I was just browsing through some threads and of course people will talk about the "underrated" magic skill. The main arguement against it is that with dragonhide a meleer could easily devastate a mage, which makes me think that the magic skill has evolved to something more that a frontline skill. When you pk, do you take one, two, or three styles of combat. I know many friends that tend to take two, the most popular being melee and magic or ranged and magic.

 

Just thinking like this, do you believe that magic is more of a secondary support skill, meant to exploit the weakness of an opponent by using two sides of the triangle, or used as a single skill, by using (most likely) ancients to their full potential.

 

Discuss

 

 

 

(P.S. I would add more examples but I have to go to bed right now.)

I would have to say yes becuse you don't have to switch wepeons to use it if you pick the right setup.

I think it is more of a secondary skill.

 

Ancients can only do so much, and magic really just supports a lot.

 

 

 

Alchemy, Enchanting, Combat spells, Skill based spells (lunar).

 

 

 

A large secondary skill

You pretty nailed it in your OP.

Magic will always be more of a secondary skill. However it is an essential secondary skill. Magic is necessary for most types of PvP; it can freeze people, lower their stats without a special attack, and can damage people back if they hit. Magic's effectiveness is more or less canceled out by the use of dragonhide, and unless you're tank maging, extremely hard to take hits while wearing armor beneficial to magic attack.

Yes, more of a secondary. It's near to impossible to pk with magic. You can't ko unless you have a team. There are no special attacks, there's nothing. Magic's just a secondary skill to pretty much any skill - starting with combat, ending withconstruction (lunar).

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

 

 

 

8-)

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

A few errors in that post.

 

1. Armadyl armor does detract from melee.

 

2. Ahrims is level seventy armor.

 

3. Bandos and Armadyl are level sixty-five armors.

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, magic is very secondary, and needs reworking if it is ever to become primary. (high hitting spells/spec weapons would go a long way towards this....) Have you ever seen a "true" mage? One with magic and defense as their only combat skills, and doesn't have a main? (pure mages don't count.) I didn't think so.

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

A few errors in that post.

 

1. Armadyl armor does detract from melee.

 

2. Ahrims is level seventy armor.

 

3. Bandos and Armadyl are level sixty-five armors.

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, magic is very secondary, and needs reworking if it is ever to become primary. (high hitting spells/spec weapons would go a long way towards this....) Have you ever seen a "true" mage? One with magic and defense as their only combat skills, and doesn't have a main? (pure mages don't count.) I didn't think so.

Really? Wow. Didn't realize Armadyl detracted from melee... And you can tell how much money I have based on my faulty data... But how much DOES Armadyl detract? If it's minimal, than a player can easily melee.

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

A few errors in that post.

 

1. Armadyl armor does detract from melee.

 

2. Ahrims is level seventy armor.

 

3. Bandos and Armadyl are level sixty-five armors.

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, magic is very secondary, and needs reworking if it is ever to become primary. (high hitting spells/spec weapons would go a long way towards this....) Have you ever seen a "true" mage? One with magic and defense as their only combat skills, and doesn't have a main? (pure mages don't count.) I didn't think so.

Really? Wow. Didn't realize Armadyl detracted from melee... And you can tell how much money I have based on my faulty data... But how much DOES Armadyl detract? If it's minimal, than a player can easily melee.

 

 

 

*quickly checks the kb* helm -5, legs -6, body -7; for a total of 18.

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

A few errors in that post.

 

1. Armadyl armor does detract from melee.

 

2. Ahrims is level seventy armor.

 

3. Bandos and Armadyl are level sixty-five armors.

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, magic is very secondary, and needs reworking if it is ever to become primary. (high hitting spells/spec weapons would go a long way towards this....) Have you ever seen a "true" mage? One with magic and defense as their only combat skills, and doesn't have a main? (pure mages don't count.) I didn't think so.

Really? Wow. Didn't realize Armadyl detracted from melee... And you can tell how much money I have based on my faulty data... But how much DOES Armadyl detract? If it's minimal, than a player can easily melee.

 

 

 

*quickly checks the kb* helm -5, legs -6, body -7; for a total of 18.

Considering that Proselyte's alone has a total of -10 magic with just plate and legs, that doesn't sound too bad.

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

[ice blitz+shadow barrage gif goes here]

 

 

 

8-)

 

 

 

Now try doing that whilst your opponent has karil's armor and subsequently tries to special you out with their dds.

 

Magic can be used as a primary. But the fact is that its uses are very limited as a primary. You can tear through their melee attack and armor, but what happens if they use ranged? Or even put ranged armor on?

I like to look at it based on the way I trained my account. I began a mage pure, got 80+ mage on f2p, got members, got 99 strength, got 99 ranged, got 99 hitpoints, got 99 attack, and my mage ended up still being in the 80s..

 

 

 

Two and a half years of having 80+ magic, and I got it to 90 just this week. I definitely consider it a secondary skill. I look for mages when I pk because I consider them easy kills. I really don't rely on it as a skill by itself.

 

 

 

Although, that is just my opinion. :

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

 

 

 

You didnt even k0 him lol, he teled before you could and he was in rune with torso so his magic defense was pretty low, plus if youre in ahrims youre just asking to be dbowed.

 

 

 

To the OP yes, its a secondary attack style.

 

Im not sure how you just realized that.

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

[ice blitz+shadow barrage gif goes here]

 

 

 

8-)

 

 

 

Now try doing that whilst your opponent has karil's armor and subsequently tries to special you out with their dds.

 

Magic can be used as a primary. But the fact is that its uses are very limited as a primary. You can tear through their melee attack and armor, but what happens if they use ranged? Or even put ranged armor on?

