No love for Find Familiar? I bet every mage here... Admit to it or not guys and gals.... I KNOW that you cast that spell as soon as you get it!
Familiars are useless and full of suck, from my experience. But I'm sure I just haven't used them well.
Like some other peepz, I really dig Skull Trap, Fireball. Stuff that blows shit up. I always tell people if they pick up Xan "Use Skull Trap, it's the most badass spell he can learn" lol.
Familiars are useless and full of suck, from my experience. But I'm sure I just haven't used them well.
Although I only played LE and NE mages in SoA and ToB, I kept the imp/dust mephit in my pack pretty much the entire time. In BG:EE, however, I think they'll be much more useful (and possibly even more powerful than your low-level mage who's summoning it). Besides, the extra HP alone makes familiars worth having.
Draw Upon Holy Might. Really turned the tide for my solo Paladin run, and looking forward to taking breaks from spellcasting with it on my Cleric/Illusionist party run.
@Quartz he can also learn greater malison and emotion hopelessness, which i would say are the best level 4 spells in bg 1, be just outside of a baddie's sight, blast a greater malison, then 2 emotion hopelessness and then take pot shots at yer enemies
@Quartz Find familiar is a spell you only cast once... and once only. Thats why many players cast it. Then wipe it out the spellbook. Keep the familiar in the backpack (although they are okay...ish early on to fight, depending on your alignment and type of familiar you have.) Mages are always after that extra bit of hp.
@Mortianna Just read your post... Doh! Someone cast Mirror image on it...
When I first played the game, it was definitely Entangle. I wasn't super great at getting out of the way before casting ( which left more risky spells like Web out ), but I could always count on pulling out my ranged weapons and laying waste to those other ( also entangled ) monsters just 10 feet away.
Then, once I got a Mage high enough, Haste was the best. I quickly discovered how broken improved movement speed was, and how someone with extra attacks per round could kite enemies around with a bow. A hasted fighter could take out enemies much stronger than him if only he were faster than them.
Once I got used to the 30' range, then Fireball was definitely my spell of choice. I could quickly fire one off in just the perfect fashion, either grazing the backs of enemies while my front liners kept them busy, or just hitting a pack of charging enemies before melee battle began.
Nowadays, Sleep is my favorite spell. Best crowd control, best utility, low level spell for best low level results.
Does anyone know. If I dire charm someone and the charmed person gets killed by a hostile creature which I did not summon, do I take a reputation hit? If I don't, I just gained a new favourite spell. Dire charm, used solely to provide meat shields against vampires in the city as well as against any predators I find on the same map as they are in.
For BG1: Invisibility. Unlike BG2, every mage doesn't have 1-2 castings of True Sight prepared (which they inexplicably manage to cast as soon as your supposedly invisible character enter their sightrange), meaning you can just scout with impunity despite having only a single thief with roughly 15% in Hide/Move Silently.
Also wonderful for keeping your pathetically low HP mage alive when traveling on the world map, or for that matter in any area with lots of archers. It also seems very archmage-y to me... stay invisible and let your brawny goons deal with the enemy henchmen, you're saving YOUR precious magic for the real threats!
For BG2: Conjure Lesser Earth Elemental. Hardly an obvious pick. I just have such nice memories of this spell.. I nearly always play Conjurer for the roleplaying aspect, and the first time I found a scroll with this spell on I couldn't believe it. I now had the power to conjure beings from another plane! Forget ogres, ettercaps, kobold commandos. I could call on an Elemental with arms the size of a human torso.
Of course there's the risk said Elemental tries to pound your party into puddin', but that's the price you pay for being an allmighty summoner. And when those three rounds of fighting for control are over, and you get that "pling" sound with the Elemental turning green-circled... I just always muse delightedly, assured that whatever pack of monsters are up ahead are about to have a very bad day.
Best Spell Name: Absolute Immunity. Sounds pretty powerful, but unfortunately the spell effect doesn't live up to the name. Short duration, only works on physical attacks (I think).
Best Low to Mid Level Spell: Magic Missile. This is a classic, go to spell that's been cast millions of times by BG players. Always effective and highly reliable.
Best Mid Level Spell: Cloudkill. Cheap, cheesy, and effective.
Best High Level Spell: Tie between Abi-Dalzim's and Mordenkaiden's Sword. ABHW is pretty cheeseball. Mordenkaiden's were just awesome as a solo mage.
Thinking about it... Cloudkill was a pretty epic spell when I found it in BG1. I used it more often than not by simply casting it in a room, then allowing one of my invisible friends (yes I said invisibility WAS my favourite spell earlier) to block the door... Death would follow with the poor witless fools baffled as to why they could not even attack me! Sanctury could have done the job just as eay as invis I suppose...
