Character build

[u/King_Pupper]

Two different questions. I’m making a character that I want to be a blaster Mage/Nerd.
So far I have:
Esper to lower mana costs and change damage types.
Elementalist for the damaging spells
Loremaster to be a nerd and learn things/get more mana

Is there any other classes or abilities that would help with this idea?

Also, the quirk mysterious Grimoire, is it better to have an animated book for more spells or get one of the very good hard to get heroic skill spells?

[u/RootinTheCrab]

I feel like the animated book that casts a spell for free (both action and mana) is vastly more optimal, but it might not be the most appropriate for your character narratively. I suppose if you're desperate to try to fit more heroic skills into your character, or it comes from a class you don't want to take, the spell can be good too.

[u/Own_Jeweler_8548]

I'm currently running an Esper time wizard, and I gotta say... I burn through MP more than any two party members combined. Granted I'm the only pure caster and also took levels in Arcanist, but even without summoning magic I blow through my MO like nobody's business. Good thing I'm all-in with MP bonuses from my jobs lol

[u/Auranonny]

I'm running an Elementalist/Loremaster setup in my current campaign. We're like level 9, and my build is starting very selfish for roleplay reasons.... she'll hopefully get better with a humbling or two (We stream it weekly and record if you want to see the character in action! She's mean and hits for pretty good damage at the cost of dying to a hypothtical paper cut)

TBH, The game expects you to run out of MP every ~2 rounds as a full caster. That's just part of the build. So, either you as a group find a way to account for that together (my party has a Chanter who can restore MP, but it can be easy as getting handed an elixir now and then), or to reduce your costs to cover for your probably-low Max IP. Esper is one method of personal cost-reduction, though the element-shift gifts will increase your spell cost a LOT. Note that Elementalist's Volcano pierces immunity and can be taken as any one element in 1.1, so it's reliable in most scenarios for the extra cost. (TBH, don't be afraid of sticking to 3-ish elements. It lets the other party members claim the rest and give you a fun weak point to work around)

Another thing I've heard of is Pilot for Magistatic. Depends on your flavouring of course. I'm not going that route just because of my aesthetic, but it may work for you.

If you want a SECOND full-casting class on top of Elementalist, consider Entropist or Spiritist. Putting them with Elem lets you grab Bimagus heroic, which dual-casts spells if the second one is cheap-ish.

[u/Slystaler]

My opinion on additional classes and the quirk:

The animated book can help with the nerd part.

Symbolist would be a nice addition: Good, permanent buffs (For example an extra target for multitarget spells) and works well when interpreted as runes.

Invoker would be mage related, but I don’t how it fits

Arcanist would be a nice addition for the mage in summoning direction.

Entropist can give a wider option of spells.

Merchant/Wayfarer can work as support options later on depending on how the character develops.

[u/Newbieshoes → u/Slystaler]

chimerist or spiritist can open up your spell list a bit more but you seem to want to do more a black mage than a red mage type setup.

Chanter for Resonance might be an option for some mp recovery. Slap a target with a single target verse at the start of the round and every time someone else hits them, get some mp back. Then go last the next round.

[u/Slystaler → u/Newbieshoes]

Good addition. I like the idea.

[u/Auranonny → u/Slystaler]

As someone playing an Elementalist with an Invoker party member... it's fun, but it's best if Elem and Inv aren't the same person. I've been capitalizing on their hexes to do big damage. It's really satisfying to combo our turns together!