Choice of important spells in ToB?
Chapel
Member Posts: 21
I'm around quarter through ToB, and I'm having problem figuring out which spells are good and which are not. So far I've learned that straight DPS spells are not worth much (with exception of MM and Melf's, they are good for interrupting - but even they are often worthless when facing enemies that immediately cast number of shield spells on themselves). Crowd Control also has lost much of its value, since it often doesn't work on tough guys, and weak guys, like Yaga-Shura's soldiers or Thay mercenaries, can be pretty much ignored. Maybe I am wrong about damage-dealing spells, but it seems that my fighters deal much more damage than they do, and my mages should be busy dispelling anyway (more on that topic in the 3rd paragraph).
Since I'm not very keen on learning deep nuisances of AD&D, I cannot say how useful buffs are. I suppose that, other than obviously useful Haste and Group Invisibility, most of them are helpful, but my problem is, there are so many of them by now (Anomen's level, what? 24? And my main's a paladin with level 4 spells), by the time I finish casting them all, some of them are already done. Which cleric and mage buffs, both group and single-person, do you find essential?
Summoning creatures seem to be a most viable tactic still, at least. I now have ability to summon some, if not all, of the most powerful ones - cacofiend, solar, planetar. So far I haven't been abusing them, but perhaps I should?
Right now, the most important spells seem to be ones that dispel protections. Here is where I'm quite lost. I'm using practically all of them, from Breach to Khelben's Warding Whip, and often they, too, do not work. Is the only way to deal with enemies that cast complete invulnerability (forgot that spell's exact name) to wait them out? And, when facing foes that do not use it, which dispelling spells are the most effective/important?
Since I'm not very keen on learning deep nuisances of AD&D, I cannot say how useful buffs are. I suppose that, other than obviously useful Haste and Group Invisibility, most of them are helpful, but my problem is, there are so many of them by now (Anomen's level, what? 24? And my main's a paladin with level 4 spells), by the time I finish casting them all, some of them are already done. Which cleric and mage buffs, both group and single-person, do you find essential?
Summoning creatures seem to be a most viable tactic still, at least. I now have ability to summon some, if not all, of the most powerful ones - cacofiend, solar, planetar. So far I haven't been abusing them, but perhaps I should?
Right now, the most important spells seem to be ones that dispel protections. Here is where I'm quite lost. I'm using practically all of them, from Breach to Khelben's Warding Whip, and often they, too, do not work. Is the only way to deal with enemies that cast complete invulnerability (forgot that spell's exact name) to wait them out? And, when facing foes that do not use it, which dispelling spells are the most effective/important?
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1) Simulacrum.
2) Summon Planetar.
3) Use the Planetar's skill "restoration" on your first simulacrum clone.
4) Have your first simulacrum clone cast summon planetar. Then make him cast simulacrum.
5) Use your second clone's planetar skill "restoration" on your third clone.
6) Follow through this pattern until you have 5x clones with 5x planetars.
7) Unless your opponent uses "earthquake" or an evil summon (like gate), there is no fight you cannot win in mere seconds (these mechanics turn your summoned planetars hostile)
This is the planetar army exploitation.
For anticaster techniques, there are some blue colored high level spells. Read their description, there are not many. They make you IMMUNE to magic and magic related damage. Put them in a sequencer or something, with condition "see enemy". Then prepare in another sequencer or contigency spell, containing some spells like breach, dispel or even better the new combat type dispel "remove magic", another high level spell with identical icon such as the 5 level breach, use pierce magic, and try to find "dispelling spells" that say "no rolls to prevent its effect" (this means your enemy has no chance to resist their effect). And keep a quick cast of "HAQUESAR" at the ready, when you are up against a mage. Or divine caster.
Have a high wisdom on your caster, and utilize the two rest spells. Both are priceless.
Another good summoning technique is to use divine and arcane spell "gate", to summon fiends, right after casting the "protection from evil 10 radius". With as many people who know it as possible.
That is the most useful and popular remedies' quicklist to ToB's difficulty battles, and tough-customers spellcasters. Also, if you wish to use better crowd control, before attempting casting such spells, cast on your enemies "Greater Malison", or druid's doom spell. They cripple their chance to resist effects like those.
Personally I don't tend to get much use from alacrity because I typically don't have enough high level spells to really make it shine. Plus I try not to rest too often, so blowing all my spells in the first 5 seconds of a fight isn't very helpful.
Spells I tend to use most of are:
Protection removal spells - e.g. khelben's warding whip, breach etc. Spellstrike is particularly good, although it's level 9.
