GreedFall is a fantasy action roleplaying game where the main character can influence the colonization of uncharted land. The player can explore mysterious landscapes, fight a variety of enemies, and learn a variety of skills as they are forced to make a collection of hard moral choices.
But like other action RPGs, making a character build is considered standard. So this will be a guide explaining how to create an effective ‘battle mage’ build. In a setting where guns are just as valid as magic, there are quite a few possibilities for how a battle mage can be built—although some are better than others.
General Battle Mage Characteristics in GreedFall
But let’s start with the basics. Battle mages are supposed to combine elements of the strong warrior and the magic-wielding mage. But while battle mages can cast off spells, it is not at all uncommon for mages to use their weapon as their primary means of offense. Which in turn means that in general, the battle mage will be engaging in a lot of close-quarters combat.
In which case, the biggest issue is health and the inevitability of getting hit. Make sure the player character has a good amount of attributes dedicated to endurance and strength, as these will be the primary attributes that will allow the player character to both take in and dish out damage.
But naturally, any battle mage will need to invest in their magic as well. So do not neglect the character’s mental power and willpower attributes. But depending on the specific build, some players may want to focus more on willpower since it focuses on lengthening a spell’s duration and mana regeneration.
Important Talents to Invest In:
- Vigor (Level 2-3): Important for any battle mage build, vigor is especially useful for anyone who wants to regenerate mana and HP at a faster rate. Which in this case, the player most definitely will.
- Science (1-3): This is more for convenience, but even investing a single point in science can be useful. Basic health potions, resuscitation powder, power potions---all can be made with science and prove useful to the player.
Two-Handed Battle Mage in GreedFall
Being a build that focused on dealing damage with a heavy-hitting weapon, spells in this build are mostly used to hinder enemy movement and protect the caster. Since the battle mage will be charging into the fray to fight enemies face to face, putting enemies off-balance is a must so the character doesn’t get overwhelmed.
Talents of Interest
- Science (Level 1-2): As mentioned before, science can be useful. There are quite a few potions that can give the player a buff for a decent duration, and this can only help the player compensate for any weaknesses they may have.
- Vigor (Level 3): Level this up as quickly as possible. Higher regen means a higher chance of survival.
Skill Trees of Interest
- Stasis: Spells in this build will be focused on hindering enemies and protecting the caster instead of dealing damage. As such, the stasis skill tree is where most of the character’s magic skills are dedicated. But despite the stasis spell being a decent opener, it does go away when the player gets hit (which they will). But the main interest in this skill tree is the Shield of the Enlightened.
- Shield of the Enlightened: With this shield increasing and regenerating armor for the duration of the effect, this skill is a must for a battle mage who is actively engaging in close combat. Combine it with skills like Holy Bulwark or Shield of Fury, which add more effects to the spell, and the player can give their character an impressive set of buffs that can increase their damage resistance and fury generation respectively.
- One-Handed Heavy Weapons: While the player will likely not stay with one-handed heavy weapons, it can still provide some useful perks. Armor Breaker, for instance, allows the powerful attack to deal more damage to armor.
- Two-Handed Heavy Weapons: As the player can probably tell, two-handed weapons are how this build deals most of its damage. With two-handed weapons already having a massive damage output on their own, this damage output can be maximized with skills like Iron Grip and Steel Wall. The damage alone is nothing to sneeze at and is the core strength of this build. But if the player pushes it even further, and dedicates skill points toward Shock Wave and Seismic Shock to put enemies off-balance, then the player will have a build that can knock enemies down with ease as they cleave through their armor and health.
One-Handed Battle Mage in GreedFall
Relying on the player to be a bit light on their feet, this build relies on moving around with magic in order to pick at any exposed or weakened enemies. So be sure to have a companion or two who is able to keep attention off of the player and preferably deal armor damage. Otherwise, the player will have to resort to prolonged fights as they try to avoid taking too much damage.
Talents
- Science (Level 1-2): Useful for crafting health potions in the event the player gets overwhelmed.
- Vigor (Level 2-3): Regen. Both for health and mana. Every build needs it. But if the player is good at being light on their feet, then low health shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Skill Trees
- One-Handed Blades: Players will not be using the majority of this tree unless they want to use long blades. But if the player dedicates a small number of skill points until they learn Strong Kick, then the player character should be able to use blades as their primary weapons. But as players will probably notice, some of these skills can only work against unarmored enemies. That means they either need to break down armor themselves or work with a teammate who can do it in their stead.
- Stasis: In truth, all the player needs to invest toward is the Corrosive Emanation skill since this will allow the stasis spell to pick away at an enemy’s armor. It pairs really well with several one-handed blade skills. But if they so wish, players can go for Shield of the Enlightened if they feel they need to heighten their defense.
- Divine Magic Ring: Arguably just as important as the one-handed skill tree in terms of damage dealing, this is where players will acquire a good deal of their offensive attacks and evasive maneuvers. Shadow Missile and Shadow Impact are the player’s friends.
- Lightning Dash: The Lightning Dash ability will be an important tool for this build. Enabling evasive maneuvers, this is the battle mage’s best option when things are becoming difficult for them. Pair it with the Faster Than Lightning skill and the player will gain a nice boost to their attack speed after using it.
The Gunslinger Battle Mage in Greedfall
This build actually has a ton of issues. Mostly pertaining to how difficult it can be to always keep the character stocked on ammunition, traps and potions. This can easily become the most expensive build to maintain unless the player is willing to dedicate a lot of time to crafting. It also has the glaring weakness of making the character extremely vulnerable to any enemy who can close the distance and begin attacking the player up close.
Furthermore, since this build focuses on maintaining distance from enemies, this means the player has to invest substantially into their accuracy attribute. But on the plus side, it does look cool when the player can pepper their enemies with spells and projectiles from a distance. The damage output can be so large that several enemies can be found face planting themselves into the dirt without even touching the player.
Talents of Interest
- Science (Level 3): This is mandatory this time. If the player doesn’t craft ammo and potions themselves, then they will end up spending a lot of gold. It will also be incredibly useful when the player needs to prepare alchemical preparations for their weapons.
- Intuition (Level 1): With crafting comes a need for materials, and intuition will make finding them a bit easier.
- Vigor (Level 2-3): Necessary for every battle mage build.
Skill Trees of Interest
- Firearms: Being one of the build’s primary means of damage, things can get really interesting once the player gets Anointed Weapons, which allows alchemical preparations to be put on weapons. If possible, get Extended Stasis Alchemy to increase immobilizing effects.
- Set Trap: Useful for damaging enemies who get too close for comfort, it is recommended players at least get Economical Alchemy so they can get Shadow Burst in the magic skill line.
- Divine Magic Ring: If the player doesn’t feel like wasting ammo, then this skill tree allows the build a few damage options in the form of the Shadow Missile.
- Shadow Burst: Easily capable of turning the tide of a melee battle, this is the build’s last resort for when they are cornered. It is especially useful when paired with Temporal Rift, which adds a slow effect.
- Lightning Dash: This is useful for when the player needs to gain distance from their enemies.
GreedFall is available on PCs, Xbox One, and PS4.