What's your fave spell for each spell level?
Lace
Member Posts: 74
So, what spells do you guys like best/use most often for each spell level, and why? For example, My fave spells (and it was really tough only choosing one per level) are:
Mage:
lvl 1. Magic Missile - General all-purpose damage dealing spell that scales as you level up. In the absence of other protection magics, this can help remove mirror image duplicates
lvl 2. Glitterdust - Removes invisibility and has a chance to blind
lvl 3. Fireball - Good for clearing out a large group of weak creatures
lvl 4. Greater Malison - Makes it easier to get spell effects to stick to my opponents
lvl 5. Chaos - Good for disabling a large group of baddies
lvl 6. Contingency - Good for instantly activating self-buff spells
lvl 7. Limited Wish - If you've invested in wisdom, this is such a useful spell
lvl 8. Simulacrum - If having 1 of your character is great, but 2 is even better
lvl 9. Wish - Good enough to be listed twice
lvl 10. Improved Alacrity - To speed up casting time
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Priest (Cleric or Druid):
lvl 1. Armor of Faith - Good damage soaking buff spell
lvl 2. Draw Upon Holy Might - Great buff spell
lvl 3. Holy Smite - Great for dealing with evil creatures
lvl 4. Call Woodland Beings - Summons a nymph with some priest spells that can help on the battlefield
lvl 5. Insect Plague - Great for disabling opposing spellcasters, and affects multiple opponents
lvl 6. Heal - Great for bringing allies back from the brink of death
lvl 7. Aura of Flaming Death - Grants protection, plus deals damage to opponents
Mage:
lvl 1. Magic Missile - General all-purpose damage dealing spell that scales as you level up. In the absence of other protection magics, this can help remove mirror image duplicates
lvl 2. Glitterdust - Removes invisibility and has a chance to blind
lvl 3. Fireball - Good for clearing out a large group of weak creatures
lvl 4. Greater Malison - Makes it easier to get spell effects to stick to my opponents
lvl 5. Chaos - Good for disabling a large group of baddies
lvl 6. Contingency - Good for instantly activating self-buff spells
lvl 7. Limited Wish - If you've invested in wisdom, this is such a useful spell
lvl 8. Simulacrum - If having 1 of your character is great, but 2 is even better
lvl 9. Wish - Good enough to be listed twice
lvl 10. Improved Alacrity - To speed up casting time
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Priest (Cleric or Druid):
lvl 1. Armor of Faith - Good damage soaking buff spell
lvl 2. Draw Upon Holy Might - Great buff spell
lvl 3. Holy Smite - Great for dealing with evil creatures
lvl 4. Call Woodland Beings - Summons a nymph with some priest spells that can help on the battlefield
lvl 5. Insect Plague - Great for disabling opposing spellcasters, and affects multiple opponents
lvl 6. Heal - Great for bringing allies back from the brink of death
lvl 7. Aura of Flaming Death - Grants protection, plus deals damage to opponents
2
Comments
lvl 1. Spook - Enemies get as low as -6 to save against it. Good for disrupting spellcasters.
lvl 2. Glitterdust - Removes invisibility and has a chance to blind
lvl 3. Skull Trap - Will end up doing more damage than Fireball and I just like its look.
lvl 4. Greater Malison - Makes it easier to get spell effects to stick to my opponents
lvl 5. Lower Resistance - For those enemies that feel the need to be resistant to my magic.
lvl 6. Improved Haste - Good for making fighters into even bigger killing machines
lvl 7. Mass Invisibility - Certainly not the best spell mechanically to take at this level but I like the bonus to saving throws and AC that it gives to everyone.
lvl 8. Horrid Wilting - It deals devastating amounts of damage.
lvl 9. Time Stop - For those moments when you feel like freezing time and then casting a series of devastating spells on opponents.
lvl 10. Improved Alacrity - To speed up casting time
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Priest (Cleric or Druid):
lvl 1. Armor of Faith - Good damage soaking buff spell
lvl 2. Draw Upon Holy Might - Great buff spell
lvl 3. Holy Smite - Great for dealing with evil creatures
lvl 4. Holy Power - Great buff spell for clerics.
lvl 5. Iron Skins - Great protection spell for druids
lvl 6. Conjure Animals - Its not mechanically the best spell to take at this level but I've always liked it.
lvl 7. Earthquake - Theres something about giving enemies a save vs spell at -6 or else they are knocked unconscious for 4 rounds that I like. The aftershocks don't bring a risk of causing unconsciousness and don't do that much damage particularly if you save against them, so you can pretty well cast it and move in after the first quake. Plus the slight (2%) risk you'll summon a Greater Earth Elemental just makes it fun!
