Sorcerer guide for starting bg2

Ozma

Hi all first time playing through Baldur's Gate 1 and loving it so much, a friend of mine recommended the game to me years ago and I dismissed it due to its dated graphics, how foolish was I?

Anyway I'm planning to take my sorcerer through to Baldur's Gate 2 and was just wondering if there's any tips to help get me going? I have heard the battles are more magic intensive in the second one.
Sorry if this has already been asked before.

Cheers :-)

Edwin_Odesseiron

You would likely be better off playing a Mage your first time through because there are so many different spells. Playing a Mage would enable you to test them out for yourself and see what you need to learn as you level up as a Sorcerer.

You can look up various Sorcerer guides, of course, such as these:

http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/ds_skane/BG2_Webpages/PSSL/Main_Page.html - Party Sorcerer

http://www.angelfire.com/poetry/ds_skane/BG2_Webpages/SSSL/Main_Page.html - Solo Sorcerer


However, I feel that would be more akin to just "checking the boxes" as you go. What is best is not always what is most fun, and you'd be missing out on one of the best parts of BG - discovering things for yourself and what works for your playstyle.

Antagonist

Nice lists Edwin

@Ozma since you have already started, you can always use another mage from the game, to help learn and experiment. I can't quite remember, does a sorcerer have the ability to replace known spells upon leveling up(I only played a sorcerer once, a long time ago)? If so, you can learn the usefulness of spells from your fellow wizard and then customize your known ones on the run.

I don't feel like pointing a finger at specific spells for you, because it largely depends on your playstyle. You can decide to be a supporting mage who mostly tries to buff the party and disable the enemy, you can become strictly offensive, dealing massive damage but having less buffs/debuffs.

Edwin is right, this is one of the games where tactical advice hardly ever fits everybodys needs, the number of possibilities is too damn high

Heindrich

I really like the following guide for Magic in BG 2.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs/11334

It was written for BG 2 Vanilla, so there maybe some changes in the Enhanced Edition, but on the whole, it is still a great resource for any beginner.

I've used mage companions like Dynaheir, Neera and Imoen, and also a Sorcerer in a MP game. Sorcerers are somewhat more powerful because they have more spells and are tactically more flexible since they can cast whatever spell they want within each level.

On the other hand, Mages are strategically more flexible, because they can (assuming sufficient Int), learn any spell in the game if they obtain the necessary scroll, and possess a much larger arsenal of spells. @Antagonist Sorcerers cannot pick new spells to replace old ones when they level up.

Regardless you cannot go wrong with a sorcerer in BG 2. I would have loved the early high level penetration spells like Pierce Magic, Ruby Ray of Reversal etc to help defeat the mage protections I ran into so regularly in my SoA playthrough.

Antagonist

So it seems @Ozma, you'll have to be careful which spells you choose, but ironically in this situation you can actually profit from sorcerers drawback in his spell learning speed. Your sorcerer will acquire access to new spells later than a mage in the party, so you will have time to test some of them before you are forced to make the decision

CrevsDaak

I'll call oit @meagloth since he is a guru with sorcerers.
I can give just 5 tips.
Do not
Select low
Level protection
Spells, remember
ToB.

meagloth

Hey! Someone know I'm a sorcerer! My life is complete.
As for the actual help I was called to give, I would recommend not playing a sorcerer , because if your not familiar with the spells your stuck with whet you pick forever. I played a sorcerer on my first run, and it wasn't pretty. I would remind you that sorcerers have no prime stat, som make them nice and strong, and intelligence is really not needed(wisdom would be good for wish spell).
I will say if you know what your doing, than the sorcerer is by far the most powerful class in the game after level 4. If you don't really know what your doing, than they might be the least. If you understand game mechanics and read the spell description carefully, than you should be able to make it ok. I would say pick time stop, skull trap not fireball, and stoneskin.

Antagonist

In other words, do not select any protection spells until lvl 6, which you will NOT have the opportunity to choose before you end BG 1. Long time investments can be a pain in the ass.

