@Neverused Thats certainly true, pretty much any failed save can potentially kill us. Except how many people play no-reload, since thats the only situation where it matters?
If we are talking fun terms then imho playing against a more difficult enemy and dying a couple of times and finding a winning strategy is more fun than caring about keeping all the buffs on all the time, and fighting easier enemies just so they dont kill us accidentally. I know i made to Inferno on Hardcore in Diablo 3, and that was before they nerfed the difficulty. It requires different builds, and is certainly fun in a way, but really i wouldnt go and push those "safe" builds on Softcore players.
Cleric/Mage really is a build that is only limited by imagination very similar to the Swiss Army knife approach of a Thief/Mage.
Combining divine spells into sequencers can have some amazing results: - curse+chant - shocking grasp+DUHM in spider form - prayer+recitation+greater malison in IWDee - DUHM+righteous magic+tensers in iron golem form As a few examples.
Don't forget too that a gnome has great racial benefits and extra spells per day.
..back to the original question from the OP, I would say that no, there is no pure wizard build that outclasses Edwin. He is amazing and I thoroughly enjoy having him around in some playthroughs. So, if you want to make the CHARNAME better than Edwin whilst still playing a mage, I would change my mindset if I were you, and think outside the box.
The cleric/mage is a good choise as it adds utility, choice and new/other gear setups, things Edwin can't match (like stacking divine spells, as said above in this thread). A single spell by Edwin, or the plethora of spells slots, can't be matched, but a c/m (or even better, a c/i) can be better defensively (survivability for yourself and the party) and party-wise (buffs), thus adding things to the pot that Edwin can't match.
I know you don't want F/M as an option, but thinking outside the normal box, one could add just a few levels like @Grum said to get more HP, other choice of gear, and otherwise play the CHARNAME as a pure mage (no dual wield, not focusing on buffs and melee etc, like the classic cookie-cutter F/M build). I did a very rewarding run of a f7/m+ with crossbows. Shooting bolts of lightning at enemy mages then switching to a spell was very rewarding, and her HP pool was way better then Edwins. You could also go with slings, also said above, with fighter exceptional strenght and decent THAC0 you can smash things to death. Less funny choice of bullets though compared to bolts and arrows.
Same with thief levels, it adds utility. If you want a more magetype character I would skip on the BS/mislead etc and just use the thief levels for something unordinary that Edwin can't match, like detect illusions and possibly xbow or shortbow proficency for some awesome ranged combat additions to your spell reportoire. Again, bolts of lightning or arrows of acid etc are awesome and with a few simple buffs your THAC0 will be good enough to hit enemies.
Sorcerer or wildage is, as others have mentioned, the obvious choices. Both add power to any group but the sorc stands out for its reliability (IMHO). Personally, I think wildmages are amazing thematically, but I don't like them very much practically. Wild surges are fun the first ten times, then they just become tedious IMHO. Waiting for a long time (high levels and good gear) until the surges become harmless is not my own cup of tea.
Is anything of the above better then Edwin? No, but they are all different and since a CHARNAME stats always can outshine Edwin's, you can do alot of things better than him, except spells slots of course
As a sidenote: If only there would have been an option for druid/mage, now THAT would have been pure epicness. Stacking stone and iron skins anyone? Multiple summons etc. But since that is not an option, the Avenger is a decent choice as well. Not so much arcane, but it adds (once again, something Edwin can't do) utility/choices.
Edwin's main flaw is that he couldn't identify anything even if his life depended on it (his wisdom is crappy and he can't cast Identify). That's something the protagonist might be able to do.
Also, even if Edwin's a better mage than your protagonist, so what? What's wrong with having two mages?
Comments
Thats certainly true, pretty much any failed save can potentially kill us. Except how many people play no-reload, since thats the only situation where it matters?
If we are talking fun terms then imho playing against a more difficult enemy and dying a couple of times and finding a winning strategy is more fun than caring about keeping all the buffs on all the time, and fighting easier enemies just so they dont kill us accidentally. I know i made to Inferno on Hardcore in Diablo 3, and that was before they nerfed the difficulty. It requires different builds, and is certainly fun in a way, but really i wouldnt go and push those "safe" builds on Softcore players.
Combining divine spells into sequencers can have some amazing results:
- curse+chant
- shocking grasp+DUHM in spider form
- prayer+recitation+greater malison in IWDee
- DUHM+righteous magic+tensers in iron golem form
As a few examples.
Don't forget too that a gnome has great racial benefits and extra spells per day.
The cleric/mage is a good choise as it adds utility, choice and new/other gear setups, things Edwin can't match (like stacking divine spells, as said above in this thread). A single spell by Edwin, or the plethora of spells slots, can't be matched, but a c/m (or even better, a c/i) can be better defensively (survivability for yourself and the party) and party-wise (buffs), thus adding things to the pot that Edwin can't match.
I know you don't want F/M as an option, but thinking outside the normal box, one could add just a few levels like @Grum said to get more HP, other choice of gear, and otherwise play the CHARNAME as a pure mage (no dual wield, not focusing on buffs and melee etc, like the classic cookie-cutter F/M build). I did a very rewarding run of a f7/m+ with crossbows. Shooting bolts of lightning at enemy mages then switching to a spell was very rewarding, and her HP pool was way better then Edwins. You could also go with slings, also said above, with fighter exceptional strenght and decent THAC0 you can smash things to death. Less funny choice of bullets though compared to bolts and arrows.
Same with thief levels, it adds utility. If you want a more magetype character I would skip on the BS/mislead etc and just use the thief levels for something unordinary that Edwin can't match, like detect illusions and possibly xbow or shortbow proficency for some awesome ranged combat additions to your spell reportoire. Again, bolts of lightning or arrows of acid etc are awesome and with a few simple buffs your THAC0 will be good enough to hit enemies.
Sorcerer or wildage is, as others have mentioned, the obvious choices. Both add power to any group but the sorc stands out for its reliability (IMHO). Personally, I think wildmages are amazing thematically, but I don't like them very much practically. Wild surges are fun the first ten times, then they just become tedious IMHO. Waiting for a long time (high levels and good gear) until the surges become harmless is not my own cup of tea.
Is anything of the above better then Edwin? No, but they are all different and since a CHARNAME stats always can outshine Edwin's, you can do alot of things better than him, except spells slots of course
As a sidenote: If only there would have been an option for druid/mage, now THAT would have been pure epicness. Stacking stone and iron skins anyone? Multiple summons etc. But since that is not an option, the Avenger is a decent choice as well. Not so much arcane, but it adds (once again, something Edwin can't do) utility/choices.
Also, even if Edwin's a better mage than your protagonist, so what? What's wrong with having two mages?
Or an entire mage team?