On multiple occasions, I have survived only because I drank a potion right before getting hit with a potentially fatal spell. And on multiple occasions, I have died because I wanted to save that potion for a bigger fight.
Words of wisdom. I'm proud to say that I've become a lot better at this and it will save your life.
(The only potions you should probably be quite stingy with would be Magic Shielding and Magic Protection. Those are in short supply... but then again if there's no other way to guarantee that you survive your current battle, then what's the point of saving them? I only mention this because they are very limited in BG2.)
Don't get boxed in. SCS enemies are very good at cornering you. Teleport Field will scatter enemies, clearing the way for your escape. If you have Spell Revisions or a similar mod installed, you can also use Dimension Door to escape.
Yup. I almost always play solo Sorcerer, but it's somehow [b]really[/b] difficult to pick Teleport Field. There's a lot of good things on L4, but I suppose Spirit Armor could easily be replaced with Teleport Field. It just feels weird.
Pay close attention to your aura. When you start casting a spell, drink a potion, or use an item, your aura gets clouded up, and you can't do any of those things again for 6 seconds. Make sure that your character's aura is clear whenever it needs to be. Having to wait a single second to drink a potion or cast a spell can be fatal.
Yup. Aura is the prerequisite that even permits you to drink a potion in time before a spell hits. If you get caught out and if you have the space... Boots of Speed and Haste/ImpHaste may let you outrun some spells long enough to let your aura clear. (Obviously when trying the potion, you should immediately pause after "chugging" just in case your aura isn't actually clear.)
(Dislaimer: I only ever play solo characters, so that into account when reading my post...)
First tip: If you're doing a Trilogy run, you might want to pick up the Horn of Kazgaroth in BG1 (High Hedge) -- it should transfer to your BG2 game. It may save your life if you don't have spells at the start of BG2 -- use it before encountering mephits and against the last assassin who accosts you in Casa Irenicus. (If you're starting in BG2, you haven't wasted too much time, so you can just start over if you fail the save vs. Sleep/Stun/Chromatic Orb, so meh.)[1]
Second tip: Unless you really want to avoid metagaming (or cannot plausibly explain metagaming for RP purposes, e.g. a superintelligent character being able to predict almost any situation), then you might want to plan ahead. SCS foes have slightly randomized spells[2], but if you observe the other rules mentioned in this thread (clear aura, don't be afraid to use consumables, etc., etc.) then you're basically safe as can be.
Third tip: If you're soloing a mage/sorcerer, if your PC ever receives any damage, then ask yourself how that could happen and how you could have prevented it. When you start your next character that might be a way to guide your spell choices.
[1] I've used this information to be able to reliably achieve K(18)/M(?) and B(18)/M(?) characters.
[2] Which is why they're so great and such a challenge. Randomization is actually a really great substitute for true AI because the player only sees one outcome and the player's pattern-matching brain goes into overdrive to explain what happened.
Comments
(The only potions you should probably be quite stingy with would be Magic Shielding and Magic Protection. Those are in short supply... but then again if there's no other way to guarantee that you survive your current battle, then what's the point of saving them? I only mention this because they are very limited in BG2.) Yup. I almost always play solo Sorcerer, but it's somehow [b]really[/b] difficult to pick Teleport Field. There's a lot of good things on L4, but I suppose Spirit Armor could easily be replaced with Teleport Field. It just feels weird. Yup. Aura is the prerequisite that even permits you to drink a potion in time before a spell hits. If you get caught out and if you have the space... Boots of Speed and Haste/ImpHaste may let you outrun some spells long enough to let your aura clear. (Obviously when trying the potion, you should immediately pause after "chugging" just in case your aura isn't actually clear.) Ugh. Any mage/sorcerer just hates that spell. It's absurdly unfair to low-HD characters.
First tip: If you're doing a Trilogy run, you might want to pick up the Horn of Kazgaroth in BG1 (High Hedge) -- it should transfer to your BG2 game. It may save your life if you don't have spells at the start of BG2 -- use it before encountering mephits and against the last assassin who accosts you in Casa Irenicus. (If you're starting in BG2, you haven't wasted too much time, so you can just start over if you fail the save vs. Sleep/Stun/Chromatic Orb, so meh.)[1]
Second tip: Unless you really want to avoid metagaming (or cannot plausibly explain metagaming for RP purposes, e.g. a superintelligent character being able to predict almost any situation), then you might want to plan ahead. SCS foes have slightly randomized spells[2], but if you observe the other rules mentioned in this thread (clear aura, don't be afraid to use consumables, etc., etc.) then you're basically safe as can be.
Third tip: If you're soloing a mage/sorcerer, if your PC ever receives any damage, then ask yourself how that could happen and how you could have prevented it. When you start your next character that might be a way to guide your spell choices.
[1] I've used this information to be able to reliably achieve K(18)/M(?) and B(18)/M(?) characters.
[2] Which is why they're so great and such a challenge. Randomization is actually a really great substitute for true AI because the player only sees one outcome and the player's pattern-matching brain goes into overdrive to explain what happened.