Well I would say that mage is better than it has been in a while since way back 2 years ago, paralyze was easy to use and only on 2 turns. now it is back to 2 turns with quickcast. However the real strength of mage is the high magic to get decent crystals each level up to put into items. Granted i dislike the mana cap put on these guys even furtherand would like it buffed but we got to take one step at a time.
Demon king having armor is not what makes it hard. It had armor for a while. Now it has specialized armor that is even tougher and is harder to sunder. It has a durability of like 200 for each piece. Her groin is her weak spot so constant low attacks are pretty decent which leads to bleeding. Another note is that bleeding has sort of been nerfed however it isnt too bad since you benefit too. You can stack up bleed much faster by constant groin shots with low attack while blocking every so often to get some decent bleed damage in the second phase (first phase now heals the bleed once it is over).
I would suggest something like greater mana capacity. A step in the right direction was evasion for spellcasting, however i believe that a needed improvement for warlock would be something that allows you access to your full mana base for a whole encounter however it would take a few days to recharge. being able to sling spells would be freaking awesome. Going full spellcaster instead of using the crystals to upgrade armor. Enchanter is a way better class now especially with the well rounded perk getting 2 more slots.
really wizard just needs better spellcasting ability as in way WAY more mana and a better way for magic spells to stack like bleed. For now we have inflict wounds which is a nice start and 6 bleed per cast for me wasnt too bad, however it wasnt as effective as just bludgeoning them.
Something that i really want for a wizard would be a wand that you could buy in monsters or something that would drop mana costs for abilities to one and double the damage for each spell cast or each spell cast would be effective as if you had twice the magic stat. That would be really epic. IT would be balanced since the bosses already have an incredibly high health and this would be working with the spells at hand.
I was initially skeptic on how getting the total virgin level 1 playthrough would go after this update but it is the same as always. just orcblood all stats in physical ones and running warrior (thief high agility cant steal as well anymore). you put all perk points into these things and you get very nice gear. diamond plate with battleskirt all the special enchanted items. Stealing also is out of wack so I dont think it is right to just steal items but taking out bank loans just to meet puca the bunny isnt bad and is a pretty good deal. not too hard to beat.
I was able to get the total virgin level 1 playthrough though so it was cool. Though I hate how the best way to play the game is just high physical stats. Making magic a decent contender would be pretty cool. At least in story mode you have an interaction that needs magic.
The fight that actually is very hard to beat is the tentacle witch since she has all combat moves unlike the demon king. Also her armor is tough as hell and reduces it by so much and she constantly disarms you. I had to have max grip strength and on top of that double it with an enchantment just to hold onto my weapon (40 grip was nt cutting it even though her attack only takes away 16)
Armor sundering is fine for higher level character to try and be efficient with fewer hits, i think it is stronger for each hit too. Just get the sundering perk. (Also acid scroll only deals like 30 armor damage to the 200 durability or whatnot of the demon king)
I really just want each class to be viable and hope majalis buffs magic again. It used to be good because of paralyze but they nerfed that to hell and now the mana base, however the dodging while casting is very cool. Please make magic great again.
