Skele mages

[Jinksy]

Are they really so bad now?

The only mentions they get in the guides seem to be a few lines below comments like 'summoners can solo hell naked, and only need half their skill points', which precedes 'if you put any points in skelli mages your character will suck, your girlfriend will leave you, and dingoes will eat your kidney'.

If you pump skele mages to max (assuming you've done the same to mastery) do they ever end up being at all useful, or are they just glorified glowsticks?

[ultradank]

IMO: Skellies and a few Revives along with your merc will be MORE then enough for any part of the game. The beauty of the summoner is that you dont need to kill all the monsters just 1 and let Corpse Explosion do all the rest. :thumbsup:

Putting points into mage definatly seems like a waste because they just are not needed.

[Lord Nyax]

You may want to check out a certain guide in the collection here. Something like Mage-Lord...I'll see if I can find a link for ya.

EDIT: It's called the Lich-Lord. Here ya go. http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=353693

It may be a bit...expensive for your tastes.

[HarbingersOfSkulls]

Alot of people misunderstand the mages and therefore see them as useless...and depending on certain builds they are. But for a summoner they are actually invaluable for what they do for your horde.

Mages are basically a support or backup for that matter for the skeletons (who will do all the dirty work for you) and do a good enough job at killing PI'S as well as helping in causing lag in pubby games...although revives and spamming bone walls can do the same (as well as make your group mad).

Since I only use revives in certain parts of the game...mages although they die a bit faster than skeletons...do well enough for me that I use them alot and will even switch my waheed's weapon every once in a while to infinity to make the mages that more effective in hell.

HoS

[garion]

i agree with HOS....

mages aren't the mainstay of your army..they are there as the artillery..just to hit the baddies with something different...to enhance the killing potential of your army..however skeles are probably the core party of your army..with revives being able to supplment you needs depending on what you revive =)

[happyslayer]

Mages can do different things, such as freeze enemies if they're cold, or poison them, which stops monster heal for a time.
But they also soak up hits. That alone makes 'em worthwhile.

Only problem I have with mages is the fact that they lag you while teleporting. Otherwise, they're fine with me.

[Eilo Rytyj]

Don't dismiss their damage either, like skeletons, it all adds up. I guess mages were made to have less damage than skellys because they have the advantage of range.

Next summoner I make, i'll think about max mages (instead of having 20+ points unused at level 80).

[jag]

Mages have their uses.

I prefer them more for solo play than in a multiplayer situation. They are handy to have behind and around you in open areas - nothing can seek up on you with them generally behind you. They wont hold up very long if they are attacked, but they will at least slow down anything trying to get at you hopefully long enough for the melee skellies to get there.

They can be a bit difficult to manage in narrow places or door ways since they will block melee skellies from moving. I often go into maggots lair or catacombs without them.