Mel'f Acid Arrow. Must have mage disruptor in my book.
Skull Trap
Greater Malison
Animate Dead for those magic resistant skeletons
Death I know its not all that but i like saying the word and killing things
Improved mass invisibility assuming it provides the -4 bonus.
1. Magic Missile
2. Glitterdust
3. Fireball
4. Greater Malison
5. Chaos (or) Breach (or) Lower Resistance - this spell level is a veritable goody bag of strategy magic
6. Chain Lightning
7. Power Word, Stun
8. Spell Trigger
9. Spellstrike
10. Dragon's Breath
Divine Magic:
1. Remove Fear
2. Draw Upon Holy Might
3. Holy Smite
4. Protection from Evil Radius 10"
5. Mass Cure (or) Iron Skins (or) Chaotic Commands - again, level 5 proves to be the spell level to reach
6. Wondrous Recall - more level 5 spells is preferable to most that level 6 has to offer until you get HLAs
7. n/a
Q. Storm of Vengeance (or) Energy Blades
1: Magic Missile - because blasting your enemies with pure magic is cool.
2: Knock - useful throughout the entire game.
3: Fireball - a classic
4: Greater Malison - nessesary in shadows of amn due to enemies' insane saving throws.
5: Sunfire - powerful and pretty cool. Also ignores magic resistance, which makes it brutal against drow.
6: Death Spell - killing swathes of (admitidly low level) enemies with a single spell is just...cool, dude. I wish there were a higher level of this spell.
7: Finger of Death - point at something and it dies! Killing an enemy like this is pure cool. I think the damage it deals if it fails should be increased a bit though.
8: Horrid Wilting - obligitory really. Best area damage spell in the game.
9: Time Stop - makes your mage god-tier. Seriously cool, if not entirely useful without improved alacrity.
10: Improved Alacrity - unload your entire spellbook in a couple of rounds...that sort of thing keeps you awake at night. There is a glorious over-kill in launching 3 * lower resistance, Greater Malison, 3 * Greater Wilting, 4 * Finger of Death. 6 Fireballs, and 6 magic missiles, all directed towards some poor dragon.
1: Sleep - makes BG1 a piece of cake. Comes in a wand that anyone can use (I'm counting this as a bonus for the spell)
2: Web - wow, this spell is amazing. Not only does it roll to hold every round, but it even comes with a save penalty!
3: Melf's Minute Meteors - hits just about anything and pierces stoneskins. Takes down golems and liches alike. I like the spells that create weapons and this is probably the most useful one. You can even poison them!
4: Stoneskin - the difference between a living mage and a dead one.
5: Spell Immunity - this spell is really cool because you can choose exactly what you want to block. Situational but with some creativity oh so good.
6: Mislead - Invisibility is really fun and this is the best of them. It doesn't get much better than walking into a group of enemies and letting off some sunfires.
7: Mass Invisibility - also an invisibility spell but this has a bit of a different role. Makes your entire party untargetable. Wow!
8: Horrid Wilting - kills things, nuff said.
9: Shapechange - great fun to use. Backstab as an iron golem or time stop and eat brains.
10: Summon Planetar - best summon in the game. Can clear areas on its own. Improved Hasting one of these guys is a very efficient way to output a lot of damage as a pure mage.
Divine
1: Command - this spell knocks out so many dangerous enemies. Assassins at the inn? Ankhegs? There's no save for most of these enemies so it's a guaranteed kill.
2: Chant - doesn't last long but luck is a great buff. Lasts longer than the Luck spell and hits your entire party!
3: Animate Dead - it's good even for a level 5 arcane spell. As a level 3 divine spell, it's freaking amazing. I don't understand the obsession with holy smite for this level - Skeleton Warriors eat up mages, liches, beholders, whatever.
4: Protection from Evil 10' - lasts a long time, which is important for me. Great buff in general and keeps summoned demons from attacking you. Often they'll attack the enemy instead!
5: Chaotic Commands - lasts a long time, of course. And it blocks tons of nasty effects.
6: False Dawn - confusion with no save. If you sneak up on a lich invisible and use this, it won't be able to get off any spells and you can take it out in the first round. Doesn't work on everything but undead are annoying and this makes them pretty easy.
7: Nature's Beauty - no save, and this time it's permanent blindness! Blindness neuters a lot of dangerous things.
Goodberries
Don't think I use any other arcane spell with any significant frequency. A Cloudkill or two in the early game perhaps. Remove Fear like five times during the entire game. Something like that.
