rank 3/ Combustion rank 3/ Icy Grasp rank 1/ Ice Storm rank 3 combo works well against Dungeon Boss, but not so well against Onslaught Boss. Magic DOT.
Ice Grasp rank 1= Medium Stun. Never have too many stuns. With strong v1.4 Magic (175- 225 Bonus Damage) a fast attack. Magic Stun & Attack.
Frozen Shard rank 2= Slow Enemy 20% or -16% enemy DPS (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff). Faster than Incinerate rank 1. see Ice Storm rank 3 for more about Slow De-Buffs and choosing Frozen Shard rank 2 instead of 1 or 3. Magic De-Buff & Attack.
Researcher’s Note: Toxic Blade/ Poison Cloud & Wound/ Circle of Blades had the same problem as Frozen Shard/ Ice Storm. However, a client bug in Onslaught caused Venan to solve the “Never get Toxic Blade rank 2 (Tier 2 nature DOT) or Wound rank 2 (Tier 2 physical DOT)” problem.
Incinerate rank 1= Useful when Frozen Shard is in cool down and against Dungeon Bosses. Better than Basic Attack since most War Mages have zero or low points in Melee Rating. Magic Attack.
With any Might Rating, a good group attack sequence is Ice Storm rank 3, Inner Focus rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Ice Fracture rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. The first Ice Storm rank 3 (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff) slowing down the enemy, while you cast everything else. Use Time Void rank 2 as needed. Defeat the last monster with Icy Grasp/ Frozen Shard or Incinerate depending on which De-Buff is still running (Ice or Fire Fracture).
For high Might Rating, a good group attack sequence is Ice Fracture rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Inner Focus rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. If you are very lucky, you will get Critical Hits with the first Ice Fracture/ Ice Storm and not even need the rest of the sequence. This is especially useful in Dragonmoor. If a group has low Health after Ice Fracture/ Ice Storm, then skip Fire Fracture and go straight to Flaming Pyre to finish them.
Exception: High Might Rating, in the Frozen Vale, then use Ice Storm rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Ice Fracture rank 3, Inner Focus Rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. By skipping Ice Fracture, and going straight to Ice Storm, you slow them down, while the first Fire Fracture/ Flaming Pyre has a good chance of taking out the group. Enemies in Frozen Vale are resistant to Fire and very resistant to Ice. Another advantage in the Frozen Vale with Ice/ Fire Fracture is they De-Buff the enemy. Unlike Inner Focus that Buffs the character and can be removed by “Gaze of Despair” (Monster version of Radiant Light).
For a Dungeon Boss, a good sequence for any Might Rating is Inner Focus rank 3, Combustion rank 3, Defend, Icy Grasp rank 1, Ice Fracture rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, optional Hasten rank 1, Defend, Defend, Ice Storm rank 3, Frozen Shard rank 2, and Incinerate rank 1, optional Flaming Pyre rank 3 (useful for low Might Rating War Mage but disrupts later Icy Grasp rank 1).
Research Note: In v1.4 Combo Inner Focus - > Combustion - > Fire Fracture does more damage then the same character casting Combustion - > Fire Fracture - > Inner Focus. Always cast Inner Focus first to maximize Combustion damage.
All free (found) Minor/ Major Runes are good. If you already have Ice/ Fire Fracture cast, use the matching Minor/ Major Rune for more damage. Exception, if your War Mage is going against flame creatures in Dragonmoor, they take extra damage from Frost Runes and extra, extra damage from Critical Hits with Frost Runes (see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2158479 ]). If you want to buy Minor Runes at the Temple, get Spirit Runes. They are the best value for your 650 silver (see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2146899 ]). During contests like the 2012 August Glenfort Games, Major Spirit Runes are awesome, especially vs. Onslaught Boss.
For Very Very High Might Rating [almost 16K], see GioRGiO's post ( viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1074&p=4381#p4381 )
Tags: v1.4BoHBuild, BoHBuild, AdvancedFAQ, BasicFAQ
Archived for Research (80Archive)
Research Note: Builds change as BoH releases versions and your character changes. At Might Rating 2K, 4K, 8K, 12K & 16192, you definitely want to re-evaluate your abilities (Thanks GioRGiO for posting your 15K Stats).
