Mana stacking archetypes. How to revive what is dead.

Hi all.

Let me remind you that the mana stacker archetype, through Indigon or Archimage, has become extremely unpopular due to the amplification of auras.

But there is a solution, supposedly, but a solution.

Add Keystone or Skill. I won't come up with a name. I will describe the approximate effect of its action.

Skills that reserve mana in % instead reduce the threshold for mana regeneration through any source. Mana above the source threshold is restored only with the help of Mana Flask.
That is, the concept is identical to the Petrified Blood. Only for mana, and the threshold will be "customizable". It's up to the player to decide whether they want to keep their mana pool or add another aura.
This will work well with both Archmage and Manabond.

For normal reservation values, this would mean that 2 auras of 50% would simply fill the entire gauge, so in Keystone/Skill, an additional Reservation Efficiency multiplier needs to be added.

The question arises "Sounds too good, and everyone can use it to get more auras, and just reduce the mana cost to 0."
For this, you can come up with additional conditions, for example, a mana cost of at least 5% of the maximum mana (as in the archmage). And given the diminishing effectiveness of the "reservation efficiency", there may not be much more auras there.

And you can also add a support gem to revive archmage builds. But it will be weird. Linked gem has no mana cost, but #% of its base mana cost is added to all your other skills.
The concept needs to be polished to be fair.

the solution is even simpler - stop the 'aura effect' proliferation madness

auras alone are what makes pure phys builds garbage - you cannot compete with 'convert to cold, double-dip Hatred with 120% effect'

Indigon, Archmage and mana-based skills are still strong. mainly because it double-tripple dips: mana scales damage, mana scales life, mana scales defences (ie flat armour via cluster jewels, %mana as ES etc).

mana-based skills are very well designed, albeit require bit more brainpower than 'stack crit multi' so some still think Stormbind is 'weak' (LOOOOL)

yet, stacking aura effect and -%reservation beats it clear out of the water so nobody cares

mana stackers are not dead but they could use some love

first problem i see its they are all about indigon and archmage, not much of a choice there and skills that dont sinergy well with those fall out of grace.

posible solution:
*change archmage so the added flat damage matchs the highest damage component of the spell, Olso change superior quality from 0.5% increased Mana Cost per 1% quality to 1.5% increased Mana Cost to make up for all the increased mana cost mods we lost some time ago.
*buff manastorm duration to 6 seconds and added damage to at least 35%

second problem is despite hierophant being the go to ascendancy for mana stackers it has some wonky sinergy

posible solution:
*split the mana branch
-Divine Guidance: 20% more maximum Mana, Transfiguration of Mind

3 keystones will branch from divine guidance:
-Sanctuary of Thought:
Gain 30% of Maximum Mana as Extra Maximum Energy Shield
1% increased Area of Effect per 50 Unreserved Maximum Mana (cap removed)

-sanctuary of body (new keystone):
15% of Damage is taken from Mana before Life
Regenerate 1% of Mana per second
modifiers to spell damage from arcane surge olso apply to attacks

-sanctuary of mind(new keystone):
30% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills
70% less Mana Cost of Skills

To make mana builds more viable they just have to, at least partially, restore what they've taken away. Mana recovery. They killed enduring mana flasks and ruined the mana recovery from arcane surge. At this point it's really difficult to fuell both Archmage and MoM even with lots of investment. I mean the archetype was well deserving of a nerf but as always with GGG, they went miles overboard and then some. Couldn't balance the game if their lives depended on it.

Good old day of stacking not reworked "Fevered Mind".....

Definitely needs some power putting back but requires bookending

Auras need reducing at the top end still as the opportunity cost of running them is simply too high. Indigon probably needs looking at on this end too as it ties down all mana builds by existing.

On the flipside most of the nerfs were overdone and some power needs putting back, bit more regen, bit better arcane surge etc to help run the effects properly.

Its not completely dead though my build of the league was archmage and I absolutely loved the character but certainly could use a touch in the right direction.

Mana build requires indigon to be strong which severely reduces variety. (Seen 3.19 indigon build going up to 1B dps (inconsistent) with 19k es. Probably will have to reverse engineer it if i ever will decide to do MoM build).

As of now, simple archmage variants currently are rathpit builds, slap forbidden rite on top of it if u feel like going full in.