As for divine spells... I don't take clerics with me, really. When I do all they cast is Protection from Evil 10' Radius, Armor of Faith, Righteous Magic, and Draw upon Holy Might.
1. Magic Missile (Close second goes to Chromatic Orb)
2. Web
3. Fireball
4. Spell Trigger (MORE MAGIC MISSILES)
5. Cloudkill!
6. Disintegrate (Killed Firkragg the first time with this spell.......then didn't get teh sword QQ)
7. Ummm I can't even name one other than wail of teh banshee which I don't think I really use. Contigency Maybe? Or was that 6....
8. Greater Spell Trigger (I think its this spell level)
9. Chain Contingency
10. Improved Alacrity, although Dragon's Breath is close
Priest:
1. I can't help it, 3 way tie between Cure Light Wounds, Protection from Evil and Bless
2. Draw Upon Holy Might (honorable mentions: Chant, Spiritual Hammer)
3. Holy Smite
4. Defensive Harmony (I think that's this spell level) [Honorable Mentions: Champion's Strength, Death Ward, Anti Charm protection thingy, Restoration)
5. FLAMESTRIKE
6. Blade Barrier/Heal
7. Greater Restoration and isn't there a protection from elements here?
8. Wall of Blades?
I can't help it I like turning my priest (I don't think I've ever finished a run with a druid) into the walking tank by the end, while the formerly sword and board warrior is like "screw it i got spare proficiency points. Imma gonna dual wield"
Best Balance? Cavalier Paladin here. Get most of the tanky stuff I want from being a priest (damn if I could just get blade barrier too) with the HP and Thac0 of a warrior. Plus that Bastard Sword in watcher's keep.
2. Magic Missile.
3. Magic Missile.
4. Magic Missile.
5. Magic Missile.
6. Magic Missile.
7. Magic Missile.
8. Magic Missile.
9. Magic Missile.
10. Magic Missile.
If only I could put level one spells in every slot.
lvl 4 Minor Sequencer
lvl 6 Contingency
lvl 7 Spell Sequencer
lvl 9 Chain Contingency (and Time Stop)
lvl 10: Improved Alacrity
These spells are sort of meta spells that make spell casting much more interesting to me, and magic just feels bland and slow without them.
arcane
1)magic missile
2)mirror image
3)melfs minute meteors and haste
4)ice storm
5)cloudkill
6)pierce magic
7)khelben's warding whip
8)ali-dalzim's horrid wilting
9)time stop
10)energy blades and dragons breath
divine
1)doom or bless
2)hold person and draw upon holy might
3)glyph of warding
4)protection from evil 10' radius
5)flame strike
6)aerial servant
7)firestorm and earthquake
Q)elemental summoning, love it when you get chan, zamman rul or sunnis. globe of blades is also loved very much
Level 1: Magic Missile
Level 2: Mirror Image
Level 3: Haste
Level 4: Stoneskin
Level 5: Chaos
Level 6: True Sight
Level 7: Simulacrum
Level 8: Horrid Wilting
Level 9: Time Stop
Level 10: Energy Blades
I love Time Stop then flinging energy blades for 3 whole rounds at a boss. usually kills them
Divine:
Level 1: Bless
Level 2: Silence
Level 3: Animate Dead
Level 4: Defensive Harmony
Level 5: Chaotic Commands. (Don't leave home without 6)
Level 6: Heal
Level 7: Shield of the Archons
HLA: Summon Planetar
Arcane:
Magic Missile - good damage, fast casting, many enemies are not resistant to it and it ignores Stoneskin
Mirror Image - great defensive spell that protects against many different sources of damage
Skull Trap - great damage that scales well, several can be set up - wonderful in conjunction with Farsight and area spells that "hold"
Farsight - perfect reconnaissance, very effective if you combine it with the correct summons or other spells
Lower Resistance - for those nasty magic resistant foes - it ignores all spell protections
Contingency - true lifesaver in unexpected situations - works very well with Stoneskin and Mislead
Project Image - very powerful clone with a complete copy of your spellbook + quickslot items
Simulacrum - you can never have enough clones
Wish - offers several fantastic spells and effects in one (if your Wisdom is high enough) - my favorite among those is the double length Time Stop, that even works on enemies that are usually immune to the regular version
Improved Alacrity - you never can cast fast enough
Divine:
Armor of Faith - offers a wide selection of resistances, fast casting
Draw Upon Holy Might - offers stat bonuses that are cummulative with item bonuses - great
Holy Smite - wonderful spell vs. evil characters - good thing is.. most enemies are
Farsight - perfect reconnaissance, very effective if you combine it with the correct summons or other spells
Iron Skins - unbreachable version of Stoneskin
Conjure Fire Elemental - strong summon
Nature's Beauty - Blindness without save
Greater Elemental Summoning - very powerful summon
It kills a lot of troubling ennemies without even having to think about it :
Sahuagins, Kuo-Toas, Umber Hulks, trolls, any summoned creature....
