sorcerers or mages?

[bloodmage11]

whos better sorcerers or mages if there at the same level and have the same stuff...thought it might be an interesting subject...

[Dundee Slaytern]

Which is sweeter? Glucose or Frutose?

[Dundee Slaytern]

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

[philip]

I think sorcerers are a little better because of his spellcasting (e.g. 10 spell levels), if you need an extra high level spell you can cast it, at the cost of some lower lvl spells. The other way you can cast 8 lvl 1 spells instead of one lvl 8 spell. The mage only has an x ammount of spells of the same lvl and can't change them into more lower level or less higher level spells.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by philip: I think sorcerers are a little better because of his spellcasting (e.g. 10 spell levels), if you need an extra high level spell you can cast it, at the cost of some lower lvl spells. The other way you can cast 8 lvl 1 spells instead of one lvl 8 spell. The mage only has an x ammount of spells of the same lvl and can't change them into more lower level or less higher level spells.

Urm... philip. That is not how a Sorcerer works.

A Sorcerer can cast at most, 6 spells per spell level and memorise at most, 5 spells per spell level( 4 for level 8-9). Assuming the ToB Xp Cap.

[philip]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: quote: Originally posted by philip: I think sorcerers are a little better because of his spellcasting (e.g. 10 spell levels), if you need an extra high level spell you can cast it, at the cost of some lower lvl spells. The other way you can cast 8 lvl 1 spells instead of one lvl 8 spell. The mage only has an x ammount of spells of the same lvl and can't change them into more lower level or less higher level spells.

Urm... philip. That is not how a Sorcerer works.

A Sorcerer can cast at most, 6 spells per spell level and memorise at most, 5 spells per spell level( 4 for level 8-9). Assuming the ToB Xp Cap.[/QUOTE]But if you use a high level spell there are less lower level spells, aren't there?

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by philip: But if you use a high level spell there are less lower level spells, aren't there?

No.

The spell levels are seperate. The only time they merge are the level 9-10 spells, which share the level 9 spell level.

As I mentioned above, 6 spells per spell level.

[philip]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: quote: Originally posted by philip: But if you use a high level spell there are less lower level spells, aren't there?

No.

The spell levels are seperate. The only time they merge are the level 9-10 spells, which share the level 9 spell level.

As I mentioned above, 6 spells per spell level.[/QUOTE]So, I can't cast more than 6 lvl 1 spells (without other equipment, although I'm not sure there's an item that increases the amount of lvl 1 spells you can cast).
When I've reached lvl 17, how many lvl 8 spells can I cast each day?

edit: But a sorcerer is still better because you don't have to memorise spells (and I think there aren't many cool high level spells, I only like 2 or 3 lvl 7, 2 lvl 8 and till now 1 lvl 9 (I don't have ToB, so lvl 9 means scroll (not many in SoA though) and I haven't used lvl 10 spells) so only being able to choose a couple of spells isn't a real disadvantage.

[ 07-30-2002, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: philip ]

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

I myself prefer the Sorc, because of the pseudo-flexibility provided. There are generally only two or three spells per level that I cast, and by selecting them and a few more to boot means that if I need Lower Resistance, I can cast it when I need it. Otherwise I can cast Cone of Cold. But now I'm being chased by a beastie? Thank Mystra for Shadow Door!
The only problem I have with the Sorc is that in traditional Dnd the Sorc can have more flexibility with weapons, reflecting that since they don't need to spend all their time studying they can learn to use weapons and such.
Ok, two problems. I would love to see a sorc/cleric class.. That would be the ultimate. And since the creators of the game have figured out how to allow Sorc-style casting, it's only a matter of time (Maybe NWN has this, I didn't get it yet) before they let you convert cleric spells into Cure or Inflict spells (Spontaneous Casting) which is another cleric feature I miss.. Of course, the lack of that powerful and very useful ability is more than worth the ability to turn undead as much as you damn well please per day, even constantly turn for several game hours straight just so you can yell "LOOK AT ME! COWER BEFORE ME! I AM THE ULTIMATE CLERIC! HAHAHAHAHA!"

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by philip: So, I can't cast more than 6 lvl 1 spells (without other equipment, although I'm not sure there's an item that increases the amount of lvl 1 spells you can cast). When I've reached lvl 17, how many lvl 8 spells can I cast each day? ~~

Correct. Without equipment, your base is a maximum of 6 spells for level 1 spells.

You can have 2 level 8 spells and cast 4 times from the level 8 spell selection at character level 17. For more details, refer to page 36-37 of your ToB manual.