Surviving SCS spellcasters...

bill_zagoudis

So how do you do it?

so far I've found inquisitors dispel to seal the deal and if no inquisitor is available I use what one could call 'gas room tactics'(aka casting spells like cloudkill-often in multiples- and waiting for them to die) and a few other situational cheese tricks with invisibility,backstab,traps,leaving and entering room and the like.

is there any serious alternative before you have your own level 20+ mage?

WebShaman

Invis/Sneak (Impr. Haste)+backstab with Poisoned Weapon.

Skaffen

3 mages in my good party: sorcerer, Imoen and Aerie tsking down defenses in parallel Plus loads of cannon fodder meatshields.

ChildofBhaal599

breach and pierce magic are the early game removals. warriors not hitting? cast breach. spells not hitting? cast pierce magic. you just need to learn the removals and you will be fine

ermaneth2193

an inquisitor pretty much trivializes the early game and remains useful throughout the whole game

later on you will also have your mages ready with ruby ray/khelben's whip and multiple breaches

Dexter

I think the key is to have at least two arcane spellcasters, i.e fighter/mage and pure mage. The mage (with vecna) would load upon secret word (lvl 4) and breaches, and the F/M should have at least one of each. Save/buy/steal every secret word & breach scroll you find in case you run out of them in the middle of a fight (and you will). 2x secret word followed by breach should dispell all protections and PfMW. Cleric/druid should cast true sight when fighting the mage.

But the mage is not alone, how do I kill the mage *and* his friends? You can use summons to distract the mage, but I prefer Insect Plague, which is a really good way to keep the mage out of the combat for a lenght of time, so you can kill melee fighters and then take the mage out

vish

Mages are a cake once you figure them out. There aren't many who are too difficult in SoA. The toughest one I can think of is probably Gaxx or Shangalar.

If they are in a group you should always focus them down first. Wait for the protections to go up then hit them with Breach>Pierce Magic and go to town. Most mages in the game aren't stacked with contingencies, so once you get their Stoneskin and other protections down they are CHUNKABLE.

Higher level mages: Liches, ToB mages, and boss-type Mages are a lot tougher. They have Time Stop, ADHW, Symbols, and lots of protections spells. You won't be able to mob any of them. You need to start by dispelling and eating some of their spells. Spell Immunity- Abjuration/Conjuration is a good spell to have on hand as it protects from spells like Maze and Imprisonment. Just cast dispels, keep True Sight up, and keep your party healed. Most mages won't do enough damage to kill your party.

Do not bother dispelling things like Globe of Invulnerability or Spell Turning. Just go for the important ones: Stoneskin, Protection from Magical Weapons, Spell Shield, Spell Trap.

Dexter

vish said:

Most mages in the game aren't stacked with contingencies, so once you get their Stoneskin and other protections down they are CHUNKABLE.

We are talking about modded SCS mages. Under this mod even the most pitiful, low level mage is loaded with every sequencer/contingency they have access to. For real.

ifupauline

A cleric/mage can immune himself to everything on top of being able to tank and staff of magi dispel on each successful hit so...