But I wanted them to see through Dynhier and look at ME the God of Murder as I replaced the very air they breathed with foul toxic poison and skin scorching acid, their lungs frothing blood and bile! I wanted to watch THEM, pleading for mercy, powerless as they drowned in their own blood, unable to even lift a hand to protest as their skin withered to reveal gristle and bone; Leaving me exultant, to drink in the resultant carnage and rob their pitiful corpses! NOTHING CAN STAND BEFORE ME WITH SUCH POWER! MuhwaahhaaahHahaH! MuwAhAhhHaH! *cough* Excuse me... Got carried away...
Cloudkill is a pretty good spell for BG1. Did I mention this?
I'm going to be weird and go with a defensive spell. It's Stoneskin for me. Physical attacks won't interrupt your casting (except in a very few cases). It's useful from the moment you get it and it continues to be so late in BG2. And it has a 12 hour duration which means you can rest with it. Generally it's awesome.
I always liked Time Stop when I first played, especially casting it in multiplayer for lots of lolz. Oh and by far my favorite defensive spell was Spell Trap; all the best enemy mages always used it in battle.
Sleep + Horror, and later Emotion: Hopelessness + Chaos, are devastating combos against mobs.
When I hear Emotion: Hoplessness(or its variations), greater mummies of Icewind Dale come to my mind. A little off topic but don't underestimate these mummies. They may be slow but if you don't save vs their Symbol of Hoplesness, you will definitely be slower(meaning staying/lying in one place).
And what about my favourite spell? Well... I won't pick just one.
Comments
Like some other peepz, I really dig Skull Trap, Fireball. Stuff that blows shit up. I always tell people if they pick up Xan "Use Skull Trap, it's the most badass spell he can learn" lol.
I just love finding out how awesome my new magic sword is.
@Mortianna Just read your post... Doh! Someone cast Mirror image on it...
Then, once I got a Mage high enough, Haste was the best. I quickly discovered how broken improved movement speed was, and how someone with extra attacks per round could kite enemies around with a bow. A hasted fighter could take out enemies much stronger than him if only he were faster than them.
Once I got used to the 30' range, then Fireball was definitely my spell of choice. I could quickly fire one off in just the perfect fashion, either grazing the backs of enemies while my front liners kept them busy, or just hitting a pack of charging enemies before melee battle began.
Nowadays, Sleep is my favorite spell. Best crowd control, best utility, low level spell for best low level results.
Unlike BG2, every mage doesn't have 1-2 castings of True Sight prepared (which they inexplicably manage to cast as soon as your supposedly invisible character enter their sightrange), meaning you can just scout with impunity despite having only a single thief with roughly 15% in Hide/Move Silently.
Also wonderful for keeping your pathetically low HP mage alive when traveling on the world map, or for that matter in any area with lots of archers. It also seems very archmage-y to me... stay invisible and let your brawny goons deal with the enemy henchmen, you're saving YOUR precious magic for the real threats!
For BG2: Conjure Lesser Earth Elemental.
Hardly an obvious pick. I just have such nice memories of this spell.. I nearly always play Conjurer for the roleplaying aspect, and the first time I found a scroll with this spell on I couldn't believe it. I now had the power to conjure beings from another plane! Forget ogres, ettercaps, kobold commandos. I could call on an Elemental with arms the size of a human torso.
Of course there's the risk said Elemental tries to pound your party into puddin', but that's the price you pay for being an allmighty summoner. And when those three rounds of fighting for control are over, and you get that "pling" sound with the Elemental turning green-circled... I just always muse delightedly, assured that whatever pack of monsters are up ahead are about to have a very bad day.
Best Low to Mid Level Spell: Magic Missile. This is a classic, go to spell that's been cast millions of times by BG players. Always effective and highly reliable.
Best Mid Level Spell: Cloudkill. Cheap, cheesy, and effective.
Best High Level Spell: Tie between Abi-Dalzim's and Mordenkaiden's Sword. ABHW is pretty cheeseball. Mordenkaiden's were just awesome as a solo mage.
But I wanted them to see through Dynhier and look at ME the God of Murder as I replaced the very air they breathed with foul toxic poison and skin scorching acid, their lungs frothing blood and bile! I wanted to watch THEM, pleading for mercy, powerless as they drowned in their own blood, unable to even lift a hand to protest as their skin withered to reveal gristle and bone; Leaving me exultant, to drink in the resultant carnage and rob their pitiful corpses! NOTHING CAN STAND BEFORE ME WITH SUCH POWER!
MuhwaahhaaahHahaH! MuwAhAhhHaH! *cough* Excuse me... Got carried away...
Cloudkill is a pretty good spell for BG1. Did I mention this?
BG2, Bigby's Clenched Fist, it makes me laugh.
Haste is too powerful...
And overall, in BG2, the high level summons rule everything.
Offensive: Mmmmh..maybe Cromatic Orb.
Other: Dispel Magic in original baldurs gate against spellcasters is lethal.
And what about my favourite spell? Well... I won't pick just one.