Sorcerers
LordOfLostSocks
Member Posts: 23
I'm wondering about the sorcerer class. Is its stats fixed from BGII? Or does it still lack a primary stat?
What should I focus on if I rolled one?
What should I focus on if I rolled one?
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Just roleplay your stat allocation I guess.
Might do it anyway, since I never did try one due to the same reason.
Make a elf sorcerer for the 19 Dexter, aim for 18 con(you only need 16 but there is a ring that gives you -2 con), the rest try to take them as high as you can. Wisdom is good in bg2
My 1st spell is shield since it's offers better protection than armor. My second spell is between chromatic orb or magic missile. I heard good things about sleep and color spray, but they are useless in the long run. Find Familiar may be a good luxury spell since it effectively doubles the hp in the early levels.
Lvl.1 Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Shield, Spook
Lvl.2 Blur, Glitterdust, Invisibility, Melf's Acid Arrow, Mirror Image, Web
Lvl.3 Flame Arrow, Haste, Invisibility 10', Melf's Minute Meteors, Skull Trap, Slow,
Lvl.4 Greater Malison, Imp. Invisibility, Minor Sequencer, Spider Spawn, Stoneskin, Teleport Field
Lvl.5 Lower Resistance, Spell Immunity, Animate Dead, Sunfire
Lvl.6 Pierce Magic, Contingency, Prot from Mag Weapons, Improved Haste, Chain Lightning, Mislead
Lvl.7 Limited Wish, Mass Invisibility, Mord Sword, Project Image, Ruby Ray, Sequen.
Lvl.8 Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Power Word Blind, Simulacrum, Spell Trigger, Bigby's/Incendiary
Lvl.9 Chain Contingency, Shapechange, Time Stop, Dragon's Breath, Improved Alacrity, Planetar
Anything else that's good can be found on Wands (such as Sleep).
Find Familiar (no scroll easily available and early HP are key especially for a solo mage) & Sleep
Magic Missile
Web
Invisibility & Chromatic Orb
Melf's Meteors (not sure if this is available in BG:EE - if not, skull trap or flame arrow)
Spook
Mirror Image (Knock if soloing)
Skull Trap (flame arrow and remove magic are also possibilities)
Stoneskin
Glitterdust
Remove Magic or Dispel Magic
Polymorph Self
Breach/Cloudkill/Lower Resistance/Spell Immunity are the key ones and your choice depends on style (for BG1 cloudkill is the prefered choice; sunfire is the only other one I'd consider)
I am big on area effect disabling spells (sleep and web) for BG1.
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/SpellsReference/ArcaneSpells.htm
Regarding the OP, despite what's stated in the attribute screen, intelligence does not assist the sorcerer in any way other than a lore bonus. That's it. Sad I know.
One more undocumented limitation; spells don't advance for arcane casters at all beyond 20. The only grace we have are the three HLA's for spellslots, and a few nice new toys to cram into an already action packed level 9.
I like the direction they took with the grandmastery fix, it might mean they could lift the lid on 'under the hood' limitations.
Dart: 3 attacks per round - Non-magic darts: 1-3 damage
Sling: 1 attack per round - Non-magic sling and bullets: 2 - 5 damage
Average damage: 1.5 per dart = 4.5 damage // 2.5 + 1 for sling = 3.5 damage (you don't need to factor in % to hit because it is the same for both weapons and so they cancel one another out).
A magic sling+1 equalizes the damage but you still have 3x the ability to disrupt an enemy spellcaster.
The only downside is you burn through darts much faster than bullets and you can't keep anywhere but your weaponhand and inventory.
If you start using darts of fire or something then you get 3x the elemental damage of the sling (and by the time you can get the fireball type sling bullets you will have another proficiency slot anyway).
I would avoid melee virtually at all costs with my caster in BG:EE unless my caster was polymorphed.
Then you'll reconsider your "2 - 5 damage"
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/10083/sorcerer-a-few-questions#latest
If you intend a full saga run, getting high int and wis is important (18+ recommend for both), as the wish spell in the sequel requries very high in both to consistently get the best wish requests. Also sleep would be a waste of a slot, since while godly in BG1, it's useless in BG2.
Also NEVER pick Magic missles for your initial spells...Pick it for your 5th and final 1st level spell. By the time you get it, it'll be full strength and actually somewhat useful. Prior to that, it's inferior to spook or blind in terms of overall effectiveness (and really needs sequencers or IA to be truly effective).
Also NEVER use chromatic orb. Read the friggin' spell..it has a +6 save bonus (bonus = BAD), meaning enemies will almost NEVER fail the save for it's extra effect even at low levels and higher level enemies will just laugh at you. The damage it deals is otherwise crap. You need doom AND GM just to break even...totally not worth it.
Spook and shield would be my beginning spells. Spook sends a single enemy running in fear for 3 rounds and has a -1 save penalty that gets better every few lvls, maxing out at -6 at lvl 12...this makes the spell effective all through the saga, and combined with doom/GM has a good chance of affecting even the most powerful of enemies. Shield casts almost instantly and gives better defense then armor especially vs ranged, though it only lasts a few minutes but that is usually plenty, and unlike armor you can cast it only when absolutely needed and save a spell usage for something else. Also blocks magic missile while in effect.
