So for armors, it all comes back to what type of nuke it has. Weapon-based nukes do melee, ranged, or magic depending on what your weapon does. Spell based and old standard nukes do ranged if you don't have INT or magic if you do have INT. And it's not so much what stat they scale with; 250 STR/DEX will max damage stat-wise for both melee and ranged. The problem is that booster pet/guests only boost one type; so Dunamis pet/guest only boosts melee damage, and if you use WKZ, Taladosian, or HSVV's nuke you won't get the Dunamis boosts since they're locked to ranged or magic damage.
That spell is from the Varrinsquea Keep/Wizard Scrolls quest. They made a warrior scroll quest called "Warrior's Tower" (Travel Map > Sail East > Sail South > Warrior's Tower). These are what I'm talking about.
The thing with subrace armors are they are literally free. If you are a vampire, werewolf, werepyre, or neko, you get a 9th armor slot with a free, multi-purpose armor that fits your playstyle. There is no reason not to use them other than roleplay. Definitely check them out, you'll like them.
Here is the discord invite.
Besides the pinned guide and the one lordgavers linked, I recommend the unofficial discord as well for people willing to talk in detail about tactics and for info on new items and events.
There isn't really an oral guide or a video series on the meta. Read through the written guides and if you have specific questions post them here or on the discord. If you want help for a particular character, post a link and we can give you advice.
So your first priority as a mage should be getting Poelala pet and guest. Then put all your stats in INT until it is 250, then all into DEX until 250, then all into LUK until 250.
Honestly, spells are underwhelming compared to weapon-based nukes damage wise. This is because of the huge bonus weapon-based nukes receive from Chieftain's Ironthorn and damage weapons like bloodzerker blades. I would prioritize bloodzerkers over bloodmage armors. Checked the pinned equipment thread for more specific info, as well as this site and the unofficial discord.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudmosa.puffinFree&hl=en_SG
This is probably the only mobile browser with flash working on it
I'm using it too