all haste and no psionic

Grellan · 08-20-2002, 07:12 PM

noticing there's endless talk in the forum about the benefits of having a character in the party that casts haste which means the other guys don't have to be so concerned about putting precious points into speed. makes sense. i'm just about to start a new game and considering a psionic as my haste merchant and probably only dedicated magic caster. haven't seen much talk of psionics. is this cos might as well have a bishop or is there something else that i'm missing?

Gimli · 08-20-2002, 08:42 PM

Well if you're only going to have one caster, bishop is probably a good choice to get access to all 4 books. But you can win the game without any pure casters in your party, or with the only one being a psionic. To me it depends on what you want to role play. A bishop taken to 18th level and then switched to a Psionic would be a good choice too if you want a psionic-type who is better rounded. But basically I think the overall feeling is that pure casters are not as good as bishops, and that for a "haster", the best routes are either a bishop or bard. Alot depends on the party of course, but since you said you're only going with one pure caster I would vote for a bishop.

otter · 08-21-2002, 01:53 AM

I've had a good time with a couple of parties with a Monk as the haster, it just takes to L12 instead of 8; i don't see why a Psi couldn't do it. If you have nobody else who can cast at all, you might run into some trouble against enemy casters. (i've finished the game enough times without all four Schools, but only once with only Psi, and i had a Gad in that party.) That's why i, too, would recommend a Bish before a Psi, at least to L8, so you can read all Croc's books for a bigger Mana pool.

Grellan · 08-21-2002, 08:42 AM

yeah, i hear ya'. however, the psi has a few advantages such as getting the the mental spells quicker like identify and later on, the all important haste. also, it seems like a lot fewer monsters have resistances to mental magic early in the game (compared to say air and earth for example which are quite common) which makes the psi quite useful initially, especially the cone style spells.

another trick i found with the psi, partly by chance, was that he turned out to be a real life saver in some of the earlier battles. having been pretty mercenary at the start and pushed his speed up to 80 almost immediately it meant that when one of the party gets the sh*t kicked out of him and needs healing mid-fight, the relatively fast psi gets to fire off his healing spells at the start of the round before the badly injured party member gets hit again and probably killed.

on the down side the fact that the psi can't put any points into the fire realm early on is a minor draw-back. had been thinking of dualing into a bishop after level 8 once he gets the haste spell. by then psi skill will be pretty high so can concentrate on the other magic realms. any reason why do you guys think the dual should be other way, from bishop to psi?

Selane · 08-21-2002, 01:46 PM

Another cool thing about Psionics is that they eliminate the "need" for a Ranger in your party. I've found that Psionics are very effective at finding things with the search command, which not many classes seem to be able to do well.

otter · 08-21-2002, 01:58 PM

No switch is permanent; you can switch back and forth all you want. There are reasons to start as a Bishop, mostly you get more points in all 4 Schools from the start, but you can switch right away to Psi for the bonus and fast development. But you get more bonus points for Speed if you start as a Psi (not as much of a diff for Elves, but everyone else...!) The hard part about taking Bishop levels later is that the XP needed to level up starts to get tough, and your development in the other 3 Schools will be noticably behind.
That's why i usually use a Bard for Haste, who switches after qualifying for that, usually to Fighter. This does much more damage than a Bard who stays one.
A Bishop will also do much more damage than a Psi, mostly because they get so many mass destruction spells in various Realms.

Wereboar · 08-22-2002, 10:42 AM

Quote:

I've found that Psionics are very effective at finding things with the search command, which not many classes seem to be able to do well.

That mainly depends on your senses. Probably you don't go for it with other classes.

Wereboar · 08-22-2002, 10:55 AM

Quote:

i'm just about to start a new game and considering a psionic as my haste merchant and probably only dedicated magic caster.

You should have access to divinity and wizardry spells, for the party buff spells. If you have samurai and lord/valcury, you could use psionic as the only caster. I'd prefer a bishop for a single caster (at least for the first few games).

I have a spellcaster quintett running (no other characters), and the psionic wasn't that good. In kills: mage 1050, bishop 700, alchemist 650, psionic 500, priest 450. Bishop and priest do lots of heal and protection (guardian angel...), and the psionic is used mainly offensive.

If you play melee-heavy party, psionic might be ok (haste, heal, insanity). But if you fight much at range, psionic will run out of damage spells soon (yes, you can cast many shrill sounds, but they are weak later). And they are quite useless when the enemy casts soul shield.

MasterPooBaa · 08-22-2002, 08:56 PM

yerp... psionics are good if you work at them. at high levels he has become quite a tank.

very low ac cauz of stealth, high regenration rate of HP, SP AND stamina thanks to the robes of rejuvination, lots of fire spellpoints for haste, pleanty in divine for healing, and a absolute CRAPLOAD in mental for blasting and brain frying. plus, he is also the proud owner of a zatochi-bo, doubleshot sling and medusae stones... powerful combo allround.