CrevsDaak

@Antagonist
Spell Shield.
Spell Immunity.
Stoneskin.
Improved Invisibility.
Minor Globe of Invulnerability.
My consideration of low level is 1-3.
BTW I always pick Mirror Image and maybe Blur.
4-6 mid levels.
7-9 high levels.

I tend to focus on F/M and M/T.

Antagonist

Meh, I always tend to ignore spell protections until I get ProtFromMagic Weapons and Energy, and yeah I forgot stoneskin.
I did not consider illusion spells as form of protection, in this case yes, Mirror Image is a must, but I always preferred Mislead rather than Improved Invisibility. Again, a matter of individual taste.

Though in my present playthrough (Wild Mage) the only spell from the above list, that I use, is stoneskin. I'm a weirdo..

CrevsDaak

@Antagonist not so much like me, all those spells are for F/M or even M/T, AND for BG1..... so.....

Antagonist

Ah, I'm re-discovering BG you know, when I was a kid I would never think of actually NOT wasting my time and spell memory to cast a gazillion prot spells and just start dealing with enemies before they can get to the wizard.

CrevsDaak

Antagonist said:

Ah, I'm re-discovering BG you know, when I was a kid I would never think of actually NOT wasting my time and spell memory to cast a gazillion prot spells and just start dealing with enemies before they can get to the wizard.

The same happened to me, but I realized it was a lot better to kill them to rounds later, without getting damaged.

Antagonist

Are we talking about a solo run?

CrevsDaak

I don't know :P.

Antagonist

Oh.

Well, you said you realized it was a lot better to kill them two rounds later, without getting damaged, but frankly I don't know what you're talking about, because in a majority of battles the enemy won't even get near my wizards, without being slaughtered five times in a row.

I mean, what's the point in protecting them, if 9 out of 10 enemies are paralyzed/confused/hopelessly lying on the ground and that 10th guy just ran away shitting his pants

EDIT: After this playthrough, I think I might actually try a game with no melee guys. Protagonist sorcerer, 2 wizards and a cleric. That just might be an interesting experience.

meagloth

Hey, I just bothered to look at the lists @edwin_odessseiron posted, and I have to say I don't really agree with them. I'll put a list here, of what spells I think would be best and the order best picked, but after bg1 levels it will get a bit iffy, as I'm not as familiar with the high level spells, having only one full bg2 playthrough under my belt, but I've been playing bg1 my whole life:

Level 1:
Magic missile (sleep if bg1)
Blindness
Armor
Chromatic orb
Identify

Level 2:
Mirror image
Glitter dust
Horror
Acid arrow
Knock, only if solo. Blur if not.

Level 3:
Skull trap (not fireball)
Dispel magic
Ghost armor
Slow
Fire arrow, or lightning bolt maybe. Not much else left for lvl 3.

Level 4:
Stoneskin
Spiderspawn
Fireshield, red or blue.
Emotion: hopelessness
Greater malison

Level 5:
Sunfire if slolo, breech if not.
Lower resistance
Breech, sunfire if not solo
Cone of cold
Chaos, maybe spell turning. list starts to get a bit plastic from here.

Level 6:
Death spell
chain lightning
Improved haste
Invisible stalker
Disintegrate or flesh to stone, have some powermagey fun. ;P

Level 7:
Mordi's sword
Finger of death
Delayed blast fireball
Power word, stun
Mass invisibility, or ruby ray of reversal

Level 8:
Horrid wilting
Pierce shield
Power word, blind
Simulacrum
Symbol, stun

Level 9:
Time stop
Shapechange
Wish
Spell trap
Imprisonment

Level 10:
Improved alacrity
Summon planetar
Dragons breath
Level 10 "spells" are not spells, but high level abilities, and I'm not sure how many you get, but these are the useful ones.

kamuizin

Identify for a sorcerer? Don't agree with that but for each one their own, i think.

meagloth

@kamzuinin, it's not like there a whole lot of good level one spells, and with a sorcerer it not like it takes up spell slots. You'll only use in an in when your about to rest again, and in bg1 with evermemory you don't really ever run out of level one spells.

