PROVO-MAGE STRATEGY

[Amorpho]

Hello UOF community!

I've just made a Provo-Mage Character. I built it for quick money but I think it will be harder than I thought.
I tried hunting werewolves and they beat me into a pulp in seconds. They are so fast and so many that I just dont have time to provo them all.
So I tried dragons in Desdard, but I think it was my unlucky day. At my first tries there was Wyvern Para and young Dragon Para, Elder Dragon and one of those blue dragons (whatever it's called). Either these were found by themselves or ganged up in groups of 3-4. How on earth do you provo such groups? By the time I approached them I had 3-4 fireballs flying at me (and maybe one of them had poisoned me already). Besides, I discovered too late that for a mob to stay Provoked you need to keep it on screen, otherwise the provocation ends.

1. I tried pre-casting GH but still its quite tough to get them provoked without being instant-killed

2. I tried getting into a group, make me invisible and then provoke them, but as soon as I start provoking I turn visible again. Maybe I should put invisibility instead of wrestling? Can you provo while invisible (skill not spell, the skill is called stealth maybe)?

Maybe I should summon something (Deamon? Blade Spirits? Vortex?), command all guard and then provoke while the summons distract the mobs?

I need your wisdom!

Thanks.

 

[ShinPi]

Hello UOF community!

I've just made a Provo-Mage Character. I built it for quick money but I think it will be harder than I thought.
I tried hunting werewolves and they beat me into a pulp in seconds. They are so fast and so many that I just dont have time to provo them all.
So I tried dragons in Desdard, but I think it was my unlucky day. At my first tries there was Wyvern Para and young Dragon Para, Elder Dragon and one of those blue dragons (whatever it's called). Either these were found by themselves or ganged up in groups of 3-4. How on earth do you provo such groups? By the time I approached them I had 3-4 fireballs flying at me (and maybe one of them had poisoned me already). Besides, I discovered too late that for a mob to stay Provoked you need to keep it on screen, otherwise the provocation ends.

1. I tried pre-casting GH but still its quite tough to get them provoked without being instant-killed

2. I tried getting into a group, make me invisible and then provoke them, but as soon as I start provoking I turn visible again. Maybe I should put invisibility instead of wrestling? Can you provo while invisible (skill not spell, the skill is called stealth maybe)?

Maybe I should summon something (Deamon? Blade Spirits? Vortex?), command all guard and then provoke while the summons distract the mobs?

I need your wisdom!

Thanks.

You most Def want GM music and provo to attempt a venture like that your doing most right.. you want to make sure you don't fail for one.
2 when you go up I'm there invisible ur self right outside the group far enough to pull there names and provoke the meanest two on each other spell resist will also give you a fighting chance ittle give you that few extra seconds ya need. Hope this helps any. Imma provo myself and learned threw countless deaths hahahahaha

 

[Amorpho]

I already am GM provo and music. I could try this way and see if it works. Anybody else has any wisdom on this?

 

[Kaching]

As mentioned invis is your friend, but also you should definitely be mindful of how you approach a group of mobs... especially werewolves so as to not pull more than 2 at a time if at all possible. Any monster that doesn't cast definitely utilize an EV, bladespirit, or even a summoned daemon etc..

 

[Amorpho]

So, what if I were to cast 2 BS (cast success rate is much higher), command "All guard", approach group of mobs, invis, pull out their status bar, and then provo them on each other?

 

[Kaching]

You shouldn't need 2, it only should take you a second or two to provo stuff if its taking longer you need to think of a different profession Just throw one down right near them and go for it, they'll automatically attack it. Guard doesn't work with bladespirits, or EV.

 

[Kaching]

I would only worry about the invis if you can't use bs/ev. Precast invis, run up "near" the mobs *make sure its only 2 if possible* invis yourself. Pull up there bars, and then go for it. at GM provo I didn't even do that... i'd just run up to them and pull their bars and provo in plain site. It should only be taking you a second. The more you do it though, the better you'll be. Just realize some of these tactics and practice.

 

[Amorpho]

Do you know if there is a special razor action or something that pulls out their status bar automatically? I can manage myself with weaker mobs. Titans are allright. Dragons I can manage a little bit. Werewolves were just too fast and powerful. But maybe it is because I've only been in the "trade" for just one day! How long do you think a BS would last with 2-3 Werewolves attacking it?

 

[84brian]

Also set a prov hotkey.

 

[Karl Sagan]

I don't farm anymore but when I did I used

Music
Provo
Mage
Med
Eval
Resist
Hide

Most summoned stuff (BS, EV, demons) will get dispelled quick.

I liked khaldun, but it is dangerous. Be ready to recall.

For dragons and big groups of mobs this right here will blow your mind: precast para field. Lure mobs to a bottleneck. Drop para field. Provoke from safety. Smoking joint optional but highly recommended.

GM hide lets you hide without breaking provoke.

 

[Amorpho]

My template is exacly like yours. I really like the idea of Para wall. I should try it. Although I think it would be safer to just invis, pull out health stats bars and then provoke them all. The problem with para field is that if they are magical mobs they will throw all sorts of stuff at you, in which case you can only heal and forget about casting para wall.

