Praxium matchup guides: vs Warrior Mages

What is this guide for?

This guide serves as an attempt to break down the PvP matchup against Warrior Mages at a thorough, general level, while keeping the majority of tactics on the bottom shelf. It is intentionally guild agnostic, makes no assumptions around MT or other optional includes, and does not attempt to be the end-all-be-all when it comes to strategy against the guild in question.

Where are Warrior Mages strong?

• Easy access to variable elemental damage
  • TM spells
  • Summoned elemental weapons
• High alpha strike damage
  • ACM utilizing summoned elemental weapons
• High sustained damage over time
  • Cyclics
  • BG
  • DB
  • Lightning Bolt
• Native access to every debilitation stat contest

What are their likely builds?

• Stats
  • Flexible statting, equally likely to be high Magic/ or high Mind/
  • Magic/ variant
    • Warrior Mages have multiple CC options tied to the Magic/ contest
      • Arc Light for single target stun, versus /Fortitude
      • Frostbite for AoE prone and -Stamina, versus /Fortitude
      • Ice Patch for single target prone/immobilize, versus /Reflex
      • Thunderclap for AoE stun, versus /Fortitude
      • Tremor for AoE -balance and engagement control, versus /Reflex
    • Warrior Mages have multiple debuff options tied to the Magic/ contest
      • Anther's Call for single target -Evasion, versus /Fortitude
      • Frostbite (see above)
      • Tingle for single target -Agility, -Reflex, versus /Fortitude
    • A Magic/ build allows a Warrior Mage to selectively target which defensive contest they want to challenge, with significant CC and/or debuffs tied to each contest
    • A capped/near-capped Warrior Mage will likely aim for 140-150 base Wisdom to ensure these debilitations land.
  • Mind/ variant
    • These Warrior Mages are going "all in" on a single trick, removing all Wards that their opponent has in as few casts as possible.
      • Ward Break for single target Ward strip, versus /Willpower
      • A Ward-less opponent is incredibly squishy, regardless if the Warrior Mage is utilizing summoned elemental weapons or TM.
    • Warrior Mages have access to a *fantastic* soft CC/debuff that counters the nigh ever present Rage of the Clans.
      • Vertigo for single target prone, -balance, -offensive factor
  • A secondary emphasis on Discipline
    • Losing access to your wards (via dispels) and casting (via Sanyu Lyva or Huldah's Pall) is crippling to any magic user.
      • A capped/near-capped Warrior Mage will  aim for 130-140 base Discipline to ensure continuity of wards and spellcasting.
        • They can aim for the lower end of that range if utilizing the Magic/ build, or the higher end of that range if building toward Mind/.
  • A tertiary emphasis on Reflex or Stamina (defense) OR all-out-offense
    • Defensive approach:
      • Depending on what other guilds the Warrior Mage in question fight most, they will most commonly spend their reminder TDP's on either Reflexes or Stamina. Reflexes if they fight predominantly against Thieves, Traders, Rangers, or other Warrior Mages, and Barbarians. Stamina if they fight predominantly against Empaths or other Warrior Mages.
    • All-out-offense approach:
      • Some Warrior Mages choose to invest only in their Mental Stats in order to maximize their ability to use spells fueled by  both Magic/ and Mind/ contests. In this case, a capped/near-capped Warrior Mage will aim for 150-160 in Intelligence, Discipline, and Wisdom.
• Scroll spells
  • Awaken
    • Warrior Mages have no native access to anti-stun. Awaken is Life Mana, which is the easiest mana type for elemental magic users to sorcerously use. This also covers anti-unconscious.
  • Redeemer's Pride
    • Warrior Mages want to protect their wards against dispel and maintain their casting abilities. Since each of those debils target /Willpower, this is a must-include. REPR is mana native, a nice bonus. As an added benefit, it also protects against Fear (see Thieves and Barbarians).
  • Variable third slot
    • There are no other obvious "must fill" gaps in the Warrior Mage's toolkit. They have native access to +balance and most of the desirable PvP buffs. Common third slot spells include:
      • Essence of Yew
        • Essence of Yew is a great spell in general. While it will rarely block incoming Debilitations by itself, this will weaken every incoming Debil. Couple this spell with a tertiary investment into either /Reflexes or /Fortitude, and you are much more likely to resist and/or recover quickly from these negative effects.
      • Mental Focus
        • Warrior Mages have no native means of buffing their mental stats. Mental Focus buffs the primary stat in the Mind/ contest, and the secondary stat in the Magic/ contest, making it an all round good choice. Note: This spell can be cast on others. If you have a friendly Empath who can reliably buff you, go that route instead.
      • LGV
        • Warrior Mages have a native shield buff, so the inclusion of LGV might sound odd. However, Aegis of Granite and Mantle of Flame are mutually exclusive ritual spells for the Warrior Mage. AEG buffs Stamina and Shield, Mantle of Flame boosts Agility and changes your brawling attacks to fire damage instead of their default damage type. Scrolling LGV lets you default to Mantle of Flame, while not giving up the Shield buff.
        • Note, this will let you self-buff all three of the defenses. SW -> Evasion. SUF -> Parry. LGV -> Shield.