High level summons - Planetars and devas are particularly good. Mordenkainen's sword is also surprisingly good because it's almost unkillable and thus a great distraction. Your paladin should be able to summon a deva as an ability (assuming you picked that HLA), which is very helpful.
Chaotic commands - great vs mindflayers in particular, but also in other places.
Haste and Improved haste.
Slow - it's area effect, only effects enemies and has -4 to the saving throw.
Dispel magic/remove magic are great is you have a high enough level caster - typically requires a single class mage/cleric or inquisitor. But it will remove pretty much any enemy protections (and your own as well if you aren't careful tagetting dispel magic), unless they have spell immunity : abjuration (which they will only cast if you have installed the SCS mod).
Timestop - only if you have a fighter/mage. Otherwise it's much less impressive.
Greater restoration/heal - Nothing quite as useful as healing over 100 health back to one of your front line fighters.
I'll keep it in mind to use Remove Magic more often. So far I've been greatly overlooking it. Dispel Magic isn't too useful for me, since I like to buff up my chars a lot. Although, as I said above, I'm really not sure how useful most of buffing spells (divine stuff, Bless, Protection From Evil, Defensive Harmony, Chant etc.) are.
Arcane Category.
Blind: Can cast on neutral creatures, does not turn hostile
Larloch's minor drain: can use on doors and containers
Strength: stacks with itself and other effects that raise strength (buffs)
Melf's minute meteors: fire those while having an off-hand weapon equipped, they add its damage
Fire protection: if by using it you exceed 100% fire protection, you heal from fire attacks
Remove magic: will undo enemy mirror image and project image spells, among other things
Vampire touch: can use on doors and containers, sometimes it gives much more hp than it should
Contagion: cast it on someone after ray on enfeeblement, it can kill instantly
Minor sequencer: wild mage can stack 2 chaos shields
Wizard eye: select it with group button, order attack on enemy (becomes visible and can lure hostile summons towards enemies)
Cloudkill: fire from fog of war distance and become invisible right after, or confine enemies in small room
Feeblemind: can cast on neutral creatures, does not turn hostile
Spell shield: works agains beholder anti-magic rays, without it being cancelled out
Sunfire: ignores magic resistance
Contigency: can cast while game is paused, does not count towards spell/round limit
Flesh to stone on someone, then stone to flesh, repeat many times for lots of xp
Mislead: bard decoys can sing, you remain invisible, second gen decoys can attack
Protection from magic energy: helps against wounds from slayer form
Protection from magical weapons: protects against mind flayer dreadful ability
Summon nishruu: drop your items, keep only a wand, have the nishruu attack you until it gets funny charge number; sell for LOOOTS of money!
Project image: sometimes looses inability to attack, shapechanged/polymorphed ones can attack, second generation images act like simulacrums and can attack
Spell sequencer: wild mage can stack 3 chaos shields
Protection from energy: helps against wounds from slayer form
Simulacrum: if they come from a fighter-mage of fighter/mage, use lesser restore on them to regain levels
Chain contigency: can cast while game is paused, does not count towards spell/round limit; a wild mage can stack 3 greater chaos shields
Imrisonment on someone, then freedom, repeat many times for lots of xp
Shapechange: into mind flayer, no npc or in game item/mechanism has resistance to this creature's ability; you can kill untouchable enemies like the one in thief's guild, or Drizzt's friend to come steal your equipment
Wish: 1) If you choose protect your party from magic damage many times, most enemies die before you even encounter them 2) Hardiness effect stacks, making your party completely invulnerable 3) The timestop resulting from wish affects even enemies immune to it, like Demogorgon, and lasts longer; combine with improved alacrity and equipped amulet of power and robes of vecna, to unleash a hell of spells onto hapless enemies.
Globe of blades: use on planetars, with their integrated, passive haste, they wreak havoc in nanoseconds.
Divine Category:
Use Blade Barrier, then sanctuary, then go in the middle of some enemy ranks
Use Globe of Blades, then sanctuary, then go in the middle of some enemy ranks
Use magic resistance on highly resistant or immune enemies to magic, it drops it to the spell's ammount
Spells that do NOT undo your INVISIBILITY!!!
Blade Barrier
False Dawn
Holy/Unholy Word
Greater Command, only on invisible caster
Limited Wish, Wish
Nature's Beauty
Oracle
Project Image (prepare your assaulting army beforehand at your ease!)
Repulse Undead
True Sight
Do your ideal combinations and go ruin every enemy! Especially with projected images and simulacra, you can dominate the battlefield and fill it up with good ol' cheese! Drown everything in cheese, now!