GameBanshee Forums

Hi,

I'm pretty new to RPG's like BG etc but so far I'm doing fine in BG2.
I do wonder why hostile spellcasters are much faster in casting their spells then I am. There is so much time between the moment a partymember casts a spell and the moment that it is effective that many times the casting is interrupted by hostile spells.

It often seems their (hostile mages etc.) spells are effective from the moment they cast. I know a little about casting delay's but I assume they have the same delays I have or am I wrong??

They cast the exact same spells you do, and most of them don't have a Mental Speed bonus (Casting Time reduction as with the Robe of Vecna).

Are you sure it's not just the spells they cast that are quick?

Welcome aboard. As a longtime RPGer and not so long time BG2er (is that a word?), here's what I can suggest.
1: Every spell has a casting time, most of them expressed in terms of a number between 1 and 9. The smaller the number, the faster the spell will get off. Therefore, when trying to disrupt enemy spellcasters with spells of your own, 1s and 2s are the best. That's one of the reasons Magic Missile is SO popular. If you don't have the manual handy, right-click on any spell in your books in order to check the casting time.
2: Enemy spellcasters often have spells stored in sequencers and contingencies that allow them to cast one or more defensive spells when you first come into view. This isn't really cheating; you can use the same spells they're just not AS useful since you're not static like they are. Forget trying to keep these from happening, just pause, check back which spells were used and start casting counters so you can hit the caster quickly with weapons or fast spells.
3: Dexterity does matter. Remember the numbers in Point 1? They're added to a random roll of 1-10 (your character's initiative) and then the reaction adjustment due to your dexterity is added or subtracted from that number. Confusing? Let's just say that an 18 DEX will do more than help your AC, it will make you faster on the magical draw.
Hope this rambling helps

excellent points catcher....i agree 100%

archers really help when you need to cancel enemy spells...usually your archers have good dex

Thnx Catcher for the usefull info!

Problem is that most of the time they cast defensive anti-magic stuff on themself wich I want to disarm with dispel magic and stuff like that wich are pretty slow. But an archer may be of some help...

Normally, you want to remove the combat protections (Protection from Magical Weapons, etc.) Dispel Magic has only a small chance to remove protections from a higher level caster. Breach works all the time and removes almost all combat protections.
Against illusions (Mirror Image, Mislead) you can use a divination spell (Detect Illusion, True Sight). Against spell protections (Globe of Invulnerability, Spell Turning) you can use the spell protection removals (Secret Word, Pierce Magic).

But more importantly you might not have to remove any defenses. In most cases you can still hit those mages with methods they are not protected against. eg:
Stoneskin: you can use spells or weapons with additional elemental damage
Mirror Image: you can use disabling spells
Spell Turning: you can use area spells
Globe of Invulnerability: you can use higher (>=5) level spells

I don't think dexterity has anything to do with (spell casting) initiative.

The druid spell insect plague works great against mages!

@BlackBreeze: Glad to help. I wouldn't suggest using Dispel Magic to remove magical defenses except in a case of dire emergency/despiration. As Kovi noted, the effectiveness of DM is based on a level to level comparisson and, even when levels are equal, its only a 50-50 shot. Kovi gives some good advice on what types of spells you can cast counters the types that they cast.

@Kovi: Possibly you're right. I'm only taking that from PnP and BG2 doesn't always follow those rules the same way. Still, DEX is always good for mages to keep them from being peppered with arrows.

@Stilgar: Insect Plague is a favorite of mine too, but it has its limitations. It's a 5th level druid spell, so you typically don't have too many slots to put it in. Its best used in either combats with a large number of spell-casters (party fights) or longer battles SPOILER
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(like against Irenicus ). Don't think BlackBreeze is quite there yet, but he'll see.

That spel EASILY goes through almost all cast defensive and once its set in its pretty much a futile responce(Wow large words)