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Post by buddhamind on Jun 29, 2010 2:49:05 GMT
Just wanted to pop in and say thanks for the discussion. I'm building a wiz and it was good to hear about the usefulness of Trans vs Evo and whether or not it was a good choice to ban Div.
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Post by archmage on Jul 1, 2010 14:11:05 GMT
Its a really bad idea to ban divination now. Power word Kill is divination, and is a VERY useful spell in the Abyss.
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Post by buddhamind on Jul 1, 2010 17:23:46 GMT
Its a really bad idea to ban divination now. Power word Kill is divination, and is a VERY useful spell in the Abyss. What would you ban instead? Conj? I am a bit reluctant to ban it becuase I've seen how useful orbs can be in Hell. But then again, it's probably useless without at least Epic Spell Focus. I'm interested because I want to reinc my lvl 45 wiz with a broken build to something more useful than a toon I use just to scribe scrolls and go on the occasional Desert. So for the immediate future it will be focused on LL runs, and then in the distant future Hells and Abyss. Just for my own reference, and to aid the discussion -- Ilusion:Weird Shd Shield EV Phantasmal Killer Necro:Wail ED Horrids FOD COD Enervation Neg Burst Eyebite Wrack UtD Conj:All summon creature spells Gate BBOD Most "fog" spells (grease, evard's, acid fog) All Orb spells -- Roll to hit with AB = CL + (Int mod / 2) + (Conj foci * 3) + 1d20 -- gives ~76-95 without ESF Conj and ~83-102 with ESF Conj, assuming INT mod of 28-30 (no demi, no arti) Trans:Greater Sanc STF FTS Disintegrate Tenser's Gr. Stoneskin Bestow Curse GMW Keen Edge Slow Div:PW Kill Premonition PW Stun Remove blindness/deafness C/C Ench:Dominate monster Mass charm Mass blindness Rebuke Abjur:All spell mantles Mord All breach spells Mind blank Banishment Energy Immunity All globe of invulnerability spells Energy buffer Evo:Meteor swarm All bigby's spells Detonate Misc. damage spells (polar ray, DBF, chain lightning)
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Post by bort on Jul 1, 2010 21:28:31 GMT
UtD is necro
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Post by archmage on Jul 1, 2010 23:49:30 GMT
With the way HG is right now, I would not ban any school on a wizard. All you're doing is nerfing your own strength (which is your versatility). Barring conjuration will heavily impact the amount of damage you can do. Abjuration is all your buff stripping spells. Enchantment leaves out some of your instakill spells. I'd bar nothing, and revel in my versatility.
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Post by buddhamind on Jul 2, 2010 5:54:27 GMT
Thanks for catching that, I must have written it down wrong. With the way HG is right now, I would not ban any school on a wizard. All you're doing is nerfing your own strength (which is your versatility). Barring conjuration will heavily impact the amount of damage you can do. Abjuration is all your buff stripping spells. Enchantment leaves out some of your instakill spells. I'd bar nothing, and revel in my versatility. That makes sense. I was so focused on deciding which two schools to ban that I forgot that I didn't have to ban any at all. Do spells typically hit without any spell focuses? Say, for example, a lvl 9 bigby on a non-para Rak?
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Post by simpetar on Jul 2, 2010 11:24:31 GMT
Do spells typically hit without any spell focuses? Say, for example, a lvl 9 bigby on a non-para Rak? That entirely depends on the type of spell. You should have all basic foci on your staff, there are set items and augmenters with GSF focus on them, there are draughts, and if you are really extremely lucky, you can get ESF on items as added properties. You can grab regular Raks with only spell focus on staff, if you have half decent caster level and caster stat. simpetar
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Post by Rain on Jul 2, 2010 14:09:18 GMT
As a wizard, I don't see why you wanna drop Evocation foci. Gust of Wind, Sunburst, Thunderclap and almost all the area damage spells use DC. Also Bigby Crushing Hand is not that a must if u can throw DoM/Bigby Swarm/Starfire. I never tried to mem bigby crushing hand just for raks in hell on my wizard, if I did, it was only for paragon Orthon.
If I were to play my wizard in Abyss, I'd rather play a mobile artillery, ie. doing the damage route. You can surely do well on insta kill too if u wanna build or play it that way, but just remember there's a class called Sorcerer who can outclass you easily in this case.
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Post by buddhamind on Jul 2, 2010 17:17:51 GMT
As a wizard, I don't see why you wanna drop Evocation foci. Gust of Wind, Sunburst, Thunderclap and almost all the area damage spells use DC. Also Bigby Crushing Hand is not that a must if u can throw DoM/Bigby Swarm/Starfire. I never tried to mem bigby crushing hand just for raks in hell on my wizard, if I did, it was only for paragon Orthon. If I were to play my wizard in Abyss, I'd rather play a mobile artillery, ie. doing the damage route. You can surely do well on insta kill too if u wanna build or play it that way, but just remember there's a class called Sorcerer who can outclass you easily in this case. I guess any choice I make is going to come with some sacrifices. Choices, choices
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Post by Transcendent One on Jul 3, 2010 6:39:49 GMT
In NWN, Bigby Crushing Hand's check has 2 parts. First one is the attack check: 1d20 + caster's ability modifier + caster level + 12(bigby hand's strength modifier) - 1 (bigby hand's size modifier) vs. Target's AC. If it hits, there follows a grapple check: 1d20 + caster's ability modifier + caster level + 12(bigby hand's str modifier) + 4(bigby hand's size modifier0 vs.Target: 1d20 + strength modifier + BAB + size modifier
So basically there's no bonus from Evocation foci unless it is changed on HG. Spell foci only add Difficulty Class bonus, not ability modifier anyway.
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Post by uncanny on Jan 3, 2011 19:58:05 GMT
Always wondered since playing my first caster here.. what sort of buffs do you have on your autocaster generically? Is there a set group of buffs that are crucial after 40? After 50, and perhaps once you reach 60?
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