good AoE class
Riderat
Member Posts: 136
So basically while waiting for SoD to go on sale, I am thinking of doing an IWDee re-run. If my memory serves correct, it is full with trash mobs (goblins mostly), that are weak but takes time for the party to clear. Are there any good character builds that are very good with dealing with this type of mobs? I know that mages can bust some fireballs and stuff, but you can't pile up enough of fireballs to blast your way trough the area. If anyone has a good idea about dealing damage in large area, please let me know!
Thanks duds!
Thanks duds!
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An Archer (Ranger kit) would be the ranged alternative to that. Specialize in Long Bows for maximum effectiveness. She'll be able to pick off one or two enemies from an approaching mob before it even reaches your melee front line, and then continues thinning out the herd while your front-line keeps them from reaching her.
A Sorcerer can cast more Fireballs per day than a Mage, so if that's what you're going for, it might be the right class for you. But be aware that only early-game enemies will die from a single Fireball. Later enemies will merely be softened up a little by it. The Dragon Disciple (Sorcerer kit) has a powerful Dragon Breath ability which can kill many mid-to-late game trash mob enemies with a single blast, but unfortunately he can only use it once per rest.
A Druid has some great stationary AoE spells (i.e. ones that affect an area of ground and everyone who walks into it, for multiple rounds). Those kinds of spells are very effective at softening up enemy mobs, too. If you manage create a choke-point (e.g. by blocking off a a thin corridor using your melee front-line), these kinds of stationary spells can actually deal more damage than Fireball & friends, because the enemies will be stuck in the affected area for several rounds:
I was thinking of Berserker. IIRC, he gets his speed and THAC0 boosted with his special ability and on later levels he can use it more often.
Druid sounds good, but I really rather keep his cc for heavier enemies. I remember last time I played, i used to turn the difficulty down a notch just to cut trough the trash-mobs faster, as I didn't see any tactical problems when fighting them, except the time loss..
Man, why don't rangers have some sort of Barrage or Volley skill or something. That would be so cool.
His disadvantage is that he can't have proficiency points in ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, slings, darts). But that's not a big deal if you already have other characters in the party who are good with ranged weapons...
Of course, you could give him proficiency points in Axe, and then let him use the one returning throwing axe in the game. But since that axe is really strong, I prefer to give it to a character who will actually use it most of the time, rather than to a front-line melee build who will only switch to ranged on rare occasions.
So even with Berserker I'd probably recommend putting as many points as possible in Long Swords and Dual-Wielding, with left-over points in one good blunt weapon type (i.e. Maces or Flails).
But it depends on the rest of your party.
Long Swords are a great choice because it's the largest weapon that can be dual-wielded, and you will find many good ones. Loot is partially randomized, but usually you'll find a "fine" Long Sword before finding a "fine" version of most other weapon types; then again a +1 Long Sword before a +1 version of most other weapon types, and so on with +2, +4.
And the magical ones tend to have good bonuses. For example you could have one Long Sword in your main hand that gives extra elemental damage on each hit, and one in your off hand that increases your APR (attacks-per-round), and the main-hand one will benefit from the APR bonus...
(Slightly cheesy, so it's more of a powergamer than roleplayer choice...
High level Fighter/Mage with tenser, stoneskin, haste & a few other spells will go through enemy mobs like knife through butter.
(Unless you solo, or play at Insane difficulty with double XP... But even then you will still be low-level during the hardest part of the game, a.k.a. Dragon's Eye.)
Actually, i had never played any IE game with a pure Archer. But, man, they are meat grinders. It has about 30% of all the party kills. It is super good against lone mages (with hide in shadows and long range weapons). I will play only Archers from now on.
The bow I mentioned is a sure find, meaning it always drops. The bow you refered to is a possible find, but can be replaced with another weapon instead. IWD has random loot in certain areas and containers. You can save scum, but I'd advice against that unless it's your umpteenth playthrough.
Btw, with Sseth an archer reaches max APR (5) with GM in bows, at level 9 IIRC.