Hello there, so this is my first time approching level 50. Eventhough I did play back on live, ten years ago or more. Since English was not my first language I did not feel like I got the full experience and since I never made it to max level, I thought now was a good time to go back and see what I missed out on. One thing I almost instantly remembered, was the "Daoc feeling" of a friendly and very helpful mature community. So with that said, I hope you guys can help me understand some of these aspects a little better

Focus on staff: How exactly does this work. If I get to level 50 I was told I need a focus staff to my spec(s) in order for the powercost to be lowered. By how much are we talking here? Also in case I get my hands on one of these staffs with tri spec focus. Will that help me not lose too much power when buffing damageadd (earth spec line)

+cold stat: What exactly does this stat do. From swapping staffs on and off between mobs I didnt notice much of a difference, does it have something to do with attacking higher level monster and players? Also how important is this stat to cap out for RvR?

RR5 ability: I have seen at my class trainer an ability called Vulcanic Pillar costing 14points. is that our RR5? I tried looking around on google but since those RR5 abilties have changed since this patch we are on, I got rather confused. Also in case our rr5 is the pbaoe pulse, can i use that pulse while spamming my ice pbaoe for the double effect. And in case it is the pillar of flame, is that an aoe bolt or how does it work?

Damage proc on staffs vs nuke ability: I check the DF staff collection from Diamond seals, and noticed these two types of additional damage. The damage proc sounded nice, is there any decent cold staffs out there with a damage proc and not the 6charge damage nuke? Maybe the nuke it better than it sounds but to me, a 6charge ability I have no clue how to recharge and with a casttimer is not that appealing? maybe it is?

pbaoe in keep def: I was told that the pbaoe spell goes through the doors in a keep def, is this true, and would there be other good spots for setting up for a nice little defensive bomb. I have experience from other mmos in defending keeps and chokepoints, but any advice is more than welcome.

powerpool: Maybe my logic is flawed here. But is powerpool increase an important stat to get on gear, after you have gotten your other priorities sorted. Im thinking with more power reg. above 50% mark(how much exactly?) and MLC scaling with %power aswel. having a bit higher powerpool will keep me casting longer.

MOC: Does it only have 1rank on this patch and what exactly does it do. does it make me fully uninterruptable from damagetake, and only hard cc would stop me casting, or does it just "increase" the chance to not get interrupted, and if so, by how much? I would think this is a key ability for me to get as an ice wiz.

How to increase damage output after level 50 and capped int? So is it just via realmskill points spend into stuff like critchance, critdamage etc. that will increase my damage output when I get my int capped or how do I become a real deal?

Thanks for taking the time to reading though all of my questions, and thanks to those who take the time to help me understand some of these aspects a little better. Maybe some of it seem very obvious to a veteran but the game itself is not too detailed in its describtions at times and to a new player there seem to be quite a few little mechanics you need to learn from others or via own trial and error.

PS: I understand that some might instantly suggest that I should go fire for 8man(if they even get a spot due to lack of resist debuf). that is not really my intention, and maybe you might be right and I will have to respec. but for now going ice and just either getting into a bomb group, or just hiding in keeps waiting for attackers to show up ring the doorbell. will be my rvr approach.

Hey there and good job on almost making it to 50.
I will try to answer some of your Questions.

Focus on staff: How exactly does this work. If I get to level 50 I was told I need a focus staff to my spec(s) in order for the powercost to be lowered. By how much are we talking here? Also in case I get my hands on one of these staffs with tri spec focus. Will that help me not lose too much power when buffing damageadd (earth spec line)

Focus is what actually make you spend less power than the needed for each casting spell.
Focus gives you the maximum possible gain when Focus = Skill level.
For example 50 Cold Magic Skill and 50 Cold Focus makes you spend only 80% of the needed power.
If there's a difference between Focus level and equivalent magic skill then the power cost save is lessened.
So to answer your question, if you have 20 in Earth magic and 50 Earth Focus on staff, you won't get the maximum effect of power save but it will be better than not having Earth Focus at all.

+cold stat: What exactly does this stat do. From swapping staffs on and off between mobs I didnt notice much of a difference, does it have something to do with attacking higher level monster and players? Also how important is this stat to cap out for RvR?

