Spell selection for Sorc Going to Hell

[PotsNPans]

Ok i was just wondering as i am approaching lvl 60 and will be my last chance to change my spells. I have LL Necro focus Epic div, and Epic Evo. i would like to know what spells you would pick to be most effective in hell. Now you dont have to list all 9 lvls of spells maybe just 6-9 would be good. Thanks in advance ;D Let the masacre begin

[Kazatel]

From what I've seen in the Hells and other runs these are the spells that will be most useful to you and your group. Anything else would probably be up to you.
Meteor Swarm
7th level Bigby's
FOD
maybe Mord
With just those you'd be very useful anywhere.

[thedomicron]

if you don't have legendary evocation, i'd highly recommend it.

for spells:
Level 9:
wail of the banshee
bigby's crushing hand
meteor swarm

Level 8:
horrid wilting
premonition
greater sanctuary

Level 7:
bigby's grasping hand
Finger of death
great thunderclap

Level 6:
Chain Lightning
Tenser's transformation
Ethereal Visage

Level 5:
Firebrand
Cone of Cold
Energy Buffer
Mestil's Acid Sheathe

Level 4:
Ice Storm
Stoneskin
Wall of Fire
Elemental Shield

Level 3:
Vampiric Touch
Acid Breath
Greater Magic Weapon
Keen

Level 2:
Balagarn's Iron Horn
Death Armor
Combust
Flame Weapon
Cloud of Bewilderment

Level 1:
Endure Elements
Mage Armor
Ice Dagger
Protection from Alignment
(Free Choice) i might suggest true strike for vampiric touch

when i rebuild (eventually) i am CONSIDERING, very lightly, dropping FoDs (just like a 5% chance, cuz i love them) and relying on vampiric touch for negative damage on bosses. one big problem with this is many dragons have spell immunity for lower spells.

also, you could consider dropping greater sanctuary for spell mantle and relying on scrolls.

Also remember that breach/ spells are nice because you don't risk dispelling your teammates. consider dropping ice storm for lesser spell breach. keep in mind though, that ice storm has no save, whereas cone of cold does.

Final Note: its important to keep in mind how ALL of your spells work together to make a sorceror versatile. you're limited in your choice of spells, but are able to draw upon all of them at any given instant. by now you should be developing a feel for your spells and how they function. for instance: if your teammates tell you that electricity is especially effective, it should take you no more than 5 seconds to drag a spell from your spellbook to your quickbar if its not already there. if its there, you should know exactly where it is.

for spells such as wail of the banshee, meteor swarm, grasping hand, etc, you should find a comfortable quickbar setup and leave them there. having a versatile spell setup is worthless if it takes you too long to cast them.

[alandrian]

Any good uses for the level 9 bigbies beside those level 1-8 spell immune mobs in hell?

With the spells and areas keep changing on hg over time, a level 60 sorcerer will end up with some useless spells and in need on some others he cant get anymore. This is a really great plus for wiz because they just have to redo their book, knowing all spells anyway. Due to the fact that most spellslots comes from items anyway the only real reason for sorc i see is having another spell prepared at the right time. But even that you can cover easily via scroll.

[PotsNPans]

Thanks for the advice DOM i pretty much have the same set up as you except lvl bigs and that was teh spell i was considering taking instead of mord, the reason i wanted to dump mord is you can cast it from a scroll. same effect done deal. The thing is i was wondering about energy drain does it work andis it viable same thing with enervation i heard that if you can get dis on enervation it will take him down quick.

Also For the ll evo i was gonna take extend spell over that whats your take on that also i saw you took chian lightening instead of igms?

[alandrian]

igms was a great spell in nwn and the ordinary poa mod. But it lost his value a lot on hg. Horrid covers the magic damage department easily. I havent found any mob where i would igms and horrid would not work or even better work. Horrid has less kickback and even 5/- magic reduce the igms damage a lot. On the other hand ele damage from chainlightning is quite handy in some areas altough or even because its a lootbreaker.

edit: My sorc has not extend and i really dont feel the need currently. The only two spells that runs out between rests are elemental and acid shields. No big deal to rechast them once and a while. Tenser would run out too but i recast it quite often to refresh the temp hps just to have the whole buffer anytime.

[FunkySwerve]

Definitely NOY Mord. Use scrolls for anything where casterlevel doesn't matter.
Funky

[archmage]

I would drop Stoneskin at lvl 4 for Lesser Spell Breach in a heartbeat and never look back. Is stoneskinning a tank who it likely wont help much in the Hells worth giving up the ability to land spells like Mestil's Acid Breath every cast on Cornugons? I think not.

[thedomicron]

oh good call on that arch, i missed that. this isn't my current setup, but what i'd probably go w/ if i could

[chainlink]

I'm not sure about the weapon buffing spells either as that removes three potential damaging spells from your arsenal, if they want weapons buffs get the cleric or wiz to do it and give yourself some more options to hurt enemies.

[Raj]

i'd suggest:

-horzakaul boom at lvl 1, nice sonic evocation spell
-mestil arrow for cob, nice range no save
-keen is useless, most weapons are pre-keened, and u can always use crafted scrolls; take another dmg spell at this lvl, or displacment if you like a useful buff for the tanks
-you don't need cone of cold, ice storm is far superior, take lesser spell mantle

most of the time btw u'll end using only lvl 6+ slots, nothing to add to those suggestions

[FunkySwerve]

therajah said:

i'd suggest:

-horzakaul boom at lvl 1, nice sonic evocation spell

Ice Dagger would be a better choice, in the hells especially.

-keen is useless, most weapons are pre-keened, and u can always use crafted scrolls; take another dmg spell at this lvl, or displacment if you like a useful buff for the tanks

The first hell-worthy weaps you can get prekeened are IN the hells, and most are definitely not pre-keened. Displacement is nice to have, however.

most of the time btw u'll end using only lvl 6+ slots, nothing to add to those suggestions

Not if you know what you are doing. There are a number of very effective lower-level spells. Also, beware becoming too dependant on top-tier spells...

Funky

[thedomicron]

totally agree. if you're only using top level spells you're not effectively utilizing your spell book

[nohmask]

Boom and dagger, I use both frequently...tinker nurse bugs are sonic suscept. as are..hmm...lets see...ladies with wings, Babar on crack, and a few others....what else are you going to take from level one? Shield, m. armor and elemental protection spell I guess? Too bad there isn't an electrical spell at first level like boom and such...that would be nice indeed! Oh yes, negative ray too....thats nice for a visual change if nothing else.

[Raj]

funkyswerve said:

Ice Dagger would be a better choice, in the hells especially.

he said there was a free choice. boom is the 5th choice; way better than the useless true strike who does add ab only on sheet.

The first hell-worthy weaps you can get prekeened are IN the hells, and most are definitely not pre-keened. Displacement is nice to have, however.

lvl 29-35-dis ones are keened, db and some other aren't so yes there is some use for keen, but as I said, scrolls are easy to make and use

Not if you know what you are doing. There are a number of very effective lower-level spells. Also, beware becoming too dependant on top-tier spells...

you're right here; I hardly go rest w/o having nearly depleted all the spell book in all the other areas of the module, and with some time i hope to figure out hells too, but I haven't build the monsters and it's hard to ''test'' in such areas, dead party members might not appreciate