Ozma

Hi everyone,
thanks for all your tips and quick replies, much appreciated.

Here are my spell picks so far ( I'm level 6 at the moment)

Level 1: Magic Missile, Protection from evil, shield, sleep
Level 2: Blur, Mirror image
Level 3: Skull trap

Would these be considered good choices so far? I'm going to try and achieve a balance of offence, defence and buff/de-buff, the idea that I can handle myself with/without my party.

Thanks and happy new year to everyone :-)

Antagonist

Not bad at all, I'd suggest keeping a full party and avoid situations when you have to handle yourself without your party

Edwin got you nice enough lists. While meagloth edited them in his own style I'd also make some minor changes here and there... Don't get too focused on what we say here though, as you can see each of us has a different magical taste, you'll probably also find your own not exactly matching our suggestions. Only your own research will guide you on your proper path, good luck!

PawnSlayer

meagloth said:

Hey, I just bothered to look at the lists @edwin_odessseiron posted, and I have to say I don't really agree with them. I'll put a list here, of what spells I think would be best and the order best picked, but after bg1 levels it will get a bit iffy, as I'm not as familiar with the high level spells, having only one full bg2 playthrough under my belt, but I've been playing bg1 my whole life:

Level 1:
Magic missile (sleep if bg1)
Blindness
Armor
Chromatic orb
Identify

Level 2:
Mirror image
Glitter dust
Horror
Acid arrow
Knock, only if solo. Blur if not.

Level 3:
Skull trap (not fireball)
Dispel magic
Ghost armor
Slow
Fire arrow, or lightning bolt maybe. Not much else left for lvl 3.

Level 4:
Stoneskin
Spiderspawn
Fireshield, red or blue.
Emotion: hopelessness
Greater malison

Level 5:
Sunfire if slolo, breech if not.
Lower resistance
Breech, sunfire if not solo
Cone of cold
Chaos, maybe spell turning. list starts to get a bit plastic from here.

Level 6:
Death spell
chain lightning
Improved haste
Invisible stalker
Disintegrate or flesh to stone, have some powermagey fun. ;P

Level 7:
Mordi's sword
Finger of death
Delayed blast fireball
Power word, stun
Mass invisibility, or ruby ray of reversal

Level 8:
Horrid wilting
Pierce shield
Power word, blind
Simulacrum
Symbol, stun

Level 9:
Time stop
Shapechange
Wish
Spell trap
Imprisonment

Level 10:
Improved alacrity
Summon planetar
Dragons breath
Level 10 "spells" are not spells, but high level abilities, and I'm not sure how many you get, but these are the useful ones.

I play Sorcerors almost exclusively, and that's a good list but not a perfect one from my experience.

At level 1 you're suggesting that Magic Missile is optional - it's not as good in BG1, but still powerful at level 5, and essential for any run that goes into BG2.

At level 3, Melf's Minute Meteors is missing. Absolutely amazing spell, does terrific damage, hits almost anything in the game at lightning speed and for decent damage, and you get more and more as the level goes up. For the same reason, Energy Blades as a level 10 spell is well worth it.

At level 4, Secret Word is well worth a shout for easy removal of certain annoying spell protections (Spell Turning and Globe of Invulnerability come to mind). Spider Spawn is worthless for any BG2 run since there's infinitely better summons and you can only have 5 at once. I'd take it for a solo run since you won't have access to anything better early in the game (no Cleric with the improved Animate Dead that always gives Skeleton Warriors for example) but not for anything with a party.

There are no Sequencers or Chain Contingencies in your list. Granted, the lower level ones are worthless, but the high level versions are terrific at making short work of highly dangerous opponents. "Pierce Magic, Breach, Lower Resistance" followed by "3 x Abi Dhalzim's Horrid Wilting" is a combo I've used to take down Demo Gorgon in a matter of seconds.

meagloth

@pawnslayer, I wasn't suggesting that magic missile should not be there in bg1, I guess that's a failure on my part, I would replace it with some other spell(probably armor) as your third spell pick, because getting right off the one missile in fires is pretty useless. And no, spiderspawn is awesome.
I'm not a huge fan of sequencers, I find steering them up annoying, and by the time you get to the useful ones than you have the robe of Venca and thing that enable you to cast protection spells just as fast. I would say for your second Mage, who wouldn't have the robe of Venca, that they are very useful, and as there are no sorcerer NPC's, than they won't take up a spell pick for anyone.