+<Magic Skill Line> (Cold is the one you referred to) is what gives you the highest possible damage (it decreases damage variance between lowest and highest damage margins) and raises your max damage as well.
+11 (at RR1) is absolutely must if you want to achieve best possible damage in your Magic Skill Line of choice.

RR5 ability: I have seen at my class trainer an ability called Vulcanic Pillar costing 14points. is that our RR5? I tried looking around on google but since those RR5 abilties have changed since this patch we are on, I got rather confused. Also in case our rr5 is the pbaoe pulse, can i use that pulse while spamming my ice pbaoe for the double effect. And in case it is the pillar of flame, is that an aoe bolt or how does it work?

This is your "best" Realm Ability.
By saying "best" I don't mean the best RA you can get, but more like what game suggests to be your most powerful one.
This is why it costs so many realm points.
Volcanic Pillar is a Bolt Range Area of Effect spell that does a handful of damage (IIRC this spell doesn't receive resists).
VP is a fire and forget spell, you pick your target in bolt range(1850 yards) and shoot it. Nothing more to care about it, but it's always highly suggested to shoot it against packed en enemies to maximize carnage!
It works like a Fireball spell that lands on your target and blasts everything around it.

Damage proc on staffs vs nuke ability: I check the DF staff collection from Diamond seals, and noticed these two types of additional damage. The damage proc sounded nice, is there any decent cold staffs out there with a damage proc and not the 6charge damage nuke? Maybe the nuke it better than it sounds but to me, a 6charge ability I have no clue how to recharge and with a casttimer is not that appealing? maybe it is?

This has nothing to do with Casters like you.
Weapon procs discharge and deal damage when these Staffs hit enemies in melee.
Meaning that these staffs are intended for Friars and not for Casters like a Wizard.
Chargeable abilities on armor parts or weapons / staffs are intended to be used as finishers or interruptions against enemy casters.
IIRC all item charges are instant casts and doesn't consume power or have casting time.
Chargeable item can be recharged for a fee from other players with Alchemist profession or Recharger NPCs (depending on the charge).

pbaoe in keep def: I was told that the pbaoe spell goes through the doors in a keep def, is this true, and would there be other good spots for setting up for a nice little defensive bomb. I have experience from other mmos in defending keeps and chokepoints, but any advice is more than welcome.

Yes your Cold PBAoE spell can pass through Keep's doors and in general its the most devastating spell that someone can use in a close quarter fight like inside a room.
It's highly suggested to be used on a Keep's / Relic Keep defense since few things can interrupt you and you can take down enough enemies down fast.
Cold is not suitable for open space RvR since the interrupts are vastly more and your role in such a group is to avoid close quarter fights in general.

MOC: Does it only have 1rank on this patch and what exactly does it do. does it make me fully uninterruptable from damagetake, and only hard cc would stop me casting, or does it just "increase" the chance to not get interrupted, and if so, by how much? I would think this is a key ability for me to get as an ice wiz.

MOC is a single rank ability (in comparison with it's newer version, which is not applicable for this patch) and makes you 100% uninterruptible from normal game mechanics like received damage, melee hits, arrows, enemy spells etc.
Enemies can still shut your down with CC's like Stun and Mezz (which most skilled enemies will try to do when they see the MOC effect).

How to increase damage output after level 50 and capped int? So is it just via realmskill points spend into stuff like critchance, critdamage etc. that will increase my damage output when I get my int capped or how do I become a real deal?

It's a one way ticket as on how to increase your damage output as you get more Realm Ranks.
This includes getting the proper Realm Abilities in order to be able to cast faster, hit harder and land critical hits more frequently.
What you will really need along the ride is:
Purge (clears all negative effects from your character) 30 minutes CD.
Augmented Acuity (Increases your Acuity stat, which is Intelligence in your case and its the base prerequisite for a number of other RAs)
Wild Arcana (Increased Critical Spell chance)
Wild Power (Increased Spell Critical Damage)
Mastery of the Art (Increased Casting Speed)
Mastery of Concentration
Volcanic Pillar


I hope my answers will enlighten you a little.

onizukasensei wrote:Hey there and good job on almost making it to 50.
I will try to answer some of your Questions.
I hope my answers will enlighten you a little.

Thank you soo much for taking your time to help me understand these mechanics, also for not just a brief answer but very detailed describtions with easy to understand explanation. Thanks!