Current build: 100 Eval 100 Magery 100 Meditation 100 Magic Resist That gives me three other skills I can add. Ones I am currently considering adding are (but love to hear more/better options): Inscription for the spell reflect (I've heard that you can reflect up to 1 more flamestrike for a total of 2 with 100 Inscription). Anatomy (just for defensive wrestling so I can cast with enemies in my face) Anatomy/Wrestling (to stun enemies to allow space and casting) Alchemy (who doesn't like more explosions?) Poison (for nastier poison spells and better resistance to poison, big downside, you have to be close to target to get deadly poisons) I haven't played UO for a LONG time so I'm definitely rusty on what works and what doesn't, but immediately it's pretty apparently Anatomy is almost a necessity for spellcasting around monsters when you're playing solo. But there might be better ways of playing so I don't need it. What do folks consider the most fun / most advantageous?
For PvP, I've seen a lot of Stun Healer Mages (Wrest + Heal + Anatomy), or alternatively swap Heal with Inscription. Alchemy doesn't have bonus to explosion damage here. For PvM, you're better off with a tamer or adding provo, musicianship and discordance.
Nymeros pretty much covered here. Poisoning doesn't add increased resistance to poison, only to the intensity based on distance to target.
More specifically, poison is resisted 66% of the time vs gm resist and cure pots have no cool down here
Is Healing all that useful? I remember self heals as a mage (so low dex) meant heals would take about 14 seconds...which is a REALLY long time in fights that can last 5 seconds if someone gets the jump on you.
Healing is very effective but if you are only using it as a method to heal, then you're out of luck. In combination with magic and potions, healing mages are very difficult to take down because they can run away while healing decent damage and they can stun you to increase their ability to heal (stun punch to slow you down so they can run away, or to freeze you so they can cast). Inscription/Heal is a nice combo. Inscription/Anatomy is a nice combo. Poisoning would be nice here, but stackable potions really change the game compared to lose potions, at least from what I've seen here vs any other shard I played on in the last 10 years. It was rare to find people carrying 20-30 greater cure potions on other shards, but I've PKed so many people carrying 20-30 of each potion on this shard.
I mean if that's the only way you want to heal, you really won't like using it in PVP. It needs to be used in conjunction with another method to be effective.
So Healing/Anatomy/Wrestling for the healing/stun combo. Or Inscription swapped for Healing or Anatomy for better Reflections. So basically it's a trade of longer lasting reflections vs an extra heal vs a 50% stun (only being able to have 2 of the 3). Can you dispel RA and Reflection in UO:R?
You can't dispell it, but MR is easily taken off with mana drain wands, RA you just have to hit them til it goes away. And for what it's worth, I wouldn't expect to kill many people without stun, especially without a weapon skill considering it's pretty easily to heal through solo dumps here.