Summary
- Open-world games emphasize player immersion & exploration beyond main quests.
- Some games allow a balance of might & magic creating battle mages.
- Titles like Elden Ring & Skyrim offer rewarding gameplay for battle mage builds.
Open-world games thrive off of player immersion, enticing them to delve deeper into the setting's many features and explore what lies beyond the veneer of a pretty skyline or a singular main questline. The best games keep players invested in their world, showing beauty, danger, or some combination of both around every corner.
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Speaking of "some combination of both" - what's better: maces, or magic? If trying to answer that question has you breaking into cold sweats and curling up on the floor, trembling, please see a doctor - but then, consider that a battle mage style of play might be the perfect balance. These open-world games range in sub-genres from first-person RPGs to difficult roguelikes, and while they might not have an explicit "battle mage" class, they all allow for a combination of might and magic - leaning more into the magic side of things, but with a hefty sword or mace to help drive the point home.
1 9th Dawn 3
An Expansive, Classless Roguelike
9th Dawn 3 offers players an incredibly broad gameplay experience with depth to suit. Exploring the vast world of Cadaltia, players will immerse themselves in a dungeon diving experience that is equal parts challenging and rewarding, with a finely detailed world that rewards exploration and experimentation. Not to mention, there's also an incredibly addictive card game on the side that players can engage in with almost any NPC.
Like many great roguelikes, 9th Dawn 3 focuses on loadouts and builds with great variety. Instead of a class system, players can choose to specialize in a small selection of attributes and a much wider selection of skills with no limitations. Players can focus the majority of their skill points into some of the plentiful elemental disciplines that make up magic in this game, and then dedicate what remains to a weapon class like hammers or swords to back up their sorcery with some steel.
2 Tales Of Maj'Eyal
A Rewarding, Classical Roguelike Experience
Tales Of Maj'Eyal
Tales of Maj'Eyal does not hold the players' hands and deserves to be mentioned among the best dungeon-crawling roguelikes purely for how engaging and satisfying the gameplay is even after many, many character deaths. This is in part due to the many unlockable classes and races that are waiting to be found in the expansive open world, allowing players to start new runs with more options and variety.
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Many of the classes in Tales of Maj'Eyal allow for battle-mage style play, whether they're focused on harnessing the power of nature and magic-disrupting forces alongside heavy weapons, or if they're fighter classes that have become adept at using arcane energy to enhance their blade. Synthesizing skills and equipment to make the perfect battle mage is a very cathartic experience in this game.
3 Elden Ring
Balanced Equipment And Spells Allows For Many Combinations
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
One of the prevailing philosophies in Elden Ring's equipment system is that there should be a reward for only a minor investment in any of the stats. While overpowered builds will always lean more on the min-max side of things, there are many incredibly effective ways to build a magic-oriented character in Elden Ring that supplements their strength with a weapon. Battle mages in Elden Ring might use buff spells to let their weapons deal more magic damage, or they might use spells like Carian Phalanx to deal magic damage while closing in on a foe with a melee weapon.
The open-world nature of Elden Ring works greatly in its favor with build crafting like this, as many weapons dropped by smaller, nonessential bosses can be vital to these specific sorts of builds. Family heads are one item in particular that scales with physical stats and intelligence, without being locked behind a particularly difficult boss.
4 Dragon's Dogma 2
One Vocation Is A Unique Spin On A Battle Mage
Dragon's Dogma 2
- Released
- March 22, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Dragon's Dogma 2 has become a staple among RPG fans for its immense creativity, dynamic combat, and utterly unique charm. The world of Dragon's Dogma 2 is so vibrant and idyllic, while at the same time filled with perils and danger, that it really feels like the perfect combination of an homage to classic high fantasy archetypes while also placing a unique spin upon the entire genre.
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This carries over to the game's various unique hybrid vocations, where the mystic spearhand stands as an incredibly interesting twist on the battle mage archetypal class. Wielding speed, spears, and elemental magic, the mystic spearhead is an incredibly graceful and well-loved hybrid vocation among many players.
5 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Battle Mages Are Second Only To Stealth Archers
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
Skyrim allows players to seamlessly meld magic and melee attacks during combat into a single maelstrom of power, augmented by magic robes or even graceful light armor. The battle mage build flourishes in this game, as players can easily divide their skill focus among one or two schools of magic and a one-handed weapon of their choice.
With Anniversary Edition's Creation Club content adding in a plethora of new spells without players having to worry about dealing with predatory in-game currency, Skyrim stands as an excellent opportunity for players to experience an archetypal battle mage like never before.
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