What are they trying to do?

• Out-alpha their opponents
  • Warrior Mages don't have great wards, and so rarely will win a war of attrition over time. Instead, they want to delete their opponent as fast as possible. Warrior Mages opting for alpha strike damage generally go about it two ways:
    • Summoned elemental weapons
      • Warrior Mages chaining ACMs with summoned elemental weapons (specifically Electric) is the highest 15 second damage application in the game.
      • In this instance, the Warrior Mage usually attempts to close distance with Aether Cloak active, and opens with Ice Patch when they have reached pole range with their opponent.
      • Should the elemental weapon ACM not finish off their opponent, the Warrior Mage still can SPIT OPPONENT with the pre-prepped Dragon's Breath that Aether Cloak does not prevent.
      • These Warrior Mages largely play at melee range.
    • "Wombo"
      • Warrior Mages making use of "Wombo" eschew summoned elemental weapons and instead make use of a combination of Blufmor Garaen, Dragon's Breath, and Lightning Bolt. Pathway Focus Quickness  is often employed as well for quicker Lightning Bolt targeting time.
      • These Warrior Mages still open with Ice Patch to prone their opponent, but will then TARGET their LB (often at their opponent's chest), POINT/WAVE repeatedly to expend their Blufmor Garaen, SPIT at their opponent to utilize Dragon's Breath, and finish by CASTing their Lightning Bolt.
      • This version of Warrior Mage often also uses Tremor to maintain missile range, letting them cast with relative impunity.
      • These Warrior Mages largely play at missile range.

How do you win?

• Recognize which type of Warrior Mage they are
  • A summoned elemental weapon Warrior Mage fights radically different than a Wombo Warrior Mage.
    • If fighting an elemental weapon user, try to avoid melee range, or only go to melee range to apply your damage while the Warrior Mage is hard CC'd.
    • If fighting a Wombo user, move rooms often in between trying to gain melee range and stay there.
  • Look for Aether Cloak
    • If Aether Cloak is active, all of your Targeted spells will fail when cast at the Warrior Mage or be reflected back at you.
      • The tell-tale sign of an active AC are dark, pupiless eyes. However, there are multiple ways that a Warrior Mage can hide this portion of their look, with an active Veil of Ice or feature hiding clothing being the most common methods.
      • See if they're TARGETing you with spells. If so, you are *generally* safe to do so as well. If they are not, stick to non-Targeted magic.
  • Minimize their alpha strike
    • Against a Wombo Warrior Mages, holding your shield in your off-hand and stancing Shield + Evasion is your best option in minimizing the incoming damage. Most of their damage, but not all, is not defense bypassing. A held shield will block some/part/all of the Blufmor Garaen and Dragon's Breath, which makes up the bulk of their offense.
      • If they continue to rely on BG/DB damage instead of swapping to just Lightning Bolt and/or melee, you will continue to mitigate a significant portion of the damage for the rest of the fight.
      • Note: this strategy brings an inherent risk against a Warrior Mage. Tingle is a native spell that causes you to drop what it in your hands when they succeed on a Magic vs. Fortitude contest. Be quick about picking you items back up immediately if relying on a held shield
    • Move rooms
      • Wombo Warrior Mages rely on targeting, which can be easily broken by moving rooms. Do so repeatedly. The more you move, the more time they waste with "almost there" Lightning Bolt targets.
    • Wait them out
      • If a Warrior Mage hunkers down and "nukes the room" by chain casting Tremor and AoE spells, moving rooms is a great way to make them waste mana. Be patient. Don't give in to the idea that you have to be the one to go to them.  Tremor, Fire Rain, and other spells don't "easily travel" with the Warrior Mage, so you gain the initiative by making them come to you.
    • Target your damage
      • Warrior Mage physical wards are interesting. The more disparate body parts you hit, the better their wards perform. Specifically targeted damage at an area of the body that is relatively easy to hit (Chest, Back, Abdomen) is the best way to apply damage through the portions of the ward that have ablated.
    • Stat for /Reflexes
      • Regardless of the Warrior Mage type, they usually lean heavy into spells that target the /Reflexes contest. By stacking Reflex as a tertiary stat, you completely remove (or at least reduce) their ability to debilitate you.