PawnSlayer

Spiderspawn is good at the time you get it, but not late game. Mordenkainen's Swords (which are immune to just about everything other than the Death Spell), a Planetar and high level Elemental Summons are infinitely better. Even when you get the spell, a cleric with Animate Dead is going to be producing something hardier and potentially more damaging than the spiders. Works well for solo runs when you have none of those things, but it's a wasted slot otherwise really.

Moonblood

Spiderspawn is very useful in BG1 and a very poor spell in BG2 where a mediocre enemy can cast a death spell and kill all your spiders... The problem comes when you import your character to BG2. You must choose between play BG1 without Spiderspawn or waste a slot in BG2. If I'm going to start a new game with a new sorcerer in BG2 I would not take this spell.

Moonblood

@PawnSlayer I would like to know which spell list you recommend to play BG2

CrevsDaak

~~~For BG2 solo Sorcerer run by Crev'Sindir Daak'Huinar~~~
Level 1:
Magic Missile
Spook
Shield (or Protection From Evil if you plan to use Gate)
Chromatic Orb
Sleep (Shocking Gasp if you want to deal awesome damage with melee)

Level 2:
Mirror Image
Glitterdust
Melf's Acid Arrow
Knock
Web (Resist Fear if you dislike reloading a lot in low levels of SoA)

Level 3:
Skull Trap
Melf's Minute Meteors
Slow
Remove Magic (last choice, works epic in ToB)
Hold (Hold Undead if you want to make Bodhi pay)

Level 4:
Stoneskin
Fireshield, Blue (there are much more creature immune to fire and Cold Protection is difficult to get)
Minkr Globe of Invunerability
Ice Storm (or Minor Sequencer)
Greater Malison

Level 5:
Breach
Lower Resistance
Spell Shield
Spell Immunity
Chaos (or Cloudkill or Sunfire, depends on your playing style)

Level 6:
True Sight
Protection From Magical Weapons
Improved Haste
Protection From Magic Energy
Death Spell

Level 7:
Project Image
Finger of Death
Limited Wish (Protection From the Elements of BG2:EE, they've ruined the spell)
Power Word, Stun
Ruby Ray of Reversal

Level 8:
Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
Bigby's Clenched Fist
Power Word, Blind
Spell Trigger (or Protection From Energy if you haven't chose Protection From the Elements before)
Symbol, Fear

Level 9:
Time Stop
Wail of the Banshee (Gate if you are a little bit more maniacal)
Wish
Spell Trap
Chain Contingency (Black Blade of Disaster if your playing style is different)

You can take all the lvl10 spells.

meagloth

@crevsdaak, you need shapechange. You can't take a army of dragons in an afternoon with mindflayer form and time stop. And pierce shield instead of clenched fists. Pierce shield is pretty necessary. Also I would get death spell first, when it still kills most of the fodder your fighting.
Also, I would say spiderspawn stays useful because it's a cheep summon and a few hasted sword spiders can dole out the damage. It's good cheep firepower for a solo, or if a cleric runs out. Also, it's a lot faster than clerics animate dead, especially after the robes of Venca.

CrevsDaak

@meagloth Clenched Fist is a no-save hold, why won't I choose it?
I can Shapechange with Limited Wish, but I think the non-working variables has been fixed in the EE as well as some Chan Contingency exploits, will change for the EE.
Still, solo sorcerer runs are better in vanilla, EXPLOITS FTW!!!

meagloth

@crevsdaak, well I guess you could take it, but you'd need to take out something else for pierce shield. It lowers magic resistance a lot, and removes most spell protections. Pretty much a no-brainier, in my opinion.

CrevsDaak

@meagloth a Spell Trigger with Lower Resistance, Ruby Ray of Reversal and Breach