My Solo Sorcerer Spell Pick (SoA only)

[BaRoN NiGhT]

I think I've changed my mine. I'm gonna substitute Melf's Minute Meteor with Dispel Magic and Tenser's Transformation with Contingency.

[Userunfriendly]

Originally posted by SillySorcerer: Those seem like pretty good spells but I consider invisibility a must-have for a solo sorcerer. Mislead is also good when you can get it. And I think you would benefit from some summon spells (summon skelies is the best). Tensor's transformation is questionable-- You should be avoiding melee combat. Polymorph Other is too much fun to do without. Feeblemind works really well against powerful opponents like dragons (especially in comination with Greater Malison). Finger of Death and Deathspell are also good to have.

mislead is better than invisibility...

mislead allows you to attack with impunity against enemies who can't see invisible...for scouting purposes, you're better off with scrolls until you get the wonder staff...

agreed about tensors...you're better off with the rod of resurrection...

polymorph other is fun!!!

feeblemind breaks scripts...a feeble minded dragon could be bashed to death...takes a while, but can be done..

[SillySorcerer]

Originally posted by Userunfriendly: mislead is better than invisibility...

Perhaps, but invisibility lasts longer and can be maintained as you move from one area to another. To tell the truth, mislead is more of a combat spell while invisibility can help keep you from getting ambushed as you explore a map or rest.

[Userunfriendly]

true...however, your familiar can cast it if you choose chaotic good, and you can get rings of it easily in the game, and of course there is the cheese staff...one of the most important rules of sorcery is never ever take a spell if you can get a good device that will do the same thing...unless of course the spell gets better with sorceror levels...and invisibility won't get better as the sorceror goes up in levels...

[SillySorcerer]

Yes, but Invisibility can be cast on other party members, too. Can't do that with Mislead. And there is always Shadow Door, which can provide similar benefits via a lower level spell. I guess if I could only have one, I would take Invisibility for soloing and Mass Invisibility for adventuring as part of a party. Thankfully, I can have more than one!

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by SillySorcerer: Yes, but Invisibility can be cast on other party members, too. Can't do that with Mislead. And there is always Shadow Door, which can provide similar benefits via a lower level spell. I guess if I could only have one, I would take Invisibility for soloing and Mass Invisibility for adventuring as part of a party. Thankfully, I can have more than one!

Ah... explain to me why you would want Invisibility for a Soloist. You said it yourself, Invisibility can be casted on others, but WAIT! There is no others, so what reason then, do you have for wanting Invisibility when...

1) There are Rings of Invisibility/Air Control
2) Invisibility Potions
3) The Staff of Magi
4) Ring of Gaxx

Summons? What would be the point?!?!

[Jim]