It just rocks
Arcane:
Level 1: Chromatic Orb - Yeah I'm that guy.
Level 2: Glitterdust - It's just quite useful to throw at a group of enemies. Chances are a few will fall prey to its effects and be blinded.
Level 3: Slow - This one is NOT to be underestimated. It cripples enemies without risking the health of your own party members. I can't believe how long I went without using this spell. This is always my first choice for a Sorcerer, too. Runner-up is Skull Trap, same reasons as @elminster
Level 4: Greater Malison - I love me the group effect spells, as you can see.
Level 5: Cone of Cold - Difficult to use but incredibly damaging. Honorable mention goes to Chaos.
Level 6: Death Spell - Because f*** summons, that is all.
Level 7: Power Word: Stun - It's awesome how the mage just sorta snaps their fingers and BAM! the enemy is screwed.
Level 8: Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting - Technically it's AoE, but it seems to me like this is a group effect that does insane damage with zero risk to your allies. Can you say awesome? Just awesome.
Level 9: Black Blade of Disaster - The best option for a multi-class mage. That said it's been far too long since I've gotten to really use Level 9 spells, and my tastes have changed over the years, so we shall see what is my favorite this time around. Likely Spellstrike, Time Stop is cool but kind of underwhelming without Improved Alacrity.
Level 10: Improved Alacrity - Duh. But Dragon's Breath is of course death on wheels so that's a fun one as well.
Divine:
Level 1: Remove Fear - Quick, useful, effective.
Level 2: Hold Person - Cast this in the middle of a few enemies who are close together and you'll likely hold one or two of them, essentially sealing their death warrants. Very useful for its low level. Druids really get screwed on Level 2 spells.
Level 3: Call Lightning - Terribly situational in BGII but in BG1 nothing says epic like a freaking bolt of lightning from the sky that does insane amounts of damage. Especially in vanilla BG1, where you cannot target any specific creature but it strikes randomly upon your enemies like four times.
Level 4: Cloak of Fear - This level has a lot of useful spells but this one is the most fun.
Level 5: Mass Cure - So very satisfying, and quite useful. Props to my mom for pointing this one out to me, would've overlooked it, heh…
Level 6: Heal - Dear God this level is boring.
Level 7: Greater Restoration - For now, anyway. As I said with the Arcane spells it's been a while since I've experimented with the high level spells and I may change my mind. I foresee Earthquake or Creeping Doom possibly stealing this spot.
Quest: Implosion - FOR THE EPIC LULZ Err, Wail of the Banshee bro. Unfortunately said spell sucks.
1) Magic Missile - the ole' trusty damage dealer.
2) Melf's Acid Arrow - killing off trolls and disrupting mages since 1998!
3) Fireball - the spell for wasting a whole group of enemies or softening up a room.
4) Stoneskin - eight hours of solid protection.
5) Breach - rip down them mages' buffs, so the fighters can get their work done!
6) Protection from Magic Weapons - makes you untouchable for most enemies, especially in ToB if you pick the good path in the Test of Fear (get immunity to +1 weapons and less).
7) Project Image - empty your spell book, kill the image, project new image, rinse & repeat. Even allows you to summon several Planetars (see under HLA).
8) Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting - party friendly, does great damage to all enemies. Don't go to ToB without it!
9) Chain Contingency - insta-triple Abi-Dalzim on nearest enemy, anyone?
HLA) Summon (Fallen) Planetar - not only can a Planetar help you beat up the enemy, afterwards it can heal/resurrect/restore your party members.
Divine:
1) Resist Fear - many enemies use fear as a weapon, this simple 1st level spell pulls their teeth!
2) Draw Upon Holy Might - a great boost just before the battle.
3) Animate Dead - Nothing like a few allies who are immune to debilitating/draining powers.
4) Protection from Evil 10' Radius - Protects the entire party from evil enemies, which is 98% of all enemies.
5) Chaotic Commands - invaluable especially against Mind Flayers, but also against enemies casting Confusion, Chaos, etc.
6) Heal - long casting time but restores one of your party members to full health.
