General

BaMs are actually very strong. they're ranked like #5 and above many chars if u look at joe tang's dps/m chart.

@DeathmanX0 Lol I know about the nerf to avoid rate. I still hate Nexon for it >.> the 100% was about knockback and yeah but they don't have a drain skill. Not everything is just about damage. I would like to try an I/L Mage though they seem pretty cool. :o

[quote=aeswag]...I gotta start funding my BaM now. That Big Crunch Aura sounds more amazing then I thought it would be *o* 80% Dodge + more avoid from the stat seems like it'll cap it just like a Dual Blade and 100% is sooo nice especially with the drain skill and weapon speed..this character seems like it'll be the best Mage bosser post-Fly not because of just damage but factoring in being able to just stand by the boss and hit it constantly without being interrupted by getting knocked back or having to run away to heal. :o[/quote]

The max amount of dodge you can have is 90%. (NX nerfed it to 90% as the max to "avoid" people abusing the "avoid-ability" mechanism). In terms of being the best mage... is debatable. See the thing Bams lack is element reset. Other mages (f/p, i/l) can do more damage on bosses with less funding compared to Bams. Yeah Bams have 100% stance, but a lot of the new bosses coming out knockback you anyways.

...I gotta start funding my BaM now. That Big Crunch Aura sounds more amazing then I thought it would be *o* 80% Dodge + more avoid from the stat seems like it'll cap it just like a Dual Blade and 100% is sooo nice especially with the drain skill and weapon speed..this character seems like it'll be the best Mage bosser post-Fly not because of just damage but factoring in being able to just stand by the boss and hit it constantly without being interrupted by getting knocked back or having to run away to heal. :o

@AznFlip: If were going with certain skills, lets not forget that Bams have 80% avoid post FLY update, and 100% stance, unlike I/L Mages (I know they have stance, but i'm not to sure how much stance % they have). At the end of the day, it really depends on what mage really interest you OP. Why not try them all out?

@DeathmanX0: we can use the [url=http://www.southperry.net/showthread.php?t=49311]DPS/DPM charts[/url] to help. Post Fly it's BaM (Fast 2, Teleport, 0% boss): 19558%, I/L (Fast 4, Teleport, 0% boss): 11625%. Going against bosses like RA, Magnus, or Empress, it's more like BaM = 9779% and I/L = 11625%. If an I/L can hit speed cap, the gap between the two classes widens.

@AznFlip: I can agree with F/P doing more damage either DPS or DPM than bam. But I don't believe I/L will out damage Bams after the RED update. However, I have nothing to prove on this claim, so we shall see. Moreover, I do agree that bishops are currently the weakest mage in terms of DPS/DPM.

BaMs don't change with RED, but the other mages do and I honestly don't know how they stack up, you could argue that f/p might be stronger at bosses, but for bosses with multiple parts (zak, ht), BaM's massive range on their hyper attack allows them to engage with most of if not the entire boss at the same time.

In FLY we get a 'rush' type skill and big crunch aura, which triples the effects of the auras giving us a total of +75% damage, 80% dodge rate (3x 20% + the passive 20%), +6 att speed (which means even an empress or fafnir staff is hitting at the maximum speed), and +150% defense. Conversion also becomes passive allowing us to finally combine forces with spearmen and getting around 70k hp (basing that off my BaM who has just over 40k hp with conversion)

The event where BaMs get their new update is post-FLY which is all resistance revamp as well as the 5 heros.
First off we will be getting increased distance in teleport vertically(from one platform to an above one)
Second we will be getting a move called dark thrust. Its similar to rush, the DS move and the DB move but in this case you pull the monsters along with you a certain distance, a combination of teleport and dark chain.
Third is Big crunch aura. Increases boosts of all auras by x3. Im pretty sure you can have highest level attack speed (gg to ele staffs 'fast speed'), a 60% dodge chance, 780% DOT 3 lines(not positive if DoT is affected) , 75% dmg?, tons of defense tons of w/ elemental and status resistance. Not positive about everything except for attack speed and Im not positive if it affects passive effects(most likely not because if it did, too OP).
Fourth conversion has been changed to passive. Now hyper body can stack.
Fifth the reaper skill is a toggle O.o, I guess more reapers all over the place then.

Damage comparison After RED, since BaMs dont change i guess the bishop and i/l are stronger.
Damage comparison After FLY, BaMs change but i guess it really depends on the Big crunch Aura.

For the skillcase video, just go to youtube and search up Maplestory Battle Mage FLY

I think post-red BaMs are the current BaMs as RED is mainly an explorer update.

[quote=DeathmanX0]After the Red update, Bams are placed #8 in the DPM scale. F/P mages are ranked higher then Bams under this scale after the Red update. However, Bams get big crunch aura in 6(?) months, meaning Bams might surpass F/P on the DPM chart. Bin crunch aura gives Bams 3x buff to auras. This means we get 75% damage, 60% dodge, and +6 attack speed. If you are looking for videos, I am sure you can look them up on Youtube. It might take you awhile, but it is possible.[/quote]

The DPM/DPS charts don't take into account any kind of resistance. In terms of actual DPS/DPM, both F/P and I/L easily outdamage BaM for bossing because of elemental decrease. Bishops are the weakest of the mages.

Doesnt the staff multiplier go up during RED update?

After the Red update, Bams are placed #8 in the DPM scale. F/P mages are ranked higher then Bams under this scale after the Red update. However, Bams get big crunch aura in 6(?) months, meaning Bams might surpass F/P on the DPM chart. Bin crunch aura gives Bams 3x buff to auras. This means we get 75% damage, 60% dodge, and +6 attack speed. If you are looking for videos, I am sure you can look them up on Youtube. It might take you awhile, but it is possible.