Bloodmages

[Abraxas]

It would seem like the bloodmage is a class that never really gets a lot of attention here. It had its moment on the spotlight after its buff a few updates ago, but fell back into obscurity with the power-hungry change.

I'm making this topic because the old bloodmage used to be my favorite class, both in terms of flavor and how fun it was to play. BLUDTOPOWA is a very interesting glyph to start a dungeon run with, and the old power-hungry (I'm not completely sure that was the name of the ability back then), particularly when coupled with sanguine, offered a very peculiar approach to resources, which I enjoyed quite a lot.

The short-lived buff he got felt unnecessary and out of place. He certainly did end up being overpowered after that, but I don't get why he couldn't go back to something more like his old version than what we have now.

If forum posts are any indication, people aren't really using the bloodmage a whole lot, or at the very least the new power-hungry isn't being given any attention at all. Even I who used to love the bloodmage find myself rarely using him now. I tried to work out some strategies around the new power-hungry, but in the end the bonus it gives feels too inconsequential, specially when you consider that mana potions are usually conserved for late into the dungeon run, and that you can get the equivalent of several mana potions' worth of sanguine buff from a single Dracul boon.
Plus, what bothers me the most, is that it really hurts the class flavor. The blood part is there certainly, but right now it barely feels like a mage, only having BLUDTOPOWA in that regard, which any class can get with some luck.

I suppose my point here is, I really liked the old Bloodmage, and I really don't like the new one. What do you guys think? Was there something wrong with the old one? Is the new one fun/interesting?

[Gorgon]

Well, I've seen many people talking about his BLUDTUPOWA + Fireball combo. And now that old dwarves are back, I'll give Sanguine a try. Dracul + Dwarf + Bloodmage is probably a nice combo...

[Abraxas]

I haven't really tested it after burning got nerfed to a 2*level cap, but BLUDTOPUWA + BURNDAYRAZ should still be one heck of a combo, even more so if you combine it with something like the Crystal Ball. But still, that's a combo that is available to anyone who is lucky/is willing to scum for the glyph.

Dwarf Dracul Bloodmages could certainly be interesting, but it's a pretty niche scenario, and blood-hunger could still be easily overshadowed by Dracul's Blood Tithe.

[Sythion]

I've had my best luck running orc bloodmages lately. Early game level vaulting + late game staying power ftw.

[Darvin]

[TigerKnee]

Yup, Bloodmage needed LESS dependency on pools, not more. That was just about the only pet peeve but they rehauled him anyway and not for the better.

Meanwhile the Fighter... nah, not going there.

[Darvin]

Fighter actually isn't half-bad now. He's basically all about setting up one big XP catapult to smack-down the boss. On hard-difficulty levels, he can easily set up 3-4 mid-battle level-ups against the boss. Still not a top-tier class by any means, but keeps good company with classes like the Crusader or Priest.

[The Avatar]

I dunno, priests can beat all vicious dungeons, you're undervaluing him.

[gjaustin]

[The Avatar]

And the alchemist scroll is +10 hp. That scroll and a tri-sword is incredible. And you don't even need the tri-sword.