Originally posted by IronDragon: Just my opinions mind you: Level 1: - Chromatic orb : I always take this but never use it. This spell works great on creatures with crap saving throws. It's great for slaying trolls. - Friends : with ring of human influence why bother? By the time you've got your Ring of Wizardry and Ring of Acuity on, you're not going to want to start taking them off to use the ring of Human Influence to save a few bucks because you'll de-memorise the bonus spells provided by the other rings! This spell serves a great purpose at the start of the game to accelerate your aquisition of the Robe of Veccna. Sure, you can slap on the RoHI at this stage, but you'll want a 20 CHA to maximise the discount, so unless you're prepared to blow several thousand on a Nymph Cloak or something, Friends will servere you well. - Identify : glasses of ID work just as well and this spell gets useless in TOB where your lore is enough for pretty much anything True, but remember that Sorcerer's only get +1 lore per level, and you INT is unlikely to be as high as a mages, so the lore will build up very slowly indeed. This spell is only really for convinience and effectively frees up an inventry slot. - Magic Missile : the only real must have in level 1 Agreed - Spook : am completely indifferent about this spell This spell sure does rock when the -6 save penalty kicks in, but it's limited by effecting only 1 creature and lasting only 3 rounds. Still a great 1st level spell though. Prefer burning hands which seems to work esp well on undead. I've heard this on this board before but am little bemused as to why - unless the undead in question has a negative fire resistance but I'm struggling to think of any that have. Level 2: - Knock : well someone has to open all those chests – but dangerous without Minor spell deflection why is casting knock dangeous without MSD? - Mirror Image : always handy Definately - Resist Fear : necessary. A terrified solo sorcerer is a dead solo sorcerer. Very true. I've heard this somewhere else too - Melf's Acid Arrow : great for spell casting clerics Agreed, and not just clerics. Minor damage, but the constant interrupt is good, and the damage will build up over time. - Web : always a good bet An excellent level 2 spell, since it doesn't just render enemies immobile like entangle, but actually prevents them from doing anything. Couple this with -2 saves and this spell is a sure bet. Level 3: - Flame Arrow : gotta love the amount of damage it does Agreed, Flame arrows are devastating - Haste : I tend to ignore this spell. Magic users just aren’t built for melee But who said anything about casting this on the sorcerer? This is one almighty summons buff. 5 hasted skeletal warriors will make short work of anything! - Skull Trap : great spell for damage There are few spells below level 8 that can compete with this on damage, but it must be used wisely! - Melf's Minute Meteor : my big problem with this spell is that it stays until you use ALL of the meteors making it impossible to use any other weapon. Devastating when you want to use the staff of the magi to go invisible. Point taken about the weapon annoyance, but they are fast and strike as +6 weapons making them suitable to hit virtually anything. I prefer Minor Spell Deflection and Slow in place of Haste and Melf’s MSD will become obselete when the Staff of the Magi is aquired and higher level spell protections become available. Slow is helpful though. Level 4: - Greater Malison : always good choice - Stoneskin : gotta have stoneskin - Spider Spawn : great summons Agree with the above. - Wizard Eye : also great. So many bad guys waste spells on this instead of you Also great to place in a group of summons so you can stay back and still see the action. Level 5: - Lower Resistance : perfect for big nasty things - Sunfire : only take this when I solo. Great for takingout low level critters and undead - Spell Immunity : rarely end up using this spell. For a certain undead critter fond of imprisonment there is always a protection from undead scroll. Agree with the above. Sunfire is very fast to cast and doesn't harm the caster. - Protection From Acid : is acid REALLY a problem in SoA? Even with the certain encounters, this spell is a waste. Acid protection scrolls are stackable and plentiful. No breech? I prefer animate dead, soloing you soon get high enough to get skeleton warrior. One of the best summons period. I would dump spell immunity and protection from acid for Breech and Animate dead Animate dead is a must - effective tough warriors with high MR and basic weapon immunity is awesome. Breach isn't too important for a solo sorcerer though. They themselves don't need to get through physical defenses so it would only serve a purpose for their summons - and even then, hasted skeletal warriors will tear through stoneskin, and PfMW and the mantle spells have a short duration anyway. Comes down to preference. Level 6 - Protection From Magic Energy : so many other better spells on this level Agreed - Cloak of mirroring and spell trap absorbs spell damage anyway - True Sight This is great since it lasts 1 turn and effects all creatures within a huge area - Tenser's Transformation : Sorcerers were not made for melee, that is what summons are for. I never take this spell as there are so many other great spells at this level. Chain lightning Contingency Death fog Death spell Invisible stalker – good for mind flayers Protection from Magical Weapons - espically good in TOB when put in a contingency Summon Nishruu I'd go with chain lightning, death spell and PfMW from that list. Level 7: - Project Image : almost to good of a spell - Mordenkeinan's Sword : great summons Yep, both great spells - Khelben's Wharding Whip : good choice I would have to say there are far greater spells at this level - finger of death and the ultimate summons buff; mass invisibility would be good choices here. Level 8: - Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting : personal favorite Mine too Huge area damage that's party friendly. Nuff said - Spell Trigger Again, a must for a solo sorcerer.

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Jim (white) and IronDragon (tan): - Friends : with ring of human influence why bother? By the time you've got your Ring of Wizardry and Ring of Acuity on, you're not going to want to start taking them off to use the ring of Human Influence to save a few bucks because you'll de-memorise the bonus spells provided by the other rings! This spell serves a great purpose at the start of the game to accelerate your aquisition of the Robe of Veccna. Sure, you can slap on the RoHI at this stage, but you'll want a 20 CHA to maximise the discount, so unless you're prepared to blow several thousand on a Nymph Cloak or something, Friends will servere you well.

.....except that there are more than enough SCROLLS of the spell to go around, so you won't need to learn the spell yourself OR have to swap out Rings. There are only a precious few (expensive) items in the game that are actually worth buying, and even fewer if you happen to be a Solo Sorc.....and since all of those stores are indoors, you can pop off all the Friends scrolls you want.....I believe the CHA bonus is cumulative with itself in BG2, I know it was in BG1.

Prefer burning hands which seems to work esp well on undead. I've heard this on this board before but am little bemused as to why - unless the undead in question has a negative fire resistance but I'm struggling to think of any that have.

Mummies are especially vulnerable to fire--all those dry linen wrappings. Water-dwelling creatures like Sahuagin also take extra damage from fire.

Level 2: - Knock : well someone has to open all those chests – but dangerous without Minor spell deflection why is casting knock dangeous without MSD?

Because Sorcerers can't Disarm Traps.

[SillySorcerer]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: what reason then, do you have for wanting Invisibility when... 1) There are Rings of Invisibility/Air Control 2) Invisibility Potions 3) The Staff of Magi 4) Ring of Gaxx

Because I picked it and I want to convince myself that I made the right choice!
[img]smile.gif[/img]

Seriously, though, the sorcerer class can have a huge number of spells at the ready at anytime, but is limited to just two rings-- Why waste a valuable ring slot on a low-level spell like Invisibility? As for potions, they 1) are heavy to carry for a weakling mage, and 2) use up an inventory or quick item slot. The Staff is cool (though I never got it since I made the mistake of killing a certain doorman and eliminating my chance of getting it). I guess it all comes down to playing style-- For me, Invisibility is a must-have.

[Assassin]

Okay, there are things called Gem Bags and Potions Bags. You see, you can put in a Ring of Invisibility in a Gem Bag. When you need Invisibility, you take it out, cast Invisibility, then pop it back inside. You can store quite a few Potions of Invisibility as well.

Oh, and Minor Spell Deflection isn't that useful. Mirror Image will serve quite well in its stead.