Blind is another nice spell. It drops the enemies LOS down to 0 so archers and mages are effectively defanged (though only one or two archers are strong enough to warrant a blind), It's also nice against melee characters as it raises ruins their thac0 and makes it easier to hit them. It doesn't have a modifier so it's decent early on, but requires some help for better save enemies.
The 4th spell...doesn't really matter...I usually take either burning hands (backup troll killing) or friends (13 cha), depending on my charisma.
For weapons...strictly speaking, Darts. Practically, slings are much more user friendly.
Now, in the sequel, there's a returning dart+3 that eliminates a lot of those issues...however..there's also a ridiculously broken returning dagger+3 that deals damage like a bastard sword, adds your str bonus (19+ str belts become pretty common for an extra 7+ damage), and does an extra 1d2 fire damage...it has 1 attack less then the dart but potentially deals 2-3x the damage per attack, 2 base attacks. There's 2 slings that add str bonus as well..but they only have 1 base attack..so not really a contender. There's also a ridiculous caster staff with plenty of nasty effects and abilities, though you'll rarely if ever melee with it, unless you find your self desperately needing to dispel the enemy.
It's also quite fun to sit at your desk rolling d20s and d12s or whatever to do the random picking.
I'd like to see a sorcerer kit like this. A more thieving or fighting sorcerer whose magic just comes to them and they have no control over it.
Level 1 spells: The utility spells are more important at first because you can't cast the damage spells often enough to count on them, especially with your low caster level. This time around I picked up Charm Person and Shield for my first two spells.
- Shield: Easily the most important early game spell. It gives you an AC comparable to most NPCs in your party. This spell provides more protection than armor, and has the added bonus of Magic Missile immunity. The protection is even better at range (where you should be). The "downside" of a short duration doesn't particularly matter because you can just rest between encounters. Shield also remains useful later in the game because the bonus stacks with bracers or robes that improve your AC.
- Charm Person: Are there better charm spells? Yes. But they are at spell levels where it might be better to take something else. Charm Person makes fights easier in a lot of cases. You can go with the obvious use and take control of an enemy fighter or something. Or you can lock down an enemy spellcaster by charming them. Position your party around the charmed caster and then attack. They'll go down before they can get any spells off. Tarnesh falls pretty easily to this tactic. This spell also retains some usefulness as you level, because unlike Sleep and Color Spray it can continue to affect appropriate enemies.
- Magic Missile: Not taking this would be foolish. It is a powerful source of damage once it's fully powered and remains effective throughout the saga.
- Other spells: Spook is good because of the save penalty. However, it can be annoying to use outdoors, which is most battles in BG1. Still, I'd suggest taking it. Blindness is pretty useful for shutting down archers and mages. Identify can be convenient to have on your Sorceror, but it's technically more practical to have on a second mage (which you should have). Friends is a decent choice if you have low Charisma. Larloch's Minor Drain is pretty useful in BG1 and the beginning of BG2 to gain temporary hit points. Don't expect it to be a primary source of healing though. Do not take Find Familiar. It only needs to be cast once. Do not take Chromatic Orb (no longer worth it with the changes in BG:EE), Sleep, Color Spray, or Infravision. Those spells are useless either late game or from the beginning. Protection from Evil might be useful if you aren't going to have a Paladin or Cleric. Clerics can memorize it instead of you, Paladins get free castings as an ability.
For my weapon proficiency I like taking dagger first. It allows me to have both a ranged weapon and a last resort melee weapon that I can use without penalties. I'll probably take darts second, then sling. I don't really plan on using a staff. The only one I'd consider is the Staff of the Magi, and that one will be going to BG2:EE Neera since she can't reliably cast spell protections on herself.
Other spells to keep in mind leveling up:
Level 2 - Agannazar's Scorcher has some fun uses as a damage spell. Blur and Mirror Image are defensive staples. Glitterdust is sort of like Mass Blindness + Detect Invisibility. So it's more useful than most people give it credit for. Web is powerful too as long as you keep your party members out of it. Some people like Melf's Acid Arrow. I'd take it if you don't have Burning Hands for troll slaying. The other level 2 spells have some uses, but those are the main ones to think about.
Level 3 - You'll need either Dispel Magic or Remove Magic. I'd suggest taking the latter on your Sorceror and keeping a Dispel memorized on your second mage. The other picks here depend on your playstyle choices. I like Hold Person, Slow, Skull Trap, and Flame Arrow. Just remember your second mage can pick up the other options for you.
After that just follow the pattern that you started at Level 3. Don't have your Sorceror trying to do everything. I like Sorcerors to be mostly utility, while allowing my other mage (Neera in this game) to be the primary "battle mage." It's still good to have 1 or 2 damage spells in each level though. Avoid touch spells, they won't hit.