My Gear

In the old days, mages used to run around naked. Well, okay, most of us wore clothes just to show a sense of individuality, but we didn't wear armor. This was in the times where Eval and Meditation became required, and put a stop to full plate mage/archer/swordsman templates. We could've worn leather even then without a med penalty, but it was ugly and because PvP was the big thing we all generally assumed we were going to die anyway. Leather wasn't going to slow that down very much.

UOML is a different sort of game. We no longer have AR and Magic Resist as our defenses. Now we have resistances derived from what you wear and maybe your Magic Resist; Physical, Fire, Poison, Cold, and Energy. Going naked just isn't an option anymore, not if you want to fight anything bigger than a Mongbat.

Spellbooks are an important part of my gear, so much that I have hotkeys for quick switching. Namely, I have all six Slayer spellbooks. On top of the damage I already do, anything with a Slayer vulnerability takes double that. I can, in fact, one-shot a White Wyrm (to be fair, it's still three spells, but only one for damage; upwards of 500 in a hit). I'm most often holding one of these books because this is what brings in my cash.

When Slayer can't be a part of my fight, I have three other weapons I use. Tome of the Arch Mage is the general spellbook I keep on hand, for it's Int and mana bonuses; it's not much, but it's something. I also carry a quarterstaff with 100% fire damage, mana leech, hit lower attack and hit lower defense, just in case I need to make a recovery. The staff doesn't see as much use as the tekagi I carry; 100% fire, hit lightning, hit fireball, hit magic arrow. The staff and tekagi I crafted and spellcrafted myself. I go for fire damage because if it's not a creatures lowest resist, Corpse Skin can make it so. I go two-handed for the Bushido parry bonus.


None of that helps me hit any necessary caps in a significant way; I leave that to armor and jewelry. I spellcrafted my jewelry with the general aim of boosting Int, spell damage increase, and str, in that order. The other two mods on each piece vary, some dex, faster casting, cast recover, and enhance potions (which is wasted, because I don't use potions at all). This is not my final jewelry. I'm still looking for a few armor artifacts that will lessen my need for some of these mods, and I'm hoping to grab some blank +Magic Resist pieces; they still allow five spellcrafted mods and would cover the hit I'm taking for using Protect. I also need better Alchemy and Inscription for better spellcrafting.

The core of my armor lies with Undead pieces; I found the Tunic of Undead as my first drop from a Terragon creature in Trammel, and I donate for the Gloves and Leggings because I was sick of being married to the Staff of Mondain to hit my SDI cap. In retrospect, that may not have been necessary, but I have no complaints. These three are easily the best pieces for their slots on the shard, at the least for a mage. I hunted Ancient Dragons up and down Trinsic swamp hoping for a Dragon Heart Arms drop, but ended up buying them. I used them for a few weeks, but have since gone back to a pair of Platinum Plate Arms I made. I use a Circlet I created for my head slot. I also wear an Int Merlin's Robe and Solarets of Sacrifice.


A few additional points about my gear:
-Tunic of Undead has hidden properties, as far as I can tell just 20 Str and 12 Int.
-My dex just barely makes that magic 80 where I take no penalty to parrying with low dex, but curses easily take me under. My ideal gear would have a bit more.
-Enhance potions is a waste. I could've better benefit from more hit chance on my jewelry. I'll plan that better next time.
-I'm probably never going to hit the Int cap without using Bless. I have 250 now. Near as I can tell, with the perfect jewelry (+11 Int over current) and two or three optimum replacements, I'll get to ~290. This is the subject of a rant that will come later, I'm sure.
-I wore the Cloak of Sir Kenshin for a few weeks before my principals and sense of taste forced me to take it off. I will not be using it again. Subject of another rant.