Gee, should I use a rifle or a rocket launcher to kill the soldier? In the end, they are both powerful and do the job well. When I first played BG2, the Sorcerer was the kit that I chose, because the character has always been the one that held the most fascination for me( that it will turn out to be one of the more powerful classes in the game is a bonus) in any fantasy setting. As advise however, I suggest to new players, or new wizard players to follow the following sequence. I still remember the first time I casted Fireball and did not know that it was not party-friendly.
Yeah man... I was a total newbie when it came to spells, more than a year ago.
Generalist Mage:
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Gee... there are over 200 spells in the game. Which ones are good? Which ones are mediocre? Asking other people will garner you the obvious choices like Stoneskin or Lower Resistance. However... different people, different strokes. You may be a protector kind of player, preferring to cast protection spells that help defend your party members. You may be a sniper, taking out one enemy at a time is your specialty. You may be a destructor, using spells that cause widespread destruction. You may be a disabler, casting spells that mess with the enemy's minds. The list goes on and on.
Even if you know your playstyle, there is also the mentality. Are you the cautious type? Refusing to use any spells that might hurt your party members? Are you the reckless type? One who could not care less about the welfare of your party members?
Using a Generalist Mage will help you to understand better what kind of Mage you are, and will become. Note that your PC does not need to be a Generalist Mage. NPCs like Imoen and Nalia can help you. Just pretend that they are the main character, and focus your tactics around them, not with them.
Once you are confident you know what kind of spells you like to use... we move on to the...
Specialist Mage
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Examine your spellbook. Which spell school do you not use, or use the least? Once you have determined the school, select the appropriate Mage kit that has that school as its opposition school. Being a Specialist Mage enables you to play around with more spells.
At this stage, you will start having a default selection of spells that will always remain memorised in your spellbook. I can say with confidence that most of the time, you will have no more than five types of spells per spell level. This is the crucial turning point, because you are now ready to try to master the next stage of spellcasting, the...
Sorcerer
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A well-made Sorcerer is extremely powerful, a shabbily-made Sorcerer is worse than a Generalist Mage in terms of power.
I have said it once, and I will say it again. Always make a spell list before you make your Sorcerer. This will help prevent uncertainity as you play along in the game. A Sorcerer
cannot afford to make mistakes, as a spell learnt, is a spell learnt forever.
Your previous experience with the Mages will help determine your spell list.
Once you reached this point though... is there anything else? Well... if you have ToB, you can now try the...
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ToB Spoiler
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... Wild Mage