I like to maintain a good balence between defensive spells, offensive spells and summoning spells. So for me the mage is the best particularly specialists. my favourite is a counjerer. their opposition school is divination and i never use divination spells anyway.

Mages are much more versatile than sorcerers, although it may not seem so at first glance. This is because the mage has access to a greater range of spells and let's face it, you can rest and memorize spells for a specific situation anyway. Mages are essential for any party as they can learn and memorize utilitarian spells like knock, wizard eye, etc. A sorcerer is more of a battlemage - they are best used as support mages (artillery mages I call them) with key offense spells like abidalzims, fireball, etc. where they can cast a large number of these spells in a fight. You can also use them as your antimage mage and get them to learn antimage spells like Warding Whip, Ruby Ray, Pierce Magic, Breach etc. They can easily disable the spell defenses of an entire party of enemy spellcasters. But you wouldn't want to waste one of their spell slots on a spell that you will not use that often, like a divination spell. They are battlemages, pure and simple.

Gotta disagree Memnoch, as the number of spells per spell level aren't nearly as necessary as you might think.

For example, how many mages would memorize Detect Invisibility, when they have True Sight available? Once you get the Staff of the Magi, do you ever use PfE or any Invisibility spells ever again? What about Vocalize and Non-Detection?

A Sorcerer can be as versatile as a mage if you know what you're doing. How many times has the average BG2 player used Improved Mantle as a realistic defense? Or some of the more standardized attack spells like Lightning Bolt.

Here's the thing, a Sorcerer can still cast spells from scrolls, and use all wands. Now does it make more sense to memorize 3 Cloudkills, or just pack a Cloudkill wand with 50 charges? Which can also be used within a PfM sphere! The Wand of Fire makes memorizing Fireball or Aganazzar's Scorcher obsolete as well.

Properly equipped (and most of the "main" Sorc/Mage equipment can be acquired before or during Chapter 3) a Sorcerer has all of the benefits of his/her class with none of the disadvantages. And that IS power!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Memnoch:
Mages are much more versatile than sorcerers, although it may not seem so at first glance. This is because the mage has access to a greater range of spells and let's face it, you can rest and memorize spells for a specific situation anyway. Mages are essential for any party as they can learn and memorize utilitarian spells like knock, wizard eye, etc. A sorcerer is more of a battlemage - they are best used as support mages (artillery mages I call them) with key offense spells like abidalzims, fireball, etc. where they can cast a large number of these spells in a fight. You can also use them as your antimage mage and get them to learn antimage spells like Warding Whip, Ruby Ray, Pierce Magic, Breach etc. They can easily disable the spell defenses of an entire party of enemy spellcasters. But you wouldn't want to waste one of their spell slots on a spell that you will not use that often, like a divination spell. They are battlemages, pure and simple.<hr></blockquote>

Memnoch, we have already agreed that Mages have versatility in spell memorisation, what we were extolling was the Sorcerer's versatility in spell usage. In my solo Sorcerer Spell List, I do have spells like Knock and Wizard Eye, and having a 'battlemage' is nice. Being able to totally and utterly crush, annihilate, devastate your opponents before they can even whimper or plead for mercy is always a good thing.