I am currently running a “Storm Fracture” War Mage with a few Red Gems in Max Health (War Mages have the worst armor, cloth), but the rest in Magic. Unlike Shadow Walkers and Justicars, there is no reason to have both Melee and Magic gems since all v1.4 War Mage abilities are Magic based. My character is using Axe/ Shield with Haste -40%. CJ prefers a Staff (Typist's Note: No comment.

Generic Abilities (12 points)
Ice Fracture rank 3= 50% reduction in Ice Resist. In v1.4, even if the enemy has 0% Ice Resist, this ability lowers it. So a 0% Ice Resist becomes -50% causing the enemy to take 50% bonus damage from Ice Attacks. Better than Inner Focus rank 3 when going for speed, but even better *with* Inner Focus against Dungeon Boss. De-Buff
Fire Fracture rank 3= Fire version of Ice Fracture. De-Buff
Inner Focus rank 3= +50% Bonus Damage for Magic & Melee. With the Semi-Soft Stat Cap of +225 Bonus Damage [ see post ( viewtopic.php?p=4238#p4239 )], that is another +112 Bonus Damage (or more). Better than Blessing of Might which only give points to Magic Stat not Magic Bonus Damage. Buff.
Research Note: In v1.4 Combo Inner Focus - > Combustion - > Fire Fracture does more damage then the same character casting Combustion - > Fire Fracture - > Inner Focus. Always cast Inner Focus first to maximize Combustion damage.
Hasten rank 1= Haste 10%. Due to Haste -40% Semi-Soft Cap [ see post ( viewtopic.php?p=4238#p4238 )], strong combo against Dungeon Boss. Skip if not yet Haste -30% (casting penalty). Also skip if monster groups (if Might Rating is 5,000 or higher). Around 8,000 Might Rating, you can keep Hasten rank 1 or move the point to Time Void rank 3. Buff.
Time Void rank 2= Group Interrupt. You can never have too many interrupts. De-Buff
Abilities for Monster Groups (6 points)
Ice Storm rank 3= Slow Enemy for 30% or -23% enemy DPS (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff). Combo with Frozen Shard rank 2 (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff), Haste -40% (Semi-Soft Stat Cap) & Hasten rank 1 (Total Haste -50%) to get 4 attacks for every 1 attack a Dungeon Boss gets. Slow De-Buffs of the same Tier do not stack, they just reset the timer. Minor Frost Runes from the Temple are Tier 1 Slow De-Buff, so you want Frozen Shard rank 2 (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff) and Ice Storm rank 3 (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff) to get the most out of these abilities. Ice Storm rank 3 will get you the best Slow De-Buff. You want the best Slow De-Buff when facing a Triple Group. Usually you will be using Ice Storm and Frozen Shard against a Dungeon Boss, so Frozen Shard rank 2 will work for maximum Slow. Frozen Shard rank 1 would only reset Minor Frost Runes and Frozen Shard rank 3 would only reset Ice Storm rank 3. Magic De-Buff & Attack.
Flaming Pyre rank 3= 80% chance per enemy of a Flaming Pyre (Tier 2 fire Damage Over Time). The DOT breaks Icy Grasp rank 1. Before v1.3 the definitive War Mage spell. With Dragonmoor (Flame Creatures take extra damage from Ice Storm, but Frozen Vale Creatures still highly resistant to Flaming Pyre. see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2158479 ]) and the v1.3+ Ice Storm, War Mage could go with Flaming Pyre or Ice Storm. Combo with Fire Fracture rank 3 and/ or Inner Focus rank 3, weak vs. individual, medium vs. Dungeon Boss, strong vs. Triple Group, medium vs. Onslaught Boss. Magic Attack.
Abilities for Dungeon & Raid Bosses (7 points).
Combustion rank 3= v1.4 does 350% weapon damage in 4 seconds (87.5% DPS) with a chance for a Critical Hit. With Haste -40%, if you are lucky, you can cast Inner Focus, Combustion then stall with Defend for 1 to 1.2 seconds then cast Icy Grasp rank 1, stall with Defend for 1 to 1.5 seconds, Buff character, De-Buff enemies, and have Ice Storm rank 3 strike the same time as Combustion rank 3. I am happy with the Combustion rank 3 going off within 0.5 seconds of Ice Storm rank 3. Due to Cool downs, Inner Focus rank 3/ Combustion rank 3/ Icy Grasp rank 1/ Ice Storm rank 3 combo works well against Dungeon Boss, but not so well against Onslaught Boss. Magic DOT.