 

 

 

I've beaten people wearing Armadyl and ranging me... Primary ancients can beat anyone if you know how to use it

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

[ice blitz+shadow barrage gif goes here]

 

 

 

8-)

 

 

 

Now try doing that whilst your opponent has karil's armor and subsequently tries to special you out with their dds.

 

Magic can be used as a primary. But the fact is that its uses are very limited as a primary. You can tear through their melee attack and armor, but what happens if they use ranged? Or even put ranged armor on?

 

 

 

I've beaten people wearing Armadyl and ranging me... Primary ancients can beat anyone if you know how to use it

 

 

 

Seeing as I've never attempted to do that, I'm going to have to take your word that you have done that. However, how consistently can you accomplish this feat? How many times have you gone up against someone with armadyl who's ranging you and won?

I've never had any problems using it as my primary...

 

 

 

[ice blitz+shadow barrage gif goes here]

 

 

 

8-)

 

 

 

Now try doing that whilst your opponent has karil's armor and subsequently tries to special you out with their dds.

 

Magic can be used as a primary. But the fact is that its uses are very limited as a primary. You can tear through their melee attack and armor, but what happens if they use ranged? Or even put ranged armor on?

 

 

 

I've beaten people wearing Armadyl and ranging me... Primary ancients can beat anyone if you know how to use it

 

 

 

Seeing as I've never attempted to do that, I'm going to have to take your word that you have done that. However, how consistently can you accomplish this feat? How many times have you gone up against someone with armadyl who's ranging you and won?

I wouldnt say you could do it very consistently however with the new miasmic spells, you can slow down ranged and melee attacks which is starting to make it more of a primary attack style but I still believe for now its more of a secondary.

There is terrain in almost every location where you fight other players (Fight Pits viewing orbs, CW Barricades, etc)...

 

 

 

You can use those as "safe spots" - by luring people to certain places near those obstacles, you can freeze them then move to a certain other spot nearby and you'll be able to reach them, while they won't be able to reach you as long as they are frozen - even if you're using darts and they're using a crystal bow.

 

 

 

Though, since the Duel Arena tournies don't have any terrain I just use range against other rangers but I still bring mage with me and use it whenever it's advantageous.

I would say secondary. There's even an entire spellbook devoted to secondary activities - Lunar - and people will use vengeance and then just carry on hitting their enemies with a godsword. In clans you get rangers and mages working together, and the mages know that the enemies will most likely switch to dhide, but then the rangers can kill them without running away. It's far too easy to swap to Dhide to avoid being hurt by mages, and mages don't have any decent defence against either rangers or meleers.

It has to be. Magic alone cannot accomplish anything without a lot of luck.

 

 

 

Just look at the robes themselves, they provide nearly no defense against the side of the triangle they are supposed to do good against.

I think it is more of a secondary skill.

 

Ancients can only do so much, and magic really just supports a lot.

 

 

 

Alchemy, Enchanting, Combat spells, Skill based spells (lunar).

 

 

 

A large secondary skill

 

 

 

i pretty much have to agree

 

 

 

even though it is pretty much a secondary skill though, doesnt mean we cant make improvments?

 

 

 

give mages something to fight back against rangers/d'hide with

 

a spell that negates magic defence that semi-to moderatly powerful?

If you think of it from a non-PvP point of view, noone really uses mage now other than for DK maging and barrows runs either.

[hide=quote wall]

Agreed. Magic is more secondary. But this is caused by two things. 1. Magic is both a skill and a combat style. If it was JUST a combat style, the rune set up may never have been needed. 2. Dragonhide. As said before, it can easily cancel out magic. It's also cheap and does not detract from melee. Heck, no armor detracts from melee, and those that detract from range can still be used, making effective range tanks. But magic? The best robes are Ahrims, a level sixty armor, while range and melee have armor at the seventy mark- Bandos and Armadyl. So, magic can easily be negated and has low armor bonuses. Though the armor bonus is a given in ANY game, mages actually tend to hit harder or have fantastic abilities in other MMORPGs or just games in general. Final Fantasy, DnD, Fire Emblem, even RTS like the Warcraft series. Ironically, this is not so in Runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

A few errors in that post.

 

1. Armadyl armor does detract from melee.

 

2. Ahrims is level seventy armor.

 

3. Bandos and Armadyl are level sixty-five armors.

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, magic is very secondary, and needs reworking if it is ever to become primary. (high hitting spells/spec weapons would go a long way towards this....) Have you ever seen a "true" mage? One with magic and defense as their only combat skills, and doesn't have a main? (pure mages don't count.) I didn't think so.

Really? Wow. Didn't realize Armadyl detracted from melee... And you can tell how much money I have based on my faulty data... But how much DOES Armadyl detract? If it's minimal, than a player can easily melee.

 

 

 

*quickly checks the kb* helm -5, legs -6, body -7; for a total of 18.

Considering that Proselyte's alone has a total of -10 magic with just plate and legs, that doesn't sound too bad.

[/hide]

 

 

 

That is negative MELEE stats, not magic.

 

and givin mage robes better defence against melee would go a long way to ballancing the triangle... as well as giving dhide negative melee stats against players (it shouldn't vs monsters tho, as certain slayer monsters use magic based melee.)

At the moment, magic is more secondary, and that needs fixing. If there was some kind of very accurate, speedy and powerful 'knockback' spell which relied solely on the caster's magic attack and ignored the victims magic defense, which could only affect someone two or fewer squares away, it would negate the problem of d'hide meleers. The important thing about magic as a primary combat skill is that it should be next to impossible to get near enough a mage to swing a godsword at him/her. Distance is the ultimate defence against meleers, and this needs to be readily available to mages.