How to reduce spell casting time gap

Luskan · Post by **Luskan** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:11 am

please help?!

I always wanted to cast like those of Gorion and Irenicus without waiting too much on spell casting, example if I shoot an enemy with a magic missile I have to wait for another 4 seconds to cast another Magic missile which is annoying especially when you're enemies are fast and melee, is there a combat tip or I'm just missing something?

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:47 am

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgatei ... acrity.php

Requires a high level Throne of Bhaal caster

Baldur's Gate II @ GameBanshee

I think the Robe of Vecna helps, there could be more items than this, this just come to mind.

anarchistica · Post by **anarchistica** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:38 am

The Amulet of Power and certain Elf/Drow armours (Spellcaster Chain) also improve casting time.

rbeverjr · Post by **rbeverjr** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:33 am

The only way to greatly increase your spell casting rate is through Improved Alacrity (an HLA from the ToB expansion). (Note that one option from the Wish spell [ToB] is a double length time stop and improved alacrity.) Items that decrease casting time, such as the Cloak of Vecna and Amulet of Power, will allow even more spells to be cast during Improved Alacrity. However, without Improved Alacrity, these items only allow you to cast the spell sooner in the round, but do not allow you to cast more spells.

shift244 · Post by **shift244** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:16 pm

Yep. Spells have a casting speed, which is stated in the spell, and reduced casting time only reduces this value, which allows say, Fireballs, which normally takes longer than Magic Missile, to be cast faster. In any event a spellcaster can only cast one spell (or one special ability like Sequencer which will trigger multiple spells as prepared) per round (6 seconds). Only Improved Alacrity will allow you to break the one spell/ability per turn limitation.

Luskan · Post by **Luskan** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:26 pm

Thank you, I just have to install throne of Baal to access this cool spell

Thrifalas · Post by **Thrifalas** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:10 am

It's recommended to get Robe of Vecna and Amulet of Power while you're at it, though. Instant-cast-spells in combination with no time gap means that you can pretty much empty your whole spellbook during one time stop. It's one of the nifties, and most awesome, thing you can do in the whole game imho.

Deadalready · Post by **Deadalready** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:08 am

It is debateable, however I've found max wisdom seems to decrease my waiting time between spell casts.
I've only noticed this with Clerics though.

AvatarOfLight · Post by **AvatarOfLight** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:26 am

Wisdom:
-Increases amount of spells per day for divine casters
-Increases lore
-Allows some extra conversation options
-Used to determine the possible effects of the wish spell

Fairly certain no spell casting speed or cooldown is involved for any class.

shift244 · Post by **shift244** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:58 pm

No, I'm fairly certain that's probably just a personal "feel" of the effect. The Assuming you have nothing that reduces casting time of spells the waiting time between two castings of Fireball would be less than that of two Magic Missile simply because, both would be cast at the beginning of the round (every 6 seconds), one taking 3 seconds (leaving a 3 second wait time), the other only 1 (5 second wait time).

The interval may however allow you to sneak in a shot with a bow though... I notice certain NPCs in my party with the AI turned on tend to take pot shots after the spell is done... maybe it only works with spells cast in 0 time, I'm not sure.

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:33 am

yes -even under player control a caster can cast a low speed spell and then get a physical attack in as well - my PC often casts MM and then whacks off a slingshot - even rushing in with a melee weapon if not armed with the sling.

Thrifalas · Post by **Thrifalas** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:03 am

It is a well-known trick, commonly known as "cast and attack" and is quite useful for getting the most out of your casters. For example, a kensai/mage can cast one defensive spell per round and still get all of his natural attacks, or a sorceress can cast a breach spell and blast away a couple of energy blades in the same round.

Worth to notice is also that spells such as Chain Contingency doesn't count into the casting order, so one can actually get off One spell, one chain and a couple of attacks in the same round. ^^

Celacena · Post by **Celacena** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:59 am

didn't know CC would do that - I wonder how I can use that...

I sense my wild mage learning some new combinations!

BTW reckless dwemer is astonishingly powerful - I use it to have a crack at some 'free' level 9 spells - chaos sheld first of course, but I get a lot more Planetars than I really qualify for.