 

[Kaching]

hitting ctrl/shift should help grab their bars, but no there's not a razor hotkey/macro that you can make to pull their bars. You can do a razor targetting hotkey for targetting nearest mob etc, but its not always reliable.... para field should work, and you're not going to take many spells in the 1-2 second it should take you to provo them, keep magic reflection up though to mitigate some of the effects. BS will drop fast to werewolves, but again the werewolves should only be attacking it long enough for you to pull their bars and provo them on eachother. Karl is correct about the dispel stuff, but werewolves dont cast.. so they wont dispel. Just keep in mind your options when fighting mobs that do not dispel.

 

[Karl Sagan]

You could always precast invis, pull bars, then precast para field and lure them to your kill zone. Para field works super great for werewolves.

Just pull back to maximum provoke range and they won't cast on you iirc. Make sure you have magic reflect up.

Also make sure you have heal/cure potions (and hotkeys for them). Makes staying alive much easier.

 

[jeffe]

I run around Destard very regularly targeting Drags, Elder Drags, Greater Drags. Destard 2 & Destard 3 with above moderate success and I run w/ this template:

Fence
Tact
Heal
Anat
Hiding
Music
120 Provo.

You just gotta learn to do the dance. If you are taking damage from anything besides spells/firebreath you aren't dancing well enough. Basically what it comes down to is running circles around the mobs and get mobs provoed fast (5 sec cooldown on provo). Pay attention to what you are provoing on to what and the life bars. Firebreath is on a timer. Timer resets after X secs of no aggro. However, if someone runs through Destard and grabs a bunch of agro that timer is ticking and already ready to fire when someone else runs through behind them..

*Spell timers work in a similar fashion.

 

[Amorpho]

In your case running around is easier as you can heal with bandages while moving whereas I can't. I can't wait for my other character to have alchemy so I can heal and cure myself with pots.

 

[jeffe]

You say that but a mini heal takes a second and a half to recoup some hit points. I would think that with about 5 tiles you could get one in run another 5 tiles, another one, then only about one more of these and your provo cool down is gonna be reset.

Imagine this scenario:

You run into a group of four fresh mobs (they've had no previous agro for X seconds aka they have no active timers). Immediately, two of these four should be attacking each other (this should be done before they get a spell off). The other two are gonna start their spell/special ability timers and chase you. You now have five seconds to avoid taking damage from their physical attacks while you tank their spell damage. If you have Magic Reflect (MR) you have avoided some of that spell damage. In the case of firebreath that is around a ~10-15 second timer. Provo these last two together and then manage their agro. Success, profit, etc.

I am truly not trying to be a dick here, but an inability to mitigate mob damage for 5 seconds is going to make your playing time here rather difficult.

A couple of other things:
-You should have a macro set to Cast Heal target self (at least until you have some playtime under your belt). Same with G Heal.
-Put on a full suit of GM Barbed Leather when you are hunting its gonna help ya avoid taking so much damage when ya get hit.
-As previously said make sure you have a hotkey/macro set for the provo skill (mine is set to g because my index finger is always on f).
-You shouldn't be Invising as you run into a group or holding a GH unless you know that their spell/breath timers are running and you are just moving through their area.
-When you know that a mob has a firebreath ready to fire. Wait a minute and a half. Their timer will reset and you will have the fresh agro condition you want when they see you. Ie. you are going to provo before they ever cast on you.
-Its a learned skill. The more you do it the better you will get at it. Don't be afraid to go to Shame and just practice provoing Air eles before you try the more high-end mobs.
-Werewolves are difficult because of their speed ctrl+shift is your friend indeed.

Basically I've reiterated most of what Kaching has already said:

hitting ctrl/shift should help grab their bars, but no there's not a razor hotkey/macro that you can make to pull their bars. You can do a razor targetting hotkey for targetting nearest mob etc, but its not always reliable.... para field should work, and you're not going to take many spells in the 1-2 second it should take you to provo them, keep magic reflection up though to mitigate some of the effects. BS will drop fast to werewolves, but again the werewolves should only be attacking it long enough for you to pull their bars and provo them on eachother. Karl is correct about the dispel stuff, but werewolves dont cast.. so they wont dispel. Just keep in mind your options when fighting mobs that do not dispel.

You just haven't found the groove yet. It will come if you keep at it.

 

[Amorpho]

Haha thanks. Dont worry, Ive got all my macros and hot keys set up. This aint my first time on UO. I was big time gamer on AOS up until 6-7 years ago, but I never provoed then. I mainly used necro-mage and mage-tamer for PVM and Champs. Besides, I've only provoed once. Give me time to warm up and get a bit of experience and I'm sure I'll be fine. Thanks for all the tips though, they were very helpful

 

[Karl Sagan]

In your case running around is easier as you can heal with bandages while moving whereas I can't. I can't wait for my other character to have alchemy so I can heal and cure myself with pots.

Alchy doesn't help with cure or heal, only explo damage

 

[Kaching]

Hey said cure and heal with pots...

 

[Psymon]

I use Provoke Mage.. my only Gripe with this build is the lack of Hiding... Hiding is pretty useful.. It doesn't break your provoke... But its pretty negligible.. I have more of an issue with the Spawns moving then anything else.. My Once fantastic Provoke Rune book is half useless..