7) Sunray - one to kill ordinary undead, two to get rid of a Lich, three will kill even Bodhi.
HLA: Greater Elemental Summoning - a very strong ally, and can be summoned alongside a Deva or Planetar.
1) Identify
2) Mirror Images
3) Slow/Haste
4) Stoneskin
5) Spell Immunity
6) PFMW
7) Ruby Ray of Reversal
8) Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
9) Time Stop
Cleris, Druids:
I don´t care.
Level 1: Magic Missile
Duh! The King of Offense
Level 2: Acid Arrow
I tend to be a boomstick with mages, so offensive magic is vital, plus it's useful for Desert Trolls and trolls in general.
Level 3: Flame Arrow/Fireball (Tie)
Both of these are excellent offensive spells. They de-nerfed Flame Arrow so it was true to it's output.
Level 4: Stoneskin
Duh! Best spell for defense.
Level 5: Breach
The most useful debuff spell I can think of.
Level 6: Death Fog
Highly abusive, and the damage is nice
Level 7: Finger of Death
Alot of enemies can Save, but they still take damage equal to a bastard sword, so it's not a total loss.
Level 8: Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting/Simulacrum (Tie)
Horrid Wilting is a very powerful spell when it's used wisely. Really good room clearer.
Simulacrum can essentially (not completely) double spell output.
Level 9: Time Stop
Useful to initiate a wall of death, especially when combined with Improve Alacrity.
Level 10: Improved Alacrity
Zero time between casting? Hell yeah. Combine it with the Robe of Vecna and Time Stop, you're facing a murderously fast mage.
~Divine~
Level 1: Armor of Faith
Grows better, and provides good absorption even early on. A must have for Druids like Shapeshifters.
Level 2: Hold Person
While it gets difficult to use later, it's really rough since you can just pump slots full of it when in lacking better spells.
Level 3: Holy Smite(Unholy Blight)/Remove Paralysis (Tie)
Holy Smite or Unholy Blight hit hard and I've personally seen them do a ton of damage. Remove Paralysis is a dead useful considering the number of foes who Hold you.
Level 4: Protection from Evil 10'
Waaay better than the base spell
Level 5: Insect Plague/Flamestrike
Both of these are excellent. Both of these are specialized. Insect Plague is one of the worst spells to be hit with as a spellcaster, Flamestrike is pure unadulterated murder.
Level 6: Bolt of Glory/Heal
Bolt of Glory is a good general use offensive spell. Dumping spellslots on Heal is useful because it doesn't take long to cast, and fully heals. Useful when merged with Raise Dead to rapidly repair someone.
Level 7: Sunray/Creeping Doom
THE Undead eh...killer. Murder and mayhem from the arguably best spell for the job. As for Creeping Doom, it is one of the best spells for dishing out damage and preventing opposing spellcasters. If executed right it can cause massive amounts of damage.
Level 8: Storm of Vengeance
Doesn't do that much damage, but it's multiple damage types, and effects make it frustrating to casters. It also can be used indoors unlike Call Lightning.
2. Melf's Acid Arrow: Good against trolls and mages
3. Melf's Minute Meteors: Lots of good spells here, but this one is probably the most useful overall. Bypasses magic resistance, hits as +5, 5 apr, can be used in a same round a spell is cast.
4. Stoneskin: I have it on every arcane caster permanently, although it does make them an ugly gray color for the entire play through.
5. Breach: Always memorize several of these
6. Improved Haste
7. Spell Sequencer: 3 Skull Traps. Also like to use 3 Holy Smites with Aerie since it can be cast on top of your party (if you're good).
8. Horrid Wilting
9. Time Stop. Chain Contingency is close since it lets you instantly drop 3 Horrid Wiltings on your enemies.
10. Improved Alacrity
1. Armor of Faith
2. Draw upon Holy Might
3. Holy Smite
4. Protection from Evil 10': I have it on permanently
5. Mass Cure
6. Heal
7. Greater Restoration: Mass Cure on steroids. The cleric getting fatigued is a small tradeoff for the entire party getting back to full health.
Q. Energy Blades? Not sure really.
1. Magic Missile
2. Detect Invisibility
3. Haste
4. Stoneskin
5. Animate Dead
6. Death Spell
7. Mordenkainen's Sword
8. Spell Trigger
9. Time Stop
10. Improved Alacrity
Divine Magic:
1. Remove Fear
2. Chant
3. Dispel Magic
4. Protection from Evil Radius 10"
5. Mass Cure
6. Bolt of Glory
7. Sunray
Q. Summon Deva