Xaltotun wrote:Someone said start with Wisdom 18. You don't need to.
You can begin with minimised Wisdom and quaff Potions of Insight before casting Wish (in order to rest against Melissan). The potions are prolific.
And I suppose that in tough situations, you will summon a Projected Image or Simulacrum and it will have to waste the first round to drink a potion of Insight? Oops, sorry, it is already dead.
High wisdom is absolutely essential. OK, maybe not 18, since one of the Hell Trials and the machine of Lum the mad each give additional +1, but 16 at least. Believe me, I've tested enough.
limitedwhole wrote:In response to the proposed spells listed above as suggested, I wouldn't be so narrow. Spells like shocking grasp and firehand can be more effective and reliable than MM in some situations. Don't be afraid to use the touch attack spells. They almost always hit even with a mediocre strength(STR belt is better). VAmpiric touch is pretty good through the mid game. The touch attack that paralyses is good too. Early on Chromatic ORB is amazing and I never memorize MM. Don't be afraid to use versus save spells. They go off quite often against most baddies. Dominating someone is essentially taking out two enemies for one spell and gets you a tank. Spook is a strong spell and should be taken as at the start or you can't get it until TOB. It has -6 to saves. Glitterdust and horror are both emmensely powerful for level two spells. Just don't be narrow in your spell selection. Pay attention to what kind of saving throw your spells use as this is the key to selecting the right ones against certain opponents. Their are way better choices than just MM. Why deal damage when you can kill the person outright, dominate them to become your ally, stun them (which =death), etc. Instead of just be a catapult, use the powerful spells to dominate the battlefield and then finish off the stunned or held stragelers with your staff.
Polymorph self is pretty powerful early. (i.e Glitterdust, Polymorph, kill everything) Greater malison is a must. Otiluke's is pretty cool in a sequencer as it can be used to incapacitate a boss while you deal with it's minions, or to encapsulate yourself while your area effect cloud spells and such kill everything. Secret Word is essential. It removes a single high level protection taking up a very low level spell slot. Same with Ruby ray. Teleport feild makes it very difficult for anyone to actually attack you. Feeblemind is a great mage killer early, if it resolves he is dead and it gets past the low level globes and such. Spell shield is very very very powerful if used right.
Sorry I will have to disagree with most of these, but it starts:
If you play a normal game with plentiful reloading, you could want to use Dominate and similar spells, because it is fun when they work. But if you intend not to rely on pure luck, forget about such disabling&charming spells. Because:
- they allow save. And if the save succeeds, no harm is done to the enemy. While some of the damaging spells also allow save, but always inflict damage, no matter whether the save roll is successful or not.
- as the game advances, more and more enemies become naturally immune to dominate/disable spells and similar effects granted by items.
- as the game advances, the enemies get such amazing saving throws(end of SoA and the whole ToB), that it is absolutely pointless using similar spells even in conjuction with Doom and Greater Malinson.
- All of the disabling/mind controlling spells are lvl 5 or lower, and some enemies like Liches are naturally immune to such spell levels.
Shocking Grasp I haven't tested. I will, yet it does electrical damage and requires a touching attack. Magic missile deals Magical damage(much harder to defend against unlike electrical), hits 5 times(i.e. can easily harm an enemy with MR, because each missile requires a MR check), can easily disrupt enemy spellcasting(again, hits 5 times), can clear a whole bunch of Mirror Images(again, hits 5 times), and finally, Magic missile is a Ranged spell, not touch attack.
About the Burning Hands and Magic Missile comparison, look above. The same issues are valid. Yet, sometimes in very rare occasions, Burning hands is useful, when fighting trolls. The only place where Burning hands is actually ten times better than MM, is an old game called Eye of the Beholder.
About Vampiric Touch - right, the spell is useful. I forgot about it since I almost always have Vampiric Touch Bhaal special power, and also I have issues with third lvl spell slots - there are always too few of them for my needs to waste on a Vampiric Touch spell. There are Haste, Skull Trap, Prot from Fire which I use frequently.
Glitterdust - a great spell, I agree. Indeed needed, yet it occupies a 2nd lvl spell slot, and there are always not enough slots, because of the Mirror Image and Knock spells(and sometimes Resist fear).
Polymorf spell is not that great, since in the new form you lose almost all your protective buffs. I.e. if you have casted on yourself Prot from Fire, turn into a Gnoll, you are not immune to fire anymore. Also, this affects bonus from items(most, if not all, are not applied to the new form). The Polymorph spell is only valuable if you so need to turn into something immune to missile fire. The Ochre Jelly form is immune to all missiles, but not to the elemental damage and other effects those missiles might carry.
Otilulike's resilient sphere, if it didn't allow save vs spell to negate the effect, would be perfect. But, as I said, it allows save, so it is unreliable. Even if cast on yourself, and you WANT not to save, it doesn't depend on you. It is actually far better to use Cloud and Area Effect spells with proper protections. There is a wizard protective spell from each and every cloud effect. Poison immunity is granted by the Ring of Gaxx.
Greater Malinson is a great spell, when used in conjuction with powerful instantkill spells like Finger of Death or Wail of the Banshee. But it is also good to be used with Chromatic orb with killing effect. Chromatic orb, unlike Dire Charm or Dominate, is acceptable to waste some slots for, because it is a first lvl spell and it has a death effect, which is better than charming(which usually enemies are immune against). Yet, on lower-than-12 lvl mage, never Chromatic orb should replace Magic Missile.
Yet, I prefer using the Malinson with damage spells like Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Skull Trap or Sunfire, for maximum damage of the spell.
Spook is indeed a good spell, only there are bugs with it(some enemies don't run even when affected, other continue casting or shooting at you even when affected). Yet, is is absolutely a must-pick from the beginning.
Secret Word is an interesting spell. Yet, it doesn't see much use against enemy mages without spell shield on. And there are very few enemy mages who use it. Actually, in SoA, I think only Irenicus uses a Spell Shield. Only in case of enemy Spell Shield(s) on, I use Spell Thrust or Secret Word. Otherwise, Breach, attack with Staff of the Magi and area effect spells are far, far more useful.
Teleport field is indeed a very powerful spell and a must-have. Same with Ruby Ray and Spell Shield. The Spell Shield is the only spell that stops enemy Breach and Spellstriking type spells, and the beholder's Anti-Magic ray. Yet, I wouldn't call Spell Shield and Ruby Ray early spells, because the earliest time you can obtain those scrolls for sure is lvl 5, Underdark. Although, if you're lucky, you may get both of these spells, as well as many more rare spells as a random treasure in chapters 2 and 3.
