PC Is it worth becoming a mage just to use the Last Prism?

[Dukky_]

So I recently got hold of the Last Prism, and currently am a melee character. I find that the last prism is quite underpowered against most enemies, considering the insane mana cost and ridiculously long time to fully charge. However, if a full set of Nebula Armor is acquired, as well as some mage accessories such as the Mana Flower, then it is actually a really good weapon and deals thousands of damage. Now, I'm sure most of you already knew this, but the question stands: Is it worth becoming a mage just so that I can use potentially the best item in the game effectively? Also, I do have the phantasm and the Vortex Beater, both of which I find to be EXTREMELY overpowered, especially with chlorophyte ammo.

Some things to note: I have about 17 luminite bars, spent most on DCU, and have quite a few Nebula Fragments, considering I am not a mage right now and therefore only use the fragments for celestial sigils. Once I get the Meowmere or perhaps the Star Wrath, then I can switch back to Melee or even ranged (SDMG), but for now, what are your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Baconfry]

Who told you the Last Prism has to be fully-charged to be good? As long as you have a Celestial Emblem/Cuffs, you can cut through normal enemies with the unfocused beams alone while staying relatively topped off on mana. Last Prism is probably the strongest weapon in the game, just requires more of a brain to use properly than the Star Wrath and Terrarian.

Nebula armor is where the real power comes in, though. Nebula armor is a better offensive and defensive melee set than Solar Flare armor. With 45% increased damage to all classes and 15 health per second of regeneration, there's no way Solar Flare can compete. And if you're using Nebula armor, might as well use the best magic weapon in the game along with it, right?

tl;dr make Nebula armor, even if you're going to continue using melee weapons. Then decide whether you want to use the Last Prism.

 

[Gotcha!]

What Baconfry said. 99% of the time I'm using The Last Prism with controlled short bursts. I never run out of mana this way. Besides, there's a lot of mana to pick up afterwards.
The other 1% is boss fights.
I like to have Celestial Cuffs as well, for the mana pick-up range, and for getting mana when damaged.

Anyway, I believe the real question here is: Do you like using that weapon more than using melee/ranged? If so, then of course get the appropriate mage armour and accessories. And there are plenty of other magic weapons that are powerful and fun to use.

 

[Mille Marteaux]

On that note, if you're just using short bursts, don't even consider running Mana Flower. Just pop a Mana Regeneration Potion and use a Mana Regeneration Band to immediately get back any mana you may have spent without dealing with Celestial Cuffs nonsense.

 

[Dukky_]

Wow! Thank you guys so much! So I guess I'll just make the Nebula Armor as well as the solar flare armor, and see if I like the Last Prism with it, and then go from there and see what I want to do. Who knows, I could even be multiple classes with multiple armor sets and weapons! Thanks so much!

 

[Lord Garak]

Who told you the Last Prism has to be fully-charged to be good? As long as you have a Celestial Emblem/Cuffs, you can cut through normal enemies with the unfocused beams alone while staying relatively topped off on mana. Last Prism is probably the strongest weapon in the game, just requires more of a brain to use properly than the Star Wrath and Terrarian.

Nebula armor is where the real power comes in, though. Nebula armor is a better offensive and defensive melee set than Solar Flare armor. With 45% increased damage to all classes and 15 health per second of regeneration, there's no way Solar Flare can compete. And if you're using Nebula armor, might as well use the best magic weapon in the game along with it, right?

tl;dr make Nebula armor, even if you're going to continue using melee weapons. Then decide whether you want to use the Last Prism.

I never thought about it that way. I feel like they should increase the buffs granted by the solar shield to compensate, or nerf Nebula armor.

 

[Mille Marteaux]

By the time you get Nebula Armor, there's nothing left to use it on except for content you've already beaten without it. It's fine to have a few stupidly powerful things here and there.

Nebula Armor buffs are strong, but you'd be better off having a bunch of buffs in one area and switching over to your actual armor to use them. Its life regeneration is powerful, but it's not taking hits as well as Solar Flare is.

The real problem with Solar Flare armor is that it tries condensing both Beetle armors into one, and it gets rid of the difference in bulky vs damage-dealing builds leaving you with a kind of mediocre mixture between the two.