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How often do you use spell scrolls and wands?

A_MullerA_Muller Member Posts: 12
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
As the title states, I'm asking how often you guys end up actually using your staffs and spell scrolls.
I barely use them, often only in encounters with really high level enemies that are resistant to most regular attacks (wand of heaven, death scrolls, etc.), my mage(s) usually reach a high enough level and I find more than enough magic items to give them a few extra spells to really need to use my wands and scrolls in 95% of the encounters i find myself in.

I usually end the games (counting all IE games, not just BG2) with 6 or more staffs and maybe 30-40 scrolls in my scroll case (I mainly use scrolls to learn mages new spells... many of which i don't memorize anyway).
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Comments

  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    When playing solo one uses them all the time. With a full party? Barely ever.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    I use wands quite a bit. Scrolls on the otherhand I won't use much outside of using them to learn spells.
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    elminster said:

    I use wands quite a bit. Scrolls on the otherhand I won't use much outside of using them to learn spells.

    Scrolls are handy for a solo sorcerer to cast spells he doesn't know. they're also handy when you run out of spells.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    I never do the sell/buy or steal wands for full charge trick. Feels cheesy. So any wands I have will be quickly gone.

    I use low lvl spells I collect. An extra magic missile from a scroll when used right in combat is much more useful than the paltry 30-50 gp I will get by selling it. Invisibility and knock scrolls are always useful to have. I sell the expensive scrolls like fireball, lightning bolt, minor globe of inv. Etc. They sell for good coin about 275-400 per scroll. Or, if I don't need gold badly, after gulping potion of genius and mind focusing, I delete those extra spells from my book and rewrite them from scrolls for easy xp. I think it makes sense for a mage to restudy the spells he has known and discover new approaches and things.

    Ofcourse, with a thief whu gets UAI every scroll becomes a valuable asset:it lets the thief do things he was not able to do before!
  • ShikaoShikao Member Posts: 376
    Scrolls (with exception of protection ones) only to get spells into books of my mages, rest goes to sale. Since I have 4 arcane casters this run, not too many were sold so far.

    Wands, potions and scrolls of protections are a bit different story. For long I disregarded wands as useless, because I had casters to do the spells, so they were all simply sold. Potions and scrolls of protections on the other hand were hoarded indefinitely for that tough fight... However, recently I am getting into good habit of using them whenever there is reasonable need.
    Though I must say they can trivialize some encounters in particular in BG1:
    - Wand of Paralyzation is bit OP, last run I had to wait for paralyzation to wear off so Sarevok could kindly fall to ground, which is trigger for end of battle
    - Scroll of Protection From Magic: casted on 2 melees for Demon Knight fight and rest of team attacked from range, no problems at all. Similar tactics for final battle of game, 2 protected melees to draw attention while rest waited by doors. In another run Dorn soloed the Demon Knight...
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    Originally very rarely, but more with every playthrough. wands of fireball, paralysis, and monster summoning are my bffs.
  • xzar_montyxzar_monty Member Posts: 631
    Never.

    The only two possible exceptions are the wand of cloudkill and the protection from magic scroll.
  • NimranNimran Member Posts: 4,875
    More often than I used to, especially since I only play solo runs now.
  • supposedlysupposedly Member Posts: 206
    I try to avoid the wand of cloudkill, I can't resist using cheesy tactics with it that trivialize encounters. Maybe they fixed that in EE though. (Hint, enemies don't open doors)

    Wand of monster summoning is fun. Shapeshift scroll is fun too-- can't an iron golem backstab??

    I have been avoiding protection from magic and protection from undead, they are rather overpowered. But it's fun to pwn kangaxx like that at least once.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    I find protection from undead scroll far too powerful, too. It trivalises scary vampires and even dreaded liches, making them a joke. I have item randomiser mod's component that removes 9 out of 10 such scrolls from the stores. Thus, protection from undead scroll becomes a very powerful, valuable holy scroll. Like the protection from magic scroll which is the arcane equivelant, I guess. They are rare and should be used only for the most dire encounters.
  • ifupaulineifupauline Member Posts: 405
    To make those items relevant you need to have no caster in your party.
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    The thing about playing a game you know this well is that you know the day you'll need all that stuff. You know, say, that there's no better time for that wand of fireball than the chess room. No better time for potions of magic shielding than against Aec'Latec. Whatever areas you have trouble dealing with normally, you know what those are. So instead of hoarding for some unknown future need that never comes, you hoard for specific encounters, and since specific encounters actually occur, you can actually use all that stuff you hoarded.
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    Prepare to be wanded!
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    I only keep/use scrolls that are useful (unless I need them immediately), and I only use them if I already know the spell. Otherwise I sell them/drop them if I don't have space (because I play no reload solo runs only).
    And Wands… In BG1 I use wands (except Wand of Paralyzation and Wand of Heavens) until they are finished off, because there are a *lot* of Wands. But in BG2 I tend to keep the (good) ones from Irenicus' Dungeon and recharge them :)
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    I don't know how my dragon disciple would have defeated SCS Davaeorn without the wand of fire to kill the hordes of guards that come down the stairs, still ended up using the entire wand and only having one magic missile left at the end of the fight. Web and fireball make that fight so much easier : D
  • bob_vengbob_veng Member Posts: 2,308
    wands: all the time
    scrolls: never ('cept for protection ones); i sell them
  • supposedlysupposedly Member Posts: 206
    wubble said:

    I don't know how my dragon disciple would have defeated SCS Davaeorn without the wand of fire to kill the hordes of guards that come down the stairs, still ended up using the entire wand and only having one magic missile left at the end of the fight. Web and fireball make that fight so much easier : D

    Davaeorn kept running off screen, but I finally caught him after I scrolled up
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,760
    Those puns are supposedly brilliant, sir!
  • A_MullerA_Muller Member Posts: 12
    DJKajuru said:


    and another spellcaster with a wand of lightning (6d6 damage)

    When do you actually find use for this one?
    It feels like all difficult encounters (the only time I'd even consider using wands) take place in medium to small rooms, I usually feel that lightning does way more harm to my own party than good.

  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    I often play a Bard, so Wands are always welcome. Scrolls I use as needed, but do sell some of them.
  • supposedlysupposedly Member Posts: 206
    Gotural said:

    As a side note, spells casted from scrolls cannot be interrupted which is AMAZING in a no-reload playthrough, I often carry a scroll of Invisibility for this reason alone ;)

    I thought I remember doing the full cast time. I could be mistaken though.
    Are you wearing robes of vecna and amulet of power maybe?
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