Ice Grasp rank 1= Medium Stun. Never have too many stuns. With strong v1.4 Magic (175- 225 Bonus Damage) a fast attack. Magic Stun & Attack.
Frozen Shard rank 2= Slow Enemy 20% or -16% enemy DPS (Tier 2 Slow De-Buff). Faster than Incinerate rank 1. see Ice Storm rank 3 for more about Slow De-Buffs and choosing Frozen Shard rank 2 instead of 1 or 3. Magic De-Buff & Attack.
Researcher’s Note: Toxic Blade/ Poison Cloud & Wound/ Circle of Blades had the same problem as Frozen Shard/ Ice Storm. However, a client bug in Onslaught caused Venan to solve the “Never get Toxic Blade rank 2 (Tier 2 nature DOT) or Wound rank 2 (Tier 2 physical DOT)” problem.
Incinerate rank 1= Useful when Frozen Shard is in cool down and against Dungeon Bosses. Better than Basic Attack since most War Mages have zero or low points in Melee Rating. Magic Attack.
With any Might Rating, a good group attack sequence is Ice Storm rank 3, Inner Focus rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Ice Fracture rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. The first Ice Storm rank 3 (Tier 3 Slow De-Buff) slowing down the enemy, while you cast everything else. Use Time Void rank 2 as needed. Defeat the last monster with Icy Grasp/ Frozen Shard or Incinerate depending on which De-Buff is still running (Ice or Fire Fracture).
For high Might Rating, a good group attack sequence is Ice Fracture rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Inner Focus rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. If you are very lucky, you will get Critical Hits with the first Ice Fracture/ Ice Storm and not even need the rest of the sequence. This is especially useful in Dragonmoor. If a group has low Health after Ice Fracture/ Ice Storm, then skip Fire Fracture and go straight to Flaming Pyre to finish them.
Exception: High Might Rating, in the Frozen Vale, then use Ice Storm rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, Flaming Pyre rank 3, Ice Fracture rank 3, Inner Focus Rank 3, Ice Storm rank 3. By skipping Ice Fracture, and going straight to Ice Storm, you slow them down, while the first Fire Fracture/ Flaming Pyre has a good chance of taking out the group. Enemies in Frozen Vale are resistant to Fire and very resistant to Ice. Another advantage in the Frozen Vale with Ice/ Fire Fracture is they De-Buff the enemy. Unlike Inner Focus that Buffs the character and can be removed by “Gaze of Despair” (Monster version of Radiant Light).
For a Dungeon Boss, a good sequence for any Might Rating is Inner Focus rank 3, Combustion rank 3, Defend, Icy Grasp rank 1, Ice Fracture rank 3, Fire Fracture rank 3, optional Hasten rank 1, Defend, Defend, Ice Storm rank 3, Frozen Shard rank 2, and Incinerate rank 1, optional Flaming Pyre rank 3 (useful for low Might Rating War Mage but disrupts later Icy Grasp rank 1).
Research Note: In v1.4 Combo Inner Focus - > Combustion - > Fire Fracture does more damage then the same character casting Combustion - > Fire Fracture - > Inner Focus. Always cast Inner Focus first to maximize Combustion damage.
All free (found) Minor/ Major Runes are good. If you already have Ice/ Fire Fracture cast, use the matching Minor/ Major Rune for more damage. Exception, if your War Mage is going against flame creatures in Dragonmoor, they take extra damage from Frost Runes and extra, extra damage from Critical Hits with Frost Runes (see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2158479 ]). If you want to buy Minor Runes at the Temple, get Spirit Runes. They are the best value for your 650 silver (see old post [ http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthrea ... ost2146899 ]). During contests like the 2012 August Glenfort Games, Major Spirit Runes are awesome, especially vs. Onslaught Boss.
For Very Very High Might Rating [almost 16K], see GioRGiO's post ( viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1074&p=4381#p4381 )
Tags: v1.4BoHBuild, BoHBuild, AdvancedFAQ, BasicFAQ