08-20-2002, 07:12 PM	#1
Grellan Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: July 30, 2002 Location: ireland Age: 47 Posts: 33	noticing there's endless talk in the forum about the benefits of having a character in the party that casts haste which means the other guys don't have to be so concerned about putting precious points into speed. makes sense. i'm just about to start a new game and considering a psionic as my haste merchant and probably only dedicated magic caster. haven't seen much talk of psionics. is this cos might as well have a bishop or is there something else that i'm missing? __________________ noodles cook was a man who could always be trusted to lie

08-20-2002, 08:42 PM	#2
Gimli Emerald Dragon Join Date: January 12, 2002 Location: Moria Posts: 912	Well if you're only going to have one caster, bishop is probably a good choice to get access to all 4 books. But you can win the game without any pure casters in your party, or with the only one being a psionic. To me it depends on what you want to role play. A bishop taken to 18th level and then switched to a Psionic would be a good choice too if you want a psionic-type who is better rounded. But basically I think the overall feeling is that pure casters are not as good as bishops, and that for a "haster", the best routes are either a bishop or bard. Alot depends on the party of course, but since you said you're only going with one pure caster I would vote for a bishop. __________________ There\'s one dwarf left in Moria that still draws breath!

08-21-2002, 08:42 AM	#4
Grellan Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: July 30, 2002 Location: ireland Age: 47 Posts: 33	yeah, i hear ya'. however, the psi has a few advantages such as getting the the mental spells quicker like identify and later on, the all important haste. also, it seems like a lot fewer monsters have resistances to mental magic early in the game (compared to say air and earth for example which are quite common) which makes the psi quite useful initially, especially the cone style spells. another trick i found with the psi, partly by chance, was that he turned out to be a real life saver in some of the earlier battles. having been pretty mercenary at the start and pushed his speed up to 80 almost immediately it meant that when one of the party gets the sh*t kicked out of him and needs healing mid-fight, the relatively fast psi gets to fire off his healing spells at the start of the round before the badly injured party member gets hit again and probably killed. on the down side the fact that the psi can't put any points into the fire realm early on is a minor draw-back. had been thinking of dualing into a bishop after level 8 once he gets the haste spell. by then psi skill will be pretty high so can concentrate on the other magic realms. any reason why do you guys think the dual should be other way, from bishop to psi? __________________ noodles cook was a man who could always be trusted to lie

08-22-2002, 08:56 PM	#9
MasterPooBaa Zhentarim Guard Join Date: April 15, 2002 Location: OZ! Age: 49 Posts: 332	yerp... psionics are good if you work at them. at high levels he has become quite a tank. very low ac cauz of stealth, high regenration rate of HP, SP AND stamina thanks to the robes of rejuvination, lots of fire spellpoints for haste, pleanty in divine for healing, and a absolute CRAPLOAD in mental for blasting and brain frying. plus, he is also the proud owner of a zatochi-bo, doubleshot sling and medusae stones... powerful combo allround. __________________ Today is a good day for SOMEONE ELSE to die!!!!!

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08-21-2002, 01:53 AM	#3
otter Elminster Join Date: March 26, 2002 Location: portland or Posts: 434	I've had a good time with a couple of parties with a Monk as the haster, it just takes to L12 instead of 8; i don't see why a Psi couldn't do it. If you have nobody else who can cast at all, you might run into some trouble against enemy casters. (i've finished the game enough times without all four Schools, but only once with only Psi, and i had a Gad in that party.) That's why i, too, would recommend a Bish before a Psi, at least to L8, so you can read all Croc's books for a bigger Mana pool.

08-21-2002, 01:46 PM	#5
Selane Welcomed New User Join Date: August 21, 2002 Location: Long Island Age: 43 Posts: 1	Another cool thing about Psionics is that they eliminate the "need" for a Ranger in your party. I've found that Psionics are very effective at finding things with the search command, which not many classes seem to be able to do well.

08-21-2002, 01:58 PM	#6
otter Elminster Join Date: March 26, 2002 Location: portland or Posts: 434	No switch is permanent; you can switch back and forth all you want. There are reasons to start as a Bishop, mostly you get more points in all 4 Schools from the start, but you can switch right away to Psi for the bonus and fast development. But you get more bonus points for Speed if you start as a Psi (not as much of a diff for Elves, but everyone else...!) The hard part about taking Bishop levels later is that the XP needed to level up starts to get tough, and your development in the other 3 Schools will be noticably behind. That's why i usually use a Bard for Haste, who switches after qualifying for that, usually to Fighter. This does much more damage than a Bard who stays one. A Bishop will also do much more damage than a Psi, mostly because they get so many mass destruction spells in various Realms.

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